'I avoid it at all costs..'

5 Jan 201014
share
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick (and longtime band friend), Edge explains why he doesn't often play with other guitarists.

'I try and avoid it at all costs. Jamming is really the most awful, excruciating experience for me, I really don't enjoy it. First of all, that's not how I work as a guitar player. I compose using the instrument, I don't really sit down and play for the sake of playing stuff. So the idea of jamming - endless, directionless noodling around some nondescript chord progression - I really find very boring.

Obviously a great song is fun to play, but U2 were never really in that phase of The Beatles in Hamburg or Van Morrison in showbands or Dylan in the folk clubs, of knowing and learning a big collection of classics. We never did that, and at the time we were forming as a band there really wasn't a large collection of songs that we felt like learning. It was actually a moment where the past was being thrown out the window, so it's very much part of our DNA as a band not to be too reverential, as a general rule, and to try and look forward all the time. Invention being what we value most highly as opposed to emulation - which is what a lot of musicians feel is important, being able to play like the greats...'

Edge also tells The Telegraph about new songs he's been working on and the band's visit to Glastonbury this summer. But mainly he talks about 'It Might Get Loud' which you can catch a clip of here.
Comments
14
You must be a logged-in member to add comments.
SIGN IN / SIGN UP
denelle
29 January, 2010
Edge rock on
Edge you're an exceedingly great guitarist. Truly I mean it. I really dig the guitar, I grew up with it and I could listen to you play from now until I die. You're a show stealer man
tahshish
19 January, 2010
we know!
we know and you have our respect for that! that's what makes you The Edge!
chitowncatfan
12 January, 2010
Don't Knock It Until You Try It
Maybe Edge is jamming with the wrong folks or just plain no good at it. I have a hard time believing his opinion would remain the same if he tried playing with Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Jimmy Herring, Tim Reynolds or a true legend like Buddy Guy or Eric Clapton. Improvisational live playing is free-form composing (which Edge claims he loves) on the fly in a live group setting. I don't understand how a living changing free-flowing composition in front of an audience can be boring. But Edge's attitude toward it sure is. I guess Jazz is just endless, directionless noodling around some nondescript chord progressions too.
80sBabe
11 January, 2010
Original
To be able to play like the greats, would be to be able to play like U2. No other band has or can come close to that. Looking forward to the 2010 tour!
carlosolivares
08 January, 2010
"The Edge", you can
I need to dance, I need to fly, I need to feel. I trust you "The Edge", only you can do that can fly again as in "until the end of the word" or "mysterious ways". Let your guitar sound and up to infinity. In order to fly, so in order to feel and be happy. I know you can.
ceallach67
07 January, 2010
Shame
Some of the best stuff comes out of a good jam.
Nanaa
06 January, 2010
rehearsals
well, for what i read so far in "U2 by U2", i'd say Edge is traumatized by the firsts rehearsals ;)
lassche
06 January, 2010
ROCK AND ROLL IS ABOUT THE GITAR
ROCK AND ROLL IS ABOUT THE GITAR, DEAR U2 FANS, NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SKY. HOPE U2 WILL PLAY THIS SUMMER IN ENSCHEDE: THE GROLSCH-VESTE: ROCK AND ROLL IN THE FLAT LAND WITHE THE BEST BEER ON EARTH:PEACE ON EARTH, VREDE OP AARD! BEST BAND MEETS BEST BEER AND OUDIANCE! THAKS: DETLEV LASSCHE FROM OLDENZAAL, THE NETHERLAND (VERTIGO_HUNTER).
lecina
06 January, 2010
NEED
YES WE NEED A "little frisson" for next shows!!! Hope there will new songs that it is sure we will ENJOY!!! Thank you
maela62
05 January, 2010
i avoid it at all costs
to get towards the new and innovative it is a great aspiration, to be in full immersion in the sound and create then the own vibe,this gives an unmistakable mark, to me. Emulation is a good way to practise instead
hapy
05 January, 2010
It might get loud...
Maybe, it is just because it is in our DNA, that we will listen to the Edge and his friends until the end of the world.
qquigs
05 January, 2010
Wow, same here
I also don't like "jamming." I'm in a band that is just starting out, so there are tons of other kids who play guitar, all they know how to do is "jam." When I first started playing guitar, I couldn't wait to be in the room with another guitar player. The problem is, those people are just "guitarists." They idolize that one instrument and plan on making noise with it. Not trying to create something that makes the composer say "Wow." Edge, thank you for not enjoying the "jam."
nickmonte
05 January, 2010
ALL HEART 2
I'll second that Yogic. Sure looked like he a great time jamming in that flick! Take your oscar, Edge! <3
Yogic
05 January, 2010
ALL HEART
Hey Edge... Never would have guessed By It Might Get Loud that jaming isn't your fav... Oscar performance : ). Invention not emulation...soooo nice when the view is fresh and new that discovery floats from the heart and expresses itself through the hands of creativity... U2 is all Heart... And #1 : ).
Newer comments    1 - 14 of 14    Older comments

RECENT NEWS

19 Nov, 2024
'Swirling around your head...'

Listening parties taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. Here's what people are saying about HTDAAB  and HTRAAB in Dolby Atmos surround sound. 

3
11 Nov, 2024
'Feeling The Sound'

'Each seat is a speaker…' Jacknife Lee on the 'sensory complex feelings' of U2:UV at Sphere.

2 Nov, 2024
HEAR THE ALBUM FIRST

Apply for your seat at an exclusive advance DOLBY ATMOS playback of How To Re-assemble An Atomic Bomb.

24 Oct, 2024
'Happiness'

Released today. From How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb. Watch the Lyric Video.

8

Related Topic

Edge, Collaborations
©2024 U2.  Powered by Live Nation Entertainment.