Session guitarist Andrew Synowiec's work is imprinted on some of Hollywood's highest-grossing movies, including Disney phenomenon Frozen and its earworm anthem, Let It Go. However, one gig Synowiec never expected to land was a last-minute session on a Who track.
“The phone rings, and I can see it's this kind of major contractor in town,” Synowiec tells Vertex Effects. “It's just somebody that works in the office. ‘Hi. We were wondering if you play clawhammer nylon.’ In the space of a millisecond, I'm thinking, ‘Clawhammer nylon?’”
Despite being an experienced session guitarist, Synowiec had no idea what technique they were referring to or what exactly they wanted, but decided to bluff his way into the job.
“I know what clawhammer banjo is. I mean, it's kind of like fingerpicking, so presumably that on a nylon string guitar. I guess I could do that,” he reasons.
“I immediately respond, ‘Oh, sure, yeah, no problem. I know exactly what that is. By the way, what's it for?’ And they go, ‘The Who, I guess it's a rock band or something,’ and I'm like, ‘What?!’”
Later that afternoon, Synowiec received an email detailing the job – The Who were working on a record, and there was a song that Townshend's brother Simon had written, with a guitar part in a style that The Who’s guitarist doesn’t typically play. Therefore, they needed someone to step in and play the part as Simon had intended.
“And then there's just one other kind of bone of contention here. ‘Would you mind recording just a little snippet of video for them to see you before, you know, we officially hire you?’ And normally, I would kind of be like, ‘Really? Come on!’ But for The Who, I'm like, ‘Hell yeah!’”
There was one minor problem, however – Synowiec still didn’t know what playing style was expected of him. “When you're in that situation, you're just thinking, ‘I gotta get this session, man, like, what can I do?’” he explains. “So at the time, that acoustic style of playing where you're tapping the guitar and hitting it, like Kaki King, was really popular, and I'm thinking, ‘Clawhammer or not, is that what they mean?’”
He decided to improvise, incorporating King’s style in his playing, alongside “fast fingerpicking” with a dash of blues in his audition clip.
Thankfully, he passed the legendary band’s test, and quickly found himself, along with his Peacewalker nylon guitar, at the producer’s home studio to record the part – which turned out to be one of the album’s final missing puzzle pieces.
“I sat down and pulled out my chart so I could have a clue. And they're like. ‘Uh, let's just check the headphones, and you'll hear eight clicks, and then you start playing.’ I get the headphone mix real quick, and kind of sit in front of the mic. And then, sure enough, I heard eight clicks. And I start playing the thing.
“And I'm looking at my chart, and I[‘m] [thinking], ‘This is the first time that I'm hearing anything besides just guitar. And I think this is where the verse happens.’ And then, sure enough, we get to bar nine or whatever. And on my headphones, I hear for the first time Roger Daltrey singing this song. And it's like a crazy, crazy feeling.”
The song, Break The News, ended up on the tracklist of The Who’s 12th studio album, Who (2019) – the band’s first new record in 13 years and the second spearheaded solely by Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. The album was a commercial success, clinching the number two spot on the Billboard 200.
In recent news, Pete Townshend has reflected on the realities of touring in his golden years and clarified whether he and Daltrey plan to retire anytime soon.
