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UG: Tell us about your early beginnings in music: What drew you to playing the guitar? Who were your early girl guitar player influencers?
Bibi McGill: I was about 12 years old when I was able to really single out the guitar parts in music. My older brothers and sisters listened to a lot of retro ‘70s soul and funk, which I really like. One of my first concerts I went to was The Isley Brothers when I was about 10, and I saw them about 3 times before I started playing the guitar. I started gravitating more towards rock music because I could hear more of the guitar in it a little better. My parents were really supportive and they used to catch me playing air guitar with brooms and pool sticks. They asked if wanted to play guitar and responded “yeah, sure!” So, I started playing and quickly realized that I was pretty good at it - especially in picking things up by ear - and I was always progressing a little quicker than the rest in my classes.
When did your big break come about; who "discovered" you?
My big break happened, really when someone was ready to give me a chance, back in 2001, when I got a call to tour with P!nk. I had been playing all over L.A. for many, many years - pounding the pavement, playing all the clubs, being broke - goin’ through the things we’ve all heard starving musicians go through. I would get folks come up to me and say “wow, you’re so good – why aren’t you famous already?!?,” and that would just break my heart! No one would give me a real chance. I was always in that place between amateur and pro. One day, out of nowhere (really), I got a call from a music agent. He wasn’t my agent, but he was one that historically never gave me a chance but rather would give the boys the chance. He basically told me, “so Bibi, we’re gonna get you going. You’re gonna be playing with P!nk, going here, doing this and that, playing on MTV and other TV appearances . . .” – all these things, and I responded with, “What are you talking about? I don’t know P!nk, and I haven’t even auditioned for her – I don’t know what you’re talking about!” In disbelief, I hung up. Sure enough, three days later I was on a plane, listening and learning the songs on the plane trip over. When I landed, I went straight to rehearsal with P!ink - and that was it. After playing 6 months with her, everybody wanted me to play with them ... it was really cool.
Can you give us a rundown of your gear (studio/stage) and preferences?
Honestly, I prefer to plug in to a Marshall stack, a Vox, a Wah pedal, and have dual channels - clean and dirty - and just play. But, for the type of gig I’m doing with Beyoncé, even an analog pedal board will not work. I need to be able to switch from a 12-string guitar, to an electric guitar that’s distorted, to a guitar that’s detuned to an Eb or a drop D, or something completely odd - sometimes all within the same song. That’s just how some arrangements are throughout a show. We’ll go from a song with a sitar to one the features a standard acoustic guitar, and I don’t (won’t) have time to switch, or even have a guitar tech come on stage to swap out. Luckily, I have an amazing guitar tech, Sean O’Brien, who suggested using a Line 6 rack-mountable pod that features a programmable pedal board to recall all kinds of guitars with different sounds and tunings. I was also using the Variax acoustic guitar as a 12-string, 6-string, and as an electric. In addition to that, I’ve used Gibson all my life - I love Gibson! I’ve been playing on one since I was 12 years old and they’ve been sponsoring me since 2001.
I prefer stepping on pedals and adjusting the sounds with my own hands but my guitar tech is under the stage, 100 feet away. We’re not able to have amps on the stage because it’s supposed be kept clear and clean - no amps also helps to keep the volume levels down. If I have to go center stage to do a guitar solo and I need to change sounds, I communicate with my tech via wireless, and he has to change it from his computer remotely. So, the Line 6 is really an amazing system. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to do my job with Beyoncé - no way.
In my guitar collection, I’ve got a Flying V with a Floyd Rose, a couple of Les Pauls with a Floyd Rose, a couple of ‘80s Les Pauls Standard Gold Tops, a Fireboard, and an Explorer. Prior to using the Line 6 rack mount for acoustics, I had Taylor 12- and 6-strings (I have a lot of guitars!). I recently got two Paul Reed Smith guitars and a couple of BC Rich guitars which I really love.
You’ve toured and collaborated with P!nk, Paulina Rubio, La Ley, and Beyoncé - quite a spread in music styles/genres. What was the key to your success in switching musical gears? How’d you diversify?
I’m open. I love music and love the way it feels to play music and play the guitar. We are beings that are constantly changing. It’s cool to go and rock out and play metal, but then go into some easy-listening, healing yoga music. I grew up funk/soul and R&B, so I can appreciate artists like Beyoncé. I love Madonna, Metallica - it’s just a matter of flowing with the music and enjoy what I am doing rather than trying to put it in a box and have an attitude like, “oh, I don’t play that kind of music.” Even in L.A., with La Ley and Paulina Rubio, I had never played any kind of pop or Latin rock before. I was nervous, but I adapted and I brought my true self at the same time. I brought the “rock” in every situation.
You’ve commanded the stage with some major recording artists - lots of pressure! Do you still get nervous when you perform - any tips or secrets to calming pre-performance jitters?
Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I ever got jitters, or was ever nervous to go on stage. If anything, I’m really excited to go on stage. I can give you a suggestion of what to do though: Stop, take deep inhalations, and exhale as slow as you can. Do that about 5 times and just try to keep your mind focused and steady.
This [performing] is just something that comes natural to me. I’m more likely to be waiting to go on stage with the attitude of “come on let’s go, when are we going!?” I’m not trembling, filled with the butterflies, nor thinking how much I do not want to mess up.
I’d tell people who struggle with the jitters to just breathe. There’s nothing to be nervous about. You’ve got a gift that you love to do and that you get to share with others. If you mess up so what – you learn from it.
"One day, out of nowhere, I got a call from a music agent. He was one that historically never gave me a chance but rather would give the boys the chance."
I went to college and studied music and arranging for 4 ½ years and got my BA – I’ve never used the knowledge of reading music, not once in my career. Sometimes we get CDs, but most often we just listen. You know, it’s very high security! You gotta remember that the album hasn’t been released yet. So you come into a room, they turn on the track, you listen to it a few times and you play along with it a few times, then we play just play it. That’s how we learn: by listening. And a lot of times, our instruments (parts) are not even in the song, so we have to create parts for ourselves, but you know the structure of the song – you know where you’re gonna play your part. That’s how we do it.
Do you think your being a female guitarist brings as much attention to you as your guitar chops? - think it even matters in today’s music world? (What’s your observation on the state of the music industry in terms of male/female presence and recognition?).
Honestly, I don’t know and I don’t care. It’s different for everyone. I never focused on what people thought about me, my chops, or being a female - that’s who I am, and I do what I do. I learn and I play guitar the best way that I know how. My chops are different from others. There are people that are always gonna be better than you and some will struggle more.
Being a female in the music industry, I never felt that people were not letting me get ahead because of my gender. I noticed a lot of opportunities that I did not get that a lot of guys got but I did not hold grudges. And, I never felt that I was given any more opportunities or allowed to be more successful because I’m a female. It’s a package deal - again, everyone is different. All the tools I have are unique to me. It’s not just your chops or your looks, but your personality and energy. Do people like to be around you, look at you on stage ... are you exciting (?)
I’ve gotta tell you, women are blowing up everywhere in the music industry! Drummers, trumpet players, guitar, bass, saxophone. It’s blowing me away. They’re getting recognition, and they’re good; excellent and professional. I was on the cover of the biggest guitar magazine in Italy, Chitarra. All the biggest guitar players, like Eric Clapton, Slash, etc. have been on this magazine but I also saw how there were a lot of women in there too! I was really surprised.
Female Lenny Kravitz. Response?
That’s lame and so judgmental. I’m nothing like Lenny Kravitz, I mean, am I the only African-American or brown-skinned female guitarist with an afro and tattoos that plays the guitar? I’m sure there are thousands of them in the world. It doesn’t mean that they’re like Kravitz, they are just themselves. So, whatever.
Concerts these days come with tons of audio/visual stimuli - sound, lighting, and even video elements. When producing a tour these days, what comes first, the music, the visuals - both? … who comes up with the concept and how’s it put together?
Beyoncé comes up with concept. She knows what she wants to do and she’ll work with other creative directors to give her ideas to help her fulfill her vision. From there, it goes from the idea being in your head to the stage, colors, clothes, and just the entire look. Then, it goes to hiring people to run it, for instance, the lights and other elements of the show. I am a witness to all that and I am not entirely involved in that aspect of the show.
I know that when we go into rehearsal, the band is rehearsing separately from everyone else in the show for about a month, while the dancers are rehearsing somewhere by themselves as well. Meanwhile, we’ve got programmers working the lights and set designers, builders, and riggers building the stage for a month on their own. Then, we all come together for about a month to put the whole thing together. A lot of times, how you thought it [the show] would be, isn’t the way it turns out - it doesn’t flow, not the right feel - and Beyoncé will make changes. At the end, it all comes together ... it really is a big production.
In your wide-ranging music path, you go from an all guitar-driven sound (La Ley, P!nk), to very little guitar sounds (Beyoncé). Which would you consider more challenging… creating wall-to-wall guitar parts or conservatively sprinkling guitar sounds and arrangements in a song?
Coming up with guitar arrangements for the songs is very challenging but it is so rewarding. I am so fortunate that I get to add my own guitar ideas to her music, especially since she doesn’t have a lot of guitar, if any, on her albums. That’s just awesome. It’s definitely more challenging to come up with sounds that are interesting and that are going to cut through. It’s all part of the same thing: the sounds are just as important as the notes that you’re playing. You could be playing the right notes but if you add some delay and chorus, you take some of the gain off, it sounds a little more ethereal and floaty. I think they are both really challenging and rewarding and I’d say that coming up with the right sound is most challenging.
Having a great guitar tech is so important. Honestly, when we’re rehearsing and my tech is at the other end of the room, and she [Beyoncé] says “ok, we’re gonna switch this song for that other song,” I’m thinking about how each song has its own delay and effects settings. I have to advise my tech via in-ear monitor on the sound that I need - delay, chorus, whatever - and he has to do that on the spot, I can’t do it. Beautiful, lush sounds are definitely the hardest part.
"I can’t remember a time when I ever got jitters, or was ever nervous to go on stage. If anything, I’m really excited to go on stage."
I would say, first: Evaluate. What are your intentions and why do you want to do it? Is it because you really enjoy playing the guitar or do you want to be famous and get attention? Think about the reasons why you want to do this. Second: Be realistic. Take a look at your talents. If you want to be a singer like Beyoncé, but you can’t hold a tune and you sing out of pitch, then that’s ok, but sing with a local choir, with your friends or family, but be realistic. It’s not a good idea to try and shoot for being an iconic pop star when you can’t really sing or play the guitar. A lot of things can be learned and achieved by lots and lots of practice - that’s point #3. You get good at your craft by practicing because there are a lot of other people that want to do the same thing. After all that, have a good attitude and don’t step on everybody on your way up. Be considerate of other people and respect their talents. Avoid the gossip stuff (you know how musicians can be sometimes). You can be competitive but it’s better to be competitive with yourself. Don’t be concerned about how other musicians play or about what other musicians think of you. Be the best you can be, and be a nice, descent person.
Fill in the blanks: Top 3 things you recommend doing before an audition are:
1) learn the material, 2) wear something cool, comfortable, and that which expresses your personality, and 3) have confidence. You know, it’s important to go in there with courage and strength. Just know that whatever the outcome, it’s really gonna be the best for you.
When you’re not touring and/or involved with music, what are doing?
I do a lot of things and sometimes I like to do a lot of nothing. When I’m not on tour, I need a lot of downtime. I like to be by myself a lot and do things that are peaceful. I don’t like being around a lot of people and I don’t like coming back from a tour to immediately start hanging out with friends and going out to clubs. I stay home, spend time with my animals, I have a garden in my beautiful home, and I like to be outside in nature. I like to eat well and take care of myself, and I have a few good friends that I like to hang out with from time to time. I do a lot of yoga and sometimes I like to hang out on the couch and just watch TV. After a tour, I really don’t want to be the center of attention. I’m generally a recluse ... I pace myself and take good care of myself.
Fill us in on your current projects. What can we expect from Bibi McGill in the near future?
I’ve got three. Yoga is something I’ve been doing for many years and I am a certified yoga instructor. When I’m not touring, I love to teach and practice yoga classes. I enjoy it very much.
A year ago I developed a 100% raw vegan and gluten-free health product that is super, super delicious: Bibi Kale Chips. It came about one season that I grew kale in my garden and I had a lot of it left over. Kale is leafy vegetable that is very dense in nutrients - one of the most nutrient super foods out there. I heard about how some people make kale chips by dehydrating them. I learned how to make them and created a recipe according to what I liked: A lot of flavor, with different spices and salt. When I made my first batch and tasted it, I almost passed out! They were so delicious and I could not believe that I had made this myself. When I shared with friends the following month or so, every single one of them was floored by the taste and how delicious they were. I decided a year ago - after only making them for a couple of months - that I would package/distribute them and put them on the market from here in Portland, Oregon. Now, I’m in four stores in Portland, one in Los Angeles, and online. I ship these all over the world from Venezuela to Croatia, and they’ve even been in Iraq! People really love them. I’m slowly growing it, but I do have a business plan intact and am currently looking for investors to help build this little empire.
Lastly, I just decided a couple of months ago that I wanted to start DJing and I’m pretty excited about that. I’ve always wanted to do this but never really had the time. I don’t have my own band (don’t really want one), however this will give me the opportunity to perform alone as an artist and to navigate club goers through a really nice experience. Glitch hop, electro, trip hop, dubstep - I really like these musical routes and that’s the direction I’ll be going towards. Really excited about it!
What does success mean to you?
Having purpose and being happy, then sharing it with other people in whatever way that you can. It’s not about money, recognition, or fame because you can have all these things and still be miserable. It’s important to follow your dreams. If you follow your dreams, you are successful. Whatever those are, then find your purpose. When you don’t do that, you’re barely surviving. I’ve followed my dreams - from the yoga, kale chips, and DJing - and I’m still following my dreams.
