Skunk Baxter Breaks Down His Most Iconic Guitar Parts
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter is one of the MOST recognizable ambassadors of Rock ‘N Roll music. Whether it be through his work as a band member in Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, or as a session guitarist for Joni Mitchell, Donna Summer, and Dolly Parton, we’ve all heard the searing guitar licks of the great Skunk Baxter!
In this interview, Skunk walks us through his incredible career, highlighting some of the most influential songs that he was a part of from the 70s, 80s, and now – talking about the sessions, the gear, and his knack for building DIY guitars and pickups that he used on many of his most legendary guitar parts.
Strap in for some incredible stories from this Rock ‘N Roll statesman and be sure to check out some of Skunk’s music from his first solo record EVER – “Speed Of Heat”!
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⬇ TABLE OF CONTENTS ⬇
00:00 Introducing Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
01:00 Skunk’s Experience Recording “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number”
06:55 Skunk Revisits “Rikki Don’t Lost that Number”
08:06 Sweetwater Gear Exchange
09:10 What was a Steely Dan Session Like?
11:45 Skunk’s Unusual Roland Strat
12:08 DR Strings
12:55 Effects Skunk Used with Steely Dan
13:55 Skunk’s Guitar Work on “Night by Night”
19:15 Skunk Revisits “Night by Night”
20:45 Vertex Buffer Interface
21:55 Recording Guitar on “East St Louis Toodle-oo”
25:35 Skunk Revisits his Part on “East St Louis Toodle-oo”
27:55 Skunk’s Work on “My Old School” & His Interpretation
37:34 Skunk Revisits “My Old School”
40:44 Vertex Tone Academy
42:11 Recording “My Old School” for Speed of Heat
42:25 Skunk’s Experience Recording “Bodhisattva”
43:34 Skunk Revisits “Bodhisattva”
49:25 Doctor’s Special Rx Custom Clean Amplifier
51:07 Steely Dan’s Unreleased Hit Song
54:14 Skunk Revisits “Dallas”
57:41 Skunk’s work with Dolly Parton
01:02:23 Skunk Revisits “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton
01:04:28 Skunk’s Work with Donna Summer
01:09:27 Skunk Revisits “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer
01:12:27 Recording guitar for Joni Mitchell
01:16:13 Skunk Revisits In “France they Kiss on Main Street”
01:18:52 How Skunk joined the Doobie Brothers
01:20:57 How Michael McDonald Joined the Doobie Brothers
01:22:59 How The Doobie Brothers Tightened up Their Rhythm Section
01:27:02 Recording on “Taking it To The Streets”
01:28:25 Skunk Revisits “Taking It To The Streets”
01:30:46 The Recording of “Take Me In Your Arms”
01:33:02 Skunk Revisits “Take Me In Your Arms”
01:34:46 Live Amp Placement for the Doobie Brothers
01:36:58 Skunk Breaks Down “How Do The Fools Survive”
01:39:42 Skunk Revisits “How Do The Fools Survive”
01:43:43 Skunk Explains the Theme Behind his Song “Julie”
01:47:21 Skunk Revisits His Song “Julie”
01:51:53 Reflecting on Photos & Videos from Skunk’s Career
02:03:55 Thanks for Watching!
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⬇PODCAST⬇
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⬇DIY BUFFER DIAGRAMS & TEMPLATES⬇
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⬇RECOMMENDED MATERIALS⬇
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CREDITS
Host/Producer: Mason Marangella
Videographer: Ricky Chavez
Video Editing: Mason Mejia
Audio Editing: Hunter Harrison
Audio Engineer: Michael Pappas
#skunkbaxter #theguitaristbehind #steelydan #thedoobiebrothers
#Skunk #Baxter #Breaks #Iconic #Guitar #Parts
Originally posted by UC0lvt4Tpj5xI4Cfzfz4SHzg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3T3VmmASo
00:00 Introducing Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
01:00 Skunk’s Experience Recording “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number”
06:55 Skunk Revisits “Rikki Don’t Lost that Number”
08:06 Sweetwater Gear Exchange
09:10 What was a Steely Dan Session Like?
11:45 Skunk’s Unusual Roland Strat
12:08 DR Strings
12:55 Effects Skunk Used with Steely Dan
13:55 Skunk’s Guitar Work on “Night by Night”
19:15 Skunk Revisits “Night by Night”
20:45 Vertex Buffer Interface
21:55 Recording Guitar on “East St Louis Toodle-oo”
25:35 Skunk Revisits his Part on “East St Louis Toodle-oo”
27:55 Skunk’s Work on “My Old School” & His Interpretation
37:34 Skunk Revisits “My Old School”
40:44 Vertex Tone Academy
42:11 Recording “My Old School” for Speed of Heat
42:25 Skunk’s Experience Recording “Bodhisattva”
43:34 Skunk Revisits “Bodhisattva”
49:25 Doctor’s Special Rx Custom Clean Amplifier
51:07 Steely Dan’s Unreleased Hit Song
54:14 Skunk Revisits “Dallas”
57:41 Skunk’s work with Dolly Parton
01:02:23 Skunk Revisits “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton
01:04:28 Skunk’s Work with Donna Summer
01:09:27 Skunk Revisits “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer
01:12:27 Recording guitar for Joni Mitchell
01:16:13 Skunk Revisits In “France they Kiss on Main Street”
01:18:52 How Skunk joined the Doobie Brothers
01:20:57 How Michael McDonald Joined the Doobie Brothers
01:22:59 How The Doobie Brothers Tightened up Their Rhythm Section
01:27:02 Recording on “Taking it To The Streets”
01:28:25 Skunk Revisits “Taking It To The Streets”
01:30:46 The Recording of “Take Me In Your Arms”
01:33:02 Skunk Revisits “Take Me In Your Arms”
01:34:46 Live Amp Placement for the Doobie Brothers
01:36:58 Skunk Breaks Down “How Do The Fools Survive”
01:39:42 Skunk Revisits “How Do The Fools Survive”
01:43:43 Skunk Explains the Theme Behind his Song “Julie”
01:47:21 Skunk Revisits His Song “Julie”
01:51:53 Reflecting on Photos & Videos from Skunk’s Career
02:03:55 Thanks for Watching!
@Vertex.. I know it is tempting from a revenue point of view but having 3rd party adverts come in and long ones + 2 minutes, during your presentation is a dumb idea. Not everyone sits on the device, we do stuff whilst listening and having to constantly come back to skip the advert means that… your video is cancelled. And no, I am not going to pay Youtube a monthly fee for a platform that has been built on free sharing to promote amateur, semi pro, pro content makers. That would mean we are paying for your marketing and PR, sorry, that doesn't compute. You can control the number of adverts that display. Cut them down or lose your audience. Your choice.
On a positive note, well done for the presentation. Skunk is a legend.
This interview should be in the national archives. Skunk is a living treasure. And his recounting of all those special moments is so clear. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast. Cheers and keep the interviews coming!
Saw Skunk live back in the 70s when he and Mcdonald were in the Doobies. Awesome and just great memories.
Thanks so much for interviewing Jeff. It was great hearing Jeff talk about all those amazing records he played on. He has been one of the greatest players and musicians in rock music of all time. And it was so cool to find out he always was involved so heavily in guitar and amp building.
Skunk gives you 2 edited hours? Wow, great job! I am going to break this one up into a few sessions.
24:58 Maybe a Morley volume pedal?
The Great ????????
Skunk ????
Baxter
He Was Recording At
Cherokee Sound on
Fairfax In
The Mid 1980’s
I Was Dating His
Ex Girlfriend and we
Needed To Score Some
Weed
Now Weed Wasn’t Legal Back When
And She Called
Jeff and We Went To
The Studio and He Gave Me a Bag Of Weed
Now I Don’t Expect Jeff Too Remember Yet I Do
And He Said It’s Cool
???? No Charge and He Is Super Smart
We Exchanged a Few Words and I Was Treated So Kindly By Jeff
Super Guy
Don’t Let This Story
Dictate How Cool
Jeff is
Ladies and Gentlemen
Jeff is Real in
Many Ways
The videos featuring various great guitar players in the last part is a Laser Disc release in Japan back in the day. I watched that before and wonder whether it's been released in DVD or blu-ray. I remembered David Gilmour was also featured in that video.
This is a juicy ass interview
This guy !! OUTSTANDING intervierer !! Skunk had to appreciate this young guy. As opposed to the usual blah blah brain dead. He also is respectful at a high level. I like this young guy
You gotta get Tiran Porter if you can… great interview and great video!
Mason, great interview. It's funny in the beginning it was like "fanboy" meets hero, but quickly settled into a nice cadence, containing some great information. Skunk, there are no words that can describe the influence you've had on me and countless guitar players in the world. Thank you.Wow!!!
YESSSSS SKUNK GETTING HIS FLOWERS!!!!
Not so sure about the guitar synth info,,,,lee ritenour used 360 systems guitar synth in 77
And on conga drums
https://youtu.be/RJ7bcmrS1U8?si=gPcUfUPm_Ve-wmVT
Were Skunk and Carol Kaye ever on the same track? Bet they were. Gotta hear that!
For a song titled "Boddhisatva" I would imagine Oms matter more than Ohms.
Mr Baxter. Thank you
I wish Jeff would have talked about his The Doobie Brothers Stampede song Précis.
Thanks for the wonderful music and thanks for a great interview with one of the greatest musicians of all time. PEACE AND LOVE TO EVERYONE ❤❤.
I still have the VHS of Skunk playing with assorted guitarists.
Great questions mason. Guests are A*!!!!
Great interview with a living legend.