And the openness relates to the way this 16-string organism functioned: “It’s about people who are willing to work in this collective, spontaneous, orchestral way. Guitars and electric bass are fantastic for this because they have so many different sonic aspects. A lot of it has to do with the pedals, and also for example the way Tronzo prepares the guitar, and in this band the totally distinct sound of the two guitars, plus J [Jerry’s son J. Anthony] on bass has his effects too – which definitely affects the timbres that I then apply with the drums, as well as the volume at which I can play. The timbres and electricity of the guitars provide a tremendous access for me and for the music.”

J. Anthony observed that “everyone in the band has a very developed sense of style and the modalities of how they like to play. It would be very easy for each of us to say, ‘Hey this is how I do it, it works, so don’t mess with it,’ but that has never happened. Consequently, the band has always had to move forward.” Jerry provided an example of this ongoing development: “Any moment anything can happen in terms of the focus shifting, and I think that all of the compositions reflect that this time. There’s almost a different role for each instrument in every composition. In J. Anthony’s ‘Planting’ the drums are the main soloist; in Tronzo’s ‘The Truth’ he and I are basically the rhythm players, the bass is the melody instrument. It’s a way of composing for the instruments that’s less predictable, and much more open or vast – it has a bigger view.” J. added: “My goal is to get to the atomic level of music, the most fundamental level. Composing for the band is great because I know that everyone’s musicianship and instincts will tease out the meaning in the notes – I always want to hear clarity of the parts, the strings all sounding as one, the rub of dissonance and the openness of the resolution. I like to be able to chew on the music for a while.”

Jerry: “There’s a lot of musical scholarship in this band — the understanding of what it takes to make something sound like it’s a real experience, that if it grooves it really grooves. I don’t think I’d be playing in V16 if it wasn’t so challenging and exciting. To hear the CD or DVD and go, how the hell did I do that, and how the hell can I ever do that again? — that’s really great.”

Jerry Granelli- drums
David Tronzo- electric slide guitar
Christian Kögel- electric guitar
J. Anthony Granelli- electric bass