The longest song in my life! I must have played Sultans of Swing every other day for the last 25 to 30 years and it must have played on as an earworm or as they call it in neuroscience, Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) or stuck song syndrome, so many times, day in and out, every day! Is it something about Mark Knopfler’s finger-picking fast licks in the song, or is it his voice - I can’t say for sure, but there is no doubt that Mark Knopfler is a genius and a powerhouse of creativity.
This is my tribute to him and his great band, Dire Straits, which had John Illsley on the Bass guitar, the amazing Pick Withers on the drums, and David Knopfler, Mark’s brother on the rhythm guitar.
A few of my great friends were part of my journey with Sultans of Swing:
John Mathew: He told me long before I heard Sultans, that Mark Knopfler plays with his fingers and the little finger supports his right hand on the guitar.
Neil George: “There is this song, Sultans or something like that by Dire Straits, you should try and pick it up. It is a tough nut to crack.”
Pauly, Eloy, Pinson, Glen, Jackson of 13 AD: The first time I heard Sultans, was not the Dire Straits version but Pauly’s and 13 AD’s version.
Preetham: For lending me the Thomson Cassette of the Album with Sultans of Swing, I still remember the excitement the first time I heard it!
Dr. Sujit Vasudevan and George Korah: Great fans of Mark Knopfler and they have always made me sing this and enjoyed every performance I did for them.
Bigman Tanvir: He calls me Knopfler and has been calling me by the name of the great legend from the time he heard me play Sultans in our hostel room at Manipal!
Dr. Sony George: He is more excited than me when I play Sultans of Swing. He has constantly encouraged and supported me.
Davide - a great fan of MK! Davide and I became friends on FB and over the last few months, he has been a great encouragement for me. His life is an inspiring story!
To the Band, Kalinga, for allowing me to play this iconic song with them LIVE.
To the bands, I was part of: My school band with George Joseph, Mani Kuran, Adv George Johnson, Ani George Alexander, and Thomas OC. My band at Chinmaya Vidhyalaya - Neil George, Prazi, Preetham, Sonith, John Mathew, and Lak Ayer. The KMC Band - Dr. Dennis, late Dr. Siby Cherian, Dr. Ranji Mathai, Dr. JJ, Dr. Nishchal and Dr. Panix. Donesis, the band - Dr. Suman, Dr. Rohan and Danny. Thank you wonderful bandmates for the lovely journey!
And finally, Harris PM, the Rockin’ Lawyer!! He inspired me to get back on the music track in 2007.
To the Magic Fingers - Eloy Isaacs of 13 AD - when I was not able to pick the last riff of Sultans, he told me “The fourth note is the same as the second” - only a genius can give such a simple explanation to this iconic riff!!!
This tribute is dedicated to them for being part of this amazing journey!
Thanks to Guitarbackingtrack.com for the backing track: www.guitarbackingtrack.com/pl...
The Alchemy track was recorded at home by me. Thank you, Sakheer, for programming the drums for the Alchemy version of the outro solo.
The Gear used:
Fender Roland ready Stratocaster (www.roland.com/us/products/gc-1/)
Guitar effects: Guitar Rig 5 Pro Native Instruments (www.native-instruments.com/en...)
Yamaha 4 string Bass TRBS 174 (Thanks, Bassman Paul [13 AD / Masala Coffee] for choosing this lovely Bass Guitar for me) www.guitarfella.com/yamaha-tr...
Komplete Kontrol S49 MIDI keyboard and Komplete 10.0
www.native-instruments.com/en...
DAW - Cubase with UR44 Audio interface www.steinberg.net/en/products...
Captured simultaneously on 2 iPhone cameras:
Camera 1 for long shot: iPhone 11 pro
Camera 2 for the fretboard shots: iPhone 6
Video editor: Adobe Premiere Pro www.adobe.com/in/products/pre...
00:00 Video starts
01:32 Check out Guitars George
03:35 Ist Guitar Solo
04:53 2nd Guitar Solo
06:38 Alchemy-like version of the Guitar Solo
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