Leo Kottke - I Yell at Traffic - Don't Call Me Ray

[@peterlloyd5285]

Leo toured Australia in the 70s. In Melbourne he played at The Dallas Brooks Hall. I went along with some friends expecting maybe 150 people to show up, instead there was about 2,000 people. You could feel the love (in the best possible way). Leo came on with two guitars and two amps, barked "Hi, I'm Tammy Wynette" in to the mic and launched into a medley of two of his superfast pieces (if memory serves well; Vaseline Machine gun and Driving of the Year nail) even faster than the recordings. Jesus Christ. Then he broke a string and the audience was dead quiet while he fixed it. It must have become clear to Leo that he was among friends, so after expressing his appreciation he then proceeded to give us two hours of brilliant playing and singing. We had no idea that he told such funny stories which as the evening went on became more abstract, darker and funnier. Thanks Leo for a truly memorable evening. God bless you.

[@lindyasimus]

Interview with Donnie Sutherland was uploaded a few months ago.

[@rayhoward8188]

LOVE IT🎉RAY TWELVE STRINGS U.K

[@fiddlercrab3]

This is just another example of why self-taught musicians change the world. Leo Kottke blows my freaking mind.

[@ronnieblanton1466]

mr finger dancing himself tickling those strings like nobody else been a kottke fan since 1974

[@comfortat]

One of the true masters. Thanks Leo, for all these years of music.

[@scottus1955]

I've seen Leo 3 times in Seattle in the 70's and early 80's and each time you could hear a pin drop..i often caught myself holding my breath not wanting to miss a note. if you close your eyes he sounds like 3 guitarists - all of them very good!! thanks for posting!

[@savvycha]

Stunningly respectful audiences. So thankful for that, but what fan could not be when he joked and plays?

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

If he worked in oils, he would be a Rembrandt. Just stunning. Therefore the silence, tears of joy.

[@williamfreimuth]

First encounter with this 'extreme talent' about 50 years ago, was an eye-opener...or more precisely, an 'ear-opener'. Thank you Leo.

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

I was 12 when I first heard Leo. I'm 60 now. I "got it" then. I still have it now. His tunes & influence have been real "medicine" for me. Hard to explain, like most great art, but yeah, Thank you Leo!

[@JimSting]

I Yell At Traffic is my favourite Kottke tune, and he plays it superbly here.

[@Rob6648]

Hey Leo I've been listening since 1977,your still the best that there is.

[@gtrrobster]

Yeah Leo!! What a player and funny guy....converted me to fingerstyle playing about 12 years ago, thought 'how hard can it be to learn and play some of his tunes?' Very hard! 10 years later and still trying to get the 5-6 I began long time ago :)

[@jonathanmoran8932]

just wonderful, so bloody great. thank you

[@Saoff]

oh boy...what a great ear for music! and that groove....thanks for posting!

[@telsport]

Stunning in the 70's stunning now. All you other musicians have said everything else. Thank God for the knowledge we received to create recordings. Music , whether it is intentionally created and performed as a tribute or prayer...is one. Other animals communicate with vocalizations , but only we humans, the crown of creation, can create and perform music. Thank you, God ( hearing Leo reminded me of that. Tom Loughlin Jr Utica NY

[@bondmatty]

Saw Leo at the Royal Festival Hall, London, many years ago. Brilliant guitarist, probably the best on a twelve string. It takes something to hold an audience spellbound with just a guitar for a couple of hours, but he does it with ease.

[@BluesAndSlide]

A great guitarist, his music always has melody :)

[@E5Bobby]

I saw Mr. Kottke play in Brainerd, MN about 10 years ago. My impression of him, as a non-guitar player is this: close your eyes and you'd say that it's two guitar players, not just one. Gifted, no other way to describe guys like this. He's earned every accolade given to him. Thank you for making this available.

[@gailsand4744]

So amazing!

[@yourdrummer2034]

This song is incredible to me. The feel is wonky but right.

[@SpaceFox93]

Supurb! Simply amazing!

[@mussie302]

Amazing stuff.

[@dogma123l]

I first saw him in concert in the mid 70's..he opened for the Beach Boys...they sucked..he stole the show

[@MrIdowindows]

Saw him while a freshman at college late 1970 in central Kentuky. About 100 of us laid on the floor, stoned, taking the carpet ride, while Leo steared.

[@51362879]

thanks! I know he was detuned, but didn't know how far.

[@guitar8166]

As a guitar player, I can't even believe that!!

[@sicochoco]

Thanks for this one!! IYAT is my favorite kottke song, always wanted to see how on earth he did that picking so powerful!!

[@jpiir]

I Yell at Traffic - Standard Don't Call Me Ray - Dropped D Both tuned down 1½ steps.

[@klausochs7006]

awesome !

[@TrinityGhost1]

Of course it sounds like two guitar players. It has twice as many strings at different octaves! What I mean is: it's an attribute of the 12-string guitar itself, anyone playing it will sound like 2 people. That said, Leo Kottke is still one of the greatest players of the instrument I've ever seen. I've started playing my father's Guild F212 after a year of daily practice with my 6 string and I must say, the hand strength you need to get a clean tone out of it is ridiculous. Yet oh-so-worth-it!

[@jawmunji]

Impressive.

[@south644]

luvit

[@mrartboy1]

Al De Meola!..now there's a guitarist!...rock, acoustic,Spanish flamenco?..he does it all !!

[@jlambert321]

+Mike Jenkins apples and oranges, Dimeola is One of the finest Guitarist's in the world, but I can't say one's better than another, I can only say I like this more than I like that, think about this, Kottke is playin with an acoustic guitar, a slide and and amp, no effects, and he composed this in what 68?

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

Paco de Lucia-the list goes on and on. It's not about who can cram the most notes in a song. It's what moves the individual.(anyway, Leo's the best! HA!)

[@giorgiopicker]

:)a beauty tnx

[@juiceman1965]

why don't they ever show the other guitarist playing rhythm in the background?

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

There's gotta be at least a couple guys back there somewhere (LOL)

[@cesardesouza]

O cara é feroz ! Precisava conhecer e tocar com o Yamandu Costa...

[@mberge1]

Great scene. Mark Berge Jersey City, NJ

[@Neptuneman07]

After hearing about the remarks from my dad's dislike for Leo. I have to say that Leo Kottke is an amazing guitar virtuoso. He can jam along with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

He has played along side of Chet Atkins AND Doc Watkins. Nuf said.

[@martinaxman2033]

Leo=incredible. If you like this, check out his 6&12 String album.

[@jeeperforlife]

Man I miss Texas Connection and American Music Shop

[@jsipflatpickd28]

@Shewolfen His strings aren't fretting out... its definitely your computer, the youtube compression probably cannot run for you. Not Leo's playing at all...

[@sailorbuckobuckley5217]

I saw Leo Katter a few times in Sydney and ont time he was playing at Sydney uni and I went to a great deal of trouble to choose a front row seat to really watch his magical hands . I had very little interest in hearing it , just watching and upon the very first second of his concert and very much to my horror it became very obvious that he had wonderful mike stands that totally blocked the very thing that I wanted to see. And then he played his wonderful music for about a set and a half, got up and left the stage never to return and that was the last time I ever bought a ticket to any of his Australian concerts as i felt so ripped off paying so much for so little entertainment. But, thanks to KZbin it is all there and just as spectacular to watch for free with even more to see than any concert I ever went to He was the man who made playing like this fashionable He doesn’t destroy melody for flashy licks that make no sense like tommy and many others do , he just pumps out rhythm and melody and this makes him my absolute favourite finger style guitarist as he has been for forty years Thanks for you virtuosity mr kottke

[@betsareoff]

He makes a twelve string sound like an orchestra.

[@ecmcsorley2011]

Thank God for LK

[@raccoonlittlebear6476]

I agree. In the hard times of my youth, I would haunt the record stores just waiting for his next album to come out. Between albums I would try to learn some of his songs on guitar. Achieving some success in learning a few of his tunes, the guitar became a close friend & as Leo said "a nervous habit, like biting your nails". God bless Leo.

[@51362879]

Waht kind of tuning is he using anyhow. He's down below EADGBE, drop c maybe?

[@juiceman1965]

completely different style and agenda from Page and Clapton.Not even comparable.

[@shearn666]

The dropped-tuning gives it so much body & warmth. Would be easier to play, too. Combine that with the 12-strings - man, a guitar orchestra, with just one player.

[@peterlloyd5285]

Tuning a 12 string down a full step will also prevent the strings tearing the bridge out of the body and leaving a huge hole in the guitar top. It happened to someone I know in the middle of the night causing terror and confusion in the household. I did warn them.

[@ryan9600]

Thats not boring. As guitarists we are interested in tunings.

[@narrydavis]

ho ho ho!

[@talexb]

Interesting -- I never realized that he tuned down to D flat. And finger-picking a twelve-string? Ridiculous.

[@timmit3579]

I yell at traffic whenever traffic hollers at me to ride my bicycle on the sidewalk!!

[@fouramhq]

@Meleasdaddy He wasn't an insurance salesman. Can you imagine buying life insurance from him.. He was in the Navy though. Subs.

[@letebaguere]

he he he!

[@BrianTruesby]

Kottke's guitar playing sounds at *least* 20 times better than she looks...

[@erox1622]

3:55 i really like that song

[@SpaceFox93]

He uses Heavy Gauge strings. .013 I think.

[@BrianTruesby]

haha!

[@marcosgabrieldaviola]

bom

[@juiceman1965]

correct assumption

[@ZachYoungMusic]

uhm.....2 people need to go yell at traffic

[@ianstukenborg437]

There's a guy that is always standing out smiling and waving at cars on my way to work. I wonder if this song is about him and maybe they put him on some serious drugs to stop his aggressive tendencies...smh

[@sepulchre10]

I don't think they could keep up.

[@narrydavis]

I assume you are joking :)?

[@jadphex]

@Shewolfen Probably your horrible speakers. He's also in C# standard.

[@sniffableandirresistble]

out of tune

[@mrartboy1]

Bored, Bored, Bored !!

[@kenperry4452]

+Mike Jenkins Bored? I suggest then a brain transplant Mr. Jenkins.. Whaadya think? Hmmm...? They're available through the Argentinian's Joseph Mengala Foundation. Maybe you could take a medical holiday.

[@kenperry4452]

+Ken Perry Excuse me sir - i.e. Mengele.