| The Edge |
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
David Howell Evans |
| Born |
8 August 1961 (1961-08-08) (age 48)
in Barking, London, England |
| Origin |
Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres |
Rock, post-punk, alternative rock |
| Occupations |
Musician, songwriter, activist |
| Instruments |
Guitar, keyboards, vocals, bass guitar |
| Years active |
1976 - present |
| Labels |
Island (1980–2006)
Mercury (2006-present) |
| Associated acts |
U2, Passengers |
| Website |
U2.com |
| Notable instruments |
Gibson Explorer
Fender Stratocaster
Gibson Les Paul
Fender Telecaster
Gibson ES-355 |
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his nickname and stage name The Edge (or simply just Edge),[1] is an Irish musician known best as the guitarist, keyboardist, and main backing vocalist for the Irish rock band U2. His distinctive electric guitar timbre and percussive style of playing, along with his use of digital sound processing — delay in particular — have been instrumental in defining U2's unique sound. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him at #24 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[2]
Biography
David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,[3] East London, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.[4] When he was a year old, his family moved to Malahide in County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St. Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.[5] The band accepted both of them. This band would go through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change[6]). U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.
In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he was persuaded to stay.[5] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.[7] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that was to become "Sunday Bloody Sunday".[5] The Edge married his secondary school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.[8] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie, in 1984, Arran, in 1985, and Blue Angel, in 1989.[7] The Edge and O'Sullivan separated in 1990 but could not divorce due to Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple legally divorced in 1996.[7]
During U2's groundbreaking Zoo TV Tour, The Edge met Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band. The couple began dating in 1993, and had their daughter, Sian, in 1997, and a son, Levi, (October 25, 1999).[7] They were married on 22 June 2002.[7]
Philanthropy
He is currently focusing his humanitarian efforts on Music Rising, a charity that provides musical instruments to those who lost instruments in Hurricane Katrina.
Music
Guitar playing
As a guitar player, The Edge is recognized as having a trademark sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the signature sound of classic VOX AC-30s) that is achieved with extensive use of delay effects, reverb, and a focus on texture and melody. To achieve an "Edge-like" sound, the feedback delay is set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.
1987's The Joshua Tree is probably the best example of the "U2 sound", with songs like "With or Without You" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" being among the band's most critically acclaimed and best loved works. The album was recorded at the height of the 1980s "shred-metal" era but The Edge's guitar playing on it could not be further from the emphasis of the time on technique and speed. The album showcases The Edge's approach to the guitar: rather than trying to push his guitar to the front of the mix and make his contributions obvious, The Edge focuses on the song and the mood, often contributing just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present digital delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style, "I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."[9]
The Edge's guitar technique has been shaped by many different influences. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar, with which his brother Dik Evans and he experimented.[9] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."[9]
The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos. His influence as a guitarist can be heard by acts such as Radiohead, Muse, Coldplay, and other bands of the alternative scene.
Vocals
The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are often in the form of a repeated cry. Examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day" and "New Year's Day". The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".[7] His backing vocals are often in falsetto, such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies". He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday[10]).
Other instruments
He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day" and "The Unforgettable Fire", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song.
Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including most live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.
Solo recordings
In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, and Ronnie Wood.
The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.
He also created the theme song for Season 1 and 2 of The Batman.
Musical equipment
The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar.
Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.
Guitars/keyboards
- The Edge donated his cream Les Paul Custom to an auction to benefit Music Rising.
- Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
- 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Music Rising (Most likely, Edge has more than one of these)
- 1966 Gibson SG Heritage cherry finish. Used live for "Elevation".
- 1966 Gibson SG Pelham blue finish. Backup to the Heritage cherry SG
- Fender Telecaster Blonde finish. Used live for "Vertigo" and "Get on your Boots" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" at times.
- 1996 Fender Telecaster White with matching headstock, pearloid bindings and golden hardware, 40th Anniversary edition, made in Japan. Used live for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on the Elevation en Vertigo tours.
- 1962 Fender Jaguar (Seen in "Electrical Storm" video)
- Rickenbacker 330/12 Fireglow. Used live for "Mysterious Ways" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own."
- Rickenbacker 330/12 Mapleglow. Used live for "Mysterious Ways" on the U2360°TOUR.
- 1963 Gretsch G6122 Country Gentleman
- Gretsch G6117 Double Anniversary Sunburst finish, currently used during the U2360°TOUR for "Moment Of Surrender"
- Gretsch White Falcon Mainly used in the studio and on early TV performances of "Trip Through Your Wires". Not seen on tour. Also seen in the movie "Rattle and Hum" during the song "Desire".
- Line 6 Variax 700 Acoustic (2). One, black with red 'vertigo' circles around the soundhole, was used for "The Fly" during the 'Vertigo' tour in 2005/2006. The other was a silver sparkle model, which was used primarily for "Love and Peace (Or Else), during the 'Vertigo' tour in 2005/2006.
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- 1962 Epiphone Casino tobacco finish
- Epiphone Sheraton
- 2006 Epiphone Standard Music Rising
- Gibson J-200 natural finish
- Gibson J-200 Pete Townshend Model (2) natural finish
- 199x Fernandes Decade Elite (2). One "sea foam" finish. One "orange" finish
- 2001 Fernandes Native Pro. Metallic green finish.
- 2002 Fernandes Retrorocket Elite. Custom black finish. Used for "With Or Without You" because of the sustainer pickup.
- 1997 Gibson ES-175 sparkle blue finish (Bono's) Edge can be seen with this guitar in "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" video.
- Gibson ES-330 tobacco finish
- Gibson ES-335 tobacco finish
- Gibson Sonex-180 Deluxe. Black finish. Used briefly during the summer October festival shows. Soon replaced by the 1975 Gibson Les Paul Custom.
- Gibson Byrdland may have been borrowed. Seen in some Rattle and Hum outtakes pictures and video]
- Washburn/Taylor Acoustics, made famous during the live version of "Party Girl".
- Yamaha CP70 (Keyboard)/Piano: used for "October", "New Year's Day", "Running To Stand Still", "Moment of Surrender", "Original Of The Species."
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When he takes over for bassist Adam Clayton for the song "40", he used the Ibanez Musician in the 1980s and the Lakland Darryl Jones Signature for the more recent Vertigo Tour.
The Gibson Explorer is The Edge's signature instrument; he said of the Explorer in 1982, "I think it's the most distinctive of my guitars. It seems that the body shape affects the sound somehow. It's a very vibrant guitar with lots of treble. I had a Strat that I wasn't that pleased with in those days, and when I was in New York with my parents, I went to some stores to look around. I picked up this secondhand Explorer and played around on it for a while. It was just so naturally good, and it felt right, so I bought it. It was quite cheap as well, about 450 dollars. A lot of people look at it and think it's one of the originals (under 100 of these were made in 1958 and they are very rare) but it's one of the '76 limited edition reissue models."[9]
Amps
- Vox AC30 - his 1964 AC30 has been used to record every single U2 album and has been used for every single concert. He has said in interviews that he owns over thirty AC30's.
- Fender Deluxe Tweed - 1956 with Vox speaker
- Fender Deluxe Tweed - 1958 with Jensen Alnico speaker
- Fender Blues Jr
- Roland JC120
Pedals and Rack
Floorboard
- Boss FV-300L volume pedal
- Dunlop Cry Baby
- Digitech Whammy WH-1
- Skrydstrup SC-1 (foot controller which controls the gear in rack, and the pedals as well.)
Pedals
Rack
See also
References
External links
