"Nobody in this band is into the guitar hero thing," says Jars of Clay guitarist Stephen Mason. "In fact, I joke that I learned how to play lead guitar on this record."

Despite the self-effacing humor, Mason and co-guitarist Matt Odmark are hardly musical neophytes. Formed from casual songwriting sessions and party gigs, Jars of Clay eventually scored a major-label deal, worked their debut and sophomore releases to multi-platinum status, and toured with the likes of Sting and Matchbox 20. But both guitarists credit Dennis Herring, producer of the band's new release, If I Left the Zoo [Essential/Silvertone], with expanding their creative horizons.

"He really slowed us down," explains Odmark. "And he encouraged us to work the songs until every part made sense. It was frustrating sometimes, but it took things to a completely different level, and Steve and I both grew a lot as guitar players."

"Dennis said he couldn't tell who was playing what on our second album," adds Mason, "so he pushed everyone to have more personality on their instruments. He got me to play things I never would have thought of. For example, it was his idea that I play the lap-steel part on 'Grace" through a wah pedal. The part is a direct reference from John Lennon's Walls and Bridges album."

During the recording of If I Left the Zoo, Odmark's arsenal included his cherished '53 000 Martin and several Taylor acoustics-his longtime favorite being a grand auditorium-size 514 cutaway with mahogany sides and a cedar top. ("It's not overly bright, which works best for my type of playing," he explains.) Fishman pickups with Active Matrix preamps are installed on all but one of Odmark's acoustics--he copped the glassy strums on "Famous Last Words" with a Langejan flat-top fitted with an L.R. Baggs pickup.

"On the record, you're usually hearing me play a Gibson Les Paul Custom through a 30-watt Matchless Chieftain," says Mason. "Although I used a little Martin Backpacker for 'Goodbye, Goodnight.' On stage, I run a '50s Fender Strat reissue into a MXR Dyna Comp, a Mesa/Boogie V-Twin pedal, and the Matchless. I route the amp's effects send to a Leslie preamp and cabinet, and I blend the Leslie with the amp sound using an Ernie Ball volume pedal. I also have a couple of Gretsch Anniversary models-a '60 and a '69-a few old Kays, some Taylor acoustics, and a '39 Epiphone Electar lap steel."

For Odmark, the detailed production approach for Zoo inspired a return to his songwriting roots, rather than an obsession with studio technology. "I thought more about how I could make my parts fit the song," he says, "This band started with songwriting-and I'm still a strummy, singer/songwriter kind of guitar player. Neither of us is trained or as technically proficient as someone from GIT, so we're forced to make the guitars speak in more subtle ways. I'll fuss around with a chord pattern-then try a different tuning or strap on a capo-and an idea will crop up that turns into a song. Tone has a big effect, too. If I compose something on a certain guitar, I pretty much stick with that instrument for the record."

Zoo's most forceful song, "Collide," offers a compendium of each guitarist's style and technique; syncopated acoustic rhythms (Odmark) anchored by overdriven electric lines (Mason) that support or add counterpoint to the vocal melody.

"I added lap steel to that song too," says Mason. "Dennis had it running through an Echoplex. It was stupidly loud in the hallway where we set up the amp, but when we recorded the part, it didn't seem like it was cutting through the mix. When we finished the song, however, I discovered the part wasn't supposed to cut through-it was designed to support the other tracks. The fact that a great song arrangement is much more than the sum of its parts was something we learned constantly while making this record. Everything you play must work together to serve the lead vocal."*

*Article transcribed from Guitar Player Magazine, March 2000 issue, pages 39 and 44.