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Varley: Boy, Slade, you know how to ask
the difficult ones! For longevity, I would have to say Jimmy Buffet. It
wasn’t until this year, that he has won an award for any of his music -
yet, he’s always been there, making the scene and plowing ahead with his
career. Amazing... Then, we have the Rolling Stones! Johnny Depp tailoring
his character in Pirates (of the Caribbean) after Keith Richards - now
there’s longevity, mate!
Varley:Reporter: What do you think are the major
differences between ETA: Mañana and your first album, Sunemployment?
Varley: Man, you’re not cutting me any
slack here, are you? Let’s see. Sunemployment was a lot of fun to make
and I was really happy with the way it came out, but it was a first
attempt. I’ve grown, musically, since then and I think that shows in ETA:
Mañana. I think my writing has matured a bit, and I think that shows. I
also feel that “Mañana” has a more crisp presentation than “Sun”.
Reporter: Right now you’re touring on the
West Coast. Do you have plans to start touring the Midwest, the East
Coast, or even way south?
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Varley: My road guitars are Takamine. I
have a nice limited edition model (2001), which is a mini-jumbo body
(solid spruce top/rosewood back and sides); featuring a rosette of
dolphins and a dolphin inlay on the 12th fret - very sweet guitar. Other
than that, it’s the F-360s and the F-340s. My strings are D’Addario
EJ-16's (light gauge). I like the playability and tone. They get changed
constantly, so longevity isn’t a factor.
Reporter: What are your plans for the
future?
Varley: To build a solid music career;
and cruise Mexico and the Caribbean on my own boat. And, lest we forget -
learn how to fly!
Reporter: Tell me about your last sail.
Do you still have Escapade?

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Varley: The East Coast has been beckoning! It is time to get to
the “other coast” and make it happen. Primarily, it has been logistics and
time that has prevented the trip. (I have to go sailing in the winter!)
Reporter: When did you play in public for the first time and
how did you feel about it?
Varley: Not too long ago - it was about
1996. Definitely nervous, but I pulled it off somehow...It still gets to
me sometimes and amazingly, the smaller the crowd, the more intimidating.
Go figure that one out! It’s amazing, but true! (Like the night at the
Paradise Found!)
Reporter: What kind of guitar and strings do
you use?

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Varley: I went for a sail on my Catalina,
Escapade, on Labor Day. I took a friend of mine from the United States
Coast Guard; he’s never been sailing. It was light, only 15 - 20 knots,
and the day was perfect! My little boat has missed me most of this season!
Reporter: Do you have a favorite anecdote
about Baja that you’d like to share?
Varley: Baja anecdote: Well there was the
night that you and I teamed up with Tomas Z., Clark, Selene and the rest of
the Paradise Found gang and we…well, maybe we shouldn’t talk about that
night after all.
Reporter: Thanks for your discretion on
that. Now, I’ve heard that you have a new website?
Varley: Oh, right it’s
www.tomvarley.com You can keep track of my tour schedule, see lots of
cool pictures, and of course order my CD’s. I’ll also be adding hats,
t-shirts and that type of thing really soon. You should check it out.
Our thanks to Slade Ogletree for his fine work on
this interview. Slade is one of our original ten viewers who finally
signed up as an Insider Subscriber
last week!
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