Guitar hero Eric Johnson plays in Beaver Creek

VAIL — Not many guitarists could claim the crown of “greatest living guitarist in the world” and get away with it, but Eric Johnson is certainly one of a few crown princes. The Texan axeman gets wide praise from both other players and press as a master of the instrument, both technically and melodically. His album “Ah Via Musicom” broke down walls for instrumental rock, and the lead single “Cliffs of Dover” won a Grammy.

Johnson regularly joins forces with other guitarists Steve Vai and Joe Satriani to tour as G3, but Johnson stands out for his sense of melody and his rich, violin-like guitar tone. On the heels of his recent album “Bloom,” Johnson spoke to us before his performance at the Vilar Performing Arts Center on Thursday night.

Ted Alvarez: Often, long periods of time pass beween your album releases — sometimes as much as six or seven years. Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?

Eric Johnson: Yes, and I think a lot of that is too my own detriment. I think I just want to naturally get a bit more efficient or productive. I don’t want to do it artificially, where you lose the integrity; I just want to naturally speed the (recording) process up. The natural way to do that is to move on (by) trying to realize one piece of music the best you can. Not every piece is going to be the Mona Lisa. Whether you spend a year or a day, it’s going to be the case. Just do your best. Not every one will be right — it’s a new philosophy I’m working on.

TA: So can we expect a new release soon? Word on the street is you might put together an acoustic album.

EJ: An acoustic album is something I’ve put on the backburner for a while, but I’ve made a number of demos, and I definitely want to do that whole set of music. I’d love to do that.

Last month we went into the studio and caught some basic tracks, so I’ll get home and finish that up. The music is a little different — I’ve been playing a lot of the new music and getting a good response. Most of the set is new music, with a few songs people know. It’s a little more honest and organic — I’m playing from kind of where I feel I naturally reside at rather than thinking too much about it.

TA: You’re often praised for your “restraint” when playing your songs; where a lot of other guitar virtuosos might veer off the rails into endlessly technical solos, you keep a lot of focus on the melody. Is it tough to do that sometimes, knowing you’ve g

EJ: The records are sometimes too safe, and live can be too adventurous — a middle point makes sense. I try to — but don’t always succeed — in keeping all those aspects in balance. What I like a little more is a guitar with a really great sound. You have a musical vessel that you can fill with whatever you want; you can orchestrate it however you want. But if song is good enough, that should be enough. If it breaks the container, you don’t have much but something to comment on. Statistically, you can make a comment on that but there’s not much emotion to just powerful guitar.

TA: You grew up and still live in Austin, a town famous for its music scene. Do you go out a lot to check out new music? Who are some of your current faves?

EJ: Sure, absolutely. I’ll go out and sit in and play sometimes, or I’ll just go listen if I’ve heard of someone who’s good. Every month someone new pops up in town.

Right now, I like Charlie Hunter, Pat Metheny, lots of guys. There’s a guy touring named Tucker Roundtree; he’s an up-and-coming player, and he’s really good. I enjoyed his playing.

TA: In this country, it seems difficult for instrumental pop music to break through to the mainstream, but you’ve done it before. Why do people think of instrumental rock as less engaging?

EJ: I think ultimately the responsibility is in my department to get past all that — if that’s the case, well, then I’ve got to write music that’s strong and meaningful enough to dispel that stigma. I know that when I sit down to listen to a batch of new music, my mind wants to compartmentalize artists. ‘Oh I see his bag, this is what he does.’ I already compartmentalize — it’s a natural tendency. But you just have to have something that’s strong (to fight that). Pay attention to songwriting and make it as strong as you can, make it honest and with more conviction. If it has more prominence that way, it shakes people out of that compartmentalization thing. But it’s not always that easy.

TA: Where’s the next mainstream breakthrough in instrumental rock?

EJ: It was a little bit easier 10 or 15 years ago. It’s going to have to be something pretty significant, with a really refreshing or original twist. Nothing’s completely new, but there are ways to make it fresher. The way most radio programming goes, it’s hard. That I’ve been able to sustain something is really lucky. I’ve tried to think about the song within the music. That’s helped me in a lot of times, rather than banging out an instrumental that didn’t have a song attached to it.

TA: You’re known for collaborating with lots of people and even doing some session guitar work. Who would you like to work with that you haven’t worked with yet?

EJ: I’d love to work with a lot of people — I love Stevie Wonder. I’d love to work with him, or offbeat things like Neil Young. Any situation that’s musically challenging, I love to add something to it and support somebdy. I really enjoy that supportive role where I can infuse some kind of artistic support into something.

Arts & Entertainment writer Ted Alvarez can be reached at 748-2939 or talvarez@vaildaily.com.

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