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Headline: Kannapolis musician records with iconic guitar By Robin l. Gardner Independent Tribune, Concord, N.C. KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- If there's any mojo locked inside Duane Allman's 1957 Goldtop Les Paul guitar, then local musician Joe Davis wanted to feel it on his fingertips as he glided them over the strings of the vintage instrument. Last month, Davis and fellow musician Garry Harper went into Satellite Studios in Charlotte to record "Skydog Woody," the project he discussed with the Independent Tribune in April, which involves not just Allman's guitar, but also the bass that belonged to Allen Woody, the deceased legendary bass player for the Allman Brothers. The men hoped the two guitars would ignite some magic when played together in the same session. "I believe that certain guitars can unlock certain sounds. I'm a guitar addict -- a guitar junkie," Davis said then. The prospect of playing the guitar used by Allman in some of his greatest recordings, including Derek and the Dominos in 1970 with Eric Clapton, was overwhelming to the Kannapolis musician. This was the guitar whose sounds screamed the pain of unrequited love in one of rocks greatest love songs, "Layla." The biggest question for Davis is what magic this guitar could bring to his recordings. Some of the world's greatest guitarists play with vintage instruments, and Clapton himself said, "The way the guitar is played and handled seems to stay with the guitar, and you inherit that if you're lucky, or aware enough to acknowledge it." "I can hear a lot of the sounds that were on the original Duane Allman recordings. I can match the guitar up to the sounds by the certain noises the guitar made," Davis said. "On the "Skydog Woody" record, you can hear the old sound, the vintage sound. You can definitely hear the guitar has the same sound. The same tones, the same warmth and the same brightness in a lot of the early Allman Brothers albums." Was there something special locked inside the instrument that Allman had left behind? Davis could now answer that question. "Everything came together for this project, very magical. Like it was supposed to be. Every time something looked like it would keep the record from happening, something would come out of nowhere and cure the problem," Davis said. He admits there were some strange things happening once he took possession of the guitar and the bass. "Driving back from Nashville (where the bass is kept by Woody's father), as we drove home, the mp3 player in Garry's car, which has a 4,000 songs on it, was stuck playing Allman Brothers songs the whole way home," Davis said, adding that the mp3 player was on the random setting. Coincidences like that happened all along the way, according to Davis. Finding the money needed for the recording sessions was tough, and almost stopped the project several times, but money always seemed to appear at the crucial moments. "Little things like that kept happening. We'd laugh about it. It was really strange," Davis said. While going for a walk by his home, an elderly woman offered him a peach. "Eat A Peach" was a 1972 double album released by the Allman Brothers. It was the last album Duane Allman recorded with his band before his death. "We've made a very special record. The guitar was absolutely just an incredible guitar to be with, because of the vintage sounds it reproduces," Davis said. The guitar itself was extremely well made in 1957, and has stood the test of time, according to Davis. The material for the record was not complete until Davis hit the studio with the guitars, and the two musicians had only played together once before. "We made the record off the cuff, very much live in the studio. When you hear the record it will just blow your mind," Davis said. "There is easily five hit songs on it." The CD can be purchased on his website, but Davis is currently seeing interest in the record by some major labels like Sony and Warner Brothers. Guitar World Magazine is doing an article on the project and the guitars used for the record. "It was like everything that I needed was provided for me to make this record. Everything magically came together," Davis said. To hear tracks from "Skydog Woody" or to purchase the CD, go to: www.thejoedavisband.com/skydogwoody.html.