Q&A; with MICHAEL HEDGES : ‘Volcano Guitar . . . Music Erupting’

In the mild-mannered world of the solo acoustic guitar, Michael Hedges is a gadfly--albeit a gentle one, with an ear for pretty tones and chords. He doesn’t so much sit and politely play guitar as he pounces, striking the strings with his right hand to set off ringing harmonics or pounding out rhythms on the body of the guitar.

A transplanted Oklahoman, Hedges landed in the Bay Area at the right time, just as Windham Hill Records was making acoustic music safe for the masses. Fifteen years later, Hedges is finishing his seventh album for the label and has carved out a niche in the acoustic scene as a kind of rebel folkie. He’s also just opened a home page on the World Wide Web, accessible to Internet users at https://www.globalartists.com/hedges/.

In a phone interview, the introspective-yet-wry musician, who plays tonight at the Coach House, spoke of volcanic energy, the guitar-as-object and the dangers of life on the road.

“Once you get into the rhythm of touring,” he said, “it’s great, and it’s nice to get good feedback and all that, but you might miss something if you keep on the move. It’s nice to stew a little bit and wait for that eruption.”

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Question: Acoustic guitar appreciation seems to wax and wane with the years. Do you have any sense about the status of that scene at the moment?

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Answer: I don’t have a sense of it. I know that the whole “unplugged” idea has been important to the recording industry’s economic workings. What you say is true--it waxes and wanes. Pretty soon the “unplugged” thing will go away, and there will be something else.

It has disturbed me a little bit, because, shoot, I’ve always been unplugged. This is just marketing, and I tend to shy away from marketing. It’s not that I don’t want to sell records. It’s just that, in my pursuit of happiness and art, it doesn’t have a place.

Q: And are you preparing an album at the moment?

A: Yeah, it’s called “Torched.” It used to be called “Phoenix Fire,” but that just wasn’t right for a whole record. To me, “Phoenix Fire” implies transformation, and that’s a big part of this record. [That phrase] kept propelling it to a certain point, and then I thought, “Well, shoot, I want something real simple and direct and monosyllabic.” So I got into this new thing.

I’m calling it volcano guitar, or magma guitar, something like that. The metaphor would be that my soul is on fire, and here comes some music, erupting out. I like believing that everything is connected up. I just got a photo from this guy in Hawaii, a big meter-by-meter photograph of lava coming out of this big crater. I stuck it on my wall.

Q: In your playing, you focus on the lyricism of the instrument, and yet you also attack and bang on the thing, bringing out its physicality.

A: Yeah, the guitar can be very lyrical, but it’s a percussion instrument, as well. You strike it. If you don’t have a drummer, I think it’s important to include a lot of rhythm, not that rhythm has to be explosive. . . . That’s what I’m working on with my yoga. In Chinese yoga, you study earth energy, fire energy, metal and wood. I couldn’t understand metal, and then this volcano image came to me and I thought, “Oh yeah, metal transforms into fluid at the Earth’s core.” . . . I think the music will reflect new awareness that I cultivate.

Q: You’ve always had this exploratory attitude toward the instrument, between striking the instrument in new ways and using odd tunings. Have you found your language by now, or does it continue to evolve?

A: Every once in awhile I say to myself, “How many angles can you hit this thing from?” Somehow, it just keeps opening up. This time, out on the road, I have a harp guitar--a black thing with sharp angles. I’ve named it Darth Vader. The first harp guitar I had was very feminine. . . . I’ve found a new instrument. That helps. You get an instrument that is a little strange, and you explore it, get to know it. That helps me with finding new ways to perform and write music.

Plus, doing yoga and playing other instruments--the flute and piano--help me to keep the guitar fresh. You’re playing the guitar and you’re playing the guitar, and pretty soon you might get attached to it. If you’re blowing air into the guitar, it feels different. If I play the flute for a couple of hours and then go to the guitar, my flute mind makes love to the guitar. Or it could be something like cooking.

It’s open, you see. As long as you keep open, I think the instrument will stay open. The instrument is an instrument.

Q: You don’t come across as someone who set out deliberately to become a professional musician. Is that true?

A: Yeah. If I did, then my music would say that. People would get that. I see no reason to communicate that desire. I would rather say “Here I am. Ain’t life grand. Hear it?”

* Michael Hedges plays tonight at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $16.50. (714) 496-8930.