GRAYDON, JAY
Jay Graydon was an allround session-guitarist who introduced Steve Lukather to the session-scene by recommending him to several recording artists.
Graydon explains: "When I first met Steve, he was already a good player. He had all of the necessary styles of playing to be a good studio guitarist.
I was on my way out. I was shining record dates and getting more involved as a record producer, so I just basically gave him a lot of my accounts.
They'd call me up, and I'd say, 'Call Lukather. I'm through.'
This was really a weird thing for a guitar player to do because it is so competitive. When somebody has got their little niche, they don't want to give it up. But it was time for me to split, and the best guy to lay it on was Lukather. The ironic thing was that he didn't really need my help. He was already starting to get known. He was a great player as far as everything. His reading was his weakest thing, like it is mine. But we were well-geared for records. We're the 'feel' guys who could play the solos and parts. He was the perfect guy to be next in line, and he obviously did it."
[...] I met Jay Graydon, and Jay helped me get in the studio scene. He taught me how to get my sound together, and I loved the way he played. He was like => Larry Carlton, but a little more rock and roll. So I stole everything -- as much as I could -- from those guys, along with what I stole from all the classic guys. I sort of threw it up in the air and caught it, and I guess that's basically where I'm at, if I may honor myself by saying I stole from those guys. But I did -- blatantly, as a matter of fact.
(Guitar Player magazine, April 1984)