Jennifer Batten Interview & masterclass

After 30 years on the road, Jennifer found time away from her deliriously busy touring schedule to talk to Dave Mead about her musical life, and deliver a masterclass that is a technique thriller!

- Dave Mead

Jennifer Batten’s continent-hopping career means her diary is always full: a clinic tour here, her renowned solo show there and, recently, she’s found herself in demand from Michael Jackson tribute acts, having toured with the man himself for 10 years back in the 80s and 90s.

“Yes, I’ve done so many different things,” she tells us as we settle down in the GT studio. “It’s like you never know; when you wake up, there can be an email that shows up and I go, ‘Okay. Well, that’s what I’m doing in March.’”

Spending so much time travelling has meant that she has refined her gear to be flight-friendly – we were impressed by the fact she knows the weight of everything she takes with her on tour. As an example she points to her Boss FV-50 volume pedal and says, “It weighs 1lb. It’s plastic and if it breaks I’ll just buy another one. You know, weight is everything when you travel.”

In clinics around the world she’ll spend a while detailing to guitar hopefuls all the unexpected trauma of touring, such as “broken guitars and missing luggage, and the ‘not joys’ of travel”. All the stresses and strains of the modern-day itinerant minstrel aside, the clinics bring together Jennifer’s vast and impressive experience.