#and how anything basically can be a distortion pedal or amp

[webvampzz]

how i feel when i ramble about my interests

[thetonecontrol]

Interview with Electronic Audio Experiments

Righteous Ryan: When did you decide to become a builder and what motivated you to do so?

Electronic Audio Experiments: Even before I taught myself how to play the guitar I was always interested in what makes instruments work, so naturally I was a pedal nerd as soon as I learned what they were. After studying electronics for fun on the side (took a couple extra courses during undergrad and then read books on my own) it became a natural progression of my interests to start tinkering with my own. I did a few tagboard clone builds before I realized I wanted to have more control over the design process. And that's still my primary motivation: I love the design process with all of its challenges and room for artistic decisions.

EAE as a company formally started in approximately winter/spring of 2015. In February of that year, Boston was slammed over 5 feet of snow. I spent a lot of time in my crummy basement apartment eating frozen pizzas and breadboarding what would eventually become the Longsword V1. I used it on a couple records I was a part of (Perfect Moments by Tiny Fractures and the Native Wildlife s/t - both on bandcamp, for the curious) and that generated enough interest to do a release that summer. The rest has been a whirlwind!

RR: What motivates you to create original circuits?

EAE: Short answer - it's really satisfying to me, basically my favorite pastime.

Longer answer - I love the challenge of making something from scratch that hopefully lets my personality come through. I should qualify; I am not reinventing any wheels here. Designing "from scratch" is like building something out of legos. You can't really design new pieces (which leads some of the more cynical folks out there to say there's nothing new under the sun) but there are lots of building blocks and lots of ways to arrange them. The artistic merit is in the details, and the fun is in the thrill of the chase. It's an obsessive process but endlessly gratifying.

RR: Are you currently working on anything new?

EAE: Oh god, too many things. Here's a sampling:

Halberd - this is a drive which started as the preamp block of Sending, but heavily mutated into its own thing. It features pronounced treble attack/clarity, stupidly high output, and a strong second harmonic response. Been "finalizing" it for a while but I'm trying my damnedest to release it this summer. (If you want to hear a rough demo of an earlier iteration, check this video out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpGgzl3lOgs)

Sending V2 - I'm trying to add some features while I do an SMD conversion - mostly modulation and CV control over delay time. Currently on the back burner while I get the Halberd sorted out.

Hypersleep - this is my weird multi-tap chorus/vibrato/reverb-ish thing (nb: this is also in Ian's video linked above). It's also on the back burner while I get the Halberd sorted out. I really want to put it to production but it depends fully on whether I can source enough MN3011 BBDs to make it happen. If I can get enough to build 50 I'll do a limited run, but I'd really prefer to do 100 if at all possible... so we shall see what happens.

Super secret collab with Electrofoods Pedals - stay tuned, I am very excited

Surveyor - IVP side of the Dude Incredible, will be released later this year. It's ready to rock.

Various contract designs - Caroline Somersault (just wrapped up), Caroline Megabyte (working on the second round of prototypes), Dunable Eidolon (close to done, just needs some code fixes), another 2 or 3 projects all TBA.

RR: What is your design process like?

EAE: Whenever I design something new I have to answer two questions. 1) does it exist already? and 2) does it address a need or want in my own sonic pursuits? For instance, drive pedals will reflect my tone in whatever band I'm currently in. If it's already been done I can go buy it. If it hasn't been done then the work can begin.

If the design is simple or contains simple building blocks I often go straight to the circuit board layout and if necessary, debug from there. I can often turn a project around pretty quick if that's the case. If I'm not sure whether or not a building block will work, I can try simulating or breadboarding. Circuit simulation is extremely powerful but requires interpretation of the results, which also sometimes differ from reality. Breadboarding is great for audible characterization of a new idea, but the added parasitic capacitances can dramatically alter the frequency response of a circuit - especially a high gain drive or something with lots of complex filters. So there's usually a loop of steps where I move between a breadboard, circuit simulations, and a working prototype until everything works out. Sometimes I just have to resort to plain old math to get what I want.

The first pass of design is a go/no-go check. Does it work? Once it does, I refine it until it can produce sounds I truly like. This is also the step where I do the most work to address noise, oscillation, unwanted artifacts, etc. The final step is to identify which controls I want to keep, and then I determine the tapers/ranges of those controls.

Once there's a working prototype I do extensive beta testing with friends, local musicians and engineers, etc. When testing at home I can lose sight of how good (or not good) a prototype sounds. So a sanity check helps! Once this feedback is incorporated into the process we can go to production. At that point we get the artwork done and start working with our local SMD shop to get boards going.

RR: What's your setup (guitar, amps, pedalboard)?

EAE: I've been awful about maintaining a static setup. I realized that when you're not in a band you can just buy whatever sounds good instead of worrying about serving a song or particular mix. I have a wide assortment of guitars and amps that I use to test pedals during the R&D phase but listing those won't really tell you a coherent story. BUT I started a new band and we're tracking a record (we just did guitars + drums at GodCity) so I can tell you all about the gear I used for that. It's a post-metal sort of outfit so there are lots of heavy sounds but lots of unique mid-gain tones as well. This is also a great chance to plug some work by my friends...

Guitars - Travis Bean TB1000S, which is essentially vintage correct after some restoration work at Electrical Guitar Company (new bridge + pickups). Sounds like a piano. A very angry piano.

My very heavily modified Classic Player Jazzmaster with EGC JM500 pickups and a Robot Graves neck. It can do pristine, chimey cleans or a savage clang depending how much gain you use.

Amps - Traynor YBA1 MKII - Basically a marshall-ish amp with really big transformers. I modded the preamp to roughly superlead specs, but it's got way more bandwidth than a typical marshall.

Traynor YBA3 - not mine, lives at GodCity. Was extensively modified by my friend Scot from SnK pedals, who is also a gifted amp tech. It's loud and clean with a sound that's almost like an ampeg.

For cabs we mostly used an emperor 6x12 with an assortment of speakers. The mic was placed on a Texas Heat.

For my own use I have a pair of Joe's TL806 cabs (Thiele 1x12 design) with EVM12Ls.

Pedals - Halberd proto - great for slamming tube amps!

Electrofoods Oprichniki - the highest gain big muff variant around. I don't even know if it should be called a muff variant because of how twisted and souped up the circuit is. It is an absolute beast.

Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler - another extraordinarily high gain fuzz which sounds like absolutely nothing I've ever heard. It's a nice contrast to the more scooped flavor of the Oprich.

SnK VHD - a high gain distortion, used extensively for lead parts especially. Super tight and clear.

Sending V1-ish prototype - also has a tone control. It works ok I guess. Still very much a work in progress!

Lastgasp Misty Cave - weird drone-y reverb/flange thing? Hard to describe. Sounds heavenly.

Hypersleep proto - for room-ish reverb

Red Panda Tensor - Used for a particularly glitchy "solo"

Dirge Slowly Melting - I saw the end of the world, and it was terrifying

Lots of other stuff - I forgot!

Other - Yamaha FX500. The ultimate digital pad machine.

Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo - my drummer owns this, holy hell it is magic

My modular synth - a whole goddamn mess of its own

[pedalfuzz]

The Sea And Cake

The Sea And Cake have been making elegant, assured, and singularly unique music for over two decades. The band is made up of a who’s who of Chicago experimental/indie/jazz/post-everything musicians that include Sam Prekop, Archer Prewitt, and John Mcentire.

Their latest album on Thrill Jockey Records is Any Day. Sam Prekop (singer, guitarist) sat down to talk with Pedal Fuzz about writing and recording the record, just after a soundcheck in Durham, NC, ahead of their performance at The Pinhook.

 Pedal Fuzz: Your Last album Runner came out in 2012. When did you start working on the songs that would make up Any Day?

Sam Prekop: So it was probably February 2017. Got a bit of a slow start I guess. I started actively playing guitar for that mainly on my acoustic, roaming around my house cooking dinner for the kids. Strumming the guitar, getting it together kind of. And then Archer Prewitt (guitar) and I spent a fair amount of time together before John McEntire (drums) showed up. And then the three of us rehearsed at the practice space for probably about a week with the new material. And then we went into the studio to record the basic tracks.

PF: Is that generally how it's worked in the past, you starting just with the guitar then bringing everyone else in?

SP: So Archer and I spend a lot of time without drums to work out the intricacies of the arrangements. Of course John contributes as well, but to get the ball rolling usually I start, get the basic gist of it, and then I have Archer come in. There's a few songs on the new record that Archer and I came up with just sort of messing around improvising and stuff. So it happens that way as well. "Any Day," the title track comes out of that, and also the last song "These Falling Arms."

PF: Did you record in John’s studio, Soma Studios?

SP: His studio in flux now because he moved to California. So it was different in that regard, so we used a different studio in Chicago. He had already moved right around the time I started working on the guitar stuff.

PF: So did you track in two locations, or just go out there to L.A. and track?

SP: We never made it to L.A. actually. The original plan was to go and mix it and finish it in L.A. And John moved to L.A. but then he bought a house more northern, east of San Francisco. So that kind of threw our plans for a loop a little bit. So John would mix, and then he would send us the files and we would give input on it.

PF: As far as the songwriting. how collaborative does it get once everybody else joins in? By that point do you already have the structure set, or is there room for change?

SP: So when we have the basic tracks, it can still change because I haven't done any singing yet. So I get the basic tracks into my home studio - and I have been doing it this way for a while where I record the vocals at home and mix them later with John. So I spent quite a bit of time writing and singing and recording the vocals on my own basically. I spent more time doing that this time around than other records I would say. I'm not sure why, I think I just found myself with more time.

There were a few setbacks. One was how we thought the studio would be ready in time, so we were kind of waiting for it. Things were hinging on different factors as we were working, so I wound up like, “OK, I have another month to do other stuff,” and so I ended up redoing a lot of things this time around which was good. I think because I got a little bit of time away from what I had done, I got a slight amount of perspective. I could discover that it could be better if I tried to rewrite certain lines or words.

PF: Was it mostly lyrics and vocals you were changing, or other elements?

SP: Sometimes it was just the delivery of it, like I can sort of get more out of the performance. Other times it might be some slight adjustments to the words, or rhythm things, but usually it was that I felt like I could inhabit these vocals more...not intense exactly, but just be more familiar with them. Just to be able to really perform the song.

PF: That's something striking about the record too, it kicks right off with the vocals.

SP: I know - this is the most vocal-centric record of all, and when rehearsing for this tour and playing some older stuff I'm like, "Oh my god I hardly sing at all in long spots." And I have to say the shows have been quite the vocal workout. It's an hour and a half show and I'm singing the whole time. I'm quite burnt by the end.

PF: Are you having to come up with like a honey/lemon regimen?

SP: I should maybe! It's getting better, you know. So this will be maybe our seventh show tonight, and each night it's getting a little easier. It depends on if the monitoring is good and if the sound is good on stage. If I have to over-sing, that's a problem, and sometimes that's the case if I don't hear it properly.

PF: It seems that on this album, compared to some older songs like "The Argument" or even "Harps" from the last record, there's less electronic elements. It has much more of a band feel. How did you decide that was going to be the vibe this time?

SP: Well, usually with these things the project tells you what it wants as you're working on it. I feel like my job is to pay attention as much as possible to what the material is leading you towards. So I didn't start out like, "Oh this should be a super vocal-heavy record and it should be all about that." So as it was leaning in that direction, it seemed like there was just less room for electronic stuff. And I think I think there would have been more of that if we had been in the studio together during the overdub process - which we had planned, but didn't quite happen because of logistics. So that's also part of the reason I think.

PF: Let's talk about gear a little bit. What guitar and amp are you using on the record?

SP: So I started writing on my acoustic. It's a pretty old beat up Martin 000-17. It's a Mahogany, small body kind of deal. And so I write a lot on that. I've never played it live and I don't plan on it - too many problems involved with drums and stuff.

And my main guitar is not actually a Fender Telecaster, though it looks like one. I got it maybe 15 years ago. It was built by Greenwich Village Custom Guitars (GVCG). It's sort of a legendary builder (Jonathan Wilson) which I didn't know at the time. But as soon as I tried it I'm like, "This is my guitar." So that's been my main guitar for a while.

And I use a Fender Bassman amp - but it's not actually a Fender. It's made by Victoria Amp Company out of Chicago (Victoria 45410 Tweed, modeled after a 1959 Bassman). And I've been using that for a long time as well, at least 10 or so years.

PF: What do you like about the Victoria?

SP: It sounds very acoustic. Not like an acoustic guitar, but the sound of the wooden box is very forward in a way. It feels very lively and unveiled in a way that feels very direct. It's very responsive to the way you play, very quick and responsive. There's no reverb or anything, it's a very direct, classic amp design. I imagine it's probably pretty simple. It's designed originally for bass players but it works really well as a guitar amp.

PF: And are you putting anything between the guitar and the amp?

SP: Yeah, I have a few BJFEE pedals, from Norway. Björn Juhl made them, he went on to design Mad Professor pedals. I have one that’s a very subtle overdrive I use all the time called the Honey Bee. And a BJFE EQ pedal (Sea Blue EQ) that’s amazing. I also have a Mad Professor Deep Blue delay pedal I use for a little color – I’m not big on changing my sound per song very much.

PF: You have a very crisp, but full, clean sound.

SP: On the song “Color The Mountain,” I play some pretty distorted guitar. On that I use this Swedish Himmelstrutz Fetto Nord 70 distortion pedal I’ve had a long time. But I don’t use it much.

PF: You’re in a band with people that are in so many other bands, and so many different collaborations. Does that become difficult for everyone to juggle what they have going on?

SP: There’s no real difficulty. That’s why there’s sometimes longer breaks in-between records. So Tortoise had a record in-between, so that was about two years of the lag time. I also make solo records and usually tour on those. No problems really, it’s just a matter of making the plan and it works out.

EDDIE GARCIA PLAYS GUITAR AND ALL THE PEDALS AS 1970S FILM STOCK. YOU CAN ALSO HEAR HIM REPORTING ON NPR AFFILIATE 88.5 WFDD IN WINSTON-SALEM, NC. IN THE WEE HOURS HE RUNS PEDAL FUZZ, WHICH IS A PROUD RECIPIENT OF A GRANT FROM THE ARTS ENTERPRISE LAB / KENAN INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS. 

[callmeblake]

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st 2017

Despite the stereotypical Scottish weather, fans of all ages settled in outside Edinburgh’s La Belle Angele last week in anticipation for the nights lineup. Frank Iero and the Patience return to the UK alongside Homeless Gospel Choir, Paceshifters and Dave Haus And The Mermaid in support of September’s Keep The Coffins Coming EP. I sat down with Frank before he took the stage on Wednesday to talk about the release, family life, and answer some of your questions.

M.E: You are right in the centre of your UK tour alongside The Homeless Gospel Choir and Paceshifters. How does it feel? Frank: It’s great, yeah. I mean, I feel like when you come out from the states on tour, there’s usually a threshold, right? I think that three and a half, four weeks is where you’re feeling strong, but when you hit the fifth week that’s when things start to, like, “Oh my God”.

M.E: You start to miss home and go a little crazy? 

Frank: Yeah, but I think the way to combat that is to surround yourself with people and bands that you like.

M.E: I noticed that with Homeless Gospel Choir, you guys are with them constantly! Frank: That’s the thing, you know? Having Derek around and having Dave and the mermaid around; I mean, we just met Paceshifters but they’re amazing, really really nice guys, so, I have to tell you that, that helps. When you have someone that’s just a jerk, it really brings the rest of the tour down, you know? So we’ve been really lucky, so knock on wood.

M.E: You released the new EP, Keep The Coffins Coming almost a month ago now; how are you feeling about the response from fans?

Frank: It’s been amazing. I mean, I didn’t expect that much attention around it because when we did the recording, I just did it for me, you know? And I didn’t know if it would ever see the light of day. I heard it was going to come out and it was like “Whoa, that’s amazing; people that really care are going to see the bridge between the two records,” and that’s awesome. It’s a session that I am in love with and I had a lot of fun doing, and looked forward to dong since I was, like, fuckin’ eleven, and then all of a sudden it came out and people were really enjoying it, and that makes you feel even better about it. M.E: So, fans are going crazy for the new stuff? Yeah! It’s fun, there were songs like “Best Friends Forever”. M.E: Ah, I remember when that music video came out, it’s real sweet. That’s the thing, right? We did that and people knew it, but the way we do it live is a little bit different and I think that it threw people through a loop a little bit to hear the live version because they were so familiar with the original. So, now to have the live version recorded and out there, too, kids really knew where certain segments happen and they’re bouncing off of that version of the song, so that’s awesome.

M.E: Do you have a favourite track from the EP? Frank: I guess best friends, I mean, that song holds a special place in my heart and the fact that my kids kind of approved it, too, they were like “Yeah, that’s pretty good”. M.E: What age are they now?! Well, the girls are seven, and Miles is five.

M.E: What were you listening to right now, and what were you listening to writing the record? Frank: Oh man, just right now, I was listening to new Weezer songs, which are phenomenal. The Paceshifters record just came out, I think that’s a fantastic record. The new Homeless Gospel Choir record is amazing. The new Culture Abuse single, I guess it’s old now, but I love that. The new Liam Gallagher, we like!

M.E: I feel like, despite being a frontman where a lot of people focus on your vocals, you manage to make every project you’ve been involved with so far (MCR, Death Spells, LeATHERMOUTH) sound so different. How does it feel to play with so many different genres in that way? Frank: Yeah, I think it’s because I just love making music so much and I enjoy so many different types of music that it kind of just makes sense to branch out and make things with different people and try different, new things. It keeps me interested and keeps me inspired, I like to have so many different projects because I feel like if I hit a wall with something else, like, a creative wall, I can go to something else that opens up my head and opens doors, you know?

M.E: How does having a family back home change the approach to touring and live performance, and all of those things? Frank: It’s harder, you definitely get more homesick, and you try to tour smarter as opposed to harder, but it’s one of those things where I think you have to have really understanding loved ones, that, you know? M.E:That appreciate what you’re doing? Yeah, and that get that you’re doing it for the best for everybody.

M.E What is the first thing you’re going to do when you get home? Frank: Spend time with my kids, the girls are in soccer right now so I want to try to get to a soccer game.

@kayleighewing_ asked: What made you decide to do full Scotland dates, like Aberdeen and Edinburgh, whereas most people will focus solely on Glasgow? It’s very much appreciated. Frank: I think because, after this UK run, we have a couple more shows for the rest of this year and then I’m going to take some time off. I think it was important for me to try to hit as many places as humanly possible, we’ve always had really great Scotland shows and it’s fun to go to new cities and play new venues that we’ve never played before.

How do you keep yourself busy/stop yourself from getting bored on tour? Well, usually you have a lot of things during the day, but also, there is a lot of “hurry up and wait” kind of stuff. We take a lot of walks and see as much of the city as we possibly can. You’re good here, then! There’s a lot of history in Edinburgh. Yeah, I think it’s really inspiring to get to walk around and look at things. I mean, where I come from everything is very new, so you feel the history in a city like this, and I think that kinds helps remind you, in my job, how much bigger the world is than just your view.

Gaby and @aya_lmao asked: How do you feel about so many people being dedicated enough to follow a tour and travel as far as they do to see you play? The queue outside is crazy tonight. Yeah? Man, it’s amazing. I feel very lucky to have that type of fan base and those type of people that care that much to want to come to multiple shows, and stay and come early and wait, and see all of the bands on the tour. That means a lot. You feel that support, you feel that love, and that makes you want to put on a good show every night for them. I know a lot of people have fanbases that aren’t that dedicated and I feel very blessed to have that, it’s amazing.

@penceyprick asked: What were your favourite pedals and amps to use on “Parachutes”? On “Parachutes”, I used a Fender Tone Master, head, mostly. I think some of the clean tones are through a VOX AC30, and the main distorted tone is a Keeley modded Blues Driver, and sometimes I’ll have a chorus and a reverb kind of going through that as well, so, you always have that little open weave. There’s a little bit of tremolo on there, I use the boss tremolo, the green one, and… I’m trying to think! There’s a little bit of memory man in there in some parts, but the main tone is the Fender Tone Master with the Keeley modded boss Blue Driver.

How do you manage to get through days when you experience creative blocks? Do you have any methods to overcome those moments? Honestly, I like to keep multiple projects going where I can jump back and forth and really explore other options and different musical stylings, that really helps. Sometimes you just have to know when to bust through the block and when kind of just leave it alone. Sometimes just living your life is a good way to get around that block.

@pussyliquorband asked: Any advice for new bands starting out? Just don’t be full of shit. Basically, do it because you have to do it, don’t do it because you expect anything in return.

@fordangeroushumans on Instagram asked: Have you ever considered recording a full album on analog tape? Do you feel as though there’s a difference between that and digital? I have found that a lot of musicians say that it makes music feel more human/real. Well, yeah! Keep The Coffins Coming was on tape. The drums on Parachutes is all tape and then, that was bounced down and recorded digitally over the top of that, so the guitars- Actually, a lot of that, I think, was recorded on tape and bounced down, so yeah, both of those records are to tape, but Steve’s studio is a full studio, so.

@coffeeandavocados on Instagram asked: If you were in a post-apocalyptic comic book world, what kind of character would you be? Survival/fighter/leader etc? … Dead, I’d be a dead character.

[blogging-phelddagrif]

5 Songs That Shaped Me

Seeing as I sometimes call myself a musician I feel like this blog is lacking any musical content, so I decided to write a little something to highlight some songs that really shaped my musical taste over the years. I’d really be interested in seeing yours as well, so if you want to make a post like this yourself be sure to tag me! I’ll get right into it and go in chronological order; these are by no means the only impactful songs/bands for me, but they are, I think, some that had a big turning point in my life.

Matthew Good - Weapon (2002)

This song came out when I was 12 and up to that point I had no music knowledge whatsoever. I lived mostly with my mom and let’s just say that she was not the best person to introduce me to music. The only thing I had heard up to that point was basically a cassette of Shania Twain, over & over & over again, as well as whatever pop band was playing on the radio, so like the Backstreet Boys & the Spice Girls...One night I decided to be sneaky and watch tv past my bedtime and I ended up on the Canadian version of MTV and this song came up. I never heard anything like that before and I was just...blown away. It was so much more intense than any other music I’ve heard, had so much punch to it. Granted, this music is pretty tame but I didn’t know better. To this day I’m still a Matthew Good fan as I enjoy his music and the guy is a really nice artist overall. After hearing this song I decided to go out and find other music like this, which really branched out & was really good for me. For the next few years I’d get into metal, screamo, punk & rock, most of which is going to pass, but it laid the groundwork for my musical taste for the years to come.

Wintersleep - Drunk on Aluminum (2007)

So for the next 5 years or so while I was in high school I mostly just listened to generic rock & metal like Slipknot, Mastodon, Muse, etc. which was all fine as I was still exploring my musical taste without having really found something that spoke to me. When I moved out to college in 2007 I went around town to explore and ended up in a music store. They had a discount section for indie bands & something inside me told me to give it a shot, I looked through the albums and found this gem of a record by Wintersleep; just with the art on the cd case I felt the urge to buy it and it was one of the best decisions of my life. The minute I played this album it changed my life. This album, still after 10 years is still by far my favourite. I listened to it over & over again, it was just so good. I never heard indie music before and this was a game changer. I mostly stopped listening to metal all-together and got into the indie scene with bands like Arcade Fire, Interpol, Silversun Pickups & later on Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Deep Sea Diver, Half Moon Run & Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. Indie music is a big part of my musical identity now and it’s in good part because of this song.

We Are Wolves - Psychic Kids (2007)

So 2007 was a pretty big year for me; I just discovered indie music and I thought nothing could shatter my music world more than that...I was wrong. One of my new roommates that I befriended was going to a show at a local bar and asked me if I wanted to come, I jumped on the occasion since college me was all about trying new stuff. I ended up in this small but cool bar (which I spent the next 2 years going on a regular basis, it was pretty nice) and this band comes up and start playing some of the most raw & intense music I’ve ever heard. Like, I listened to metal for years, as well as punk music, but this was something else. There was an energy coming from it so strong that I was speechless. I didn’t even know you could play keyboard like that, I didn’t even know what to call this music. In any case, I had to get more of this. Because of this song I got into stuff like Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, the Mars Volta, the Black Angels, & really any type of distorted & intense music. For some reason, this music felt closer to me than punk ever would.

Pixies - Hey (1989)

While this song came out a while back, I only ever heard it first in around 2008. I was at a friends house and they were playing music in the background, bunch of indie stuff like Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, Bowie & such, then this song came up and I just didn’t understand what just happened. Pixies became one of my favourite band very shortly later, this music just speaks to me. There is such a raw energy coming from their music, without it needing to be aggressive or fast, it’s just...raw. I got really into all of their stuff (though I’m not a big fan of their reunion material, but that’s another story) and it got me into looking at older music, since I’ve never done that before. I got into the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Slint, Neutral Milk Hotel & eventually into “weirder” music like Swans & Deerhunter. This song was a big part of that.

Scott Pilgrim Soundtrack - We Are Sex Bob-omb (2010)

When this movie came out I was fairly excited since I’ve read the comics and they were really good. The first 2 minutes of the movie literally changed my life, and I don’t use this lightly. While this song fell into a music style I already knew and loved, it still shaped me in a different way. Up to then I loved listening to music and discovering new bands, but that was it; I bought an old drum kit from a friend who had to get rid of it and I played a bit of it but it had been in storage for a few years now. When I first heard this song, I just remember thinking “I want to make music like this”. It’s the first time where I felt the need to MAKE music, this song triggered the desire to produce music like this, to make my own. It must’ve been like a week after I saw this movie and heard this opening song that I’ve bought my first guitar & amp and started playing the songs from the movie. I was terrible (I still am) and didn’t know how to play notes or chords, but still managed to somewhat play those songs and I loved it. Since I’ve heard this song I’ve been playing music (on & off, but as I get my work like together I’m playing more & more); I got my drums out of storage, started renting a jamspace, bought a better guitar when my old one got stolen, a bass, a better amp, so effect pedals. I can actually call myself a musician in good part because of this song, and this movie. Also this got me into fuzzier, grittier music like A Place To Bury Strangers & Death From Above 1979 and I’m thankful for that.

What Shaped You?

Now I want to know what songs shaped your musical tastes. What are some songs that had an impact on your life? What changed your world? I’m really interested in hearing what you guys have to say!

[chelseawolfemusic]

Chelsea Wolfe Talks Hiss Spun // MusicRadar

The word ‘artist’ is used with witless abandon in music, but with Californian songwriter Chelsea Wolfe it feels wholly appropriate. 

An originator and creator, over five albums she has constructed an intricate, dark body of work, one capable of crossing vast spaces, from gothic folk to black metal, while still feeling part of the same awe-inspiring aesthetic. 

2015’s Abyss saw the Sargent House-signed songwriter develop a cavernous dynamic presence through gigantic, dystopian riffs, all contrasted with a tortured Cocteau Twins vocal. Now she has returned with Hiss Spun – a record that bathes in the bleakness of the current global outlook and delves ever deeper into musical extremes. 

Produced by Kurt Ballou and featuring Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen, it’s her heaviest album to date and something of a black mirror record – one that points aggressively at our ugliest tendencies and states: ‘what hath man wrought?’ or in 21st century terms: ‘look at this gigantic shit storm’. 

We spoke to Chelsea about Hiss Spun, what it was like working with Troy Van Leeuwen and Kurt Ballou and the primordial origins of white noise… 

This album was produced by Kurt Ballou at his GodCity studio in Salem, Massachusetts during the winter months. It really feels like you can hear that snow-quieted landscape on the likes of Vex or Two Spirit. How did that surrounding impact you and, by extension, the record? 

The sense of the cold, quiet outside contrasted with the hissing radiators of the warm interiors is reflected on the record 

“Yes, I think the sense of the cold, quiet outside contrasted with the hissing radiators of the warm interiors is reflected on the record. One of the reasons I wanted to record in Salem is because I fell in love with Kurt’s studio last year when I was there working on Converge Blood Moon. 

“Sometimes a building has no effect on the recordings, but sometimes it becomes a character in it. I’d say the GodCity building played a big role in this record. The building has three levels: the basement dungeon where much of the drums were recorded, the middle studio area where all the guitars were recorded, and then the upstairs apartment and vocal room. So I thought of it almost like hell, limbo and heaven... Each level had its own personality.” 

What are Kurt’s greatest strengths as a producer? What does he bring to a record or a session? 

I knew Kurt Ballou would get the kind of metallic, almost engine-like tones I wanted for the bass and guitars 

“I wanted to work with him because this record is very drum-focused, and I’ve been a fan of how he records drums for years. Also I knew he’d get the kind of metallic, almost engine-like tones I wanted for the bass and guitars. 

“When it came to vocals, it was on me to conjure up what I wanted to, but I had already planned for that because I come into the studio really prepared and almost utilitarian-like: ready to work and push myself as far as I can.” 

When we last spoke, you described the tensions - borne from two strong-willed creative characters - you had with John Congleton as being “immediate” but ultimately very positive on Abyss. What sources of tension were there on Hiss Spun? Was it required this time? 

“This time is was more of an internal struggle... A lot of these songs are about my own memories, self-destruction, addiction and ill-health so I had to face that and try to become stronger than the songs I was writing; stronger than the memories.” 

Troy Van Leeuwen joins you throughout Hiss Spun. Why did that stick? What made that playing/writing relationship such a successful one? 

“I knew Troy would get the kind of weird, twisted emotions these songs needed and he did. He’s a great guy and one of my favourite guitar players. 

“The main lead lines on Spun are Troy, and the leads on the choruses for 16 Psyche. I also left space for him on that song to do an aching lead part over the bridge. While he was playing I could feel my guts wrenching and it was perfect, so I asked him to keep going in that direction. 

“He’s on a few others songs playing lead like Offering. Bryan [Tulao, guitarist] played lead on The Culling and Static Hum, both of which are my guitar songs, along with 16 Psyche. Ben [Chisholm] actually wrote a lot of the guitar for this album as well, like the main part for Spun, Vex, Particle Flux and Twin Fawn.” 

In an interview with No Clean Singing you talk about finding “the right guitar and the right pedals and microphone” before writing. How early in your writing process do you consider tone? Why? 

“When I’m initially writing and making demos I’m just going on instincts, but then once we’re in the studio I’ll hone it in and try to think about what’s right for the song - something deep or something more tinny and lo-fi. 

“Kurt helped guide me on this journey, finding the right amps and pedals. I ended up just using this EarthQuaker [power amp distortion] pedal called Acapulco Gold, though; it weirdly fit on a lot of songs.” 

What were your main guitars and amplifiers on the recordings? And how did you use them to get such sizeable distortion sounds? 

The really big distortion tones on the likes of Twin Fawn came about because there are about six layers of guitars on those choruses 

“There was an old Gibson amp I think Kurt uses on a lot of recordings that I used a lot... it just has that great vintage tone, but I was also drawn to his Klipp and used that a lot. The Gibson is an older one for sure. Basically Kurt set up a wall of amps and we just went through and tried them all until I was drawn to the sound of one. It ended up being those two! 

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“In general I don’t always know the technical details of all the gear I choose, I just collect guitars, amps and pedals that I like instinctually. I knew I wanted the guitar tones to sound really metallic on this album, almost like a motorcycle engine, so I was seeking that out on the amp journey. 

“For guitars, I used a Fender Jazzmaster with a Randy Rhoads Dean neck, my Gibson 335s, and a borrowed classical. The really big distortion tones on the likes of Twin Fawn came about because there are about six layers of guitars on those choruses…” 

A Fender Jazzmaster with a Dean neck is quite an unusual beast. What drew you to that instrument? 

“That’s one of Kurt’s guitars - I don’t actually know the story behind it, but I saw it sitting amongst other guitars and was drawn to it. The neck instantly felt good in my hands and then Kurt told me it was the Randy Rhoads edition. I’m such a fan and had Crazy Train on repeat the year before, so it felt meant to be. Plugged into the Earthquaker Acapulco it was a great sound so I ended up using that combo a lot.” 

What do you consider to be the most successful guitar moment on the album? 

“16 Psyche was a riff I had kicking around for a year or so, and when I finally brought it to the band I wasn’t sure if anything would come of it, but right away we all had tons of ideas and it came together really quickly. 

“Another moment is Ben’s guitar playing on Twin Fawn. He also played through that Klipp and layered the choruses maybe six times - I love the little feedback moments on the pauses, and the way the guitars and drums come together at the end of that song is one of my favourite parts of the album.” 

Your press sheet interlinks one of the album’s central themes - global destruction - with the white noise that occurs throughout the album. Why do you think this sound is suited to the topic? What association does it hold for you? 

I’ve had a strong affinity for white noise since I was a kid 

“Carl Sagan said that 1% of TV and radio static is relic sound from the Big Bang. I think something about that connection to the origin is comforting, and I’ve had a strong affinity for white noise since I was a kid. I was talking more about confronting the chaos of the world with your own internal chaos - accepting the mess of yourself and finding strength through that.” 

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You’ve said that you want to write escapist music. We get that sensation with the likes of 16 Psyche. Where does the escapism come for you? 

“I find a lot of freedom in music. I have my writing studio at home, so I can be in a place where I feel fully myself, and I can work and write at any hour of the day. 

“Onstage, it’s taken me years to become comfortable, but my way of dealing is just to lose myself into the songs. Last year, while I was relocating back to Northern California, I was staying with family while I was in-between houses. I didn’t have a lot of personal space, so I ended up writing a lot in headphones, and was reminded of that sense of escapism in music, where you can totally tune out your surroundings and slip into a new world.” 

“It seems like the world has been in tears for months, and then you remember it’s been fucked for a long time, it’s been fucked since the beginning. It’s overwhelming and I have to write about it.” In the face of this, do you think escapism is enough? 

“No, of course not. I was being honest in saying that that’s sometimes how I deal, but I also strive to put a lot of reality about the world into my songs, and tell stories of people to honour them. 

“Particle Flux, for example, has some lines in the choruses that were inspired by watching a short documentary about the refugee crisis coming out of Syria - seeing how these families were torn from their homes and sometimes torn apart, but still remaining so strong: mothers and fathers still trying to make their children smile and pushing on against the terrible situation they’re facing. 

“I have a B-side coming out later this year which I’ll be donating the proceeds of to the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency). There are so many refugee situations right now and they’re struggling to keep up funding for all of them.” 

You have traditionally been portrayed as a shy character, but this album feels more overt. Do you feel you are gaining confidence in your abilities as a writer and performer? 

“Getting older as a woman and as an artist, I’m becoming more confident, or maybe just giving less of a fuck what people think. [Ultimately] it was fun to write some songs that were more in-your-face and aggressive.”

[stepblog614]

Ultimate Guitar Pro App

If you are looking for the best guitar apps, the 2021 is looking bright for you. Today we are going to talk about some of the top-rated learning Android and iOS guitar apps for beginners, both free and paid ones. We’ve made sure to include the apps that are as efficient as they are user friendly. So, without any further ado, let’s get straight to it.

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Here are the best guitar apps 2021:

Your #1 source for chords, guitar tabs, bass tabs, ukulele chords, guitar pro and power tabs. Comprehensive tabs archive with over 1,100,000 tabs! Tabs search engine, guitar lessons, gear reviews. The Guitar Pro application allows all musicians to view and play sheet music and tablature created with the famous Guitar Pro tab-editing program for Windows and Mac. This mobile version is the ideal companion for you to practice your favorite songs and share them any time, anywhere! Coming up with some arpeggio, a riff, a chord sequence?

1. AmpliTube

The AmpliTube is loved by beginners just as much asexperienced guitar players love it. It’s an app that can be used to do prettymuch anything; from playing around with different sounds, over tuning, torecord demos and actual songs.

This app is actually more of a studio as it boasts a broad selection of virtualized sound models from world-famous guitar gear. Furthermore, it’s not a type of guitar application built exclusively for guitarists, as bass players can use it just as well.

Despite the fact that it has a ton of pretty cool features, it is still quite simple to use. Most of the work can be done with the easy drag-n-drop method, although you will need some experience with actual amps and effects if you want to find proper sound models.

AmpliTube rocks a wide variety of stompbox effects,including delay, fuzz, wah-wah, chorus, flanger, overdrive, octave, phase, anddistortion. On top of that, you’ll be wiring the effects via five amps, fivecabinets, and two microphones. It’s quite safe to say that you will be able tofind the sound you are looking for with it.

This guitar app is essentially free; you will get the Custom Shop, the app, and a dozen gear pieces to start, but the ‘expansion gear’ costs a couple of dollars apiece. AmpliTube might be the best guitar app for iPhone/iPad users.

Image credit: IK MultimediaCheck App Store

A huge selection of effects, amps, and cabinets.

Quite simple to use.

Drag-n-drop mechanism.

Very authentic sounds.

2. PocketAmp

PocketAmp is exactly what it sounds like, it’s a portable amp device which doubles for an actual amp if you have any kind of instrument adapter. If you are looking for an app for learning how to play guitar, this one shows quite a bit of promise.

Basically, you’ll need a plug which would convert your guitar cable’s jack into a smartphone-compatible jack, plug your guitar into your phone, and start the amp. From there you will gain access to four different amps, seven guitar pedal effects, and four cabinets.

You will probably be surprised to find how authentic the tone of PocketAmp is, however, going overboard with distortions and overdrives might thump your speaker, so try to avoid going too crazy on it.

The best thing about this guitar app is that it allows you to simulate an entire guitar rig directly from your phone. Although it isn’t free, it’s available at a rather attractive price. It’s a massive, and probably one of the best apps to learn guitar for beginners.

Image credit: PocketlabworksCheck App Store

Very easy to use.

Packed with four cabinets, seven effects, and four amps.

High-quality tone.

Perfect for beginners and novice guitar players.

3. OnSong

The OnSong is a guitar app made for performingguitarists. It’s basically a chord chart app which was intended to replacephysical chord charts with digital and interactive ones.

There are many musicians who struggle with memorizing dozens of songs, especially if they are complex in nature, that’s where OnSong comes in. It has a massive storage capacity where you can store huge chord chart collections and access them quite easily.

Furthermore, it’s compatible with various online store apps, such as Dropbox and Cloud; you can use these to import your songs directly to the OnSong app. To utilize this app’s full potential, combine it with a foot pedal; then you will be able to scroll down your charts hands-free. It’s easily one of the best guitar apps for iPad out there.

Image credit: OnSongCheck App Store

Simple and straightforward to use.

Huge song chart storage.

Compatible with online storage apps.

Perfect for live performing musicians.

4. Play Guitar Hits

The Play Guitar Hits is one of the most well-rounded guitar apps you can find on the App Store. It’s completely free to download, doesn’t take up much space, and you’ll get a variety of features at your disposal.

One of the best things about Play Guitar Hits app is that you can customize the interface to best suit your preferences. You can choose between standard tablatures, slash, and the classic fretboard view.

What makes Play Guitar Hits different from other guitar apps is that it offers a highly interactive learning mode – you will get to learn your favorite songs and techniques while watching play-through videos.

Simply put, the Play Guitar Hits comes with a dual-screen feature: on one side you’ll see the interactive tablature while on the other side of the screen you’ll see a play-through video of your song (if it’s available).

Furthermore, you will get the opportunity to choose different levels; the fact that there are four selectable ‘experience’ levels means that this guitar app offers a unique and entertaining mode of progression.

Of course, you will always be able to halt the tracks if you think that you should practice certain parts a bit more. Additionally, you can morph songs into backing tracks and practice with isolated instruments for a better, real-time feeling.

The Play Guitar Hits is a very versatile guitar application that you can download for free on the App Store; it’s certainly one of the best guitar learning apps available on the market, as well as among the best free guitar apps.

Image credit: Play Guitar HitsCheck App Store

Remarkably easy to use.

Comes with a couple of demo songs.

Versatile video display positions.

Four selectable levels.

Dissectible song parts makes practicing easier.

Available for free on App Store.

5. Anytune

Anytune is not your average guitar app. It’s uniquein a way that it lets you play around with different tempos of the songs, butwithout interfering with their pitch.

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The value of this guitar app actually depends on how you use it, and luckily, it has a nearly limitless potential. You will be able to slow the songs down if you’re struggling to nail certain parts, or speed them up to experiment. Additionally, you can start a bit slower and pick up the tempo as you go.

Ultimate Guitar Pro App Free

Image credit: AnytuneCheck App Store

Quite fun to use.

Simple guitar app, great for beginners.

A couple of unique features.

Available for free on App Store.

6. Ultimate Guitar: Chords & Tabs

Ultimate Guitar is one of the most famous guitar tablature websites on the internet, and if you are looking for a quality app, you might as well start with this one. This guitar app boasts the largest chord & tab database, so it’s pretty safe to say that whichever tablature you were looking for, you can find it here.

The Chords & Tabs app comes supplied with GuitarTools pack which is comprised of a metronome, a tuner, and a personalized chord library. Most beginners start out by using Chords & Tabs and find themselves browsing through the vast tab database even years later, so it’s easy to say that it’s perfect for both beginners and pros.

With the auto-scroll feature, the UG Chords & Tabs is a perfect tool for home practice. Moreover, it’s available for free on the App Store and Google Play. If you happen to like what it has to offer, you can upgrade to Ultimate Guitar Pro with the in-app purchase of additional content.

Image credit: Ultimate GuitarCheck App StoreCheck Google Play

Huge tablature and chord database.

Intuitive interface, very easy to use.

Perfect for both beginners and professional guitarists.

Loads of interesting features.

Available for free.

7. Fret Trainer

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Fret Trainer is an app designed for beginner guitarists, that much is certain. It’s an application that utilizes different ‘games’ to help new players understand the basics.

You will be able to switch between severalinstruments and game modes, including the scale explorer, name note, colormatch, staff and fretboard, and many others.

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Although the game appears to be somewhat childish and focused on the younger population, it actually uses the simplest method to teach something that is taught in very specialized schools for years on end. If you’re looking for the best guitar lesson apps, feel free to check out the Fret Trainer.

Image credit: Strong AppsCheck App StoreCheck Google Play

Incredibly simple to use.

Intuitive UI.

Very entertaining, several game modes available.

Perfect for beginner guitarists.

Available in iOS and Android.

8. Guitar Pro

Guitar Pro is, hands down, one of the best guitartab apps that you can find. It might take you some time to get used to theinterface, but once you do, it will feel so natural to you that you’ll wonderwhy you even ever considered any other app before.

The Guitar Pro app is packed with features that are equally useful to both musicians and song composers. You will actually be able to learn a great deal of music theory by just using this app.

The Guitar Pro application is built in the spirit of GP’s desktop variant, although there are very little similarities between them in terms of user’s interface. You’ll be able to pack several different instrument tracks on top of each other and tweak them to perfection. The only downside is that Guitar Pro uses MIDI, which might not appeal to everyone.

Image credit: Guitar ProCheck App StoreCheck Google Play

Quite easy to use.

Available at a bargain price.

Incredible versatility.

Educational tool for learning music theory.

Great for musicians and composers.

9. Fender Tune

Fender is a huge name in the guitar world, and obviously enough, their tuner is one of the best guitar tuner apps that money can buy.

In anutshell, this is a simple app which can be expanded with in-app purchases;initially, it offers the Pro Tuner, Rhythm, Scales, and Chords modes. The tunermode itself offers automatic tuning and manual (tune by ear) options.

Aside from being a very reliable tuner, all of the other features of the Fender’s Tune app are quite great too. You’ll be able to learn quite a bit of scales and warm-up exercises with it, as well as discover the vast world of music theory.

Image credit: FenderCheck App StoreCheck Google Play

Very easy to use.

Versatile app packed with several features.

Superb for beginners.

Available for iOS and Android.

Final thoughts

Even though some guitar players might tell you that learning how to play a guitar is tough, it’s actually quite easy. At least handling the fundamentals is. The truth is, it’s up to you to decide whether you will take an easy road, or a hard one. By using the apps we’ve suggested, you’ll certainly thread on the former.

[metalindex-hu]

„The crazier it was, the more we liked it!”

„The crazier it was, the more we liked it!” - https://metalindex.hu/2021/06/01/the-crazier-it-was-the-more-we-liked-it/ -

Guitarist Bob Clic recalls the story of Murder and the early days of Bay Area Thrash Metal

When the Bay Area started to emerge, there was no Thrash or Speed Metal. It was Hard Rock, Heavy Metal. Back in those days, the Bay Area bands were mostly influenced by the N.W.O.B.H.M., but tried to create their own style and sound. One of the earliest Bay Area outfits was Murder, and former guitarist Bob Clic told us the history of the band.

Bob, do you still remember at which point you started showing an interest in music and in Hard Rock/Heavy Metal particularly?

I got into music as a little kid. Top Ten Radio in the early 60’s had a lot of good bands mixed in with whatever else. I got into heavy music whenever I first heard it I think, garage rock, Count 5, Yardbirds.

What were your very first faves to start with?

Cream, Blue Cheer, Jimi Hendrix. Blue Cheer especially.

How did you end up becoming a musician? When did you first start learning to play an instrument and which instrument was it?

I started playing guitar in 1965. I was 9 years old. I had older brothers who bought rock records. They were a big influence, the records they had.

Were you self-taught or did you regularly take lessons?

I took folk music lessons. I learned old timey Carter family stuff and American folk songs until I could play decent. My parents insisted I learn to play a couple years before they hired one of the guys from the high school to give me rock lessons. He taught me to learn pretty much anything off of records. He taught me to teach myself. It was good for me.

When did you decide to be part of a band?

I always wanted to be in a band. It just didn’t really happen until much later. In the 70’s when punk rock started.

What about the Bay Area scene as a whole? How did it come into being? How did it start taking its shape?

I don’t know, maybe around the time Motörhead came to town? After that SF had what seemed like a pretty thriving young metal scene at that time I was still playing punk rock in the Lewd and Kurdt Vanderhoof was trying to start that first version of Metal Church and he and I and a few others went to the Anvil Chorus practice room and jammed on some songs we were making up that night. We called it Murder. This was in 1980. Kurdt moved back to Washington so I got other guys and put a band together, eventually leaving The Lewd to just play in Murder.

Murder (l-r): Tom Wilsey, JU, Carl Sacco and Bob Clic

Were Exodus, Leviathan/Anvil Chorus, Vicious Rumors, Metal Church, Control, Sinister Savage/Griffin, Blind Illusion, EZ-Street, Agents of Misfortune, Trauma, Murder etc. those bands that were popping up at the same time and started everything? Did they belong to the first wave of Bay Area metal?

Yes, I saw most of those bands. We knew the guys from Leviathan, pre Anvil Chorus. They used to visit the Lewd house and are still friends. Ha, those guys liked punk rock and saw all the great punk bands back before they were old enough to drink. When we got Murder going at first there was a bigger division between the punk and metal bands. We mostly played with punk bands because metal wasn’t really very thrashy or punk fueled yet. The punk/metal uneasy friendship hadn’t taken root yet except for a few of us. But right from the first night we knew Murder was playing punk/metal. You couldn’t call it anything else really. We came from the other end, we had the punk power already, we just added what we liked from Heavy Metal into what we already knew.

Do you agree with the notion that the earliest documented roots of the Bay Area thrash scene date back to the formation of Exodus in 1980?

Well, to me Exodus weren’t very thrashing at first, they started out with more of a N.W.O.B.H.M. sound. Judas Priest and Scorpions were a big influence on all the earliest SF metal bands. Not until Metallica came and played. After Metallica came it was like the local bands realized it was ok to speed it up and they started adding that thrash sound.

Do you think, that the Bay Area thrash scene might not have had the media attention L.A.’s glam scene received?

The Bay Area did ok, several of them became huge bands. But no, you can’t beat LA when it comes to promoting a bunch of crap bands. They had MTV.

Would you say that Rampage Radio, created by KUSF DJs Ron Quintana, Ian Kallen and Howie Klein, and has been assaulting the airwaves with metal on a weekly basis ever since its official birth on Sunday, March 6th, 1982, played also an important role in the Bay Area scene?

Totally! Yes, Ron Quintana especially really helped it form and was like a spiritual center for the scene. He turned everybody on to something, some band they never heard or rare live recordings. He knows more about this stuff than anyone.

Do you recall one of the very first fanzines Metal Mania, that was done also by Ron Quintana?

Yes, of course. I still have several early issues stashed away in my old stuff!

What can you tell us about the club scene? What were the first clubs that started opening their doors for Hard Rock/Heavy Metal?

Well, the punk clubs and bookers were pretty open to having metal bands play. The Mabuhay Gardens had metal bands mixed in and gave them metal nights. Also clubs like the Stone, Old Waldorf and Ruthies most of those bands you are talking about grew too big to play those clubs within 3 or 4 years.

What do you think about the idea that Metallica’s move to the Bay Area was an important step? In your opinion, were they the fastest, rawest and most brutal band at this point?

Yes, it was super important. Like I said, Metallica showed a direction and brought another piece of what would become the Thrash Metal sound. Bands had already starting absorbing the British and European N.W.O.B.H.M. sound and they added the thrash rhythms and ran with it. They wouldn’t have done that without Metallica.

In the early 80’s, more and more heavy metal bands started popping up in the Bay Area, such as Mordred, Ruffians, Death Angel, Laaz Rockit, Warning, Legacy, Ulysses Siren, Havoc, Assassin etc.? What were your views on the scene at this point?

It was predictable actually. The same thing happened in the punk scene: there were so many bands that took their inspiration from the exact same places. Bands end up with similar looks, sounds and attitudes. They still do that.

Is it correct, that Kurt Vanderhoof, bassist for the Lewd originated the basic concept for Murder and wrote two songs (The Butcher, Cease to Exist) before leaving the Lewd to eventually form Metal Church and he passed these songs onto you?

Yea, I think there were five or six songs that Kurdt wrote that we played then. When he left and I decided to continue it those two songs are the ones Nyna wrote words for.

You approached bassist and long-time friend Ed Ju MacNeill (Fuck-Ups, Legionnaires Disease) with the concept of a Heavy Metal band doing songs about serial killers, maniacs ect., shared Kurt’s two songs and conceptualized a splatter rock band and together wrote a set of songs in that genre. Where did this idea come from?

Growing up watching horror movies! At that time I worked in a movie theatre on Market St in SF and Ju and I and Danny loved that stuff. The crazier it was, the more we liked it!

By the way, did you desired writing originals or were you mostly jamming on covers?

In the time that Murder was together we only played two cover songs, Second Time Around by Blue Cheer and Hot Smoke and Sassafras by the Bubble Puppy.

Drummer and graphic artist, Danny Dui (Flyin’ Fucking A-Heads) was then added and he supplied poster art and the blood dripping Murder logo, while Nyna Crawford (VKTMS – R.I.P.) joined the band as a singer. How did they get in the picture exactly?

Well, Danny was involved right from the start, he thought up the name! We knew him from the punk scene, he came from Hawaii with a punk band called The Uptights and befriended the Lewd. He was a long time roadie and artist for us and other bands around town. Nyna I knew from The VKTMS and she left that band about a month before I left the Lewd. A very important friend suggested I go see what Nyna was up to. She wanted to play louder and faster so it seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately she and Ju had previously been going out together and putting them both in the same band was a stupid idea! They hated each other at the end.

A single was then recorded with Murder and Chainsaw Love (Slight Return). What do you recall of the recording sessions?

We played a benefit for Ginger Coyotes Punk Globe and Ginger was able to gift us some free recording time at Hyde Street Studios, one of the big time studios in town. I mostly remember that I daisy chained five complete amp rigs in that big room, one of them was a Sony reel to reel tape recorder with those speakers that become the lid for the recorder. That was mic-ed up in an isolation booth. No distortion pedals, just a wahwah. The engineer combined those amps all into one overloaded guitar sound.

How would you describe the material? How did it sound like?

Punk metal. Loud and fast with plenty of guitar!

Did you shop it around to attract labels’ interests?

No, we used the tape to get gigs I think. I gave it to Ron Quintana of course. I don’t recall if any of us even talked about record labels back then. We assumed what we were doing was underground it would stay that way. We figured if we got a record out it would be because someone we knew did it from their living room, not a big label.

Have you regularly gigged in those times? How about your performances?

We played once a month or so.

Is it true, that Ju designed macabre stage sets, choreographed the lighting, smoke, dry ice and pyro for the live stage shows and live skits with various beautiful women being butchered were added?

Yes, we had no budget, but we had lots of imagination! We had a full guillotine, and several fake corpses onstage and behind things. On our final live show our singer shot the guy who introduced the band as “America’s Favorite Sport – Murder”. That guy had condoms filled with blood and firecrackers under his shirt front so the folks up front all got blood splatter in their faces! At the end Ju and I slit our girlfriends throats and dragged them backstage. We had a song called Abduction, about kidnapping and torturing a beautiful girl on her wedding night, so our friend Shoshana allowed our singer Tom to rip her guts out.

Did it help fill the venues?

No. Probably not! I think it would have if we kept going. Our best show was our last show.

Was your goal to appeal to the audience? Did it cause a lot of harm for the band? The crowds were titillated by the backdrop of eerie atmospherics and the music, weren’t they?

Well, our audience was made up of our friends from both the punk and metal scenes. They all grew up watching horror movies, too. I know people who saved and probably still have bloody souvenirs from our shows.

At which point did Danny leave the band and was replaced by Carl Sacco (Metal Church, Heathen later on)? Was he your first choice becoming the new drummer?

Danny pawned his drums one time too many. He’s my good friend still after all these years, but we couldn’t count on him then. Our next drummer was my friend Harley Flanagan from the Stimulators and Cro-Mags. He came out to Ca, when he was 15 and played with us for about two weeks or so. He was young and wild and he was out rambling…. our perfect drummer. I was sad when he left town. Harley and I stay in touch, he sends me his new recordings…. very heavy and also very good I think. After Harley we got Carl.

There was another line-up change, when Nyna left after a while, because the shear volume of the band was corrupting her voice and Tom Wilsey was then added as front man…

Yes, she had trouble with the volume, and we weren’t very sensible. She was right, but you know how it is, louder is better! You gotta remember that amps and foot pedals and guitarists rigs were different back then. Things didn’t work the way they were supposed to. You had to turn amps up loud to get them to sound cool. Now it’s easy. Anyone can sound heavy with whatever modern amp they find and just thinking about which distortion pedal to use gives me a headache! I prefer the old ways. Get a big old amp and turn it up. When Nyna left we regrouped, got Tom Wilsey to sing and that was when we kinda got focused. His lyrics were all about murder.

Several songs were recorded in the studio; what were those ones and did you evolve compared to the demo? Did your style somewhat change?

We recorded some songs for a demo at The Vats, a punk rock squat in an abandoned beer company. Like I say, we got more focused as a band, what we wanted to sound and look like. I prefer that lineup.

Nothing was released from the band except the aforementioned single. What were the reasons for it?

We just weren’t music business oriented. When people start talking to me about record labels I just tune it out. We wanted to play music, we didn’t really think about much else. I’m still that way, my relationship with music doesn’t involve “business” in any way.

Finally the band dissolved during a dormant period as you rejoined the more active Lewd, and Carl Sacco joined Heathen, while Nyna later joined Smashed Weekend, reunited VKTMS in 1995, and passed away of ovarian cancer in 2000. What can you tell us about it?

I didn’t rejoin The Lewd until 1998! After Murder I started another metal band called Die Seiger, we played shows with Metallica, Slayer, even Spinal Tap! By the end of the 80’s I was done with it though. I took a year where I just went to work everyday and let my guitar strings rust. No playing at all. I needed a break. During that time I started buying records that I remembered loving as a kid, the bands that got me into playing guitar. I dug deeply into 60’s blues rock, Peter Green, Savoy Brown. I sort of rediscovered my guitar, dusted it off and since then I’ve pretty much ignored all the heavy groups and punk bands I used to like.

In the mid 80’s there was a kind of Thrash Metal boom in the Bay Area, more and more new outfits appeared on the scene, such as Forbidden Evil/Forbidden, Heathen, Death Penalty (later known as Vio-lence), Defiance, Redrum, Sentinel Beast, Führer, Mercenary, Desecration, Epidemic, Sacrilege B. C., Betrayel, Sadus etc. How did you find this movement? Were they the second generation of Thrash Metal?

Yea, some of the second gen thrash bands really got that sound, like a whirling dervish of hardcore rhythm. It’s pretty impressive sounding when it’s done right!

A lot of musicians crossed their ways since they played in several groups, correct?

Well, yes, like Carl Sacco: he was in The Lewd, Murder and Die Seiger with me before going on to Heathen. We all ran in the same circles socially. Sometimes it was easier to call someone you already know is weak in some way and try to work around it, auditioning new musicians is hell on earth.

Do you think that it was an exciting period, but the scene became oversaturated later on?

It did for me. I love aggressive music, I’ve played in a lot of bands that were aggressive sounding. But jeese, it’s not the ONLY thing. However I lived through periods of really great music, and without a doubt I saw the best of the punk bands and the best of metal at that time. It doesn’t interest me much anymore, but I still love the Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath I grew up with.

Compared to the New York or Los Angeles-based thrash bands, the Bay Area ones were more melodic, technical, had a tight rhythm section, catchy riffs, killer solos and often sing along choruses. Do you agree with it?

I don’t really know. Probably.

Were the Bay Area bands easily distinguishable from each other in terms of songwriting, producing, sound etc.? Did all of them have an own/unique music, style, sound etc.?

The ones that got bigger like Exodus and Metallica each had something unique. Those guys were inspired by early classic heavy rock and the N.W.O.B.H.M.. The next generations of bands after that were often inspired by Exodus and Metallica. So things start sounding the same. This also pushes bands like Metallica to struggle with staying “ahead” of the kids, because the kids sound just as good as they used to. That’s a vicious circle to be caught in from what I can see.

Would you say that Bonded By Blood is a milestone in Thrash Metal and if it had been released the same year as Kill ’Em All or Show No Mercy, as intended, it’s almost certain that Exodus would’ve seen similar success?

It’s hard to say for sure. Success is a motherfucker. I’d point out that Exodus did pretty well for themselves, but it’s a little bit like the Misfits. There are plenty of punk bands who put out records better than the Misfits, but none of them are more famous. What punk band is more famous with more people than the Misfits? When a band really takes off they leave their peers behind.

There was a third wave with bands such as My Victim, Extermination, but they never managed to reach the fans’ attention…

By then I was no longer paying attention. I never heard of them.

Did you take part in the Thrash of the Titans that was a benefit concert held on August 11, 2001 at the Maritime Hall in San Francisco and the concert was a co-benefit for Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, who was diagnosed with germ cell seminoma (a rare form of cancer) and Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.), leader of Death, who was also battling cancer?

I was aware of it but didn’t go.

During the past years a lot of Bay Area musicians passed away, such as Cliff Burton, Jon Torres, Sam Kress, Jim Larin, Kevin Mahoney, Mike „Yaz” Jastremski, Bob Yost, Randy Laird etc. How do you feel about it?

Well, I’m in my 60’s. I’ve had a lot of friends pass away. It still hurts though. Cliff’s accident is still pretty upsetting. Bill Skinner passed recently.

Who are/were your best friends from the Bay Area scene?

From the metal scene it would be the guys from Anvil Chorus, Bill, Doug, Thaen, also one of the guys, who was in that first SF version of Metal Church, Rick Condrin, we stayed close until he passed…. Jeese, now that you ask a lot of them are gone.

Do you still keep an eye on what’s going on in the metal scene these days, and what do you think about it compared to the glorious 80’s?

Not much. I ignore more music than many people listen to! Before the pandemic hit I was able to take my 13 year old grandson to see Metallica, it was interesting seeing them in a baseball stadium. Seeing him react to songs I first heard at the Mabuhay Gardens was a trip.

Bob, thank you for the interview! What are your closing words?

Only to thank you for being interested in one of my old bands. I appreciate your reaching out to me and wish you the best!

[guitarsynthesizerprocessors-blog]

What You Need to Know About Selecting Acoustic Guitar Speakers

There's not anything like the sound of this guitar. Its mellow notes, the capacity to producing haunting breeds and rocking melodies are vital to so many tunes of today. Obviously, along with a gifted musician, it's also important to get the correct support bits when enjoying a guitar-especially if a person plays with the acoustic guitar! A number of those supporting things would be the capo, a slip, a pick as well as the acoustic guitar speakers (also known as amplifiers or amps).

Of these sidekicks into the guitar, possibly the one which you are going to want to place a little thought into before buying the very first thing that you see is your acoustic guitar speakers. In the end, there are lots of brands, styles, and sizes available and you would like to make confident you get one which most fits your style. To know more read it here...

Deciding on this component could make the difference between looking fine once you play with sounding like a seasoned professional. In other words, the perfect acoustic guitar amp has to possess three primaries "features" - precision, durability, and flexibility.

Features of Acoustic Guitar Speakers

The ideal amps may greatly alter the tone of somebody's guitar since it highlights or de-emphasizes the several ramifications of the audio played. As a consequence, you would like a speaker which distorts (or not) the sound of your guitar how that you would like. 

Because the majority of the guitars have a built-in mic, you don't need to have a speaker which leads to an undesirable reverb. This is an integral element in determining the truth of the speaker.

Durability is also a very important feature. Musicians are often traveling from location to place, so transferring the gear is trivial. When you choose acoustic guitar speakers, so make certain you opt for the ones that can resist being transferred frequently. Look closely at the amplifier's situation, how nicely strings are connected along with some additional components.

Versatility is every bit as important. Oftentimes, the amp may be used for encouraging different devices like the synthesizers, drums, keyboards as well as harmonicas in addition to use for its vocalists.

When picking your acoustic guitar amps make confident you choose one which allows you many different configurations with both other tools in addition to the range of pedals (used to alter the distortion) that you will surely wish to possess.

Through time, the speakers also have evolved to play an essential part in music-making. It provides more than just audio but may be utilized to boost an assortment of instruments and the human voice. Be certain that if you choose your acoustic guitar speakers which you just take your time to find that the one selected meets these basic criteria - precision, durability, and versatility-and you'll have a more"band member" that persist for ages.

[s3rtx]

Vox Stomplab vs. Zoom 505

This may look like a weird post, comparing an ancient pedal with a relatively new one. The Zoom 505 was sold as the “THE WORLD'S FIRST MULTI-EFFECTS SYSTEM IN A COMPACT PEDAL “ back in the early 2000s. I just had bought my first electric guitar and my guitar teacher advised me to get one of those, my amp would “sound like a Marshall”. So I did. This pedal back in the day was extremely complete with amp simulators, distortions, delay, echo, acoustic simulator, flanger, etc... Some time later I also bought an expression pedal that would work with it.

This pedal I have used for about 15 years with a single guitar. That means that basically I got it extremely well tuned to my needs + taste + gear. In fact, I would still be using it if it weren’t for the plastic switches. Unfortunately, everything wears off, and pedals do too. So the Zoom 505 started missing my button presses and had to try and try, and became very annoying to use. For this reason I bought a replacement, the Vox Stomplab.

The Vox Stomplab would not be my first choice if it weren’t because I leave in a remote place and the local dealer only had a single compact multi effect pedal. Nonetheless, before buying a did some research and I knew more or less what I was getting into. I have had it for several months, and I think I can provide a useful review for those considering it.

Let’s start with the form factor. This is a really small pedal, a little wider than the 505 but shorter. The Stomplab can, as well as the 505, run off batteries for few hours. This pedal comes with an integrated expression pedal, a quite small one in fact. The expression pedal is usable, mostly for volume and altering effects that do not require you to mess with it continuously. For wahwah, using it becomes a bit of a challenge since just getting your foot on it the right way is not easy. Still on the features, the Stomplab is very very basic. It just has an input and an output. No USB connection, no external expression pedals, no ANYTHING! This is not quite ok by today’s standards. It was ok on the 505 15 years ago, but you should not expect that we will enter effect patches manually, and back them up by literally writing them on a sheet of paper. The are other pedal in this price range that do provide a USB port. Both the 505 and the Vox come with onboard tuners. The Stomplab works quite well, using the intensity of  the light (left or right LED) to provide feedback while the 505 would use a set of 4 leds for the same purpose. I marginally prefer the Stomplab approach.

One of the things that motivated me to buy it the casing. I wanted to avoid again plastic pedals. Not only they look cheap, the wear off more and are less rugged. The Somplab has a metal casing and 2 nice switch metal buttons that I doubt I can break even if trying hard. Another thing that is visible is that it shares the look and feel of single purpose pedals with 3 potentiometers to regulate the values of the effects. That can be very good at times, and a pain the rest of the time.

The good thing of the potentiometers is that makes editing the effects a breeze. By switching the leftmost switch you can access 9 effect banks with 10 effects each, organized by genre (jazz, metal, hard rock, etc...), and 20 user defined ones. 120 effects in total. You navigate up and down through the 10 effects of each bank using the pedal switch buttons. When you are on an effect, you can change the gain and level directly with the potentiometers, and if you press edit, you can change virtually anything very efficiently. This method is much more effective than the used by the Zoom 505, that you have to press the plus and minus buttons repeatedly instead of simply rotating the potentiometer to the right value. On the other hand, the fact that there is a physical potentiometer causes some trouble. Why is that? Because because when you switch effect, the configuration values of the effect change, but the potentiometer remains where it was. Meaning that you do not know at a glance what the gain, level or any other value for an effect is, and thus, you do not know to adjust it.

In this pedal you can combine 8 simultaneous effects, amp, pedal, cab, delay, reverb, etc... which is not bad. The truth is that I like simpler sounds, so I won’t use so many effects at the same time. One thing that really shocked me was that something that was already solved in the Zoom 505, it was not here. The 505 had this very nice way of either 1) instantaneous effect switch, or 2) you could navigate with the foot switches to the effect while still playing the previous one, and only switch to the new one when both switches (right and left buttons) were pressed simultaneously. This can not be done on the Stomplab, and I think is a killer. That basically means you can not use it for gigs, since you can only switch between adjacent effects. The only alternative you have is to use the user defined presets and quickly navigate up and down. You won’t be able to do so with the factory presets, since for those you need to rotate a switch and that is not very practical while performing in the middle of a song.

Sound wise, I appreciate improved effects on the Vox. More “analog” like and less transistor based. In fact, it provides simulators of known amps and cabinets. I can not tell the quality of those since I do not own any of the simulated devices. However, I can tell the difference from the 505. On the other hand, effects seem overcomplicated. It is not just like choosing a distortion and that is it. You have to decide on the amp, the equalizer, cab, effects pedal, delay, rev, nore reduction and yet some fancy effects that I will never use in my lifetime. This makes it a little complicated to find the right sound. I have spent the whole afternoon today configuring some user presets and I’m not yet satisfied. I compiled some information that will help you decode what each effect is and what each simulated amp is.

So, to conclude. The Vox Stomplab is a very versatile, cheap and well built pedal for the price. I would have liked the usb port, and the option of navigating through effects without switching (just like my old Zoom 505). Despite these limitations, I think I still have a lot to learn with/of it. When I had one guitar and one pedal... everything was very linear. Now with 3 electric guitars and this new pedal, I am aware it is very difficult to get the exact sound I want. So I will go slowly and try to learn how the get the best of each guitar and each effect.

Now, if you have got one of these tiny pedals, you have few great resources to explore:

1-  Metastable’s spreadsheet. A comprehensive document containing all effects and parameters, settings and more: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wj5YnBIp9_IAtypoiKEjm4f1bcqY83UMDN3VR0Zu8dQ/edit#gid=0

2- His list of equivalence Stomplab simulated <-> real equipment

AMPLIFIERS

AC15 - Channel 2 of a 1962 Vox AC15 AC15TB - 1990's Vox AC15TBX ('top boost' channel) AC30 - Vox AC30 (normal channel) AC30TB - Vox AC30 ('Top-boost' channel) BLACK 2x12 - Fender 'Blackface' Twin Reverb (clean channel) TWEED 1x12 - 1958 (Vox describe as 18w but this is more likely 15w) 'narrow panel' Fender Deluxe (NOTE: following an interesting post from JoeM and some digging around of my own, I'm now convinced this is the Deluxe & NOT (as described in the article below) the Princeton, due to the power rating, 2x6V6 valve complement in the power stage, & 1x12" speaker size!) TWEED 4x10 - 1959 Fender 4x10 Bassman UK BLUES - 1960's Marshall JTM45 head (high treble channel) UK ’70s - 1969 Marshall 100w Plexi head (high treble channel) UK ’80s - 1983 100w Marshall JCM800 head UK 90's - 1990's 100w Marshall JCM900 head (lead channel) UK MODERN - Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head (Hi-gain channel) RECTO - 150w Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier (modern high gain channel) US HIGAIN - 1991 100w Soldano SLO100 Head (hi-gain channel) BOUTIQUE OD - Dumble Overdrive Special 100w head (overdrive channel) BOUTIQUE CL - Dumble 100w head (clean channel) PEDAL MODELS COMP MXR RED COMPRESSOR ACOUSTIC ORIGINAL VOX WAH VOX WAH U-VIBE UniVox Uni-Vibe OCTAVE ORIGINAL TREBLE BOOST VOX TREBLE BOOSTER TUBE OD Ibanez Tube Screamer BOUTIQUE KLON CENTAUR KENTAUROS ORANGE DIST BOSS DS-1 METAL DIST BOSS HM-1 FUZZ DALAS Fuzz Face MOD/DELAY CLASSIC CHORUS MXR CHORUS MULTI TAP CHORUS ORIGINAL CLASSIC FLANGER MXR FLANGER PHASER MXR Phase90 TEXTREM Tremoro on Fender Combo Amp ROTARY Rotary Speaker PITCH SHIFTER ORIGINAL FILTRON Mu-TRON Filter ECHO PLUS Echo Plex DELAY ORIGINAL 70's Analog BBD Like Delay CHORUS+DELAY ORIGINAL COMBI FX

and 3) this resource with some (not yet many) patches. I have tested the Metallica patch and is really good: http://guitarpatches.com/patches.php?unit=StompLabG

Enjoy your Vox!

[sidechainzine-blog]

Crows - Steve Goddard

Photo: Steve’s guitar - Credit: M.P.

A few months ago, when they played at Green Door Store, I met with Steve from the band Crows. We talked about guitar pedals and European dB limiters.

Hi Steve, can you introduce yourself briefly please?

My name is Steve Goddard and I play guitar in Crows.

You chose to talk about your guitar, can you tell me more about it?

I have a lot of problems with it. I still use it because the sound of it is really different from what I’ve ever played. It’s a Vox Ultrasonic, they made it in the 60s. I can’t remember exactly from when, but they stopped making them in the early 70s so they’re kinda rare. They have built in effects. I don’t really use them on the guitar because of the way they’re made, when they start to break you can’t fix them cause they’re built in to the actual circuits underneath the wood. So you can’t really get to it. Basically, you have a hand-operated Wah-Wah pedal, a distortion - which is a really nice Vox fuzz sound -, and a repeater, kind of like Spaceman 3. It also got a Bass or Trebble booster. You have the usual pick-up selection, but you also have ‘bassier’ or ‘trebblier’. Because you always have to have it on one or the other - otherwise it doens’t make any noise -, you have to chose between the two. I always have it on the Bass booster, so it makes it really different to any other guitar that I’ve ever played. There’s something a little bit more behind it. Most of the time when we play, there’s a least somebody who will come up to me and ask what tuning we play in. I tell them « standard E to e » and they’re like « oh really ». In a band like this, which is effectively the same as having a three-piece band (drums bass and guitar), it helps to push it a bit more, it fills up the space. I keep snapping strings on it though, which is a real nightmare and I can’t get around it. Friends of mine who are luthiers have tried and looked at it tons of times, and they can’t see why it does that.

Does it happen at the bridge ?

Yeah it’s at the bridge, but they’ve never found anything there, so they can’t really tell me why it does it. If it was any other guitar I’d probably just be like « oh fuck it», sell it, and get rid of it. I think it adds a lot to our sound. Which is why I  tolerate it. If I snap a string, I snap a string, it’s not a big problem.

About the effects in the guitar, I’d love to use them straight from the guitar, but they run at weird levels. If you flick the switch from one to another, it dips. I have a pedal that is built by a company in Texas called Acid Fuzz and they’ve pretty much built the same effects, except the Wah-Wah, but the others are in this one pedal which is quite cool. I have a couple of songs where I use that instead of using the effects through the guitar. This Acid Fuzz pedal is called the Sonic Boom.

What else is on your pedalboard, and what do you mainly use?

I think I’ve got eight pedals. I’ve got a really cheap DanElectro Fuzz, I just quite like the sound of it, it’s a pretty nasty sound. My main overdrive sound is a Menatone Dirty Blonde, like an old 50s fender cranked up. It’s really nice, I really like that pedal. That’s the main one use for this stuff. As you’re progressing as a band obviously you just collect more and more of them, but when we first started I had a fuzz, that Menatone, and another reverb. I use the reverb on the amp but I like to double up in places. And before that, I used to use the clean tone of the amp but as we’ve started playing bigger shows and in bigger venues I’ve noticed that it doesn’t really cut that great for some reason, my amp is pretty old so it’s…

[There was a slight interruption in the interview due to members of Virgin Kids having their foot ball stuck over the marquees outside the venue. After Steve’s fantastic foot ball rescue we got back to the amp conversation]

Alright, so I’ve got another little pedal that’s a really subtle drive that’s made by Fairfield Circuitry in Canada, and I’ve got that on all the time now. So when it’s clean, I still use it to add a little bit of grit to it. Other than that, I’ve got the Sonic Boom, a reverse delay, which is a cheap DanElectro thing. I don’t really use it that often really. I’ve also got a freeze pedal just for a little bit of drone sound in some places.

Sweet. So, can you tell me a bit more about your amp, what do you use?

So, i’ve had it for a real long time. I got it in 2011.

I’ve seen on stage that it’s a Fender, isn’t it?

Yeah it’s a Fender Twin Reverb, but it’s an original 69. It used to have one of the original speakers in it but that just died, and I don’t think there’s any way to bring it back. It actually happened where we were on tour earlier this year, in Holland. We were gonna record over there at some friend’s of us. We took it out, plugged it in and only one of the speakers was working. They rang around a few people and managed to get me a different speaker, which I think is some weird 70s speaker, with a diamond shape to it at the back instead of a circle. It actually sounds kind of nice, the mix of speakers. I know a lot of people would chose to always match up the speakers to the same brand and things like that but I like the sound of it. And yeah, I’ve always used it wherever there’s been the option, even when we first started, if there was the option to use the house backline or my amp, I’d always bring mine because I just prefer the sound of it.

Is there any other ideal amp configuration you’d like to go for?

We did some shows before this year and there were pretty big venues, so in the end I ended up borrowing another twin from a friend of mine. What I’d kinda like to do at some point would be - if it gets to the point we need a bigger rig for bigger shows - to have another twin and then something in the middle kinda bit different. Like an old Marshall to have a more driven sound in the middle, and have the two reverby ones on the side of it. Gives it a bit more control from my end rather than from the front of house. I find that sometimes front of house - unless it’s your own guy, we have a friend of us who does it sometimes - don’t get what we’re after. If I had a setup like that I think it would take it away from them being able to fuck with it too much. Which would be cool. But at the moment we just dont have the need for it really. Cause we mainly do small venues like this at the moment, except on bigger support slots where I end up borrowing something. Other than that I don’t think I’ve ever thought I need some kind of amp than what we’ve been using, so I’m happy with it as it is.

You started leading on to the next question again… I wanted to ask if you usually have your own sound guy with you?

Yeah, we don’t tonight. Our friend Phil does front of house for a few bands and he tours with Yak. He would do it with us but at the moment Yak are on tour as well. We also can’t really afford to pay him [laughs] so… he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. Him and another guy Felix actually recorded the EP that we’re about to put out. So it’s quite nice that he’s been around for a bit, he’s done a couple of shows for us way back and as we’ve pushed on he’s been keen to work with us on a regular basis. It’s quite good to have somebody that knows what we’re about and how we want to sound. To work with him in the studio also helps with that because he knows exactly what we’re after. Unfortunately we can’t have him tonight but we’ve been playing together for a long time and we know what we need to do. We’ve been told a lot that we dont take long to soundcheck and I think sound guys are quite surprised by how quick we are with it. We know what we want, what we need, and what we need to do.

So you’re in good terms with sound engineers in general.

Yeah.

When I saw you first time, you were supporting Big Ups in London, which was a really sick show. I didn’t know you guys before so I didn’t know that James used to play guitar in the band. There was that interview online where you were saying that you chose to have him focus only on vocals and not guitar in order to give more room to the sound, which I think is really interesting because loads of bands forget about this and are just full on. Can you maybe tell me a bit more about it ?

Yeah of course ! So basically he broke his ankle skateboarding, at 23 or something, and we were gonna play a show for a friend of mine. I actually saw him earlier today because he’s moved to Brighton a couple of years ago. He was leaving and we worked together, and he said ‘would you play a show at my leaving party’. James broke his ankle the night before, he was on crutches, he’d have to sit down and he said ‘I can’t think I can have a guitar and sit down and sing with my leg the way it is’. We were kinda like ‘well, it’s only a leaving party its not a big show so let’s do it’. So he did it without the guitar, and we were like ‘shit it actually sounds kinda more interesting’. It sounds less like a generic kinda rock band now, there’s a bit more dynamic to it. Essentially when he played guitar it was just a beef up, on bits, and certain parts he wouldn’t even play on anyways. It was kind of a booster, but there were pedals and other things around making the dynamics difficult to hear. I used to work in one of the stores in Denmark Street in London, so everyone that was there was really into guitars and sound, and they all said to me that it sounded really cool like that, really different to how it normally sounds. Theres so much space, like we sounded bigger with less. We all kind of met at Uni and me and James played together in a different thing that kinda developped into this. When we were doing that, our tutor was saying ‘maybe you shouldn’t play guitar there and it will take it to a different place’, we were just like ‘naaah it’s fine’ but actually we probably should have listened. That was when we were still at uni so it was completely different kind of music and set up. When he broke his ankle two years ago it’s when we said we started to people who ask ‘how long we’ve been going for’. We put it back to around that time because it’s around that time that we realised that’s the sort of set up we should have, that’s the best kinda thing to do for us and our sound.

Bonus questions now: What would be your best or worst sound memory ?

For me, personally, the ones that are always interesting is when we play in places in Europe where they have dB limiters, and that’s always fun… the first time I experienced that was at a club in Paris called La Fleche D’Or. We played there last tour and we started soundchecking, I had my amp maybe on like just on the two, because my amp is really old and it’s really temperamental, there’s no sort of in between.

Yeah, often Fender amps are like that anyways…

On this one, if you go slightly too far it just cuts, it’s just off. So we were soundchecking and the sound guy was like ‘yeah the guitar is over the dB limit for the venue can you turn it down a bit ?’ And I just looked at it, I was like ‘wow not really actually’. So yeah, that was kinda annoying. So we ended up not running it through the PA and just from the stage. It’s not the smallest venue so it was a fun one…

And then recently we played at Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. We set up, started soundchecking and in our advance we were told if we went over the decibel limit and the sound police was there we’d get fined up to 10 000 USD, so that was exciting. And soundchecking, he was like ‘the guitar’s a little bit loud’, so I asked him if he wanted me to turn it down, because I could have turned it down a little bit, and he was like ‘naah we’ll just put it at the side so it’s not coming straight from the front’. We put it at the side of the stage and I was like… ‘ok… that doesn’t sound that great to me but at least if I can keep the same level and get the same level of drive to it then great’. So we did that, and obviously we had to get everything through the monitor really good, and when we actually came to play, either they managed to accidentally wipe the monitor board - cause it was a digital desk -. So we started, everything was at the same level but everything was different through the monitor. And then i was like ffs it sounds shit to me. So i went over to the amp, turned it up a little bit and i was like sweet that’s fine, it’s great i can hear everything now. And they started cutting stuff, turning it off and on in my monitor, to try and be like ‘turn it down’. Then someone had to come on stage and be like ‘can you turn it back down otherwise we’re gonna have to cut the show’. So I thought ok great. Those are always fun…

Another bonus stupid one: What song did you first ever learn to play ?

I started playing guitar when I was like 13, and I think the first song I learned was… actually I learned three songs during my first lessons… not really songs but kinda chord progressions. I learnt the intro to Smells Like Teen Spirits, something else, and the chords of Redemption Song by Bob Marley because my teacher was a big stoner and liked to do stuff like that…

[Edited for clarity - Interview October 2016]