JOHN JOYCE / AJ FROMAN

AJ Froman: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bandcamp

1. Tell me about your current rig – what are your likes and dislikes? I use a Fender Jazz Bass. I’ve got a Gallien Krueger RB 1001 head unit with a Gallien Krueger 4×10 cabinet running through an MXR Bass Compressor, an Electro Harmonix Big Muff overdrive, a Behringer Ultra Shifter/Harmonist, a Boss Super Chorus, and an MXR Bass Envelope Filter. I’ve always been more interested in analog pedals rather than digital and am still playing around with my tone. It’s most definitely still a work in progress as I’m planning on purchasing another 15” cabinet to secure the low end and utilize the 4×10 cabinet for the hi and mid ranges. The Ultra Shifter is a lot of fun to play around with before big drops in our songs, it’s fun to dive bomb and drive the octave down a whole step. There’s a knob to control the speed of the drop so it can be fast or slow and it’s a lot of fun playing with that live. The Envelope Filter has given me a lot of enjoyment, as well as frustration. The decay is extremely sensitive so getting that “perfect” swell is challenging at times. Not sure if that pedal is going to stick around much longer.

2. What AJ Froman song do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular sound/style? “Stranger’s Nod” off our new album, Phoenix Syndrome, has a lot of dynamic to it. I feel our sound shines through in a variety of sections in this tune. Swirling through time-signature changes, to heavy half-time buildups, to faster skate/punk sections, to melodic breakdowns is all very enjoyable and I feel we capture a lot of our diverse sound within all of these sections. In softer ambient sections, I’ll use the chorus pedal and during heavier fast sections, I’ll switch to the overdrive. I especially enjoy the contrast between these two tones.

3. If money was no object, what’s the ‘holy grail’ piece of gear you’d buy? A ’67 Fender Jazz Bass. I like Washburns too, but the Jazz Bass has such a beautiful tone I can’t really get away from it. I’d definitely stick with the GK amps. It’d be nice to have 3 Gallien Krueger 2001 RB amps. One would control the other 2 as slaves and I’d have those running into three 4×10 cabinets and three 1×15 cabinets. That’s what Flea’s been doing for quite some time and I really appreciate his style.

4. Who is the musician you admire the most sound/gear-wise? Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is a musician I’ve admired since high school, when At the Drive-In was still together. He has a massive array of delays, trems, and expression pedals to control real-time rate adjustments and may I say, he’s quite good at it. The groups he’s put together have also influenced my rhythmic playing rather than just the sound and tonality he produces. Overall, he is a huge influence of mine in more ways than one.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? We are headlining the Belly Up for our first time on Thursday, March 10th. We just released our new album, Phoenix Syndrome, [listen/buy here] and we have a handful of new music we’re planning on recording very soon.

[Ed. note: I reviewed AJ Froman’s excellent new album for SoundDiego recently. Read it here.]

JD SIMO (An Interview)

JD Simo press photo by Sean Marshall.
JD Simo at home with his two favorite guitars. (Photo by JD Simo)
JD Simo’s “Red” and his signature model prototype. (Photo by JD Simo)
A Gibson Dove acoustic is a new addition. (Photo by JD Simo)
Simo live at Mercy Lounge. (Photo by Brian Schwager. Courtesy of Simo’s Facebook page).

[Ed. note: I work at NBC SoundDiego, and spend a lot of my time there interviewing bands. While most of the time, that content wouldn’t necessarily be of any interest to Gear and Loathing In San Diego, I believe this one warrants special inclusion. Since I’m the author, and Simo’s playing Soda Bar on Sunday, March 6 – I’m re-posting the interview here. Hope you enjoy.]

SIMO Rising

By Dustin Lothspeich

When people casually throw around words like “virtuoso,” “prodigy” and even “deity” when referring to your guitar-playing prowess, I would imagine it would be tough to keep your two feet firmly planted on the ground. Not the case for 30-year-old Chicago native JD Simo.

“If someone wants to throw positive energy your way as support, I’m not going to rob anybody of that,” the soft-spoken, wavy-haired frontman (and apparently idolized guitarist) tells me. “It’s all about how you accept stuff like that. I know better than anybody what my faults are. The people that truly impress me have no airs whatsoever; they just are.”

Simo (pronounced “sigh-moe”) may make it seem like it’s no big deal. After all, who doesn’t appreciate a nice, thoughtful compliment every once in awhile. But a little World Wide Web searching will pull up some very impressive results: Simo is a full-blown guitar star in a galaxy peppered with asteroids.

Of course, Simo would be the last guy on the planet to admit it. Modest and thoughtful, the singer/six-stringer of Simo – his last name-aping psychedelic-flavored blues/rock band – couldn’t be less of a diva if he tried.

But there are (a lot) of reasons for all the hullabaloo: Simo started playing guitar when he was 5 years old, recorded his first live album by the time he was 15 and in 2006, moved to Nashville to become one of the scene’s most in-demand session guitarists (which, if you know anything about the musical mecca of Nashville, is pretty damned impressive).

We’re not done: He’s graced the pages – or cover – of nearly every notable guitar publication (as well as Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone), finds the time to film a popular video-blog series where he demos and discusses vintage guitar equipment, and his band just released its sophomore full-length album, “Let Love Show the Way,” recorded entirely in live one-takes at Big House, the Allman Brothers Band’s own studio compound. No fixes. No overdubs. Vocals weren’t even recorded separately. What you see is literally what you get. Oh, and guess what? Every track featured Simo playing the late, great Duane Allman’s legendary ’57 Gibson Les Paul gold-top guitar (the same one used on songs like “Layla” and the band’s early records).

Needless to say, in the ax-shredding world, Simo operates on a purist’s level: He plays old (re: very expensive) Gibson guitars through just-as-old amplifiers (usually Marshall stacks) that are almost always turned to 11. Recently, Simo shared a photo on his Facebook page of a prototype signature model based on “Red,” his cherished 1962 Gibson ES-335. In non-musician speak, that means “This dude is the real fucking deal.” Know how long it took Clapton to get a signature Gibson guitar? Oh, only about 45 years. You do the math.

Yet, when I speak with Simo on the phone, he’s bewildered by something entirely different. He’s in Taos, New Mexico, and he’s endearingly stunned by the venue he’s about to play – the KTAOS Solar Center.

“This is one of the coolest locations I’ve ever been in!” Simo gushes. “I’m surrounded by mountains, getting ready to play a venue that’s basically like a big amphitheater covered like a big teepee and powered by solar panels. I’ve seen a lot of things, but never seen a teepee that holds a couple thousand people powered by solar panels.

“I’m in hippy heaven,” Simo adds. “Let’s do it. Let’s commune.”

If Simo’s latest shows are any indication, a little communing is exactly what’s in store for fans (San Diego, heads up, the band plays Soda Bar on Sunday, March 6). Sure, the guys can tear through standard 12-bar blues like no other and add a hefty Led Zeppelin-esque stomp to their more modern-rock numbers, but it’s the in-between zones they settle in that set them apart. Tipping his hat to some of his own musical heroes (Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane), Simo and bassist Elad Shapiro and drummer Adam Abrashoff go where the night takes ’em. In other words, there’s a lot of improvisation when they hit the stage.

“It’s like half the show,” Simo says. “We don’t write set lists. We have a huddle, and we say what we want to open with, and maybe go three songs deep from there. It’s completely reliant on the energy in the room. And the three of us are so keyed into listening to one another, it’s easy for us to anticipate where one of us is gonna go. Within the songs themselves, it’s limitless where we can take them. One night, we might play [the new album’s leadoff single] ‘Long May You Sail’ just like the record; the next night, we might go into a 20-minute space jam and eventually wind up back on the main riff. You just surrender to where the music is gonna go.”

It’s no surprise that listeners and critics alike have been surrendering to that music as well. Released to nearly universal acclaim, “Let Love Show the Way” features the jazz-like proficiency of each of the band’s three players, Simo’s robust vocals, and songs that are ultimately beholden to the blues medium, but never restricted by it. Psychedelic Southern rock, R&B, soul and ‘60s-esque Brit rock are all present, and it’s all anchored by propulsive grooves and their frontman’s epic, undefinable guitar solos. Shades of Cream, if you ask me.

“We worked hard on it,” Simo says. “And you can never know if people will like what you do. I try not to have any expectations, to be honest; we’d been slugging it out for several years. But with proper management and agents, and a real label behind us along with radio support, it’s all been very new to me and to us. In that regard, with just the circumstances and opportunities that have been presented to us lately, along with peoples’ receptions, it’s been pretty amazing to take in. Because, in a lot of ways, we’ve got a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead, and that never ends, really. We’re just grateful. We’re playing as good shows as we can, and we really try to push ourselves to play differently every night. It’s harder, but it’s been great so far.”

Like I said: modesty. You can’t learn that. For Simo, it seems like being a good person trumps being a good guitar player – although in his world, those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. One can only imagine the further heights this guy is going to rise to down the line (fun fact: the trio’s already plotted recording sessions for another album next January), especially when he’s as hopelessly optimistic as all get out, to boot.

“We’ve been a band for five years, and this is what we’ve waited for,” Simo says. “We’re not playing to gigantic audiences yet … but if there’s 20 people that paid to come see you, you owe it to them just like you’d owe 20,000. You have to value every person, no matter the size of the crowd. And if you stay grounded, work hard and you’re putting up something that has some value – everything kinda works out. Attitude determines your altitude.”

And, as if on cue, JD Simo – unassuming guitar god – summed up our entire interview better than I ever could.

Find the original interview on NBC SoundDiego here. Photos courtesy of SIMO‘s Facebook page.

DAVID MEAD / DITCHES

Ditches: Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp

1. Tell me about your current rig: These drums are Astros made in Japan in the late ’60s early ’70s. They sound old, beautiful, and perfect, both live and in the studio. I’ve been in the studio and at venues with other drums that I used to have, and it became standard to hit the drums and then wait while the engineer would trim out all the unwanted frequencies. These drums it’s like, “Check the kick”: BOOM. “Check the high tom”: BOOM. “Check the floor tom”: BOOM. “Check the snare”: CRACK. “OK, we’re done.” Afterward, the sound engineer always comes up and asks about them.

2. What is your favorite piece of gear and why? I got them in kind of an interesting way. I bought an 8-track reel-to-reel and a bunch of tapes off of Craigslist for I think $50, and then I brought it home and realized I wasn’t really going to use it. I put it back up on Craigslist and I mentioned that I would trade for something drum-related. My friend Gary Hankins from Scarlet Symphony/a billion other bands wrote me and said, “Hey I want to buy your reel-to-reel.” I saw it was him in the email and I was like, “Gary come over and grab this thing.” We hung out for a little while, I gave him the reel-to-reel, smacked him on the butt and he went on his way. Then I went upstairs and checked my email, and I had an email from an old man in all caps that read like it was the first time he had ever written an email. It was like, “HI I HAVE A SET OF ASTRO DRUMS I GOT NEW WHEN I WAS 13 THEIRR IN MY GAROGE I WANT YOUR TAPE MACHIN I CAN MEET TOMORROW LET ME KNOW MY NAME IS HAROLD GOD BLESS.” I was like “HOLY SHIT HAROLD GIVE ME THOSE DRUMS!!!!” So I wrote him and I was like “Hey Harold, I just sold the tape machine, is there anything else you need?” He said “WELL I COULD RELY USE A MIXER.” I had an old Mackie mixer and I dug it up. So we arrange for him to meet me at my old band’s practice space. Giving him directions there on the phone was a complete nightmare, and he pulls up in a PT Cruiser that seriously looked like he had driven over his own fence 1,000 times. Then he opened the lift gate, and they were in there glowing like when John Travolta opens that steel briefcase in Pulp Fiction. They had the original heads on them from the factory; they had almost never been played. Then Harold was like, “So do we have a deal?” I was like “Yeah, man!” The drums aren’t worth very much, maybe like $300 bucks, but I’d rather play them than pretty much any other set. I put on new heads and that was that – loves of my life.

3. What song of yours do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular style? We recorded our EP ourselves with these drums. We had some really good and pro stuff, and I really like it. I’ve been in big studios with a ton of mics on the drums, but I realized recording with these Astros that the more you like the sound of the actual drums, the less you have to search for tones in the studio. I really like how the song “Sucker” came out. My drumming used to be busier, but in Ditches I like playing more simple.

4. What’s the one “holy grail” piece of equipment (or kit) you’d buy if money was no object? I pretty much have everything I want. Maybe a set of ‘60s Round Badge Gretsch drums, but then if they’re too nice or valuable then you worry about them and can’t play them out and enjoy them. Actually, one day I would really like a set of Camco drums. When you play a set of Camco drums, it’s like putting on a pair of pants that used to belong to David Bowie. It’s definitely something special.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? We’re going to play with one of my favorite bands, Chastity Belt on 3/1 at the Continental Room in OC, and have some good prospects coming up. We’re in the midst of recording our follow-up EP right now. Super pumped for it to come out!

NATHAN HUBBARD

Nathan Hubbard: Website / Instagram / Bandcamp

Passengers: Website

The Scorpion Decides: Website / Bandcamp

toques: Bandcamp

Ogd_S(11) Translation Has Failed: Website / Bandcamp / YouTube

1. Tell me about your current rig: I don’t have a current rig, I use different equipment for different gigs. In general, I like oversized cymbals and older drums, and usually default towards simple setups. The musical situation will determine what size bass drum I use, if I need tom toms, what kind of snare I think will work, etc. I also build and modify instruments, so if the situation warrants it, I love finding something that will give the song or piece a stand out, whether its a shaker stick, a weird lo-fi snare, or an extended sound like a garbage can or hubcap. My collection has been years in the making; I try and be honest about if I am using a piece enough to warrant owning it, and sell things that I don’t use or doesn’t work with what I am hearing in my head. The best parts are the stuff that doesn’t require much upkeep and doesn’t break on gigs. The worst part is the fragile stuff (gourds, ceramic instruments) that break every time you move them.

2. What song of yours do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular style? Not sure I have a “style,” I’ve always tried to fit into the musical space while still retaining my own identity. Two recent pieces I have particularly enjoyed would be the toques track “1_0,” which has a fairly lo-fi drum sound with me playing in and out of a homemade loop, and the Hexa track “Chloe,” which has a super dead drum sound and a nice lilt to it.

3. If money was no object, what’s the holy grail piece of gear you’d buy? I spent most of my time in college playing classical marimba, which is hilarious because I don’t even own one these days. At some point it would be great to have a Marimba One low C marimba, but honestly we don’t have the room for it.

4. What’s the worst or weirdest piece of gear you’ve ever bought or used? A few years ago I picked up a Quijada, which is literally the jawbone of a mule, it’s a Peruvian instrument that you hit with the palm of your hand to make the teeth rattle. The vibraslap is the modern equivalent. It’s definitely not for vegans or anybody that is squeamish.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? New toques recording out now, and a new Skeleton Key Orchestra double CD will be out in May, just in time for a huge (24+ musicians) 40th birthday concert for myself at Bread and Salt on May 21st. A Thousand Butterflies is at Dizzys on Saturday, March 19th.

DANIEL ELLIS / SPLAVENDER

Splavender: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp

1. Tell me about your current recording rig: I’ve gathered a lot of awesome gear over the last couple years but I feel like I don’t have any go-to’s. The Vintech Neve emulator and the Distressor are two pieces I seem to switch off on. With the analog pre’s I used to get carried away with that ‘ppsshh’ sound I love so much. Now I’m not afraid to use a dynamic on vocals or something and just crank the Vintech until it goes ‘squish squish’ like a panini.

2. What song of yours do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular recording style? “Sho’ Nuff” is one that has a hazy vocal sound. I dunno, I guess that’s part of my style, but the song also captures that vintage surf-jazz thing I strive for. Crazy gear and expensive matching overhead mic pairs are cool and all, but knowing what sound your going for is invaluable. Our single “Honeysuckle” that is coming out soon is basically Splavender’s “Starry Night.” A 6-minute introspective synth-groove lovesong.  I think Van Gogh would dig it.

3. If money was no object, what’s the ‘holy grail’ piece of studio gear you’d buy? I love this question cuz I’d probably answer it differently day to day.  I’d probably get one of those Neve sidecar desks. With the 1073 mic pre’s in that unit, I’d probably do terrible, terrible things for that piece of gear.

4. What was the first piece of recording gear you bought and what are your thoughts on it now?  The first piece of gear I bought was a Presonus Audiobox 18. 8 tracks, digital. It was the only thing I recorded through for the first year and a half of learning and it never let me down. I use it now solely as a digital converter for my analog pre’s to enter Pro Tools.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? Splavender’s at Shaper Studios Friday, Feb. 26, with Dani Bell & The Tarantist (free), and at Mike Hess Brewery March 18, for our first-ever ‘Music and Beer’ pairing (Mira Mesa location). The new Splavender EP is finished, RELEASE DEETS SOON.

Find out how to win a free single complete with tracking, mixing and mastering from Daniel here.

 

LETY BEERS / THE SCHIZOPHONICS

The Schizophonics: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / SoundCloud / Website

1. Tell me about your current kit:  It’s an early-’70s sparkle red Ludwig. 14″ rack, 16″ floor and 22″ kick drum. You can tell the year because it has these super pointy badges that they rounded later on ’cause they’d always get snagged on things. My floor tom’s badge is a bit crinkly from getting snagged on my clothes a lot. It’s got a bigger rack tom than most kits have that I really like. Gives it a lower tone on my fills.

On my heads, I always use vintage coated drum heads. They have a a warmer tone than any other heads I’ve ever played on. It adds a subtle mute without doing too much to it. I always cut as much ring out of the toms without getting too muffled with Moongels. I like the gel better than tape cause it’s not a permanent thing and wont get too messy if you take it off. If I’m doing a show where everything is mic’d, I’ll dampen with more gels to help cut high frequencies that cause crazy feedback. When I play venues where nothing but vocals are mic’d, I let the drum tones resonate more to carry the drums through the room.

My snare is a ’60s Ludwig that I got from Baba from The Zeros. The built in muter doesn’t stay up well so I use the coated emperors on that with ONE Moongel. If it’s naked, it has a ring I don’t like. Too many gels, you lose your tone. I always make sure to tune it up high enough as to where the snare frequency will pierce through the song when you hit it. You don’t want to have your most powerful tool getting buried in the other instruments’ frequencies. You’ll lose your drive.

2. What song of yours do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular sound/style?  “Red Planet” I think represents my style best. It has the the Lety-Stomp that a few friends have imitated when doing a Schizo-influenced song. I always strive to play something that I would want to dance to and this one has that energy that I like in other music. It’s super fun to play; really let loose on it.

3. If money was no object, what’s the ‘holy grail’ equipment you’d buy?  I am not difficult to please, but I would probably want a really high-end set of cymbals. That is always where I have to compromise and buy based on price versus quality. It’s my toughest category of drum gear where I have the hardest time picking and choosing. In the past, I’ve just played what falls into my lap. Having the financial resources to really dive into my options here would be nice.

4. Who is the musician you admire the most sound/gear-wise?  Locally, I appreciate the heck out of Jon Bonser. He’s taught me so much about the nitty gritty of drums. When we first started playing out, he very politely offered to show me about tuning and basic drum care after seeing my old mutant kit. If a head fit the drum and didn’t have any holes in it, I was good! I didn’t use bottom heads, and used to put a piñata in the kick drum just to fill the space. It’s funny now, but I really had no idea what I was doing past trying to learn to play songs. Jon’s been a good friend and really opened my eyes to the world of drums. He’s my gear guru!

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about?  Our next show is the DoSd launch party on Wednesday at The Casbah. Exciting news is we’re going to be a part of the All Tomorrow’s Parties coming up in April – the festival in north Wales that Drive Like Jehu is curating. We’ll be out there with The Schizophonics and backing El Vez as his Punk Rock Review band. We’re also a few songs shy of FINALLY finishing up a full-length album. We’ve been working at Earthling Studios with Mike Kamoo and his new 1″ 8-track tape machine that, legend has it, might’ve been the same one from Sunset Sound back in the day. Whatever it is, we’re loving it.

See The Schizophonics at the DoSD launch party on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at The Casbah with The Palace Ballroom, Mrs. Magician and Birdy Bardot. The show is free with your online RSVP here.

CARRIE GILLESPIE FELLER / HEXA

Hexa: Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp

1. Tell me about your current rig: How does it help you achieve the sound/style you’re after? I have a Roland Juno Di and TC Helicon Vocal Harmonizer pedal that I run through a Digitech Jam Man. I loop layers of keyboard and vocals and those become the foundations of my songs. I recently started adding some drum tracks from an Alesis SR-16, which I run through a Golden Cello delay pedal. I also run samples from my cell phone, through a voice recorder app that has cool effects like “Optimus Robot” and “Small Alien” and “Death.” Every piece of gear I use for Hexa is really versatile, which has been important to me in writing and performing solo.

2. What is your favorite piece of gear? My TC Helicon Vocal Harmonizer and my microphone. The TC Helicon is made out of magic and makes your vocals sound amazing. And the Harmonizer is super creepy so I love it. There is nothing fancy about the mic I use, but it’s special to me because I’ve had it forever and it’s stained pink from lipstick.

3. What song of yours (or your band’s) do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular sound/style? “Campo,” from the Bata Motel EP I put out recently. It’s has a dark sound and the lyrics are pretty heavy, but it still has this catchy, pop thing going on.

4. What was the first piece of gear you bought and what are your thoughts on it now? Do you have still have it? When I first started performing in bands about ten years ago, I bought a Kurzweil full stage piano. It’s completely impractical in that it weighs like 90 lbs. and is a total pain in the ass to transport. It sounds amazing and I still have it, but I am thrilled to be playing a compact little keyboard that I can throw in my trunk that weighs next to nothing.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? I released a four-song EP on Bandcamp called Bata Motel on Feb. 8th [Listen/buy it here]. I am performing at The Merrow on Feb. 23rd and at The Hideout on March 17th.

JEFF TERICH / BLOOD PONIES


Blood Ponies: Facebook / Instagram

1. What is your favorite piece of gear? My Fender Jazzmaster. I suppose it’s a little bit of a cop-out to say “My guitar!” But it’s true. It’s pretty versatile; I can use it as a catalyst for either some massively noisy songs or some more streamlined, goth-sounding stuff. Plus, I just dig the feel of it. Some guitars just don’t *feel* right, but when I got it—a Christmas gift from Candice a few years ago, no less—it became like an extra limb or something.

2. What song of yours (or your band’s) do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular sound/style? We have a song called “The Author” that’s maybe the shortest song we have, but the most potent distillation of what we do into a concise package. It’s a pretty fast song, with lots of delay and distortion, and no part is ever really repeated twice. It’s fun to play because it’s basically just this linear roller coaster kind of thing and it feels complete even though it’s only about two minutes. A guy at a show we just played said we sounded like a cross between Joy Division and Queens of the Stone Age, and the more that I think about it, this song might be a perfect example of what he was talking about.

3. Tell me about your current rig: How does it help you achieve the sound/style you’re after? I use two amps—a Fender Princeton Chorus and a bass amp—so that I can split the signal into two channels via A/B switch. I use an octave pedal with the bass amp, so that our songs have a bassline, even though we don’t actually have a bass player. Through the Fender amp, I use an OCD overdrive pedal and a Danelectro delay pedal. I love the sound of the delay, even though practically it’s not a super convenient pedal because the switch is just a quarter-sized button that it took me too many tries not to miss when stepping on it. And I use the chorus from the Fender amp. Those effects get me where I need to be. I have some other pedals that I don’t really use with this band because they just don’t fit the sound. And that’s kind of been my attitude from the start, that there’s no need to overload on effects. Some distortion, a little delay and some reverb (but not like crazy amounts of surf-guitar reverb or anything) do the trick. It’s also easier to carry everything to gigs that way.

4. Who is the musician you admire the most sound/gear-wise and why? When we started playing I was adamant that my guitar sound had to be just like that of Rowland S. Howard of The Birthday Party. I realized sort of quickly that was kind of a fool’s errand, however, just because the kinds of gear that people were using 35 years ago is going to sound inevitably different than what we use now. (Unless you track down all the exact same pedals, pickups, amps etc.) I still try to capture the scratchy, screechy sounds that he gets, but because the makeup of our band is different than The Birthday Party (two people as opposed to five) by necessity I play differently than he does, and I have a natural tendency to play things that sound a little beefier anyway. (Candice says that I do sing a little like Nick Cave though, so…)

But in terms of contemporary sounds, Gemma Thompson from Savages has a really badass guitar sound and the couple times I’ve seen them live, I’m always amazed at the kinds of cool sounds she’s able to wring from her setup.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? Feb. 23 show at The Merrow with Hexa and Subtropics! And we’re planning on recording some tracks in March. It’s about time. We haven’t been a band that long but we’d like for people to be able to experience Blood Ponies: The Home Version.

See Blood Ponies at The Merrow on Feb. 23 with Subtropics and Hexa. The show is free with your RSVP here.

TIM FELTEN / THE SURE FIRE SOUL ENSEMBLE

 

The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble: Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp

1. What’s your favorite piece of gear? My favorite instrument is my 1964 Hammond A102 Organ paired with my Leslie 145. The combo just screams; no Nord, Korg, or whatever digital organ simulator can even come close. This instrument will probably last past my lifetime with very minimal upkeep; Hammond knew how to build them to last!

2. If money was no object, what’s the one piece of gear you’d buy? Probably a Steinway Grand Piano. I mean, c’mon that’s about as rich of a sound as you can get. I’d love to be able to write tunes on an instrument as majestic as that.

3. What song of yours (or your band’s) do you feel is the best portrayal of your sound/style? From the first Sure Fire Soul Ensemble album, I really like the organ tone we got for “IB Struttin’.” We pushed the tape a little bit to get a nice bright and gritty tone.

4. Who do you look up to the most sound/gear-wise? Money Mark!!! I love his playing on the Beastie Boys records and his first solo release, Mark’s Keyboard Repair. He’s just a lo-fi organ/keyboard wizard, bringing some of the funkiest, dirtiest sounds ever.

5. What do you have coming up? Sure Fire Soul Ensemble has our 2nd album, Out On The Coast, due out this Fall on Colemine Records. Expect lots of Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Hohner Clavinet, and Hammond and Farfisa Organs on that one. We’ll also have another 45 out this spring (our 4th), with a really cool cover of “Message From The Meters,” featuring Kelly Finnigan from Monophonics on vocals, and Sergio Rios from Orgone on some nasty guitar. We perform regionally pretty regularly, please keep up with our happenings on Facebook or Instagram.

See The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble at Winston’s Ocean Beach on Friday, Feb. 19, with Juice Box opening. Show starts at 9PM, and cover is $7.

DUSTIN LOTHSPEICH / OLD TIGER

Thank you for visiting Gear and Loathing in San Diego. As the guy behind the scenes of this whole thing, I figured I’d start the whole project off by sharing what musical equipment I use and get the ball rolling. I hope y’all enjoy the site and find some musical inspiration along the way. ~ Dustin

Old Tiger: Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp

1. What is your favorite piece of gear? The JHS Colour Box. I’ve never been able to get the perfect light, full-bodied overdrive sound I’d always heard in my head until I played through that thing. It just purrs at all frequencies – and it’s great at doing a ton of other stuff (like crazy velcro fuzz noises). It’s pricey but worth it.

2. What song of yours (or your band’s) do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular sound/style? I think “Get Along,” off Old Tiger’s record, Love Have Mercy, is a good indication of what I try to do as a guitar player. That record has a lot of cool parts and different players, so while it’s not a great example of how I actually play live, that song has always been a nice one to listen to.

3. If money was no object, what’s the holy grail piece of gear you’d buy? Probably a vintage Gibson ES-355, ES-330 or Gibson Barney Kessel model – because vintage guitars (especially old Gibson semi-hollowbodies) have so much mojo, and they’re so comfortable to play.

4. What’s the worst or weirdest piece of gear you’ve ever bought or used? I have a weird Squier Bass VI that I still haven’t bonded with yet. It’s a cool instrument and has some funky sounds in it, but playing a bass with that many strings on a neck that thin has turned out to be a difficult task.

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about? Currently working on writing lots of music for Old Tiger’s next record. Hope to share some new stuff soon.