ROCKWIZ ORKESTRA

SOME KIND OF TV BAND

GRAVEYARD TRAININSIDE THE

RECORDINGOF ‘HOLLOW’

EBS Reidmar 250THE FIRST LIGHTWEIGHT BASS AMP FROM EBS!

EBS is proud to announce the release of the new ���� ������ ���� ���� ����� ������������ �����head from EBS Professional Bass Equipment. Rather than simply create a small and lightweight product, EBS have carefully developed the Reidmar 250 to feature the same tonal quality as our renowned full size solid state heads. ��������� ����� � ���� ������������������� ����������������� ����������������������whatever the playing style, with the look and feel of a bass amp. The EBS Reidmar 250 does not feature an automatic limiter that reduces headroom and ��������������������������������������������������������������� �����������������natural amp distortion when pushed to its limits, allowing users to take full advantage of the 250W available and create the impression of a much stronger amp. Anyone familiar with EBS bass amps will feel at home with the Reidmar 250. The highly ���������������������������������������������������������������"�� ������#����������������������������"$�%&'()������&**)����������������������+����������������������������� -���� /��������� �����13� "�������4-6���� ���� �������� ������ ���� /�������7�����������������8������-��13�-����+�3�%���������+����������$���9�������9���output.

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PROUDLY PRESENTS

National Free Call: 1800 466 157

OSBORNE PARK94 HECTOR ST(08) 9204 7477

CANNINGTON8/1296 ALBANY HWY

(08) 9258 4236info@kosmic.com.au

Issue

#70

WIN

TE

R 2

012

16 On The Road with Kim Churchill

18 In The Studio with Graveyard Train

29 DIY feature: Dave Graney

13 Missy Higgins and Lanie Lane taking it all in!

18 I Th St di ith

229

16 O Th R d ith

20 ..................................................................................... Dead Meadow22 .................................................................................Rockwiz Orkestra24 .......................................................................................... Paul Gilbert26 ..................................................................................... Steve Lukather36 ..................................................................................Brand: Takamine39 ..................................................Test: Red Witch pedals by Jed Rowe40 ............................................................................................. More tests46 .................................................................. Listen Up: Frank Varrasso48 .................................................... How Do I Listen: The McClymonts50 ...................................................... Music Ed: Trinity College London54 ...........................................................Retro: The Fender Stratocaster

PHONE: 03 9421 4499

FAX: 03 9421 1011

WEBSITES:www.themusic.com.au

www.australianmusician.com.au

MANAGING EDITOR: Greg Phillips

greg@streetpress.com.au

SENIOR GEAR ANALYST:Reza Nasseri

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES:Andrew Lilley02 9331 7077

alilley@streetpress.com.au

ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES:accounts@streetpress.com.au

DISTRIBUTION ENQUIRIES:distribution@streetpress.com.au

LAYOUT & DESIGN:Matt Davis

IPAD EDITION:Dave Harvey

CONTRIBUTORS:Shannon Bourne, Kim Churchill,

Dave Graney, Paul Matcott, Reza Nasseri, Bob Spencer,

Eamon Stewart

PHOTOGRAPHERS:Kane Hibberd, Mandy Lamont

PUBLISHED BY:Street Press Australia

2-4 Bond St, Abbotsford VIC 3067

PO Box 1079, Richmond Nth, VIC 3067

Under licence from Australian Music Association

The material published in Australian Musician is subject to copyright and

all rights are reserved.

The ‘Gear’ section is edited from information supplied by the Australian

wholesaler of the product and should not be construed as a review,

nor is it necessarily the editorial opinion of Australian Musician.

PRINTED BY: Rural Press

The life of a chart-topping musician may not always be what it seems. For Missy

Higgins, the ride was incredible, but after many years of tours, recordings and accolades, the inspiration deserted her. The songs weren’t coming as they used to. Something deep inside her wanted to know what else there was in life, so she quit music. Missy travelled, studied and did charity work… and guess what? The inspiration came fl ooding back. So too did a new album. Lanie Lane hasn’t been in the biz long enough yet to burn out, and the singer/songwriter is doing her very best to stay in the moment and enjoy it all. AM magazine thought it might be intriguing to get the two artists together. So we did.

We also spoke with LA stoner rock band Dead Meadow when they were in Australia recently. You can view a video version of the interview on the iPad version

of Australian Musician. (If you download the Inpress, Drum Media or Time Off apps, you’ll fi nd the AM issue in there!) Kim Churchill writes a tour diary for us and explains his amazing one-man band stage set up. We visited Graveyard Train (pictured) in the studio while they recorded their new album Hollow. Paul Gilbert has a chat prior to his October masterclass tour. We speak with Dave Graney and Cam Butler about doin’ it your own way in our DIY feature. Plus there are nine pages of gear news, road tests, and plenty more.

It’s free. It’s rockin’. It’s pre-tuned and sound checked. Go ahead, give it a strum.

Regards,

GREG PHILLIPSEditor

AM • 06

SOME KIND OF GENIUS TOURFULLY RESERVED SEATING

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

WWW.ROCKWIZLIVE.COM.AUFOR DATES AND VENUES ACROSS AUSTRALIA

AM • 08

INTERNATIONAL

SUMMER NAMM

This midyear gathering in Music City USA brings together the very best the music products industry has to offer: the hottest new gear, America’s Top 100 Dealers, and buyers and decision makers from a variety of segments. Plus, professional education sessions that help retailers refine their business practices for the selling season.

WHEN & WHERE: 12-14 July, Nashville, Tennessee USA

www.namm.org/summer/2012

NATIONAL

ALLANS+BILLY HYDES PRESENTSDRUMSCENE LIVE TOUR 2012

Featuring Thomas Lang, Dave Weckl and Dom Famularo.

WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 29 August, Parramatta Leagues Club, Sydney; Thursday 30 August, The Gov, Adelaide; Sunday 2nd September, Kedron Wavell Services Club, Brisbane

www.moshtix.com.au

THUMP MUSIC+ ALLANS+BILLY HYDES PRESENTSPAUL GILBERT OCTOBER MASTERCLASS

From platinum album sales as a founding member of MR. BIG, to new levels of ferocious picking techniques with shred pioneers RACER X, to exploring punk, pop, classical and progressive instrumental styles in his solo career, Paul Gilbert has recorded a massive amount of stunning guitar music, and played sold-out arenas from Japan to Jakarta. Gilbert is here in October to present a full Master Class tour around Australia, playing live with a band, demonstrating lessons for students beginner to advanced, answering questions covering sound and theory and more. Clinics go for over two hours, giving attendees the chance to jam with Paul.

WHEN & WHERE: Brisbane: Monday 8 October – 7.30pm; Sydney: Wednesday 10 – 7.30pm; Melbourne: Thursday 11 – 7.30pm; Hobart: Saturday 13 – 10am till 12.45pm; Adelaide: Monday 15 – 7.30 pm; Perth: Wednesday 17 – 7.30pm

A Thump Music showbag worth over $50 will be supplied to all pre-paying customers.

www.thumpmusic.com.au

ELIZA HULL’S DAWN

Melbourne-based singer/songwriter Eliza Hull is thrilled to be playing gigs in support of her newly released EP ‘Dawn’. Eliza, who some may know as former frontperson of the band Describe Eliza, had this to say about her EP: “After many years of writing, recording and re-working, I now have an EP that I am really proud of. The reason I called the EP ‘Dawn’ was because it’s just the beginning for my music creations.” The recording consists of seven elegant, heartfelt tracks featuring delicate arrangements played with grace and warmth. At time of print, Eliza had the following dates to play:

WHEN & WHERE: June 23 Toff in Town, Melbourne VIC; June 29 Albion Hotel, Albury NSW; July 12 FBi Social, Sydney

www.elizahull.com

CARUS THOMPSON’S CARAVAN ROLLS ON!

Carus Thompson continues to tour his impressive folk roots-flavoured 2012 release ‘Caravan’, with more Victorian and NSW dates added.

Described recently as a “Prolific talent for writing songs with engaging words, distinct melodies, and great hooky riffs, telling endless stories in the vein of great Aussie singer songwriters such as Paul Kelly,” Carus can be seen next at the Brass Monkey in Cronulla.

WHEN & WHERE: June 22 Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW; June 23 Lizottes, Central Coast, NSW; June 28 Transit Bar, ACT; July 1 Lizottes, Central Coast, NSW; July 5 Retreat Hotel, Brunswick VIC; July 6 Bended Elbow, Geelong VIC; July 12 Retreat Hotel, Brunswick VIC; July 13 Bended Elbow, Geelong VIC; July 19 Retreat Hotel, Brunswick VIC; July 20 Bended Elbow, Geelong VIC; July 26 Retreat Hotel, Brunswick VIC; July 27 Bended Elbow, Geelong VIC; Aug 11Martians Cafe, Deans Marsh VIC

www.carusthompson.com

JONATHAN BOULET TOUR

Jonathan Boulet is excited to announce that he is packing up the van and taking his band on the road for an Australian headline tour in support of his brand new album, ‘We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart’.

WHEN & WHERE: Wed 27 June, The Brewery, Byron Bay, NSW; Thurs 28 June, The Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, QLD; Fri 29 June, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, QLD; Sat 30 June, The Metro, Sydney, NSW; Thurs 5 July, Folowers, Adelaide, SA; Fri 6 July, The prince, Melbourne, VIC; Sat 7 July, Amplifier, Perth, WA

www.jonathanboulet.com

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT TOUR

The incomparable Rufus Wainwright, one of the musical world’s true original contemporary artists, is returning for an Australian full-band tour in September 2012, taking in most capital cities following the release of his acclaimed new Mark Ronson-produced album, ‘Out of the Game’.

WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 8 September Canberra Theatre, Canberra; Sunday September Opera House – Concert Hall, Sydney; Wednesday 12 September QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane; Saturday 15 September Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne; Monday 17 September Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide; Wednesday 19 September Riverside Theatre, Perth

www.chuggentertainment.com

ROCKWIZ - SOME KIND OF GENIUS TOUR

The ‘RocKwiz - Some Kind Of Genius Tour’ will play in state capitals and selected regional cities across Australia. Expect the unexpected when the RocKwiz team unleashes its unique brand of energetic musical magic. High profile stars and up-and-coming artists will rub shoulders with contestants

09 • AM

selected from the audience. The ‘RocKwiz – Some Kind Of Genius Tour’ is an extension of the television show, but bigger, bolder and braver. More guests! More songs! More questions! Freed from the constraints of a forty-minute television program recorded in a pub, watch the cast cut loose and revel in the freedom of the big stage.

WHEN AND WHERE:Fri 24 August – Darwin Convention Centre; Thur 30 August – Newcastle Civic Theatre; Fri 31 August - Sydney Hordern Pavilion; Fri 7 September – Canberra Royal Theatre; Fri 14 September – Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre; Fri 21 September – Brisbane Convention And Exhibition Centre; Fri 5 October – Hobart Wrest Point Entertainment Centre; Fri 12 October – Melbourne Festival Hall; Fri 19 October – Townsville Entertainment Centre; Sat 20 October – Cairns Convention Centre; Fri 26 October – Perth Convention Centre Riverside Theatre

www.sbs.com.au/rockwiz

FRENZAL RHOMB TOUR

It’s no $10 steak night, it’s Frenzal Rhomb playing weekends around Australia for the rest of 2012!

WHEN & WHERE: Fri 20 July Manning Bar Sydney NSW; Sat 21 July The Basement Canberra ACT with guests

Friday 3 August Hifi Melbourne; Saturday 4 August Pier Live Frankston; Saturday 25 August Station Resort Jindabyne with Mindsnare; Friday 28 September Adelaide Unibar; Saturday 29 September The Gap View Hotel Alice Springs; Friday 19 October The Spotted Cow Toowoomba; Saturday 20 October Hifi Brisbane

www.bluemurder.com.au

TIM AND ERIC’S AUSTRALIAN TOUR

It’s not exactly a rock show but then again, what exactly is Tim and Eric? Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim that premiered in 2007 on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim comedy block in the US.

The show featured surrealistic and often satirical humour, bizarre faux commercials and public access television-style music acts. Tim and Eric have brought their series to the live stage with sold-out shows in the US and UK.

The live performance is a monster incarnation of the hit Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! including sketch comedy and short films!

WHEN AND WHERE: Sat 29 September Melbourne, The Forum; Tues 2 October Sydney, Metro Theatre; Thurs 4 October Brisbane, The Tivoli

www.abpresents.com.au

NORTHERN TERRITORY

INTUNE 2012

Some of the biggest names in the Australian music industry will be front and centre at the 2012 iNTune Music Conference in Darwin, August 10-12, 2012.

The atmosphere at iNTune is a little less formal than most of the other music conferences around the country, but no less informative or vital. The weather is always perfect and the town comes alive, as iNTune coincides with the start of the magical Darwin Festival.

WHEN & WHERE: August 10-12, Vibe Medina Hotel, Darwin

http://musicnt.com.au

QUEENSLAND

ALLANS+BILLY HYDES PRESENTS JAZZIN’ UP THE MALL SCHOOL BANDS FESTIVAL 2012

Jazzin’ Up The Mall has become a major musical event, showcasing school music ensembles from all over Queensland.

More than 1000 instrumentalists will perform in the Queen St Mall in front of audiences and a leading commentary panel.

WHEN & WHERE: July 15 - July 22, 2012, Top Stage - Queen Street Mall, Brisbane, QLD

ENQUIRIES: Tina Inns @ Allans Billy Hyde Queen StreetPhone: (07) 3015 7134Fax: (07) 3221 8074Email: tina.inns@allansbillyhyde.com.au

www.allansbillyhyde.com.au

ALLANS+BILLY HYDES PRESENTSURBAN UPBEAT

Urban Upbeat has become a major musical event, showcasing school music ensembles from all over Queensland.

More than 6000 instrumentalists perform in front of audiences and a leading commentary panel which provides a forum for schools to exhibit the excellent instrumental programs they have established.

WHEN & WHERE: August 9 - August 18, Ekka, RNA Showgrounds, QLD

For more information and to register your interest online.

www.allansbillyhyde.com.au

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS

Bloc Party, Jack White, At The Drive-In, Smashing Pumpkins, The Kooks, Hilltop Hoods, The Shins, Gossip, Explosions In The Sky, Dirty Three, 360, Afghan Whigs, Kimbra, Lana Del Rey, Mudhoney, Ladyhawke, Band of Skulls, San Cisco and many more.

WHEN & WHERE: July 27-29, Belongil Fields, Byron Bay NSW

www.splendourinthegrass.com

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL

WHEN: 9-12 August

The 4th Adelaide International Guitar Festival is a unique salute to the world’s most popular instrument in its many diverse forms.

This year’s program brings some truly pioneering musicians to Australia for the very first time and sees the return to Adelaide of some of the most influential players of our generation.

There will be a range of ways to experience these artists, from concerts to masterclasses, from hands-on workshops to late-night club sessions and the new Meet the Maker series.

Australian music and outstanding local artists feature throughout the

program and there will be rare performances that won’t ever be repeated beyond this Festival.

Artists include: John Scofield Trio, Punch Brothers, Tommy Emmanuel, Tinpan Orange, Ana Vidovic, Edin Karamazov and more.

www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

VICTORIA

RECLINK COMMUNITY CUP 2012

WHEN & WHERE: 24 June, Elsternwick Park

Entry is $10 for adults, and $5 for kids under 16.

Gates open at 12 noon. Live music kicks off from 12 noon. Reclink Community Cup match commences at 2pm.

It’s on again! The annual take-no-prisoners traditional clash between The Rockdogs and Triple R 102.7FM / PBS 106.7FM Megahertz will be fought out at Elsternwick Park on Sunday 24 June.

The Community Cup has been held in Melbourne for 20 years and since 2009, the event has been hosted by Reclink Australia.

The annual football clash takes place every June between the Rockdogs (members of the Melbourne mu sic fraternity) and the Megahertz (the best of our community radio rep).

Whilst the footy match will be the centerpiece, there will also be mu sical entertainment provided by bands throughout the day.

Much-loved iconic ‘80s Melbourne band Blue Ruin have been enticed to come out of retirement to perform a set at the end of the match.

Other bands performing are Melbourne indie-pop band Boomgates (featuring members from Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Dick Diver, and The Twerps) and all-girl Melbourne rock outfit Bunny Monroe.

Food and beverages will be available on the day, and there will be activities for the kids.

www.communitycup.org.au

BAKE HOUSE TURNS 21

Since the 23rd of February 2010, Quincy McLean and Helen Marcou have been more associated with the amazing SLAM rally in Melbourne, which saw thousands of people take to the streets in support of live music. Their day job, however, consists of running Bake House Recording and Rehearsal Studios. Bake House Studios comes of age this year as it turns 21. The studio and rehearsal space has a long history of hosting many legendary bands from TISM, Australian Crawl and The Avalanches, to Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, The Saints, Sufjan Stevens and Elvis Costello.

The recording facilities include state of the art digital and analogue gear brands such as SSL, AKG, Neumann, Shure, dbx, Yamaha, UREi, Orban, Sebatron, and Digidesign Pro Tools with an amazing array of microphones, outboard gear, monitors etc.

A SHARP RECORDING STUDIO

Established in 1987, A Sharp is one of the few studios worked and operated by the owner. It is also one of the few big studios (but at a small studio cost) left in Sydney, with 4 separate recording areas.

A Sharp boasts two producer/engineer/musicians who between them have a wealth of experience. And all this expertise is included in the hourly rate!! Over 300 CDs have been produced at the award winning A Sharp by Owner/Producer/Engineer Jeff Cripps and his 3 Producer/Engineers, Steve Zitkus,

Jordy Lane and Glenn Santry. The studio is 24-32

track digital, with 4 separate live recording rooms.

STUDIONEWS

JB HI FI ENTERS THE

INSTRUMENT MARKET

Noticed anything different while browsing through a JB Hi

Fi store lately? Stumbled across a guitar, amplifier or keyboard while queuing to pay for your purchases? As JB Hi Fi’s Nick Kanaris told Australian Musician, It’s only the beginning, as the retail chain looks to expand their range of instruments into as many stores as possible.

Kanaris first saw the music gear possibilities with the DJ product they introduced back in 2006. He not only witnessed strong sales, but also customer engagement. “It was exciting because we began putting it into 10, then 15, 20 stores and business grew so quickly. It was great to see kids in there and their mothers wanting to drag them out but they’d just want to stay pushing buttons and flipping the platter,” Nick says. Seeing the potential, Nick then drip-fed Marshall micro amps into the store, followed by guitars, other amps, keyboards, microphones and strings into 40 stores with a view to stock 80 in the near future. “We have hundreds of thousands of transactions per week. If one percent of those bought a musical instrument, it will grow the market significantly.”

Should the local musical instrument store be worried about JB’s foray into instruments? “No not at all,” said Nick. “This is all about OUR customers. I think a lot of people in the industry have misunderstood what we are trying to do. We’re not going to be able to customise pickups or things like that and we’re happy to send customers down the road to a specialised instrument store for that sort of thing.”

Nick admits that they could get a much better return for their floor space with more laptops or flat screen TVs, but it’s the store experience they really want to focus on. “We’re telling our store managers to let the kids have a go,” he said. “If they are in the store for three hours, we don’t care. Retailers have to be smarter about engaging customers.”

WINNERS ARE GRINNERS

Thomas Conroy of Skye, Victoria was voted in our Most Important Musician poll in the last issue and won himself a bunch of amazing Boss Effects pedals. Meanwhile, Ashleigh Smith

from Newcastle, NSW won himself a Tom Maxwell (Hellyeah)

Signature Dean Guitar by entering a competition in

Australian Musician.

DEAD IN A SECOND’S EP & TC DEALDead In A Second launched their debut EP Maretimo at Melbourne’s Evelyn Hotel in mid-June. The band features Thousand Needles In Red guitarist/writer Tristan ‘Triz’ Bouillaut. Triz is a respected musician who has acquired a swag of endorsement deals including TC Electronic pedals, VOX Night Train Amps, PRS single cut electric guitars, and Faith acoustic guitars. Check out Dead In A Second’s band page on Facebook.

AM • 10

GURRUMUL MEETS MUSIC LEGENDSGurrumul Yunupingu joined an amazing array of music legends including Stevie

Wonder, Elton John and Paul McCartney to perform at the Queen’s Diamond

Jubilee Concert on June 4th 2012. Gurrumul joined artists from across the

Commonwealth to perform ‘Sing’, the Diamond Jubilee Song written by Sir

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Take That’s Gary Barlow. Gurrumul will return

to Europe in July for a run of rare festival appearances, including Roskilde.

Gurrumul’s new single ‘Bayini’ featuring Sarah Blasko is out this week.

ONE THING WE TRY TO DO HERE AT AM MAGAZINE IS TO CHECK BACK IN WITH ARTISTS WE’VE COVERED IN THE PAST TO SEE WHAT’S DOIN’. HERE ARE SOME UPDATES.

THE MERCY KILLS featured in our Summer issue when they interviewed The New York Dolls for us. TMK have just released a brand new EP, ‘Say You Do’, featuring 5 high energy trash-rock anthems. TMK can be seen regularly gigging around Melbourne.

www.themercykills.com for more deets.

CRYSTAL THOMAS interviewed former Bad Seed Mick Harvey for the mag last year. Crystal has released a new album titled ‘A Chance In Hell’, co-produced by Spencer P Jones and Matt Walker. It’s an alt-rockin’ poetic journey into the darker side of life. www.crystalthomas.com.au

JULITHA RYAN was the keyboard player in the much loved trio Silver Ray, and she also road tested a cello for AM mag not too long ago. Now Julitha has released her debut solo album, showcasing her musical versatility and mature songwriting skills. soundcloud.com/julitha-ryan or Facebook.

MY SON THE BUM is a rock band from New York which hooked up with us a few years back. Prolifi c MSTB main man Brian Kroll (who never takes life too seriously) has just released another album, ‘Flipside of a Fairytale’.

First released in 2003 as a solo disc, the album has been

rejuvenated, 2012-style. www.mysonthebum.com

LOOSEGRAVEL

PRINCE DRUMMER ROCKS ALLANS BILLY HYDEAllans Billy Hyde are well known for the number and quality of instore events held throughout the year, the latest being a killer clinic featuring Prince’s dynamo drummer John Blackwell. A sell-out clinic saw JB lay down some killer beats and then thrill the crowd with 2 hours of conversation, advice and autographs. Stay tuned for more of the world’s best players at an Allans Billy Hyde store near you. Go to allansbillyhyde.com.au for news of upcoming shows.

FEAR FACTORY’S MIKE HELLER JOINS MEINL

Meinl Cymbals is pleased to welcome Mike Heller to its family of artists. Mike just landed one of the most coveted drum chairs in metal: Fear Factory.

After other obligations left world-renowned metal drummer Gene Hoglan unavailable to tour in support of FF’s new album ‘The Industrialist’, FF hosted a series of auditions to replace Gene. Mike tried out and nailed it.

“It is an incredible honor to be chosen as the new drummer for Fear Factory,” said Mike.

Fear Factory’s new album ‘The Industrialist’ has just been released.

11 • AM

Australian Musician has 3 tasty FX pedals to give away courtesy of T Rex Engineering. There’s the T Rex Gull Wah, T Rex Tonebug Fuzz and T Rex Tonebug Sense Wah. The Tonebug series of pedals are designed to have the quality and tone of some of T-Rex’s high-end products with simple controls and at a more affordable price. For info on the pedals, visit the Australian distributor’s website: www.australismusic.com.au

TO ENTER: One lucky Australian Musician reader will win the set of 3 pedals. To enter, email us at greg@streetpress.com.au and answer this question: Which member of the Beatles wrote a song called Wah Wah?

JIMI DOES JIMI WITH DR STRINGS

It’s all happening for blues-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hocking. Firstly he wanted to acknowledge the great support he gets from his endorsement deal with Dr Strings (pictured). “For standard tuning in my blues shows I use 10-46. For detuning at Jets’ gigs, I use 11-50. I also use 11-52 in standard tuning on my hollowbodies,” he says of his string gauge. “I’m using the DR ‘Pure Blues’ set, I like their smooth finish and they have an easy tension for bending.” Jimi also wants to tell the world about his new live album, ‘Jimi Hocking’s Blues Machine - Live In The Moment.’ The album was recorded at Melbourne’s Nighthawk Cafe early last year and features Karl Willebrant on bass and Graham Maddocks on drums. The album was first sold to audiences in Nepal and India when Jimi was involved in the Himalayan Blues Festival in Katmandu in November 2011. Jimi can soon be heard in the lineup for the ‘Experience Hendrix’ concert on June 23 at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre.

foc

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WIN A SET OF T REX FX PEDALS

The Answer

dynamicmusic.com.au facebook.com/ZoomAustralia

Zoom took the groundbreaking design of its G3 pedal and dialed it up a notch with

the G5 Guitar Eff ects and Amp Simulator Pedal. The G5 combines the ease of a stompbox pedalboard and the

power of a multi-eff ects pedal and USB audio interface, along with an extra LCD display/footswitch interface, Tube Booster, 3D Z-pedal and

additional amp models and eff ects. While extremely easy to use, the G5 gives you the ultimate in control over your guitar tones for in stage and studio settings.

Up to nine simultaneous stomps • Tube Booster for amp overdrive • Z-pedal off ers 3D parameter control • Evolution of tube amp simulation • The newest generation of DSP: ZFX-IV • Super real amp modelling • World renowned stompbox eff ects • Over 140 versatile eff ects on board • Looper function with 60 second phrase recording/overdubbing • Built in drum machine • USB audio interface for DAW recording • Balanced XLR output for DI use • Accurate, real time Tuner function • Super low noise design • 1.6ms patch change speed • Optional expression pedal and footswitch • Free Edit&Share software for Mac/PC

IN 2008 MISSY HIGGINS LOST HER MUSICAL MOJO, ONLY TO FIND IT AGAIN A FEW YEARS LATER AFTER A SOUL-SEARCHING RECONNECTION WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. LANIE LANE IS JUST

ENJOYING THE RIDE AND HOPING IT LASTS FOREVER. AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN’S GREG PHILLIPS SAT THEM DOWN FOR A CHAT AND FOUND THAT BOTH ARE INTENT ON LIVING LIFE IN THE MOMENT.

After releasing two multi-award-winning albums (with combined sales of

over two million) and embarking on several successful tours both here and overseas, on the surface it seemed that Missy Higgins’ musical journey had it all. Deep down, however, Missy was asking bold questions of herself and wondering what the hell it all meant. In late 2008 she got off the metaphorical tour bus and sought a different life route, seeking knowledge at university and fi nding worth in volunteer work. The break and the reconnection with the real world fi lled Missy’s soul and lit the spark for a second musical coming. A meeting of the minds with musician Butterfl y Boucher, whom she had met on the Lillth Fair tour, developed into a full-blown collaboration which resulted in Missy’s fi rst album in fi ve years, The Ol Razzle Dazzle. Lanie Lane, on the other hand, comes to the music industry with relatively fresh eyes. She just released her debut album in late 2011 and her mélange of blues, country, rockabilly and gospel has been creating an ever-increasing fanbase since. Lanie also gained the attention of the ultra-chic Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather), who fl ew her to Nashville to record a couple of tracks for his Blue Series project, a release which preceded Lane’s album. Prior to sound check for the fi rst of three sold-out Lanie Lane shows at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel, we gathered Ms Lane and invited Missy to join us for a pint and a chat about writing, recording, performing and the whole damn thing.

When you bring a bunch of songs together for an album, you could go a thousand different ways with production. Lanie, you went for the quick method, recording in four days …

LANIE: It was four days but over a six month period. There was one day where we did about eight songs, tracked everything and then the next day I did all of my vocals. Then we did one whole day on one song, the cowboy song. That was a really last minute song. It was a different band we had to put together … everything had been mastered already. I wrote it and everyone said, ‘you have to get it on the album’. So we got a whole new band together for the day in Melbourne. It was funny; so much of the album was like ‘bang’ and then one song, we

spent the whole budget on it.

Missy, you did the opposite and spent a lot

of time in the studio. Is it hard to know which way to go with production?

MISSY: It’s a pretty important decision to make for me, who you are going to use as producer, because I’ve never really had a very strong vision of how my songs should sound. It’s weird to say but when I fi rst write a song, it’s just me and piano or me and guitar and I really don’t think far past that. So it depends on who I work with to kind of bring that to life. I think with my fi rst two albums, I didn’t want the production to get in the way of the songs and the vocals and the lyrics. This time I really wanted something different and I wanted each instrument to play a really important role.

LANIE: Because it’s just my fi rst album, I haven’t really had the opportunity to get to know how I like to work production-wise but with my album, we said that the songs almost seemed like they played themselves. When my band came and learned the songs, which they did in an instant, the musicianship is amazing… but we just played it. They just made sense. You don’t really need a producer. I don’t know why, it’s just the style of the songs.

Missy, with the different approach in recording this time, did you enjoy the studio time?

MISSY: Yeah, I loved it. As I said, with the last two albums I wanted naturally sounding beautiful instruments and quite acoustic, stripped-back stuff. This time I wanted to experiment more with it … Moog synthesisers, keyboards and other things. I played the Tibetan bowls on one song and a toy piano. One night Butterfl y Boucher, who co-produced the record, and I stayed up late, pressed record and just recorded all these animal sounds. We did like 12 tracks of it and put it on a big bridge section of a song called Watering Hole. I really wanted to try things I’d never done before.

How important is it to collaborate with people and get outside your own ideas? Lanie, you worked with Jack White prior to the album release. What do you learn from a guy like Jack White?

LANIE: He kind of just reinforced what I already thought and knew and wanted to do.

He’s been doing it for so many years and over so many projects that he just nails it and he works so spontaneously. He gets the right people and he trusts people.

MISSY: What was this on?

LANIE: He has a record label called Third Man and I did the Blues Series. He has like the Green Series, Blues Series etc. He puts out whole albums of other stuff but only on vinyl and different kinds of vinyl. Karen Elson, his ex, put hers out on peach-scented vinyl. Mine was on tri-coloured vinyl. It was so fucking cool, and that was like my fi rst ever record because it came out before my album. He’s coming in July, only doing two shows, and we’re supporting.

MISSY: I know the two girls in his band from Nashville. They got called into this session and said they had no idea what they just did. They did some songs and left and didn’t know what it was for. Then months later they got called up and were told they were in his band. There’s like this shroud of mystery surrounding him.

LANIE: Yeah, that is so him, he is so cool and it’s so mysterious. You don’t know anything until you get there. He didn’t ask for song demos before I went. He just said come to Nashville, record two songs. You can do covers, originals whatever you want. He’s like, ‘Do you want to do it?’ That was it. Three months later I fl ew over there, not a word was spoken beforehand. I walked in, I actually just fi nished writing the song that morning. He had a band organised. He didn’t ask for instrumentation. It’s just this lack of worry

about what’s going to happen. It’s just trusting the moment.

‘We’re going to make this work in the moment’. He just picks up a fuzz bass and starts playing it. When would I ever have fuzz bass? And now I love fuzz bass.

At what point did Butterfl y Boucher come to yourproject Missy?

MISSY: I did Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair tour. Butterfl y is Sarah’s bass player. I met her on that tour and both Butterfl y and I have had people tell us over the years that we should meet and that we should collaborate. We both just went up to each other and started talking and got on really well. By the end of the tour I asked her if she wanted to do some writing with me. I was starting to get back into writing by then. I wanted to ask people that I respected and liked. She was really into the idea and said, ‘Come down to Nashville if you ever get a chance’. I started writing with her and fell in love with Nashville. I was writing with other people there and decided I needed to make the album there.

AM • 14

Missy, because there is so much in the production of your album, does that make it more diffi cult to transfer the songs to a live situation?

MISSY: Defi nitely. I’ve got a really great band together, one that can sing really strong backing vocals, which is a huge part of the new record. I think Lanie in her live shows is able to make her songs sound really close to the record, whereas I am going to have to change them a little bit and maybe simplify them. I have a keyboard player who can defi nitely emulate some of the sounds and I am going to have a cello player, but you can never have quite as much going on as on the record.

Do you use your keyboard as just a digital piano or do you get into the patches and different sounds?

MISSY: Me personally, I only really use the Wurly sound. I really like the Nord Stage for that,

it has a really great grand piano and Wurly sound. The new

one has a Mellotron sample, which I am really excited about and want to get. My keyboard player uses lots of different patches. I basically take the main piano role.

Lanie, when you go out on the road, how many guitars do you take with you and where did you actually fi nd those beautiful guitars?

LANIE: I use three. Betty Baby, the one in the song, is a 1957 Framus. The Epiphone Casino I bought in New York. The Gibson, which is my main guitar, I bought at Chelsea Guitars in New York. I play through a Fender Deville and Aidan plays through a Twin. We just like that pure sound with valve amps.

Do you think about your own style at all?

MISSY: No, I kind of play it by ear and as soon as something sounds fresh and original and exciting, I guess we’ll go down that route. If it sounds like something else, I try to avoid it.

What about you Lanie? You’ve got an old-world vibe to your material. Do you work at that or is it just you?

LANIE: Again, I have only done one album. I don’t want to think about it too much. I don’t want to be putting myself into that just because everyone else does. I have been changing musically and writing songs

for 15 years, and only now having to do it in public. I’m just always evolving. I have found this great sound that I love and with this band, touring together, we are a real unit. When you see

us play, it is not me and a band, it’s us. All of them and me, make me! That’s how I think

of it. When we get to do these new songs, it’s going to sound like us and all our personalities will be in there. The songs are going to be different and the content will be different and it’s not going to sound anything like a rockabilly thing. I think only a few songs on

my current album have any resemblance to rockabilly but people are like, ‘She’s a rockabilly queen’. I’m like, ‘Do you even know what that is?’

Missy, you’ve very open in interviews in about why you left music. What sort of things have you put in place to ensure you don’t go down that path again? Are you a different person?

MISSY: I think I am a slightly different person in that I am not so gung-ho about achieving so much. Now I am a bit more relaxed and thinking I need longevity in my career. I don’t necessarily need to reach a certain level in America or sell a certain amount of records. I just really want to have fun doing it. If I work myself too hard like I did on the last album, I am going to just need these massive breaks in between albums. Which is fi ne, I guess, but it’s not really sustainable. I don’t want to keep burning myself out and having to go away and then come back. I’d much rather do it in a more manageable way. Maybe take a few more breaks every now and then.

Is it diffi cult to actually enjoy the music making experience with so many other factors to consider as a professional musician, such as interviews and photo shoots, etc?

MISSY: I think what got me after a while was the small amount per day I got to actually play music. Even when things got really exhausting, I still really loved the couple of hours at the end of the day when I got to play live. It’s the rest, the traveling, everything else involved that seemed a useless way to be spending my time.

LANIE: That whole thing about being able to enjoy the moment, that’s something I have been writing about a lot. I feel like there are three ways you can ideally deal with something. You can accept it, just surrender to it and let it be, or you can have a really amazing enthusiasm for something, and think that we are so lucky that we get to do what we do. A lot of people don’t have that in their life. There’s always a problem. I am constantly trying to not have problems in my life. I know the bad parts of me which could be that problem-making person

but I also know that I am

not going in that direction. I am consciously trying to

go in the other direction and enjoy every moment, even if it’s kind of boring. But maybe I’ll be like you Missy and in fi ve years, I’ll go, ‘Fuck …’

MISSY: I think the most important thing for me was that I forgot to set time aside to write and be creative. I spent a couple of years touring America on a tour bus and you don’t really get any time to yourself unless you really make an effort and maybe lock yourself at the back of the tour bus or get in a hotel room every day. So it can be quite hard and I think I forgot to nurture the creativity in me. I still love the playing and think I am so lucky to be able to do this, but I didn’t feel like I could write any songs after a couple of years. I forgot to keep it alive. I am kind of in the same place as you are now Lanie, in trying to stay really grateful. Ultimately one of the conclusions I came to after taking such a big break was, ‘God, I am so lucky to be able to do this for a career’. You can make it any kind of career you want and it can be creative and it can be challenging and you can use your brain if you really want to. It doesn’t have to be all mind-numbing.

Let’s fi nish up with the future. Lanie, what are your thoughts for album number two?

LANIE: I think we’ll just wait until we get together. We’ve got a week aside in June to jam out for a week and write and maybe record on one of the days and then record in October. All I know is I have heaps of songs but I don’t know what it’s going to be like.

Are you nervous about the release of this album Missy, being the fi rst one in fi ve years?

MISSY: Not really. I am really proud of it. It’s quite different. I know that people will probably be polarised over it. I feel like there are still songs there for my old fans, but there are songs which are quite new territory for me. I think that’s a good thing for me to do personally because I just really enjoy experimenting with new ways of songwriting and production. I don’t ever want to repeat myself. I want to keep moving forward.

www.missyhiggins.com www.lanielane.net

23 • AM15 • AM

THURSDAY 3RD MAYAfter the amazing Gumball Music Festival (outside Maitland NSW) and three days off at the brilliant underground music venue, The Junkyard (the only place in the world I actually have a room), we set out for the Brass Monkey in Cronulla. Stopped off in Sydney briefly to do an interview with a local blues station called 2RRR and made lunch in their car park. Really enjoyed the Brass Monkey show. It’s one of the few shows on this tour that offers a more quiet, sit-down audience and atmosphere. They occur rather sporadically and create an atmosphere where I can experiment with slower, more lyrical and melodic pieces. I find I get as much of a kick out of the soft quieter shows as I do the crazy high energy ones, although in very different ways. As a performer you draw on different forms of energy as mediums to deliver emotions to your audience. This is an amazing area to experiment within and these quieter shows really offer it. The set-up I’m running with at the moment offers a lot in the way of dynamics, and I feel lucky in the sense that I get to experiment with different sonic levels depending on the shows. The stomp pad offers a more comforting hidden beat. It works well underneath as a rhythmic pulse that keeps everything moving. In the softer songs, I rely a lot on the delays on my harmonica (I have a separate microphone to vocal, though it picks up a fair bit of singing still) to hold the whole sound together. The vocals melodies and harmonica playing all sort of branch out with delays and add this ethereal wall of sound that

Kim ChurchillWITH

AM • 16

lies underneath. The acoustic guitar IS the foundation, but I run three other lines that allow me to layer and soundscape. Often at these quieter gigs, I’ll use the guitar amp with delays, reverbs and other effects after a volume pedal to create textures over the top of the acoustic guitar, which would be playing the main fingerpicking and chordal melodies. Having around 50 per cent of the effects after the volume pedal means they trail out even when I cut the signal. This way I can keep things clean and separate from the acoustic backbone.

After load-out we headed for a beach near Scarborough, north of Wollongong that I like to stay at. A full moon and less than a metre from the sand. This is the way I like it. A very calming way to finish off a day.

FRIDAY 4TH MAYGot up with the sun and went for a surf at Austinmer beach before putting up some posters through Thirroul in anticipation of my two nights at the Heritage Hotel in Bulli. Headed to the Illawarra ABC for a radio interview and played a couple of songs. I love radio performances. They offer a situation where you can experiment and try songs from a different angle. I have no effects or electronics here, just an acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocal. Such a basic set-up means as a performer you can put a lot more into your delivery and the pure transmission of emotions. I think

it’s very important to spend

as much time honing in on

these deeper subconscious

abilities as it is to work on

creating something sonically

unique. For this reason I always

try to do live performances

when invited to radio.

Left the ABC about midday

and headed for our favourite

Sydney ‘Pho’ restaurant. Pho

is really my staple diet.

Got to the Standard in Surry

Hills around load-in time. Five

sets of stairs and no elevator.

Sometimes the load in and

out can be brilliant exercise.

The Standard show was in

many ways your textbook

headline performance in a

HIS BIO DESCRIBES HIM AS A GUITARIST, SONGWRITER AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST. HOWEVER, THAT ONLY GOES PART OF THE WAY TO EXPLAINING THE SONIC ROOTS SYMPHONY KIM CHURCHILL CONJURES UP ON STAGE ALONE WITH HIS GUITAR AND GADGETS. HIS NEW ALBUM, DETAIL OF DISTANCE, HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED AND IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLETE AND COMPELLING AM MAG HAS HEARD FOR SOME TIME. KIM HAS RECENTLY COME OFF A HUGE NATIONAL TOUR AND FOUND THE TIME TO DOCUMENT A WEEK IN HIS LIFE ON THE ROAD, JUST FOR US!

17 • AM

typical band room. A packed space of people who’ve paid a ticket price and have an idea of what they believe they’ll see. Sometimes these can be hard as I always want people to go away satisfied, but at the same time I want to experiment and allow the musical journey to go where it naturally wants. As a soloist its so tempting to just do whatever you feel like within a song, and most of what I do has little rehearsed structure. Within these high-energy shows I rely a lot less on the stomp trigger. It’s used more as a contrast to the Kick drum and Snare trigger, which offers a much more hard-hitting sound. Also, the role of the amp changes from textures to the real backbone of the songs. I use octave and distortion pedals to ramp up the gain and help build the energy of the pieces. Compared to the Brass Monkey show, this is a far different way to approach things. I still use the delays on the harmonica and often add a clear digital delay to the acoustic sound. As long as I am perfectly in time with this delay, and practice the fingerpicking patterns in the right way, this creates another level of percussion, as the natural

Had a very rushed exit at 12.30pm to get back to Wollongong for a four o’clock load-in and soundcheck at the Heritage Hotel. Luckily snuck in a few hours sleep before the show, which was sold out and incredibly raucous and demanding of energy. Again, a different style of performance. When everyone’s that drunk, I am thankful for the kick drum and distortion pedals on stage. This end of my sound is always a lot of fun. Every line on full bore, kick drum going almost non-stop and just a damn good pounding out of rock and blues riffs. I got through most of my heavier material and finished up about 1 in the morning. Around 1.30am I was back behind the wheel for the overnight drive to Canberra, where I would be busking at the Bus Depot Markets in Kingston, one of my favourite places to busk.

SUNDAY 6TH MAYSlept from 4 till 8 in the morning and headed in to set up for busking. The bus depot markets, apart from being one of the cash cows that keeps me going, is an amazing atmosphere to play in. I play for around five to six hours straight and fill it in with whatever material I can think of. Heaps of time to write and experiment in an environment with no pressure.

Left Canberra at about 2.30pm and raced back to Wollongong for our second night at the Heritage Hotel. This was a really fun gig. With not much more than eight hours’ sleep since Friday and a good 12 hours of playing already done, I was worried I had little left. But this in itself creates a great desperation that fuels the music. It’s almost like your body prepares and rises to the occasion. There’s also fact that the last show of a weekend is a chance to really get stuck into the vocals without the worry of saving my voice for the next performance, I think it puts me in a great mindset for making music. I felt very free all of a sudden. With a slightly less rowdy crowd than the night before I was able to drop all kinds of numbers, which is also a lovely freedom. After an incredibly hectic few days it’s back to Fairy Meadow, a few beers and a sleep in.

www.kimchurchill.com

thudding and tapping noises of the acoustic are delayed into a rhythm. Alongside the Kick and Snare triggers this gives me a fairly substantial rhythm section to build the songs on and allows me to imitate a band. The guitar has separate lines to focus on the bass strings and the low notes that are picked. By separating these, they can be specifically set up to imitate a bass guitar and sit underneath the acoustic, which sits in the middle. The amp is then responsible for all the screaming distortions and high-gain element of the sound. I use all the splits so my guitar and foot percussion have the basic sound of a whole band, allowing the singing and harmonica playing to feature in the foreground. As I have moved and experimented with this sound, I’ve found I sacrifice the freedom to do the guitar acrobatics I used to do. I find the fancy guitar work may drop people’s jaws, but is far less nourishing for the listener in the long run. These days I’m more devoted to getting the song and all its emotions across.

After a damned hard load-out down the fire escape’s eight flights of stairs, we finally hit the road (2am in the morning) for the overnight drive to Narooma (around five hours) where, for about four hours the next morning, I would be busking, plugged into my close friend’s coffee van at the Narooma Oyster Festival.

“ I FEEL LUCKY IN THE SENSETHAT I GET TO EXPERIMENT

WITH DIFFERENT SONIC LEVELS DEPENDING ON THE SHOWS”

SATURDAY 5TH MAYBusked at the festival until 12. I find busking a brilliant way to practice and make fuel money, as well as getting your recorded material out to a load of people who never come to venues or festivals. As the set-up is very basic again it’s similar to the radio performance opportunities and allows me to focus more on the delivery of the raw song.

QUITE POSSIBLY THE ‘BLOKIEST’ BAND IN AUSTRALIA, GRAVEYARD TRAIN HAS JUST RELEASED A NEW ALBUM CALLED HOLLOW. AM’S GREG PHILLIPS DONNED HIS BEST SHED-WEAR AND MET THE GUYS ON DAY TWO OF RECORDING AT MELBOURNE’S ATLANTIS STUDIOS. PICS BY MANDY LAMONT.

“PLAYING WITH A DRUMMER LIVE, THE

SHOWS HAVE CHANGED A LOT. IT’S MORE RAUCOUS ANDROCKY, SO WE WANTED TOPUT THAT DOWN I GUESS”

There’s a perennial dilemma which most bands have to confront at some stage.

Do you give up your day job and go pro, or take the safe option, feed yourself, pay the rent but then struggle to fit gigs into your life? Alt-country band Graveyard Train must have had that conversation a hundred times. Their previous albums had been recorded on a country property a hundred kilometres out of Melbourne, where the band all stayed together on a working holiday. This time, day job considerations meant recording had to be closer to town. “In an ideal world, I’d love to go away and set up somewhere, which is what we have done before; sleep there, wake up and record,” laments guitarist Nick Finch. Lead guitarist Josh Crawley agrees to a point. “It’s hard to get these guys out. We’re on tour a lot. Everyone is taking a lot of time off work here and there. To get these guys out of the city to where we recorded the last couple of albums is a bit of an ask. On top of that, I really wanted to go into the studio. This desk here at Atlantis … all I know is that it is worth two million dollars!”

A ‘HOLLOW’ RECORDING Known for their horror-country imagery, with album number three, Graveyard Train were intent on proving they were more than some kind of gimmick act with a bigger focus on songs, arrangements, harmonies and instrumentation. “I think the music is more sophisticated … ish, than the last album,” says Nick. “We’ve got less schlocky with the songs than the way we started out. It’s become a bit darker and more musical.” “There are less straight up stories about mummies and zombies,” adds Josh. The number one objective for ‘Hollow’ however, was more simple than that. “The goal I guess was to get something done,” says Josh. “It’s been a while. The last recording we did would

have been in 2010. We have tried to do an album last year but we just had too much touring. I mean, everyone should be recording all the time. The goal is to have more material there. There are a lot of songwriters in the group. It has taken some pretty funny avenues this time. It’s a lot louder. We just got a full-time drummer around six months ago.” Acoustic guitarist Nick Finch picks up on that point. “When we did our last album, we didn’t have a drummer at all in the band. Playing with a drummer live, the shows have changed a lot. It’s more raucous and rocky, so we wanted to put that down I guess.”

It’s that live energy that the band is known for, and something they wanted to capture on this recording. The first step in that direction was to record together in one room, all at the same time, as opposed to individual instrument takes. The other important factor was producer Loki Lockwood,

known for his performance-based recording style. “ We’ve come in here before and separated ourselves in different rooms,” explains Josh. “This time we’re playing all together and I think standing next to the bass player or guitarist, it really does make a massive difference in the feel.”

One of the features of Graveyard Train has always been their gang-style vocals, akin to a bunch of drunken pirates but within the context of a spaghetti western. Much like The Pogues, a Graveyard Train gig is all about having a rollicking good time rather than being concerned about hitting pitch-perfect notes, but that hasn’t stopped them from putting a little work into their harmonies on the new album. “We always try to do proper harmonies and I guess it has advanced a little bit,” says Josh. “We always used to sing with a lower voice, but now a couple of the guys have different voices. Matt has a higher voice, so they stand out a bit more as opposed to the last recording.”

GRAVEYARD GEAR In order to produce that energetic alt-country brand of rock, the usual instrument suspects such as dobro, banjo, guitar, and washboard are required. However, there’s one additional piece of noise-making apparatus which the band wears as a badge of honour: an industrial-sized steel chain, which ‘chainist’ Adam Johansen hits convincingly with a hammer in the key of “rattle”. No surprises about the chain’s origins. “From the shed,” Adam exclaims in a tone which made me feel ridiculous for asking. “I needed to come up with some form of percussion … I went to the shed and found grandpa’s length of chain. Some call it the Manbourine!” The rest of the band erupt into laughter at hearing Adam’s new description of his chain

Graveyard TrainWITH

AM • 18

19 • AM

for the first time. “ You must have been waiting for ages to put that into an interview,” goads bass player Matt.

Acoustic guitarist in the band, Nick Finch shamelessly talks up his brand of choice, “just in case they’re listening,” he says. “I play a Guild acoustic guitar. I love Guild guitars! I had another one that got broken coming back from Europe. A baggage handler threw it and it snapped so I replaced it. I’m a Guild guy.” Josh Crawley has modified his musical role in the band over a period of time. “When I started with the band I was playing banjo, then I started playing lap steel, but I’m bored of those two now and I’ve started playing electric guitar,” says Josh. “I have a Regal dobro and a Dearing banjo, which is American made. Now I am just borrowing Matt’s Japanese electric guitar, which is a Kasuga. I have always used a Fender acoustic amp and if I didn’t want to take that on tour, I just ‘diy’ everything. But now I’ll try to hire a Fender Twin. I have a lot of feedback issues with my dobro. After this recording, I’m going to put a humbucker or something in it because it’s a nightmare sometimes. Any acoustic instrument, trying to put a pickup in it, is an ongoing saga for anyone. If the band sing in that perfect note, it just makes the dobro feed back. In the

song ‘Bit By Dog’, the feedback

is just this wall of voices that

drives me nuts.” Matt knows

the conundrum well. “At least

you know we are all hitting

the right note when you start

feeding back! It’s that perfect

frequency,” he says. Matt has

had similar feedback issues

with his double bass, but has

managed to find a solution. “I

put in a magnetic pickup which

is feedback-proof on stage.”

When it comes to recording

fretted instruments, there are

many schools of thought on

strings. Do you use fresh strings

and go for a bright sound, play

them in a bit first or keep the old

ones on and go for a more muted

effect? “I like fresh strings,”

offers Nick. “I have finally

found a brand called Plectrum

by Thomastik-Infeld and they

sound really good new. They

are the only brand of strings I

have found that sound good new,

otherwise I like to play them in.”

Josh prefers the fresh approach

too. “I definitely like to use

them fresh when recording. I’ll

change mine again tomorrow for

the dobro and banjo. They come

in those oxygen packs and they

get exposed really quickly and I

find they feedback as well after

a day or two. Beau, who plays

steel guitar and is crazy, does not

want to change his strings ever.”

Changing strings is one thing

double bass player Matt hopes

he never has to think about. “For

the double bass I’d hope they

last a lifetime,” he says. “They

are bloody expensive. I wouldn’t

put new strings on anyway for

upright or electric, they sound

pretty bad when new. They sound

like a piano. I would never put

new ones on for a recording.

They need to be played in.”

Graveyard Train hope that fans

will not only enjoy the new

album, but also be surprised. “I

think we might lose Tamworth,”

said Nick of the change in

musical direction. “There’s

still some country stuff and

some sweet stuff, but there

are a lot of psychedelic weird

things. We’re having a lot

of fun.” Josh is a little more

diplomatic. “It’s not like we’re

going down a heavy rock road or

anything. I don’t know that it’s

a massively different direction.

It’s just something we feel

like doing at the moment.”

www.graveyardtrain.com.au

LOKI LOCKWOOD – ALBUM PRODUCERTell me about the gear that you are using in the recording of this album?

I am definitely a fan of tape, so I track to tape. We have a Calrec desk which came from Nashville in 1986 (64 channel AMS/Calrec UA-8000 “Polar” console), which is fantastic. It was developed in London to steal the BBC contract that Neve had. So it’s like an overspecced Neve desk. It just has a terrific sound. Gladys Knight and the Pips did a record on it, Michael Bolton, and Amy Grant the christian singer. When we got it, it had been warehoused for ten years.

The guys were telling me they don’t use any effects on their instruments. Did you use any?

You always end up using some reverb and a lot of compression. The tape machine does a lot of that compression at the start, so by slamming the tape machine, you get that softer, more articulate sound that compression offers. I usually track what is known as the beds, onto tape and then I move it to Pro Tools. Then I’ll use external compressors often for adding overdubs. I started in the recording business well before digital so I started on tape and it is a great way to work. It is more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants performance mixing as opposed to, you know .. ‘I just want that fixed’ kind of thing. We do a fair bit of editing in Pro Tools. You can turn channels on and off and that sort of thing… little volume changes, but then all of that stuff is taken out of the computer and runs back through the desk with external effects. We have about 6 multi-effects lines we can put in and sometimes I’ll plug in a Sans Amp distortion channel, things like that.

What kind of issues does a band playing all at once in the studio present?

That’s pretty much the way I always work. I’m more of a performance-based mixer. I hate click tracks. I like to see the band go in and put down as much stuff as a unit and make me tingle.

AM • 20

over time too. When we get back, we’re going to play the Psych Fest in Austin, which is the Black Angels’ festival, and probably ninety per cent of the bands on the bill we’ve become friends with. It is interesting that internationally there is this group of like-minded people doing this thing, somewhere between psychedelic music, rock music, pop thing where it all meshes and there’s this scene which is pretty exciting.”

But what’s the point of talking to such a fuzz-laden, distortion-hogging, wah-crazy band like Dead Meadow and not discussing their gear… Let’s get down to business! Frontman Jason Simon has always been a Fender Telecaster kinda guy. He’s owned his main guitar since he was 14 years old. “You just get used to it and it becomes your instrument,” Jason admits. “I never really thought to play anything else. I’ve always liked the Orange and the Fender (amps); I have both. Either without the other wouldn’t be as cool. The Orange is so dark. It has this dark, cool mid-range and has the power but the Fender’s highs and lows and the spring reverb … I am such a fan of good spring reverb. The combination works well and being a three-piece, having more than one amp is super cool because it widens the spectrum.” With regard to his pedalboard for this tour, “I have had the same pedals for a long time. I have a Rat, Big Muff, Vox Wah, Rotovibe. Then there’s a company called Catalinbread who made some cool pedals for me, the Dead Merkin and Fuzzy Meadow with a blend knob, you can dial things in.”

spontaneity of many rock shows is diminished by a musician’s need to be alert to lighting cues or receiving staging instructions via their in-ear monitors, a freewheeling band like Dead Meadow is a joy to experience. Drummer Mark Laughlin isn’t so scientifi c about it. “I’m not a purist,” he admits. “I am not opposed to people using loops and visual effects, but I dunno … we just play our songs!” Jason interjects enthusiastically. “Yeah, I think that’s the only thing you have real control over in this day and age. That’s why we do it. We play all sorts of shows, anywhere. It’s what we do and we do it because it’s fun. We like to play music. It would seem really diffi cult to go on tour and have to play everything exactly the same every night; it would become so stale. What makes it fun is that there is room for change and actually be live!”

Tonight’s gig has an ‘old home week’ feel about it. Dead Meadow’s main support are their incredibly talented Canadian friends Pink Mountaintops. The opening act, Immigrant Union is the new band for former Dandy Warhols’ member Brent De Boer. The Dandys (and Brain Jonestown Massacre) have close ties with Dead Meadow. Steve Kille believes that those close creative relationships are vital to keeping your own music fresh. “I think it’s really important and really inspiring,” he reckons. “The more people you know who are these cool special musicians … and becoming friends with them … we’ve had some really interesting relationships over the years. It is probably one of the best parts (of what we do), the people you meet. There’s defi nitely a scene that is developing

It was Dead Meadow’s second tour of Australia, the third for Jason Simon who toured his

eponymous solo album here last year. The trio is now in its 13th year, having gone through various incarnations. They recorded one album, Feathers, as a four-piece. Original drummer Mark Laughlin is back with the band and has witnessed Dead Meadow’s progress from both sides of the fence. “It’s a little more song-oriented,” is Mark’s fi rst impression of the current version of the band. “When we fi rst started, it was like, ‘let’s play the most tripped-out thirteen-minute-long song.’ It’s a little more dynamic now I think.” Jason agrees. “All of the elements from the beginning are still there … the heavy riffs, the psychedelic jams. We want something that really evokes images and is also powerful but we’ve got more comfortable writing songs. We’ve got stronger vocally and we all know when to restrain and when to go for it, instead of just going for it all of the time. We’re all more tasteful players I would say … swing a lot more! That’s what we really dug in the bands we really like … The Beatles, Led Zeppelin … is the subtleties and how you can relate to the music on so many levels. The songs almost become simpler. There are less parts but so many more things going on because you realise how many different ways you can shift it … in subtle ways.”

Although Dead Meadow make use of visual projections on stage, their show is essentially just three guys jamming on songs. In an era where the

THE TOUR PROMOTER IS WANTING TO ‘SMASH THIS INTERVIEW OUT’ AND THEN GET ON WITH THE BAND’S

SOUNDCHECK. IT’S A PHRASE I RECALL FONDLY FROM THE LAST TIME WE INTERVIEWED ONE OF

HIS TOURING BANDS. DEAD MEADOW, HOWEVER, THE THREE-PIECE PSYCHEDELIC ‘STONER’ ROCK

BAND FROM LA, AREN’T THE TYPE TO DO ANYTHING REQUIRING HASTE. LIKE THEIR MUSIC, THINGS HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN CRUISE-LIKE GROOVE. WE’VE ASSEMBLED SINGER AND SONGWRITER

JASON SIMON, BASSIST STEVE KILLE AND DRUMMER MARK LAUGHLIN IN THE BAND ROOM OF MELBOURNE’S CORNER HOTEL. GREGG FOREMAN, KEYBOARD PLAYER FROM THE CANADIAN SUPPORT

BAND PINK MOUNTAINTOPS INTERRUPTS TO CHECK IF WE’RE SMASHIN’ THINGS OUT!

21 • AM

Bassist Steve Kille is also fond of Orange amps and back at home often uses two Orange stacks. “I like the darkness of them. There’s a tone. When we were in New Zealand, we weren’t able to use Orange amps and used whatever they had there. It didn’t seem to have quite the same effect. There’s something to those amps for one reason or another that adds something to the overall dynamics and tone and feel of the band. You can push them just enough so you sonically get it, but it doesn’t have too much blowing out of the sound. There’s like a tone at a level where you can get bass just right, where it can really make people in the front row’s insides move around and it’s kind of an experiment to get it to those levels.” He plays a Rickenbacker bass, the second bass he ever owned. “It’s sort of family at this point. It is such a part of me and my playing.” Apart from occasionally fl icking the switch of a reverb or compression pedal, he runs his bass pretty straight.

Mark, the drummer, is into Ludwig. “That’s my favourite drum company but when I am on tour, I play what I’m given. Back home, I like the Vistalites, acrylic drums that Ludwig make. I have one from the early ‘70s, clear plastic. They’re just really cool … really loud. I always wanted one because of John Bonham. He had the orange plastic one, and I also play Zildjian cymbals … old ones.”

It’s been a couple of years since Dead Meadow’s last album, Three Kings, a compilation of live performances and studio takes and at time of this interview, the guys were around

JASON SIMONTelecaster guitars through 2x12 Fender Bassman cab with Orange OR120 head and a Fender Quad or Twin Reverb.

STEVE KILLERickenbacker bass through Orange AD200B Mk3 with two 4x10 bass cabs and late ‘90s Orange super bass reissue head and 4◊12 and 2x12 guitar cabs with bass speakers.

MARK LAUGHLINLudwig Vistalite acrylic drums and Zildjian cymbals.

halfway through recording their next. Completing the album is a case of whenever they can get into their LA studio space. “You know, I think it’s defi nitely tripped-out,” Jason suggests. “We’re trying to get a really good recording and an awesome live feel but there’s some more psychedelic layering going on, maybe more akin to the Feathers era. I think after doing Three Kings, which was ninety per cent live, it’s really cool to take advantage of what the studio has to offer.” “Yeah, we’re getting our Abbey Road on,” Mark chipped in.

As with most things in the life of Dead Meadow, there’s never any grand plan. “It changes all the time,” said Jason. “It’s like, ‘let’s do this, let’s make this kind of record,’ and then it becomes another kind of record and that’s cool. It’s an organic process. I was hoping to get it out our Fall, your Spring. Hmm … our Fall, your Spring … I think that could even be the album title!”

www.deadmeadow.com

Yeah, sure, TV talent shows like The Voice and Australia’s Got Talent showcase our

local artists, but you’ve got to admit, they’re a little Las Vegas aren’t they? Whereas our friends over at RocKwiz, they’re more familiar: more rock’n’roll pub. Which stands to reason because that’s where it’s recorded, at the epicentre of Melbourne’s indie bandland, The Esplanade Hotel. It’s also the reason the show has enjoyed seven strong years of production, music fans connect with it. The other reason of course, is the cast: the multi-talented hosts Julia Zemiro and Brian Nankervis, plus a kickass band featuring James Black, Mark Ferrie and Peter Luscombe.

Guitar player, keyboardist and often cowboy-hatted James Black is well aware of the differences between his show and those mainstream TV talent goliaths and is proud of it. “I’m a music lover fi rst and foremost,” said James. “Rockwiz is a mixture of music and entertainment. We’re lucky to be on SBS and we’re lucky that they let us do whatever we want to do, more or less. We have to make sure people watch us but there is nothing like the pressure of those talent shows on the major networks. With Rockwiz, the producers love music and the band gets quite involved in the whole show. Because we have a tiny band, we have to make songs work without two guitars and a keyboard player and need to add more of our character to the music.”

There’s a long history in music of three-piece outfi ts making big sounds, often defying the limitations of the form. Although the Rockwiz trio fi ts the show as comfy as a glove, it’s a combination that Black found intimidating at fi rst. “I have always been a bit nervous about it because I don’t have big-time chops,” he explained. “There’s something about the psychology of three musicians that is much more manageable than a four- or fi ve-piece band, we can still improvise. I can go, ‘I’ll do this now,’ and start another part and the bass is the only other chordal or melodic instrument which has to adapt. If there was another guitar player and I headed off in another direction, there’s more of a chance of it being a train wreck.

score card holder Dougal will be entrusted with gear maintenance duties. “Everyone thinks he’s just an actor but he’s the top tech, stage guy in Australia,” said James of his offsider. “He’s been around for years and is across everything, whether it’s drums, amps, guitars.”

Black is looking forward to being on the road with the Rockwiz family when the tour kicks off in August.

www.rockwizlive.com.au

ROCKWIZ ORKESTRA HITS THE

ROAD SEVEN YEARS DOWN THE TRACK, TV ROCK TRIVIA PROGRAM ROCKWIZ SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN. ROCKWIZ IS ABOUT TO HIT THE ROAD FOR

THE SOME KIND OF GENIUS TOUR. AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN’S GREG PHILLIPS SPOKE TO

ROCKWIZ ORKESTRA’S JAMES BLACK ABOUT HOW HE MAKES THE SHOW SOUND SO DAMN GOOD.

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• Nord Stage 2

• Roland PCR800 controller

• Fender Telecaster ‘54 Nocaster re-issue

• 64 Gretsch Country Gentleman

• Fender Jazzmaster

• Monterey Jazz Bass

• Fender Blues Junior amp with Weber speaker

• Line 6 Delay and Modulation pedals

• Hotcake pedal

• Boss Tuner

• Zvex Fuzzbox

• Cry Baby Wah

• Electro Harmonix Pog & Big Muff

• Banshee Talk Box

Everyone is adjusting to each other. A three-piece is very liberating.”

An important part of Black’s sound is his main keyboard, the Nord Stage, which he has come to love due to the sonic options it offers. “I used to use a Hammond and a Nord keyboard,” he said. “The Nord Stage is so fl exible that I decided to use the Hammond emulation via a Ventilator pedal. We play four riffs a show over around 150 shows. It’s getting much harder to fi nd recognisable riffs. That’s a lot of riffs. In the last couple of years I have got more into the synth world and used the Nord. I can layer things up. We did a Nick Cave thing, which has piano, but then I had to mimic the orchestral with strings. I used a sustain pedal with the piano to let them hang more, so it sounds like two instruments. Then I was able to patch a tubular bell out of the Nord onto another keyboard so I could hit that for the chorus. It takes quite a

bit of time to prepare sometimes. We have a lot of young kids on the show now who have elaborately produced records. There is less emphasis on band recordings. I have to reproduce that stuff. The beauty of the Nord is that I can pop samples in and treat each sound with its own effects.”

For guitars, Black has always been a Telecaster guy. It may not be as versatile as the Strat but for him, it’s more about being comfortable and fi tting his personality. “I fi nd the Tele, simple, basic and strong and it suits my temperament.” Black will soon be hitting the road once again with Rockwiz and stage-hand/

You don’t have to do master classes, you could just gig and record… why do you do them?

Well, they’re almost like a gig. I always do some songs with a local bass player and drummer, and I really enjoy just traveling to different places and jamming with different musicians. But the big difference is that I can stop between songs, and instead of yelling, “Let’s go #$$% CRAZY” into the microphone, I can just talk to the audience like they’re musicians and get into the details of guitar playing. That’s probably closer to my personality anyway, so I’m really comfortable with it. Musicians are the people who I can relate to the easiest, so it’s great to get together with so many of them.

Who gave you good advice as a young guy that inspired you?

My uncle was, and still is, a great guitar player. When I was a kid, he told me to listen to lots of Hendrix. He also told me to put my hand on the bridge to stop the string noise, to use the volume control on my guitar to control feedback and to turn down when someone else is taking a solo, and maybe most importantly, he told me to practice ALL THE TIME.

On your Great Guitar Escape site, you say “If guitar is taught the right way, it can be surprisingly easy.” What do you mean by that?

It comes from own experience. I was taught the WRONG way, and it was really hard! I just think that teachers can forget what it feels like to be a beginner – not only from a technique standpoint, but also about the desire to play MUSIC right away. My fi rst lessons were all about reading notes. I think that’s ridiculous. Music is SOUND. Why should a student begin with something visual? I think ears and fi ngers are the place to begin. Reading can be introduced later on, but I know that it really turned me off as a beginner. I wish someone had just shown me a couple chords and how to strum. That’s fairly easy to do, and it sounds like music right away. That’s what I think is the right way.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you’d give to anyone wanting to play guitar professionally?

To make money playing the guitar… There’s really so many different ways to do it. You can teach, you can play covers, you can do your own music, you can tour in someone else’s band, you can be a studio musician, you can write songs for other artists, you can play on movie or TV soundtracks… There’s not

Why the taller, narrower frets?

It’s the same purpose as a scalloped fi ngerboard. The tall frets allow you to get a good hold of the string for bending and vibrato. Since the scale length of the Fireman is 24 ¾”, the skinny frets give your fi ngers a little more room, which I notice especially when playing on the higher frets. And I think the intonation becomes a little more accurate.

There is a lot of information on the web about the pedals you use, but could you please bring us up to speed with what is in your board at this moment in time?

Lots of Velcro! That way I can keep experimenting. At this very moment, I have an Empress Effects Compressor, a Foxrox Octron, a Majik Box Fuzz Universe, a Lehle splitter… This goes into two separate MXR Phase 90s, and out to two Marshall amps. I set the MXRs at slightly different speeds for a really cool stereo effect. And the whole thing is powered by a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus. I’ve been using a Korg Pitchclip Tuner a lot lately, so I haven’t been using a pedal tuner in the studio. Although I’m sure I’ll put one back for live because it’s nice to have it mute as well.

How are you currently running your amps? what’s the signal chain?

I’m in the studio making a new record right now, so I’m using the pedalboard that I was talking about into two Marshalls. I’ve got a 1987x head and a 2061x head. Each one goes into a THD Hot Plate and then into the 2 x 12s of a Vintage Modern combo.

How much of your effects come from your amp as compared to pedals?

Sometimes I’ll put an Electro-Harmonix Cathedral reverb pedal in the loop of the amp, but mostly I just use the pedals before the input of the amp.

How different is the rig you use for masterclasses to what you’d use in a gig?

I usually ask for Marshall DSL heads when I travel because they’re usually available and they always sound good. I’ll switch out certain pedals depending on what songs are on my setlist. If the songs have cleaner sections, I’ll bring a Detox EQ, and if I want some crazy dive-bomb sounds, I’ll bring my Airplane Flanger.

www.thumpmusic.com.au

BIG HAIR, BIG BALLADS AND A BIG REPUTATION AMONG THE MUSIC COMMUNITY. THAT WAS MR BIG, A FOUR-PIECE AMERICAN ROCK OUTFIT IN

THE EIGHTIES. THE BAND FEATURED RESPECTED GUITARIST PAUL GILBERT, WHO HAS GONE ON TO CARVE OUT A CAREER AS A SOLO ARTIST, GUITAR

INSTRUCTOR AND SOUGHT-AFTER SESSION PLAYER. PAUL WILL BE IN AUSTRALIA FOR A SERIES OF

GUITAR MASTERCLASSES IN OCTOBER. AM CAUGHT UP WITH PAUL PRIOR TO THE TOUR.

PAUL GILBERT:

CLASS MASTER

AM • 24

only one way to do it. In any case, the obvious thing is being able to play well and to make good musical choices. Looking good, getting along with people, and being able to sing are helpful too. If I had to pick one thing though, I would say to learn a TON of songs. Many rock and pop musicians don’t read music very well, and so a good knowledge of songs really becomes a useful language. I’m always making references to songs by The Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and so many more when I’m talking to musicians.

When you were working with Ibanez on your latest signature model guitar, the FRM100, what were the key factors that they just had to get right for you?

The neck joint and the neck shape were the most important to me. I think that so much of the guitar’s tone and sustain come from the neck and the neck joint, so I wanted to keep it on the big side, but still have it be very playable. I went through about three factory samples before it was perfect.

If you have added anything new lately, for what purpose did you do so?

I’ve been having a lot of fun with the Foxrox Octron. I just use the lower octave, although the high octave has some pretty screaming

tones that I should use more someday. The Empress Compressor has more control than any pedal compressor that I’ve seen. And the Phase 90’s in stereo is just awesome for that spacious stereo warble.

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Most will know Steve Lukather as the lead guitarist from late-‘70s/

early-’80s pop-rock machine Toto. Despite a string of massive international hits such as Rosanna, Africa, and Hold The Line, the band polarised people. You either loved them or derided them and there didn’t seem to be too many in the middle ground. In terms of Lukather’s career achievements however, Toto accounts for a mere fraction of the work he has done. His bio lists around 2,000 recording sessions including solo projects, soundtracks, work with Michael Jackson, Cheap Trick, Aretha Franklin, Boz Scaggs, Elton John, Joni Mitchell and the list goes on. Lukather was recently in Australia playing alongside Joe Satriani and Steve Vai in the latest version of the travelling guitar orgy known as G3.

Hi Luke, how did you end up on the Australian G3 tour?

Last year my band opened for Joe at some festivals, and he asked me to join them on the tour and I said, “Gee man do you think I’m the right guy?”, because they’ve played with some truly incredible cats. I’m a bit of a wildcard, which is kind of neat because when you have three guys that are full on it’s pretty intense. So I said, I’m gonna go for this.

I had a look at your back catalogue of work on your website (stevelukather.net), and I couldn’t even count the number of albums you’ve been on.

Ha ha, they tell me it’s something like two thousand, but I don’t sit around thinking about it. I spend a lot of time on the road these days because that’s where the business is. I’m jumping from tour to tour. I’m doing G3, then playing with Ringo (Starr), which I’m deeply honourned to be a part of, then I’m doing Toto in the fall, then I’m doing a solo tour when my new album comes out, then it’s Toto’s 35th anniversary next year, as well as a lot of one-off “Wildcard” things which are a lot of fun.

Right now what are you using in terms of gear?

I have a pretty simple setup where I just use Bogner amps, along with my new Musicman guitars, the Luke L3s. They’re a new version that use non-active pickups, bigger bodies that sound more organic, as well as some stompboxes, nothing really major.

So what do you think would be the most important stompbox or rack effect in your arsenal at the moment?

ridiculous, I’d use a little or too much on one hit record and then all of a sudden everybody wanted to start using them. It was like eating too much sugar, at fi rst it tastes good and then you wanna throw up. I’m anti all that shit right now but somehow it still follows me around. Some companies would approach me with pedals that say Luke on it because they couldn’t spell my last name, and it’d be like some fl anger/echo/return/send, and I’d be like “Do you assholes actually think I sound like that?”

Steve, you’ve been one of the most productive musicians in a wide variety of genres over the past 35 years, is there any advice you can pass along to people wanting to make a living out of music?

Well I like to be busy, I like to be doing stuff, so at the end of my life before I take my last breath I can go “You know what? I didn’t waste my life”. As a working musician the session scene has gone, the live music scene is primarily DJs, and signing to a major label and releasing a platinum record will make you a hundred dollars, so you sign your life away to the devil. The good news is it’s changing. I think we’re at a period where the pendulum is going to swing around. Kids are discovering vinyl again, people are getting

out and rediscovering the live experience, and people know what’s fake and what’s real now. So stick to your guns, practice, don’t take no for an answer, stay off the hard

drugs and have a good time.

www.stevelukather.net

STEVE LUKATHER IS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED GUITARISTS ON THE PLANET, HE’S ALSO ONE OF THE MOST RECORDED. HE WAS RECENTLY IN

AUSTRALIA WITH JOE SATRIANI AND STEVE VAI IN G3. THAT’S WHEN REZA NASSERI CAUGHT UP WITH LUKE.

COOL HANDS LUKE

AM • 26

Musicman released a new Steve Lukather signature model guitar at NAMM this year. Called the L3, it features Alder body, maple neck, rosewood fi ngerboard Bridge is standard - Music Man® fl oating vintage tremolo of chrome plated, hardened steel with bent steel saddles; Optional - Piezo bridge with solid steel saddles. Scale is 25-1/2” (64.8 cm) with 22 frets, Schaller M6-IND locking tuners. Pickups are HSS - 1 Active EMG model 85 humbucking; 2 Active EMG SLV custom single coil. Luke plays through Bogner amps.

I’d have to say I like a little delay for the throw, especially when you’re playing soft, ‘ballady’ things. If I had to give it all up and just keep one pedal it’d be the delay pedal.

What delay pedal have you got?

Oh man I’ve tried them all and am still searching. I used to like the Lexicons when I was using digital

(pedals), but I don’t do that any more. The (Digitech) Hardwire ones sound pretty good, and the old Boss pedals sound very good too. It’s not just to vary the sound either it’s to add a little depth, when you play a sweet note it gives it a bit of vibe, it carries it a little bit. I don’t wanna squash it up and cover up the articulation, I just wanna give it a little love. Back in the ‘80s, it started getting

line6.com

Proudly distributed by: MUSICLINK AUSTRALIA 29 South Corporate Ave. Rowville VIC 3178 P: +3 9765 6565 F: +3 9765 6566 W: www.musiclink.com.au

DREAM RIGTHE ULTIMATE SET-UP

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DIY-DAVE GRANEY STYLETHE FEATURE THEME FOR THIS ISSUE IS DIY. IF YOU WANT A CAREER IN MUSIC, BEST YOU LEARN HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF. DAVE GRANEY WRITES FOR US AND WE CHAT WITH CAM BUTLER ABOUT HOW THEY DO IT. PLUS WE PRESENT SOME HANDY DIY GEAR.

Of course you have to do things yourself in this world, if you really want to be sure

they’ve been done. Also if you want anything done the way you want it. Don’t hold everything too close to your chest though; that’s a bit creepy – and needy. The way the music scene has been blown to pieces, you have to build your palace DIY anyway. Forget the idea of a Sugar Daddy coming to set it all up for you. You have to get your hands dirty all the way. Don’t be afraid to let people in is all I am here to say.

Modern technology has brought the studio into the realms of reality for

or John Fogerty who could cook up multi-tracks of pop genius in their own studios. They had grooves and feels at their fingertips. They had mad chops. They’d also come out of group situations and had things to say they wanted to capture all by themselves. They thought the sounds were so sweet and delicate they could only be captured by a lone player. They were right too. It’s possible nowadays for a lone star to do it all. A lot of music misses that extra filter of another person considering certain parts or possibilities of different tempos or arrangements. Think of a filmmaker sitting day after day editing the scenes. How does he get to trick his mind into seeing the whole film again as if for the first time? Usually he has to sit with someone else and watch it through him or her. It’s powerful, the idea of another person.

I like to play music with my band. I write the tunes, words and music. I demo some songs or bring it to a rehearsal, then we go and play and after a while we go to a studio. Of course, in the meantime we’ve shared many long drives and dull hours between soundchecks and shows and built up an understanding – a general feel for the battleground and a rough plan of attack. Quite detailed actually. I like to be in the room all together and

like schools for engineers and love to work with people like Andrew “Idge” Hehir at Soundpark who have all those old school, big recording room skills of mic placement and people management. Some things you cant DIY. Use those white-coated, backroom devils like Adam Rhodes and Casey Rice and Simon Grounds! They have skills and knowledge of arcane gadgets and mics. They know how shit works.

On this album Idge pulled out the ribbon mic. I’ve never heard such a great vocal recording. Dark yet peaking with pink fuzz like some old ‘40s R&B session. Just the way I like it. Of course, sounds like that got made because we work fast and the engineer has to know his field and all the tools and gets shit down while the time is right. When you’re by yourself, you have to do the mic’ing and the recording as well. Bummer.

You can do all sorts of stuff by yourself but music’s a scene where it’s about people, in the end. You have to let go and let other people get their hands on it.

Dave Graney and the Mistly’s new album, You’ve Been In My Mind, written, recorded and mixed by them, is out on their own label COCKAIGNE, through Fuse Music Group.

www.thedavegraneyshow.com

anybody who wants to have a go. Still, you need to get some knowledge in the studio’s black arts. You need to listen to people and to pick their brains. Of course, you can do a lot of this via the internet as well. Ultimately, though, you’ll have to dive in and press “record” and listen back. At that stage you’re by yourself as well, though wouldn’t it be great to have someone else there to bring their ears to the sounds as well?

Through some trials and errors

you get some tracks happening. In

the olden days it was truly for the

super freaks like Dave Edmunds or

Todd Rundgren or Stevie Wonder

lay it down quick. That’s me on electric 12 string and Clare Moore on drums (we’ve played together since 1979). Clare is great for arrangement ideas and textural hooks… a great drummer to begin with. Bass player Stu Thomas has been with us since 2004. He’s got a great ear for vocal harmonies and grooves. Stuart Perera has been with us since 1998. He plays a solid-bodied Rickenbacker, left-handed. That’s Dave Graney and the Mistly. For this album we did very few overdubs, perhaps one acoustic guitar, some tambourine, some shakers and a guiro. I think we nailed the ‘70s rock sound I’ve always loved. By that I mean Lou Reed’s Coney Island Baby or the Stones’ Black and Blue ‘70s sounds. The guitars pretty clean and all intertwined, panned out, trebly and compressed, mine through some Fender amps and Stu through his Laney. Lots of room in the sound too.

Then I went and mixed it all by myself on our Protools setup. That stuff is so amazing to us. We knew the world when studios were expensive and full of tension and dread. Of course we also know that those same studios were

n.

like schools for engineers and love to work with people like Andrew “Idge” Hehir at Soundpark who have all those old school, big recording

THE

FEATURE

AM • 30

CAM BUTLER: SAVE HIS DIY SOULMELBOURNE HAS LONG BEEN THE BASTION OF TALENTED, PASSIONATE, ALTERNATIVE INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS. COMPOSER AND GUITARIST CAM BUTLER IS ONE SUCH RESPECTED DIY SOLDIER WHO HERE CHATS TO AM’S GREG PHILLIPS ABOUT THE DIY CREATION OF HIS LATEST ALBUM, SAVE MY SOUL.

1. Create a comfortable and inspiring space that enables you to forget you’re actually recording.

2. Just because you aren’t in a professional studio doesn’t mean you can’t deliver a professional performance!

3. Don’t do it all yourself! Get a bandmate to take care of the technical side while you deal with the emotional/creative side.

4. Use a professional program like Pro Tools or Logic and learn as much about it as you can.

5. Quality over quantity. Purchase a small collection of quality gear and instruments and get familiar with them.

(Jean-Paul’s production credits include Last Dinosaurs, Birds Of Tokyo, Jet, Bluejuice and more)

to like their music familiar and neatly pigeon-holed.

“I am doing all of the promotion myself, it’s pretty much all self-generated. So I am up against it. It’s very hard. I have to try to spread the word in other ways and that’s how I came up with the idea of using the films,” he says in reference to the four videos by four different directors he commissioned for the album. The videos are a significant part of the Save My Soul live experience. “There is no way I could even perform this live and I figured, with the films, I can travel with it. I couldn’t do that with an orchestra. I had to come up with some way to get it live and it turned out to be really good.”

The hardest thing about being a DIY musician, says Butler, is the work you need to do outside of the creative sphere. “I get very demoralised by having to be a business person, to be candid with you. It doesn’t suit my nature at all. I’m not a very good self-promoter, so that’s the hardest thing. It makes the creative process stop. In order not to be like that I have learned to remove myself from that whole world periodically. It’s necessary evil that I have to be like this but you have to do it. I have to get out every couple of months and not do any of it.”

Butler is now writing another symphonic work. “I love it,” Cam happily admits. “It does require a lot of money; well not a huge amount but a lot for someone at my level of the food chain … It’s more than I can justify. I am getting better at doing it though I think. I don’t feel like I am floundering about like I did in the past. You just get closer to what you really need to do yourself; extraneous influences and other people’s ideas don’t impact as much. You get closer to what the true thing is.”

Cam Butler performs Save My Soul at Melbourne’s ACMI theatre Thursday 30 August.

www.cambutler.com

independent musician’s income create and deliver such a huge symphonic soundscape featuring 23 orchestra members?

Save My Soul began at home with some musical ideas based around strings. For the physical act of documenting those thoughts, Cam turned to his trusted black Les Paul electric to emulate the string sounds, then jotted down notes with ballpoint pen and paper before eventually notating properly in Sibelius. “I can play pretty much everything I compose on the guitar in a stripped-back way,” he explains. “It’s like a piano reduction of a score, but then you have to use Sibelius to notate it. I used to write out all the parts myself and there would be so many errors and you waste so much time. Sibelius is incredible for all of that. It’s a bit of a seduction though, Sibelius. You can sit in front of the thing and run around and you can chase your tail a bit because the computer brain is different structurally.”

Creating a work such as this, Cam can only go so far before he needs to call in help. “I need people to play it, I don’t use electronic stuff. So I pretty much need the musicians from the word go. I composed four of the tracks knowing there was going to be an orchestra on it. I composed the middle track knowing it was going to be my compadres playing on it. Knowing them so well, I composed it first, then gratefully got the government grant, the Vic Rocks grant, and I was able to go to the Iwaki Auditorium to record. The first step I suppose, in getting it out of my house, was giving it to a conductor and the string players.”

Being an independent musician who doesn’t come by a lot of media attention is one hurdle in the way of getting his music heard. By choosing to create a symphonic work combining classical instruments with electric guitar, Cam further

confuses the press, who tend

Cam Butler’s music has always been grand. So too are his plans,

which makes it all the more difficult being a self-funded, do-it-yourself musician. As both a creative outlet and also for survival purposes, Butler involves himself in a variety of projects. Since disbanding seminal art-rock instrumental band Silver Ray, Cam has

released albums under his

own name, with his band The Shadows of Love, as The

Coralinas (with Mark Dawson) and as lead guitarist in Ron Peno & The Superstitions. Throughout, one constant has been the the majesty of his music. Butler’s most ambitious projects however have been his three symphonic albums. The latest, Save My Soul, was released earlier this year. But how does someone on an

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PRODUCTNEWSAT2005USB MIC

Audio-Technica unveiled the AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone at Winter NAMM 2012. Ideal for recording instruments and vocals, this handheld dynamic microphone has both USB and XLR connections, enabling its use either with a computer or with a P.A. system.

Its durable metal construction provides long-lasting performance. Its low-mass diaphragm and smooth, extended frequency response make the microphone ideally suited for podcasting, home studio recording, fi eld recording, voiceover and live performance use.

The AT2005USB features a convenient headphone output with volume control that enables the user to monitor the audio signal right from the microphone. The mic’s USB operation is compatible with both Windows- and Mac-based hardware and software. Its cardioid polar pattern reduces pickup of unwanted sounds from the sides and rear, improving isolation of the user’s desired sound source.

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A JOYFUL SLOG- DIY IRISH STYLE

The Community Of Independents in Ireland recently launched ‘A Joyful Slog’ a documentary on the thriving Irish DIY music scene. The hour-long video is viewable on YouTube and features interviews with key fi gures in the irish independent music scene as well as performances by cutting edge artists such as ASIWYFA, Adebisi Shank, Jape, The Jimmy Cake plus many more. The fi lm is a fascinating look at how artists overseas are carving a music career for themselves.www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgvGuRfsoJ8

obviously push the product into a higher price range. The look of the app is really quite impressive. The design of the pedals, amps, and cabs had me watering at the mouth until I remembered that they weren’t real. They did however sound realistic. Line 6 have always been at the forefront of digital guitar simulation and really know what they are doing. The “Mobile In” is no exception and is a quality addition to their range. I’m a big fan of this product and think it’s best for jamming at home with your headphones on. It’s great for fooling around and trying to fi nd different tones. It’s good for recording but plug-ins make more sense to me, as they remain editable throughout the recording process. I’m still of the old guard when it comes to playing live shows, but I’m sure there are guitarists out there that will use it for shows no worries.

PRODUCTLine 6 Mobile In

REVIEWEREamon Stewart

INFOwww.musiclink.com.au

AM • 32

The brave new world of amp simulation has taken another step into the future with

the release of line 6’s “Mobile In”. Amp simulation has always been a contentious issue amongst guitarists. It causes old school purists to turn up their noses whilst gadget geeks roll their eyes in response. I sit somewhere in-between these two groups so I have decided to take a look for myself.

The product consists of an interface for your guitar that can also handle a line level signal for re-amping out of your stereo or computer. This plugs into the battery charger input of your iPhone. After that you need to install the “Mobile POD” app, and your away. The layout of

the program really made sense to

me. It was easy to navigate my way

through the different options and

alter them at will. The program

contains 12 pedals, 32 amps and 15

cabs all with as many parameters

as you would expect in real life that

are all adjustable. This allayed my

fears of the app being some sort of

“lite” program because it was for

an iPhone. The amount of choice

was equal to, if not more than that

of a digital guitar pedal or a plug-in

audio program. It really is a serious

piece of software. The “Mobile In”

records well however it only uses

the DA converter built-in to the

iPhone. A dedicated output with

a quality converter for a stronger

signal would be ideal but that would

Having made my way from pub to pub as a sound engineer in Melbourne, I have come

across many an Allen & Heath desk. More often than not it was ‘ye ole’ Mixwizard 16:2, which were renowned for their reliability and having some pretty good onboard effects. Now meet the ZED 16FX mixer, a multi-purpose USB mixer designed both for live sound and recording, with (you guessed it) plenty of killer onboard effects.

First off, let me say that to get your hands on a 16-channel mixing desk for under a grand is a mean feat in itself, let alone getting your hands one that has the mark of a well respected brand behind it. Allen & Heath have learned a thing or two designing desks over the years and have adopted a classic construction design with the ZED series utilising an individual circuit board for each channel strip, instead of cutting corners and using

of functional and practical high quality effects. There are 16 effects in the FX section, and I was more partial to traditional spatial effects for live use such as delays and reverbs, and now with the aid of a TAP/ Parameter, it’s possible to go in and change things like delay time, regeneration, pre delay and decay size so you’re mixes will sound tighter and more professional. The only qualms I had with ZED 16fx was a lack of phantom power on the desk, which may have purposely been done to take electrical hum out of the equation, and I would have also loved to see a second sweepable midrange to help shape things like kick drum and toms.

The Allen & Heath ZED 16fx is a great desk for rehearsal rooms, small gigs, conferences and even studio recordings. It’s extremely well priced and easy to use.

PRODUCTAllen & Heath ZED 16FX Mixer

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.tag.com.au

one circuit board for the whole desk. Every single pot has a bolt and a nut and is bolted to the frame so it won’t be lost or break the circuit board, thus being designed for portability as well. This 16-channel mixer features 10 low-noise mono XLR inputs, 3 stereo channels (with either RCA or ¼” inputs), with an FX bus as well. All the usual suspects are present over the XLR channels such as Gain, High Pass Filter, 3-band EQ with sweepable mid, 3 x AUX buses plus an FX bus and fi nally, Pan, PFL, Mute and Fader. The stereo channels have an Input Level, 2-band EQ, 3 x AUX and FX buses, and can also be assigned to run the RCA inputs of the Stereo, 2-Track and USB Returns.

One of the best features of this mixer is the ease of use when it comes to routing your sends and setting up effects. Let me say that the effects section in this mixing desk is a true powerhouse in terms

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PRODUCTNEWSPROPELLERHEAD REASON 6 RECORDING SOFTWARE

Reason is an industry-standard virtual studio rack with all the tools and instruments you need to turn your ideas into music. With its generous sound bank and intuitive fl ow, Reason helps you along in the creative process and is the music software that never gets in your way. Specs include: Thor Polysonic Synthesizer, audio tracks in the sequencer, time stretch, Line 6 modeled amplifi ers, audio transpose, Neptune pitch corrector, ID-8 writer’s toolbox of instruments, three new creative effects (Pulveriser, Alligator, and The Echo), expanded factory sound bank, and 64bit OS support.www.musiclink.com.au

ROLAND R-26: PORTABLE RECORDER

The R-26 captures audio with high-defi nition direct sound, as well as the rich natural ambience of the recording environment. With dual stereo mics, six channels of simultaneous recording, and much more, this portable recorder offers true professional quality and fl exibility, opening the door to limitless creative possibilities. Hand-held fi eld recorders have been hot commodities for sound-seekers for years. There are two types of stereo microphones built into the R-26, plus a pair of XLR/TRS combo inputs for external mics, and an input for a stereo plug-in powered mic. Choose simultaneous combinations of the built-in mics (directional and omnidirectional), as well as the external inputs. Capture live performances with simultaneous line and ambient signal paths, record important speeches, lectures, and presentations, or take the R-26 into the inner city or deep forest for pristine fi eld capture.

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Analog 2. I started out by listening to some MP3’s and CD’s and making comparisons to how they sounded between the Headpod and the direct out. Strangely enough, the Headpod actually sweetened the sound a touch by boosting the high and low frequencies for a more pleasant “Hi-Fi” sound. I also opened up some old recording sessions and it was able to get that cranked concert tone without serious distortion, which makes for a more enjoyable recording experience. Late at night, I often plug my guitar into my POD and jamm along to songs/backing tracks with my phones on, and the Headpod is the fi rst headphone amp I have had that can give me an great cranked sound without a lot of distortion.

The Aphex Headpod 4 is a quality headphone amplifi er and if you are serious about your sound or unhappy with the current signals coming from your headphone amp, check it out.

PRODUCTAphex Headpod 4

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.galacticmusic.com.au

Any musician who has tracked in a recording studio or has depended on isolated

headphone monitoring referred to as “cans”, knows how important a clean signal is. In most commercial studios I have visited, cheap rack systems are employed for quantity as opposed to quality, and in small home studios the phones are usually plugged directly into the audio interface due to only one or two artists recording at a time. The Aphex Headpod 4 provides solutions to these problems. It has four high quality headphone/stereo outputs and three diverse stereo inputs! There is also an input selector, master volume and four individual volume knobs for each output. The whole idea with the Headpod 4 is to deliver clear, undistorted sound at any volume, even if multiple amplifi cation stages

are used because no impact is placed on the previous load coming into the amp. On the back of the unit there are three inputs; a dual mono TS ¼” input marked as “Analog 1” (two guitar leads), a single stereo TRS ¼” input marked as “Analog 2”, and a small RCA style Digital S/PDIF connection marked as “Digital”, so you have up to three sources to select from. For example, if someone had a home studio they could plug the stereo output of their mixing desk into Analog 1 (to get a latency free signal for recording). The output from your soundcard could go into S/PDIF in for clear digital playback, and Analog 2 could be something completely different like a keyboard for a vocalist could test their pitch against. To test the Headpod I ran a single stereo ¼” TRS cable from the headphone out of my soundcard into

PRODUUCTNEWS

The Aphex Xciter is a new tone-shaping pedal that takes the circuitry of an Aural

Excitor and Big Bottom and houses it in a single compact stomp box. The new Xciter now does the same job as three Aphex pedals from the past; the Big Bottom Guitar, Bass and Acoustic pedals. The original pedals were hugely successful at improving your tone by adding depth to bass frequencies, and a sparkle to your top end, while at the same time pushing harmonics out for a richer, more noticeable sound. Like the Punch Factory, the Xciter also has an XLR output that’s phantom power ready and connects straight to a mixing desk, making it ideal for live and studio use. The way this pedal works is that it provides you with a way to shape your sound by combining phase cancellation, compression and harmonic enhancement, which will assist in making poor gear sound better.

articulate, acoustic tone perfect for delicate fi nger-style playing. Finally, I wanted to see how the Xciter worked in the FX loop of my amp. The aim was to transform a wimpy sounding ‘AM’ radio tone into a massive concert tone at low volumes and the result was just awesome. By cranking the low frequency knob all the way up and pushing the boost to about “8”, I had a crushing metal tone that’d make any Dimebag enthusiast weep tears of joy. Setting the high frequency knob at its max and boosting the gain to “4” made pinch harmonics pop out with the greatest of ease.

The Aphex Xciter is a multi-functional pedal that will give a plethora of tone shaping possibilities if you need an edge to your bass tone, more articulation for your acoustic, or a massive guitar sound out of your amp. If this sounds good to you, try this pedal out!

PRODUCTAphex Xciter

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.galacticmusic.com.au

First off, you need to use the harmonics knob to choose which instrument you want to use, and in my case, that was my trusty Yamaha bass. I set my tone to a very transparent sound and shaped my overall tone using only the Xciter. I used the Lo Frequency knob to set my Low Pass Filter to around 100 Hz whereby all frequencies below 100Hz are processed, and the more I pushed it, the better it sounded. The result was a strong, clear and focused bottom end that had just the right amount and compression and detail to ‘wow’ your ears. Now it was time to shape the high frequencies, which I set to 720 Hz. This is where I got that thick chunky rock n’ roll growl. Next, I plugged in my acoustic, set the harmonic range, dialed in the low frequency at around 150Hz and boosted to about “6”. Then I set the high frequencies all the way up to about 10K and boosted to “10” to add a lot of ‘air’ into my sound. The resulting tone was a modern,

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33 • AM

PRODUCTNEWSGUITAR GEAR UGIG INTERFACE FOR IPHONE IPAD

The Ugig is an iPhone/iPad interface that allows you to make use of a variety of great guitar apps. There are some great free apps to choose from, and the uGig is an affordable way for you to try them all out, have a bit of fun and rock out. The uGig can also plug into your guitar amp, which means you can get your great guitar tones through an amp, or even a PA system if you need a back-up should your amp go down! RRP $21. Just plug the uGig into the device’s headphone jack, your instrument into the uGig and connect the output of the uGig to an amplifi er or other device that has line input capability. Then you’re ready to rock!

www.guitar-gear.com.au

VHT’S V-DRIVE PEDAL

From clean boost to raging harmonic complexity, the new VHT V-Drive overdrive pedal’s unique controls offer an amazingly wide range of tones and textures at an awesome value. In addition to standard Drive and Volume controls, the VHT V-Drive offers four more unique controls: Select (provides ten different clipping diode confi gurations plus a clean-boost diode-bypass mode), Texture (adjusts the overdrive texture and harmonic content), Depth (unique 11-position Depth control fi ne-tunes the low-end response to perfectly voice the overdrive depth to suit a wide range of guitars, pickups, and musical styles), Tone (works in conjunction with the Depth control to provide a wider and more useful EQ-shaping range), and Voltage (uses a special voltage multiplying integrated circuit to increase the pedal’s operating voltage for a tighter, punchier, crisper, quicker-responding and more authoritative tone).www.dynamicmusic.com.au

Audio Technica have released a special limited edition model of the AE5400

microphone to celebrate 50 years in the business. Each mic shares the same capsule as the renowned AT4050 Large Diaphragm studio condenser, truly cardioid in nature, rejecting sounds from the rear and sides. At fi rst glance, the mic itself is quite elegant in a classy grey fi nish with streaks of blue throughout and each microphone has its own serial number (mine was number 70) and comes presented in a beautifully hand crafted wooden box. Aside from all the ‘bling’ that comes with the mic, this unit is one serious tone machine capable of capturing a full 20Hz to 20Khz bandwidth, with a slight peak at around 2.5 to 3.5 KHz and a bigger peak at around 9K, which translates in great vocal defi nition with some crisp air added as well. The mic is also capable of dealing with high SPL’s (sound

I plugged the mic into my desk, cued up the track and ran a free VST plug-in over it that removes the centre vocals and allows you karaoke along. After a couple of takes I was happy, with a brilliant vocal take, which sounded very polished. No EQ was added and a just a splash of compression and reverb was used to make the vocal sit in the track. The mic itself sounded a lot warmer and more detailed than I thought it would, being such a handy tool for singers in their own home a studio, sitting in front of their computers doing a lot of stop/starting. The Audio Technica AE5400/LE is a fantastic microphone that is suited to recording or intimate live performances where there’s not a lot of stage spill (it’s very sensitive). It has all the guts and character of a serious studio condenser and is perfectly suited to a wide range of vocal stylings.

PRODUCTAudio Technica AE5400/LE Microphone

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.audio-technica.com.au

AM • 34

pressure levels) of 147dB at 1K and 157dB with the pad engaged, which is about as loud as it gets inside a kick drum or in the bell of a loud trumpet. A custom transformer housed inside the mic shields it against RF interference and unwanted noise as well as aiding to provide a liner frequency response. Anti-shock engineering allows for low handling noise, engaging the onboard HPF (high pass fi lter) eliminates unwanted rumble and undesirable low frequencies, and a multi-stage grill reduces plosives and extra sibilance. I tested this mic in my home studio forcing my housemate Brad to pump out some vocals over a track he felt comfortable singing. Having done many demos with him over the years, I was very familiar with his voice and understood what type of mics suit his vocal style. Brad decided to go with the Karnivool track “All I Know” off their latest album “Sound Awake”.

to provide a different level of noise cancellation amongst a different frequency spectrum, so in the case of an airplane there is a lot of low frequency engine rumble, whereas in an offi ce it’s chatter/telephones. Four in-built microphones analyse and differentiate between environments, and selecting the right environment means better comfort; the wrong cancellation can mess with your head a little.

This has been my fi rst experience with noise cancellation headphones, and I must say that it was very rewarding. The musical applications could be phenomenal and could greatly benefi t engineers mixing live bands or tracking in a live room, to even using the ANC23’s for something like in-ear monitors. Folks it’s time to start making use of this technology now. RRP: ANC9 - $349, ANC 23-$99.

PRODUCTAudio Technica ATH-ANC9 & ATH-ANC23

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.tag.com.au

Whether we’re at home eating dinner while the TV is on, or cracking

away at work in front our computers while traffi c blares away, we seem to confront background noise distractions by fi ghting fi re with fi re, or better yet, volume with volume. Instead of entering into the volume wars when it comes to listening, companies like Audio Technica have taken a different approach by employing some basic physics to come up with a better solution. In the same way you lose frequencies when we plug speakers out of phase, Audio Technica have used the concept of phase cancellation to eliminate frequencies occurring outside our headphones by using small microphones to evaluate outside frequencies and send an 80° out of phase version of these frequencies is sent into the mix. This results in clearer, louder, and

far more isolated mixes at lower volumes. I gave the Audio Technica ATH-ANC 23’s the fi rst go, by plugging them into my MP3 player and going for a stroll outside where the roadside traffi c is generally pretty chaotic. Without even listening to music, there was an amazing sense of hearing loss similar to the experience of shock or passing out, but without the negative side effects. These particular headphones rely on a set of two small microphones to send phased out frequencies in a comfortable in-ear design. I was able to get decent smacks of bass, smooth mids and highs without any ugly frequencies lingering, so the phones themselves are quite good. Up next was the ANC9 (the big brother of the previous model) and the cool thing about these headphones was (besides the comfort) there are three modes of noise cancelling operation, Airplane, Offi ce and Study. Each mode seems

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return with their 20th studio album

featuring the single

Headlong Flight

rush.comau.roadrunnerrecords.comJune 8

The spark that led to guitar

production in Japan

in the fi rst place was a

tour by classical guitar legend

Andres Segovia in 1929, whose

performances inspired a string of

craftsmen to form family-owned

workshops to produce Spanish

classical guitars. It’s out of this

tradition that Ohzone Musical

Instruments Inc was formed in 1959,

leading to the creation of Takamine

Guitars Inc Ltd in 1962, hence the

50th anniversary celebration. It

was in 1968 however that Takamine

the fi rst time, in the late ‘70s, guitarists could acquire high-quality built-in amplifi cation in a traditionally-crafted wood-bodied guitar. That pre-amp innovation continues to this day with the many high-grade acoustic-electric guitars offered by Takamine. Daisuke Uegaki currently works as Overseas Sales Manager at Takamine. It’s his belief that his company’s pickup/pre-amp technology is a major point of difference between Takamine guitars and everyone else in the game, claiming that. “We have our original pickup system and Takamine guitars are the best guitars for the live performance without making any modifi cation.”

It’s no secret that trying to fi nd the perfect amplifi ed sound for an acoustic guitar is a live musician’s Holy Grail and it’s a

problem Daisuke and his team are constantly trying to master, often with excellent results. “We think acoustic guitar players are very analogue people,” explains Daisuke. “It means they really like to have a simple function, but it should also be a great sound. We were the fi rst acoustic manufacturer to get the Digital Preamp (called “DSP”, built in 1998). But many Takamine users are still looking for our old FET preamp against the digital stuff as the current worldwide trend. It’s a challenge for us to create the digital preamp, which analogue users are also happy to play.”

As with all fretted instrument manufacturers, Takamine today face problems their forefathers never had to consider, one of the biggest hurdles being America’s Lacey Act, a law dating back to 1900 and originally introduced to safeguard wildlife. The Act was amended in 2008 to include certain types of wood, many of which had been previously sought-after for guitar production. Takamine has an amazing stock of fi ne tonewoods including Brazilian Rosewood, Madagascar Rosewood, Malaysian blackwood and Red Spruce, many of which cannot now be imported into the American market. Takamine was determined not to let such restrictive laws spoil their 50th celebrations and at NAMM in January this year, they unveiled

LET’S FACE IT, MOST OF US LIKE TO CELEBRATE A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE. THE FOLKS AT THE TAKAMINE GUITAR FACTORY IN SAKASHITA, JAPAN, ARE NO DIFFERENT TO THE REST OF US. THIS YEAR, THEY HAVE BEEN ENJOYING THE CELEBRATION OF TAKAMINE’S 50TH YEAR OF QUALITY ACOUSTIC GUITAR PRODUCTION.

TAKAMINE’S SAMURAI SPIRIT

really began to make a name for

themselves , employing Mr Mass

Hirade as head of design and

production. Under Hirade’s guidance

the company reached out to the

rest of the world with their quality

hand-crafted instruments. During

this period the huge American

company Kaman, owner of the

successful Ovation brand, looked

to Takamine to assist in building

high-quality steel-string guitars

to compete against Martin and

Guild guitars. Although Takamine

actually became the biggest threat

to Ovation, company owner Charlie

Kaman was happy in the knowledge

that every Takamine sold was still

a “home” sale as his company had

become a minority shareholder.

Where Takamine shone most

though was with their work in

onboard preamp technology. For

a brilliant range of 50th anniversary guitars, none more impressive than

the T50th Anniversary model, a $10,000 work of musical art. The guitar

was two years in the making, going through at least fi ve artwork designs.

“The design we tried to express was ‘History and Time,’” says Daisuke.

“And the theme was ‘MICHI’, which is a Japanese word meaning ‘the path

or course to follow over a distance.’” Also released at NAMM were the

Limited Edition Classical LTD2012C and Limited Edition Dreadnought

with a top-grade spruce top and solid rosewood back, and featuring

Takamine’s famous CTP-2 CoolTube pre-amp.Then there’s the more

affordable EG50th, Takamine’s fi rst limited edition G Series guitar, built

using the same themes used on the more expensive T50th and LTD2012

guitars and featuring solid sitka spruce and mahogany back and sides.

Daisuke and other Takamine offi cialscelebrated the 50th anniversary

in style at NAMM at a dinner organised by their partner Fender Music

Instrument Corporation. Daisuke believes Takamine’s EF341SC to

be a stand-out guitar model and his personal favourite. “It’s still our

best-selling model and many musicians love to play it on the stage. A

lot of people say Takamine is the ‘King of Black’.” And what does he

believe really makes Takamine tick? “Quality craftsmanship, quality

sound and quality people at our company with a samurai spirit.”

www.takamine.com www.promusicaustralia.com

AM • 36

For your nearest authorised Peavey dealer: Call 1300 134 400 visit: www.peavey.coM.AU

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Lovin’ your 6505 Series but missing that gut socking, chest kicking punch you get with an EL34 amp? Great clean channel with footswitchable and front panel crunch option, two distinct channels, awesome presence and resonance controls.

It’s been a long time coming but the replacement for the much loved TNT 115 bass combo is now available. Delivering a maximum 600 watts in a light-weight class D tilt back combo.

Featuring spring reverb and analogue chorus, the 20 watt E208 acoustic guitar amplifier is perfect for any application where quality sound is important.

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RED WITCH SEVEN SISTERS SERIES EVE TREMOLO & RUBY FUZZ PEDALSJED ROWE LOVES A PEDAL AS MUCH AS ANYONE. WE THREW A COUPLE OF INNOVATIVE NEW RED WITCH STOMPERS JED’S WAY TO HAVE A PLAY WITH.

Pedal manufacturers love to claim that their latest creations are “unique”

even when they’re trotting out variations on the same basic effects guitarists have been using for decades. Red Witch’s new Seven Sisters range of pedals, however, manages to deliver seven of the effects you know and love in a package that offers some really handy features that you won’t find anywhere else.

The first thing I noticed taking the pedals out of the box is the size - The Seven Sisters pedals really are tiny (in fact they boast the smallest pedalboard footprint in the world). If you’re like me and are trying to cram an many sonic options as possible into the limited space of your pedalboard, then this is a big plus. I’ve got a couple of petite pedals (an MXR carbon copy delay and a Zendrive) but the Seven Sisters are significantly smaller than any pedal I’ve used before.

The other feature that makes the Seven Sisters different is the lithium ion cell battery (a world first) and inbuilt charger. I plugged the pedals in one morning using the 1-Spot power supply that I use to power my pedalboard (any standard nine volt supply will do). By the afternoon they were charged and ready to go. Alternatively you can use a nine volt supply to run off the mains like you would any other pedal. According to Red Witch the battery holds enough charge for one-two weeks of gigging as long as you remember to unplug the input jack to stop the battery from draining (note to self - unplug the input jacks!).

So, some great features, but what about the sound you ask? I was given two pedals to test, the Eve Tremolo and the Ruby Fuzz.

Up until recently I’ve always been more of an overdrive than a fuzz guy, but working on our new album with Jeff Lang I used some great fuzz pedals from Jeff’s (ample) collection, notably a ZVex Box Of Rock which came out a lot to thicken up lead lines and to dirty up my weissenborn sound, so I was interested to see how the Ruby compared.

To test out the Ruby Fuzz I plugged my Cole Clark Culprit (a telecaster style electric) into the Ruby and ran it through my usual live amp, a Vox AC 30. I found it took a bit of tweaking to find a tone that I liked - The Ruby has two control knobs, for volume and fuzz and with the volume initially cranked to nine o’clock I found the tone too harsh and

brittle for my liking. Backing

39 • AM

produce a pretty killer fuzz sound.

I’d love to try it out at a gig to hear

how it sits in the mix with the band.

The Eve Tremolo, like the Ruby

Fuzz, Comes in a sturdy die

cast aluminium casing and has

two control knobs, this time for

tremolo speed and depth. My AC

30 amp has a built in tremolo

so I’ve never considered buying

a trem pedal, but the size of the

Eve would make me consider

it - being about 1/3 of the size

of my amp’s tremolo footswitch,

using the Eve would free up some

valuable pedalboard real estate!

I A/B tested the Eve against my

amp’s built in tremolo and can’t

really find fault with the Eve.

Tremolo is a pretty simple effect

and the Eve supplies it in rich,

off the Ruby’s volume dial to 12 o’clock and driving my amp a little harder got rid of some of the white noise and resulted in a sustained, screaming fuzz tone that had plenty of cut without tearing my eardrums to shreds. For comparison’s sake I plugged in an Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff and did an A/B test with the Ruby. The Ruby lacked some of the low end growl and thickness of the Big Muff, but had a presence and cut that I think would work really well for some of the Hendrix and Neil Young inspired stuff that I do with The Jed Rowe Band. The lack of a tone control is a bit of a drawback, but I guess that’s the trade off with a pedal this size, and if you’re prepared to do a bit of tweaking with the tone controls on your guitar and amp the Ruby can

musical fashion. The speed and depth controls make it easy to dial in everything from a subtle pulse to floor shaking tremolo.

The Ruby Fuzz and the Eve tremolo do a great job of delivering some standard effects with some innovative features. Factor in a price tag of $149.00 and they make a pretty strong case for a little bit of space on your pedal board.

The Jed Rowe Band’s second album “The Ember and The Afterglow” , produced by Jeff Lang is

out in July through Fuse. The band is touring nationally in June, July and August.

www.jedrowe.com

PRODUCTNEWSLINE 6 STAGESCAPE M20D

StageScape™ M20d is the world’s fi rst smart mixing system for live sound. Utilizing a groundbreaking touchscreen visual mixing environment, StageScape M20d streamlines the way you mix to get your sound dialed in quickly and stay in the creative zone. Massive DSP power delivers comprehensive, professional audio processing on every channel including multi-band feedback suppression. Pristine audio quality will impacts stage performances, and multi-channel recording allows easy capture of every rehearsal/show, with or without a computer. The entire system can be controlled remotely from the stage or audience with one or more iPad® devices. StageScape M20d is the integrated professional mixing system that delivers great live sound, so you can focus on what’s most important: your performance.www.musiclink.com.au

MARKBASS MB7 BOOSTER

The folks at Itlay’s MarkBass have released a bunch of new effect pedals. Included in the new range are the MB7 Booster, the perfect combination for activating quick changes in tone and volume – for example a different sound in bass solos. There’s the MB7 Distorsore combining a wide range of distortion sounds, from natural sweet overdrive to very aggressive distortion. They’ve also given us a couple of new Mini series pedals including the MB Mini Dist featuring up to +60dB of drive gain and a pair of tone controls, plus the MB Mini Boost pedal offering your pedalboard up to a 20dB boost with the MB Mini Boost,which also features the same popular Variable Preshape Filter (boosts lows and highs, and cuts mids) found in all Markbass amplifi ers.All Markbass pedals feature True Bypass functionality.www.cmcmusic.com.au

DW has long been a front runner in the double bass pedal area, with a history

going back to the 1980s. With their dual-post, chain drive, twin-spring design, precision universal joint connecting rod, together with the use of good strong materials, the 5000 series bass drum pedals have become something of an industry standard. The latest version of the DW line is the AD4 5002 double pedal, and I was able to test drive this pedal over a two week period. Straight out of the box, the look of the AD4 is excellent – red base, black posts and chrome moving parts. The feel is solid, but not too heavy, with much of the pedals made from lightweight materials, combined with top quality bearings and other moving parts. The AD4 is set up for situations where more speed and more overall dynamic control is required. The 5002 boasts an ‘Accelerator ‘dual

bass drum hoop, giving a stronger, more stable grip, and the feel is rock solid with no slippage or unwanted motion. The tension wing nut that controls the pedal attachment is also located within easy reach on the right side of the pedal base and behind it is a locking space for a drum key, both contributing to an overall effi ciency when setting up. The Left foot pedal comes with a single post, making it easier to confi gure bass drum and hi hat pedals to facilitate movement between them. The AD4 comes with dual headed 101 Beaters, featuring hard plastic and felt beater confi gurations, and the whole package comes in a lightweight carry case.

My impression of this pedal is all positive: it is a well designed and manufactured instrument that plays with ease, and has an all round effi ciency to it that keeps it in the industry standard bracket.

PRODUCTDW 5000AD4 Double Pedal

REVIEWERPaul Matcott

INFOwww.imd.com.au

AM • 40

chain drive system, which uses an eccentric motion that creates an indirect relationship between the sprocket and the foot-board, thereby increasing the speed of the pedal by shortening the stroke. To me, the feel of the pedals was quite light, with a lot of bounce that could be controlled through minimal foot motion – I didn’t need to be heavy footed at all, and could easily access a range of walking/running/skipping movements on the pedals. The spring tension adjustments allowed for a very light feel through to something requiring a bit of muscle power, and I found it pretty easy to fi nd a happy medium between speed and power (for more direct power, the 5000 Turbo TD4 concentric drive system is more suited to power drumming). DW has redesigned some of the 5002 series features, with the Tri-Pivot Toe Clamp being one good improvement. Three rotating rubber pads make contact with the

sideit iskeyeffi Lef

DW 5000AD4 DOUBLE PEDAL

Situated at the base of Mount Takamine, what originally started as a family business

in the early 60’s has now expanded into one of the world’s most popular acoustic guitar companies. This long lineage of quality guitar production has now resulted in the birth of Takamine’s 50th anniversary models, and I had the chance to check out the G-series before they hit the stores.

The Takamine EG50th guitar is an acoustic-electric dreadnought cutaway, featuring a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood bridge and fi ngerboard, gold rosette and machine heads, all in a full gloss fi nish surrounding the instrument. A limited edition vine inlay on the neck and pick-guard are only present on 50th anniversary models adding an extra touch of beauty and class to these guitars.

Unplugged I consider this guitar to be “The King of the Zing”, with an

Plugged in, this guitar sounded very natural, with the TP4T preamp amplifying the natural tonal characteristics of this guitar. This preamp needed very little EQ to sound dynamite, and a splash of tiled room reverb helped bring the sound to life. The onboard 3-band EQ was wide and musical with just the right amount of cut and boost, so you can’t accidentally ruin your amplifi ed tone. I was also delighted with the onboard tuner (which is something I’d like to see on every guitar one day) which worked very accurately and had an easy to read display.

The Takamine 50th Anniversary G series acoustics are classy, bright in tone and visually appealing. They are a unique instrument in terms of sound and looks, with an easy to use onboard preamp that results in clear, crisp acoustic tones. ($1099)

extremely bright chime that seems to sparkle over strummed chords and fi ngerpicked passages. The bright overtones come as a result of the strong Sitka Spruce employed, adding an enchanting harpsichord-like, renaissance-feel to the sound. While the emphasis is on top end when it comes to tone, there are still enough warm overtones to make this guitar sound full and classy, with solid projection due to the scalloped x-bracing under the spruce top.

The bridge and nut seemed to be made of some kind of composite “Tusq” style material, which was very smooth to the touch, aiding tuning at the nut and resonance at the bridge. Gold machine heads looked ‘the money’ and worked perfectly, making tuning a breeze. Visually the guitar favours a classic look with its full gloss fi nish, and the contrast between the subtle fl amed mahogany and cream binding adds to this.

PRODUCTTakamine EG50th – 50th Anniversary G Series

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.promusicaustralia.com

soutilesouEQjustboo

i

TAKAMINEE G50TH 50TH ANNIVERSARY G SERIES

www.maton.com.au

John Butler Trio (Live at Red Rocks)

“Maton is my first choice of guitar when I’m recording, and when I’m on stage.

That’s the truth.”www.johnbutlertrio.com

Handmade for the World Stage www.mymaton.com

PRODUCTNEWSMTD KINGSTON BASSES IN AUSTRALIA

Michael Tobias’ prestigious American MTD basses are incredible instruments that have drawn praise all over the world. Known for their exotic woods, fantastic tone and incredible playability, MTD basses bring out the best in those who play them. Driven by a desire to offer superb electric basses at a price that everyone can afford, Michael created the MTD Kingston series of basses, carefully manufactured to his exact specifi cations by a high-end, Far East instrument builder. MTD Kingston basses share many of the same design elements and qualities as his handmade American basses, but at a much lower price.

www.thumpmusic.com.au

ROLAND’S AIR RECORDER APP

Air Recorder is an app that lets you record sound through the internal mic of your iPhone/iPod touch, or wirelessly make digital recordings of the sound from your Roland electronic musical instrument. You can also load songs from the music library of your iPhone and play them back while recording your instrument as you play along. You can use the internal mic of your iPhone/iPod touch to record your instrumental performance or your band. You can also load and play back songs from the music library of the iPhone. During song playback, you can use convenient practicing functions such as speed/key adjustments and AB repeat. You can use Air Recorder with a Roland electronic musical instrument that has wireless LAN functionality, and digitally record the sound of your instrument wirelessly. Songs loaded from the music library of your iPhone can also be sent wirelessly and digitally to your instrument; you can then play along with the song on your instrument, and record the mix on your iPhone/iPod touch. www.rolandcorp.com.au

Predominantly known for their quality acoustic guitars, Maton has gained

respect more recently for producing outstanding electrics as used by artists like Josh Homme, Tommy Emmanuel and John Butler to name a few. Maton’s current electrics are the Mastersound, BB and Starline models, and now welcome the T-Byrd. Australian Musician acquired prototype #2 of the T-Byrd for review. First off, it has a great little sound hole up top, which not only looks cool but adds a nice bouncy, resonant quality to the overall tone. Also included are two of Jason Lollar’s high quality pickups; a Special T-Series single coil in the bridge and a vintage designed Charlie Christian Neck pickup specifi cally for Telecasters. Both pickups do a wonderful job replicating fatter style Tele sounds, particularly when you add to the sonic mix, the metallic

one of my friends commented on

the frequent use of the Mastersound

shape at Maton and how they fail

to move away from it. Personally,

I like the fact that they’ve stuck

with it for so long, so it sits in your

psyche when you think about Maton

electrics, especially since they’ve

started to be used by high profi le

overseas artists. I like the fact

that Maton are going for a unique

look somewhere between a Strat

and a Les Paul that has a little bit

of inspiration from Brian May’s

(of Queen’s) Red Special. Wait

a second… Brian May… May...

Tone… Maton… (head explodes!).

I found the Maton MS T-Byrd to

be an inspirational guitar, with one

part warmth, and two parts twang

It’s lovely to play and lends itself

beautifully to country chicken-

pickers, rockabilly slingers and

defi nitely not for fans of Winger.

to the Channel 3 ensures some tonal consistency to Channel 2, but allows for more mids, gain or reverb by tweaking settings. In addition, using the massive multi-button allows you to permanently switch in the master midrange so a mid boost is available between channels 2 and 3, perfect for guitar solos. Other features on this amp include Master Presence and Density, tube biasing on the back, and full Midi capability if you wish to use a Midi footswitch or incorporate other midi gear as well. Finally the AR-412A Cabinet is an absolute beast of a cab with 2 Egnater Celestion Elite 100 speakers and 2 Celestion GT-1275’s.

The Egnater Armageddon is an amazing amplifi er that really does it all, and would not only suit metal enthusiasts but players that are after a wide array of high quality guitar sounds.

PRODUCTEgnater Armageddon Head and Cabinet

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.cmcmusic.com.au

PRODUCTMaton MS T-Byrd

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.maton.com.au

AM • 42

twang of the Wilkinson ashtray

bridge and brass string saddles.

A sleek, satin maple neck plays like

butter at just the right depth to fi t

comfortably in my hands allowing

for hours of fatigue-free playing.

The frets were fi nished perfectly

and rolled in beautifully, but the

best part on the neck was the superb

fi nish on the nut (thanks to some

star in the setup department … you

know who you are) which made

changing tunings a breeze with the

quality Grover mini machine heads.

A charming “Distressed White”

fi nish on the semi hollow-body is

crafted from Quandong, a native

Australian tree that also produces

some great fruit and is known for

its medicinal properties. As far

tone goes, it sounds fairly warm,

complementing the neck, hardware

and pickups nicely. After posting

a photo of this guitar on Facebook,

Once again I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing another Bruce Egnater creation. This

time, it’s the Egnater Armageddon. The idea behind this amp is pure METAL. Bruce spent three years designing this head so he could once and for all silence his critics who say that Egnater amps don’t do metal. This amp is a 3-channel, 120 watt brute with 6 x12AX7’s and 4 x 6L6’s that’s capable of producing a wide array of tones anywhere between pristine cleans to soggy saturation. The fi rst channel is primarily a clean channel with volume, gain a three band EQ, two voicing switches for “Tight” and “Bright” as well as a “High/Low Gain” switch. I was able to get some lovely round clean sounds reminiscent of warmer Fender tones of days gone by. Accessing one of the three independent reverb knobs on

the back of the amp really brought this channel to life especially with the cool “spill-over” function that keeps the reverb tail in tact when switching channels. Adding some chorus or delay in the effects loop will do wonders in mimicking a classic metal clean tone. Next in line is Channel 2, which has the same features as Channel 1, but the gain structure changes to provide crunchy, Marshall-esque tones or scooped “Hi-Fi” modern rhythm sounds. I really loved going for a mid-heavy Marshall tone, then boosting the “Midrange Depth” and “Level” for a wonderfully fat Darkness style tone. Increasing the gain and scooping the mids made for a killer tight metal rhythm, then incorporating the onboard ISP Decimator noise reduction took that sound to the next level of “Uber Chug”. Switching

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MATON MS T-BYRD

2 aOthMabiacapfoo

EGNATER ARMAGEDDON HEAD AND CABINET

After a brief conversation with Jimi Hocking, he informed me of the existence of these

pickups. Limited to a number of 1,959 sets I automatically thought of getting some. I thought it might be interesting in giving my early ‘90s “Samick” Les Paul Custom a tonal upgrade. These pickups come have that great “relic” look that doesn’t look out of place on a guitar, and are also not mega high on the output, which is where I think part of the tonal equation exists. They come in their own little black bags and you also get a memory stick fi lled with interviews and a link so you can register your set. Now, my Samick is a pretty well made guitar but the electronics are not really great. The wiring is weird and the pickups just didn’t have enough clarity. After dropping a set of these pickups in,

(this is an extremely important part

of the tone of many older amps),

sag, tonestack placement, types and

centre frequency, speaker resonant

frequencies (a very, very valuable

part of capturing a speaker’s tone),

room size, mic distances, mic types

and more. As you can ascertain,

the unit’s capabilities are far too

deep to review here in detail, and

judging by the amount of emails

I get about the Axe 2, it seems to

boil down to this: does the Axe 2

sound like a tube amp, and/or will it

replace all of my gear? What I will

say is that the Axe 2 comes closer

to the sound and feel of a “real”

amp than anything else I’ve used.

Bob offers professional band

coaching: www.greatergroovemusic.

com.au, and he can also be seen

in Experience Jimi Hendrix

June 23, Forum Melbourne.

www.ticketmaster.com.au.

bring the cheese but it remains musical throughout. I decided to gain things up with my original Marshall “Guvnor” pedal. CREAMY!! I put these pickups through the paces volume and gain wise and the tone comes up trumps everytime! From Gary Moore(RIP) to Les Paul(RIP)clean, these pickups can handle just about any gig. I have never felt like I could use a double humbucker guitar for one whole gig until now! I used this axe at a gig recently and was blown away by the response to my tone. Sometimes…just sometimes, you can’t argue with the punters.

My advice would be to get a set of these while you can. Give a guitar that you have hidden away a new lease of life with these pickups.

Shannon has a new live album ’62:49’ Live. www.shannonbourne.com.

PRODUCTAxe 2 by Fractal Audio.

REVIEWERBob Spencer

INFOwww.fractalaudio.com.au

PRODUCTSeymour Duncan Custom Shop “Joe Bonamassa” LTD EditIon Humbuckers

REVIEWERShannon Bourne

INFOwww.dominantmusic.com.au

the guitar has quite swiftly moved up in the queue of “gig worthy” axes! The neck pickup is incredible! It has the depth that a humbucker can have without the smooshy bottom end. It also features a “hollowness” in its tone that reminds me of a great single coil. All chords and lower strings remain articulate whilst giving you just enough power to crack the amp up. Next, I tried the “in between” setting….Did you know that a double humbucker confi guration can be great for funk?! This tone is quacky but still rounded enough to sit in the mix. This guitar is all mahogany so that would certainly keep the tone on the darker side of the street but could really give some jangle to a pop style band. Now to the back pickup… It is incredibly rounded also! It never spikes or gets too harsh. Its still has enough horsepower to

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FRACTAL AUDIO AXE2

Though digital modelling appeared on the market quite a while ago, until

recently the performances fell far short of the “real thing”. If you’ve kept even slightly abreast of these things, you’ve probably heard of Fractal Audio, the makers of the Axe Standard, Ultra, and now the Axe 2. The Axe 2 resembles the Ultra on some levels; the ease of use, the editing, the fx “blocks” layout, many of the effects etc, however, sonically it is quite a different animal, utilising what Fractal call “G2 Amp Modelling Technology” and this machine’s tone is a major leap forward from the Ultra. The unit’s effects include a multitude of different delays, reverbs, chorus types, fl angers, pitch-shifting, whammy pedals, compressors , gates, vocoders, EQ’s, fi lters, looper, guitar synths… you get the drift. Almost every parameter of every block within the Axe 2 can be linked to a modifi er so that it may then be controlled by an expression pedal. Not only are the effects

extremely comprehensive, they sound fantastic and are worth the price of admission alone. The sheer grunt of the Axe 2 is astonishing.

Currently, the Axe 2 contains around 22 “distortion” stomp box, dozens of speaker IR’s plus the ability to download and further tweak your own. Saving your own, or tweaked factory, presets is painless with 384 preset locations. The Axe’s output may be used, when including speaker sims, to go straight into the FOH or recording desk, though if you prefer to use it as your rig’s front end, then one simply bypasses the Axe’s amp “output” stage and would run it into the power amp and speakers of your choice. Due to the Axe’s fl exibility, you may use both of these routes at the same time. If re-amping is your game, that is also easily achieved by recording then re-amping the dry signal, in tandem with the wet if you so choose. Every aspect of a tube amp’s makeup is able to be tweaked; tube bias, output transformer voltages, saturation, matching/mis-matching

Gacleabocoufor thibl

SEYMOUR DUNCAN CUSTOM SHOP “JOE BONAMASSA”

LTD EDITION HUMBUCKERS

PRODUCTNEWSWAVEDRUM MINI

With drum and percussion sounds from around the world, revolutionary synth sounds, plus unique original sounds, the Wavedrum Dynamic Percussion Synthesizer has been embraced by percussionists, drummers, and music lovers around the world. The all-new Wavedrum Mini carries on this sound concept in a compact and portable format – complete with a built-in speaker and battery power for play anywhere convenience. In addition to its dynamic pad surface, the Wavedrum Mini also includes a newly-developed sensor clip which can be attached to a table, cup, or any object, allowing it to be played as a percussion instrument. Using the sensor clip and the pad allows two sounds to be played at once, doubling the Wavedrum Mini’s performance potential. Choose from 100 great sounds; add in one of the 10 exciting effects; play along to one of the 100 internal rhythm patterns, or record with unlimited overdubs using the built-in looper. The possibilities are endless. The Wavedrum Mini will appeal to musicians who value a truly original performance, or to any beginner simply looking to enjoy playing a musical instrument. Other features include; Play two sounds at once for a rich musical experience, Play one sound from the dynamic pad, Play a second sound from any surface or object using the sensor clip, 100 Ready-to-play sounds ranging from acoustic tones to synthetic sounds, 100 Rhythm patterns serve as a rhythmic guide or provide jam-along-fun,10 Preset audio effects; select any effect and enhance any sound, On-board Looper allows unlimited overdub layering for complex, multi-sound patterns.

www.musiclink.com.au

43 • AM

PRODUCTNEWSSIGMA GUITARS

After a long absence, acoustic guitar fans will be pleased to hear that SIGMA Acoustic Guitars are now available in Australia again. SIGMA Guitars were launched in 1970 and were sold in over 30 countries around the world. The fi rst SIGMA Guitars, made in Japan, are still highly sought after instruments and are rarely seen in the second-hand market today. Last year, a well-known German guitar distributor, AMI Gmbh in Munich, acquired the rights to the SIGMA name. AMI Gmbh have a long and highly regarded reputation for developing successful and widely appreciated guitar products. In mid-2011, AMI Gmbh made these great, traditionally-styled guitars available again with some exciting new additions. The new range of SIGMA Guitars feature all solid sitka spruce tops and mahogany or rosewood back and sides. There are straight acoustics in dreadnought and 000, dreadnought and 000 cutaways with electronics and some highly sought after fi nger-picking models with wider fi ngerboards. A range of all mahogany guitars has been added to the line-up along with acoustic basses and some high quality classical guitars complete the range. Later this year, well-priced SIGMA Travel Guitars will enter the Australian market.

SIGMA Guitars are now available through an expanding network of guitar stores in all capital cities and some regional areas. For details on prices and availability, contact Jacaranda Music – Australian Distributors – Ph (08) 8363-4613.www.jacarandamusic.com.au

As a lot of you may be aware, the guys at Peavey not only lend their talents to

creating some fi ne guitar amplifi ers, but also extend their catalogue to include instruments and pro audio gear like PA speakers, mixers and power amps. Today we take a look at the 2nd generation Peavey Trifl ex II PA system, a 1000 watt, 3-piece, 2-channel system perfect for live sound re-enforcement, DJ’s and other applications.

The system comprises of 2 x 250 watt mid/high boxes with a 10” woofer and 1.4” tweeter, a 15” 500-watt subwoofer, Peavey DDT compression in-built over the satellite speakers’, and a Left and Right input on the back of the amp with gain levels for left, right and sub. The Trifl ex is very much a plug-in and play PA system that is already tuned and ready to go, lending itself

and realise I was the only person

in the store... Overall, I was fairly

pleased with what I was hearing.

The Trifl ex II had a smooth, modern

tone that was nothing like the

harsh plastic boxes most portable

PA’s are comprised of, and even

with the huge 15” sub cranked the

overall sound was remarkably even.

I removed the POD and plugged

my MP3 player directly into the

stereo input, and spun some familiar

tunes I’d saved as uncompressed

WAV fi les earlier on my PC. The

sound was pretty decent and easily

good enough for multi purpose

applications in schools, churches,

rehearsals, small cafes or parties.

To sum up, the Peavey Trifl ex II

is a decent portable PA system

that is good for a number of

different applications. It’s both

sturdy and portable as well

being and designed to last.

PRODUCTPeavey Trifl ex II PA System

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.audioproducts.com.au

AM • 44

to people that aren’t necessarily PA savvy. The two top boxes have a unique carved design that allows them to lock into the sub and move the unit as a whole (with the casters on the back of the sub making the job that much easier). The whole package also comes with 2 x 15 foot speaker cables and a nifty cover that accommodates for cables, pins and stands (not included). To test the Trifl ex II, I departed out on a trek to Manny’s Music in North Fitzroy where I had the chance to put this PA through the motions. I brought along my POD HD 500, Line 6 Variax and Creative Zen MP3 player (yes I realise I’m one of the few people in the music industry to not have an iPod). I began by hooking up my Variax and MP3 player to my HD 500 so I could jam along to some backing tracks in store and act like a rockstar, only to look around

Timberidge guitars have

been proudly making their

instruments right here at

home in Melbourne since 1994,

and currently have a bunch

of acoustic guitars and basses

worth checking out. Their ethos

is Australian made quality at

very affordable prices. There was

something adorable about the

Timberidge 4-Series Mini Acoustic

when I fi rst pulled it out of its

padded bag. Adorned in lovely

fl amed woods, this guitar looks

like it should be hanging on the

wall of an old English cottage, and

while the concept of a traveller’s

guitar is not a new one, the

idea has certainly become more

popular in recent years. This was

the fi rst Timberidge guitar I have

ever played, so I was expecting

a lot considering they’d have to

compete with the other big Aussie

manufacturers. Off the bat, the TR

in, the sound goes from boxy to big when you EQ the tone with the B-Band A3T preamp. The preamp has a 4-band EQ consisting of bass, middle, treble, presence as well as an onboard tuner and volume control. The amplifi ed tone of this instrument was a lot brighter than its acoustic voice (which is often always the case with piezo pickups) and the combination of Lo-Z XLR and Hi-Z jack connections makes it more versatile for live shows, so it can connect directly into a PA without a DI, directly into an acoustic amp, or both.

The Timberidge TR 4-Mini is a great little guitar at a great price that would suit players that are either fans of traveller guitars… are actually genuine travellers, or even people with small hands (I know so many girls that struggle to play a full-sized guitars).

PRODUCTTimberidge TR Mini 4-Series Small Body Acoustic

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.jadeaustralia.com.au

Mini was a lot of fun to play, and

I wasn’t at all put off by the fact

I had to battle a reasonably high

action and some heavy strings.

The tone of the instrument is a

little ‘boxier’ than a normal sized

steel string, added with a touch

of banjo or resonator, perfect

for country, roots and old blues

musings. Some quality woods have

been incorporated, like the solid

cedar top, solid mahogany back

and sides and a rosewood bridge

and fi ngerboard. In addition, while

on the subject of the bridge, this is

what really helps defi ne the sound

of this instrument. An interesting

design has been utilised that

raises the saddle and lowers the

bridge pins (in a similar way to a

tune-o-matic bridge on an electric)

to create more tension when

anchoring the string into the top.

The result is much the same as on

a Les Paul; big sustain. Plugged

PA

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ove

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my

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PEAVEY TRIFLEX II PA SYSTEM

midas coninsits alwand

TIMBERIDGE TR MINI 4-SERIES SMALL BODY ACOUSTIC

PRODUCTNEWSMINI KAOS PAD 2 (KPMINI2)

Korg’s Kaoss Pad products have become the must-have effect units in every musician’s rig - guitarists, keyboard players and DJs are all enjoying the versatility and real-time creativity. In addition to inheriting powerful effect programs from the Kaoss Pad KP3 and the Kaoss Pad Quad, the new Mini Kaoss Pad 2 provides an MP3 player with adjustable pitch, making it ideal for creating DJ-Style performances. Use it as a DJ playback device, or use it to process the entire output of your DJ rig with Korg’s famous KAOSS effects. Instrumentalists, guitarists, sound designers and even just music fans will enjoy using the Mini Kaoss Pad 2. Offering a built-in mic (great for the vocoder effects), onboard speaker, and convenient battery power, the Mini KAOSS Pad 2 is completely self-contained and ready wherever you go! Other features include: Control effects in real time using the intuitive touchpad interface, MP3 player with microSD card slot for data storage/exchange,100 effect programs, ideal for DJ mixes or sound design,

3 Program Memories provide instant recall of favorite effects, powerful looper, Vinyl Break, and Ducking Comp effects borrowed from the Kaoss Pad Quad, Record your performances and save them to using the microSD card slot, 6 preset audio demo loops.

www.musiclink.com.au

EBS Bass is pretty much an unknown brand in this country, so it’s great to see

the guys at Thump music stretching out and educating our collective tonal palettes with a seriously exciting product range. At fi rst, I easily wrote these guys off, thinking that because of the compact, light designs these products had to sound small and wimpy. How wrong I was. The Reidmar weighs in at only 3.2kgs but pumps out 250 watts RMS of class-D power, with a peak of 470 watts, so clever engineering blends an analogue preamp with a digital power amp to achieve this result. The front panel features a ‘Character’ switch (which acts as an EQ fi lter), Gain, Compressor/ Limiter, ‘Filter Active’ switch (engages EQ), Bass, Middle gain, Middle frequency, Treble, Bright

rich with harmonics and overtones, perfect for fi nger style players. The onboard compressor was also very effective at reducing dynamic range without squashing the attack of the note, keeping the original sound in tact. The Classic Line 112 cabinet was also a gem. Not only was it so small and portable, it was cable of pumping seriously low frequencies making the walls shake and giving you the excitement of feeling bass kicking you in the legs and vibrating in your chest.

I found the EBS Reidmar and Classic Line cab to be one of the most exciting bass products I’ve come across in a while. Don’t let the lightweight, compact design fool you either, this amp sounds much, much bigger than it looks. (Reidmar Head $639.95, Classic Line Cab $579.95)

and Volume. On the back there’s 2 x 4-8 ohm Speakon out, Phones out, Line out, Effects Send and Return, and an XLR out with Pre/ Post and Ground/ Lift switches, so this head is packed with just about every feature any bass player could ever need. First off, let me say that just by plugging in and leaving all the settings at 12’o clock this amp sounded perfect, with a full, rich and loud sound. Its 250 watts sounds more like 750 watts and the 12-inch speaker pumps so much bass it’s ridiculous. Pumping the gain and compression and using less volume gave me a more saturated sound, which is the sort of sound I try to achieve in most of my studio sessions and at gigs by using outboard compression and EQ. This made the strings wonderfully sensitive and light to the touch,

45 • AM

PRODUCTEBS Reidmar 250w Bass Headand EBS Classic Line 112 Cabinet

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOhttp://thumpmusic.com.au

of tsoucabwacabfreandfeeleg

EBS REIDMAR 250W BASS HEADAND EBS

CLASSIC LINE 112 CABINET

Shure has long been associated

with their industry standard

microphones, notably the most

popular vocal mic in the world, the

humble SM58. These days Shure has

expanded their range to now include,

wireless mics, in-ear monitors, mixers

and some serious headphones. The

Shure SRH1440’s are probably the

most comfortable headphones I’ve

ever worn in my life. The open back

design makes for hours of fatigue-

free listening, and these things can

really crank, with no discernable

distortion at the most brain melting

of levels. Two 40mm neodymium

drivers give a full, rich, and detailed

sound between 15Hz to 27Hz, with

a circumaural design to enhance the

depth of fi eld and provide a notably

wider, more detailed sound than most other headphones. The 1440’s are

at fi rst, but once your ears adjust this

truer sense of bass, you realise there

is so much more happening in these

mixes than initially preconceived.

Listening to music became a more

enhanced experience for me, and

everything was instantly apparent in

the mix. Instruments were panned out

wide or closer to the centre, effects

like reverb, delay and doubling

appeared on vocals, a deep rich bass

guitar popped its head out at times,

a kick drum thumping away under

the mix, and the shine of air coming

from the drum overheads as cymbals

crashed and ride’s ‘pinged’. Listening

to CD’s increased the dynamic

range and clarity of the mixes.

The Shure SRH1440’s are a top-

shelf pair of headphones, providing,

true, detailed sound perfect for

listening and even mixing, they’d

make a fi ne addition to any

music lover’s kit. (RRP $495).

also impedance optimized so they

match up well with a wide range of

portable audio devices. Oxygen-Free

Copper cable with Kevlar has been

used for maximum signal strength

and durability, and dual-exit MMCX

connectors allow for convenient clip-

lock connection so you can separate

the cable from the headphone for

storage and longevity. Each pair of

headphones is individually tested

and serialised, coming with a spare

pair of ear pads and cables in a lovely

moulded case. I listened to random

styles of music all categorized as

mp3’s on my PC and found that the

open back design provided a truer

sense of bass that was deep and rich

without being over excessive and

‘HiFi’ sounding (which is the sound

most people identify with). Some of

that glorious thump might be missing

PRODUCTShure SRH 1440 Headphones

REVIEWERReza Nasseri

INFOwww.jands.com.au

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SHURE SRH 1440 HEADPHONES

FRANK VARRASSO HAS WORKED WITH ARTISTS INCLUDING (TOP LEFT

TO BOTTOM RIGHT) KIMBRA, P!NK, BEN LEE AND KATE MILLER-HEIDKE.

Frank Varrasso: Publicist, radio and TV plugger. The credentials: Started out as

pub/club band booker. Worked for Street Press selling ads (“It was a lot of fun because it created a situation where I was building a very solid database.”). Promotions job at Warner Music leading to promotions management at Warner, Sony and EMI. GM of National Promotions & Publicity at Festival/Mushroom. Senior Director of National Promotions & Publicity at Sony Music.Wanted a piece of that promo pie and started Varrasso PR.

How do I get a gig? How do I get airplay? How do I get an interview in a magazine? These are the eternal questions posed by most bands starting out. Many believe they have the songs and the live

madness of the music industry and bands now need to get themselves

organised if they want to be heard, particularly in regard to radio. Let’s

look at the nation’s youth radio network, triple j, for instance. triple

j will receive around 180 song submissions per week. They’ll only

add eight to 10. In order to cut through the competition, you need to

give yourself the best chance by ticking as many of triple j’s boxes as

possible before they’ll consider playing your song. Frank explains.

“Does it fi t the core triple j demographics? If so, that box is ticked.

Because they are a national network, where is the band performing? If

they are only performing in Melbourne, who cares? What about triple j

listeners in Canberra or Wollongong? So if they are touring nationally,

another box is ticked. Is this band going to receive exposure in press?

For triple j, they don’t care about Who Weekly, they care about Street

Press, J Mag or Australian Musician. They care about alternative online

sites. They need to know that the band is active on Twitter, Facebook

and YouTube. What’s the website like? Is it up to date with plenty of

content? All these things come into play and they need to tick as many

boxes as possible to get the best chance of getting added to triple j,

and the same goes for community and mainstream radio. If you have

a great song, it’s fi ne and dandy but if you don’t have the mechanisms

in place, to create heat on the band, why would you add that song?”

It’s Varrasso’s opinion that

independent acts need to think about

their music as being a business,

especially if you are serious about

your band playing music as a career

as opposed to a hobby. “Essentially,

each indie band needs to create

great music, then encompass the

release with a team of people who

can offer them the best exposure. Me

taking a song to radio in isolation,

it’s not going to work,” he says. “You

need a strong publicist on board

to give you the support. You need

a booking agent because you need

to be seen playing gigs. You need

a manager because a lot of young

bands fi nd it diffi cult to manage

themselves as well as rehearse,

write songs, play live and record.

You also need a digital aggregator.

Someone who is going to put your

music up on iTunes and BigPond

IN OUR LAST ISSUE WE OFFERED YOUR BAND LEGAL ADVICE. THIS TIME WE EXPLORE THE SECRETS OF GETTING YOUR MUSIC EXPOSED

TO MEDIA. TO HELP US OUT, WE SPOKE TO PR MAESTRO FRANK VARRASSO.

chops and can’t understand why they aren’t being noticed. A lot of musicians still think the old model of music business success still applies: form a band, write good songs, get signed to label, tour and count the dollars. It was only ever like that for a fortunate few anyway, but certainly in the digital age, the rules have changed dramatically. “Twenty years ago it was all about doing shows and creating a fanbase. That still remains the same but with the digital age, there are a lot more acts around,” says Frank. “It is a hell of a lot more competitive and that means you have to be able to cut through. Nowadays you have a situation where a lot of artists are creating music in their bedrooms and aren’t necessarily doing shows. I think shows are still crucial to do. You still need to tour and create a fanbase because kids download music, and there’s a great deal of intangibility in that. The only tangibility a fan has is the ability to experience an event, which is a gig.”

As Frank Varrasso will tell you, there is method to the

Music, on blogs and websites that can help your music. A lot of artists will pay a certain amount of money and have songs put up on Tunecore, but once a song is up on iTunes, who knows it is up there?”

Another major thing to consider is whether your music is ready to be unleashed to the media. First impressions are incredibly important, and you need to introduce your music in the best possible light as you might not ever get a second chance if it’s presented poorly. “You need to be prepared and have a strategy in place for any release,” reiterates Varrasso. “Why would a magazine write a story about a band if all they have done is put a song up on iTunes? You need a story. What makes them different to everyone else? You need a team of qualifi ed experts around you to help give you the best chance of exposure. If you are an artist and not prepared to give it a hundred percent, then why bother? It’s so hard to cut through the mustard. It’s a circus. It’s very competitive and only the cream rises to the top.”

www.varrassopr.com

AM • 46

LISTEN UP!

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Peter Asher (whose credits include James Taylor, Linda

Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt), and fi nally Luke Wooten, known for his work with Lee Kernaghan.

The second single “Piece of Me” features some haunting string sounds, fat rock guitars, catchy lead lines and a memorable chorus that seems to pull this song away from the country genre and place it in more of a pop sphere. Sam is fi rm to assure that this direction didn’t come from the producers, but is something that The McClymonts have always loved. “Our sound is just evolving, I think. We hadn’t recorded for two years so we’ve all changed and grown up a little and we were all listening to different music, so it’s a natural progression,” says Sam.

Unveiling “Two Worlds Collide” at Grafton Racecourse in the girl’s hometown, Sam was not only able to catch up with all her friends and family, but was also elated in the knowledge that they could debut their new songs, on the day of the record’s release, in the place where it all began.

www.themcclymonts.net.au

SISTER ACT THE MCCLYMONTS IS ONE OF AN INCREASING NUMBER OF AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY MUSIC SUCCESS STORIES. THE TRIO SPENT A LARGE PORTION OF 2011 TOURING AMERICA AND RECORDED THEIR JUST-RELEASED ALBUM “TWO WORLD’S COLLIDE”. REZA NASSERI RECENTLY SPOKE TO SAM MCCLYMONT ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE ALBUM AND HOW SHE LISTENS TO MUSIC.

AM • 48

H W D I LISTEN?

cross over to non-country artists like Robin Thicke.”

When the girls are travelling they also like to get out and about and check out the towns they’re visiting, which has led Sam and her sisters to some cool tourist attractions like the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Of all the music The McClymonts listen to, it’s their own album they are most excited about hearing. Because it’s so fresh, they get a chance to become more familiar with the new material and learn how to adapt their polished studio tones into a raw, live setting. When listening, Sam really focuses on her own vocal parts in order to hone her harmonies. After a while though, playing four or fi ve shows a week, she fi nds the idea of listening to the same songs to be a little weird.

Growing up as singers, the girls learned a lot from listening to family-based bands like the Cox family and the Judds, especially when developing their vocal harmonies. A lot of harmony singers have trouble hearing themselves when singing live

The McClymonts’ single “How Long Have You Known” hit No.1 on the

Australian country music chart and CMC video chart. The girls’ new album was released and showcased with a massive live performance in their hometown at the Grafton Racecourse in mid-May. Growing up, Sam McClymont (she’s the blonde one) was constantly playing the piles of cassette tapes her parents and sisters cranked on their Walkmans. Sam’s father was a massive fan of Don Williams, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson and a bunch of other country stars, while her mother rebelled, favouring the sweet sounds of female pop/country stars like Shania Twain and Trisha Yearwood.

Last year while on tour, the girls spent a lot of time watching ‘old-school’ rock and roll videos as well as lying in their bunks listening to their own playlists. “The good thing about having an iPad is you all go back to your bunk and listen to your own music at night,” says Sam. “I enjoy listening to artists such as Alison Krauss, Regina Carter

and Brad Paisley, but then I

and are unable to accurately reproduce the right notes, but a seasoned pro like Sam fi nds it essential to listen to not only what she’s doing, but to what her sister Brooke (the main lead singer) is doing too. Sam feels that being a harmony singer is all about following the lead voice and making sure the vocals are tight, following certain infl ictions and particular licks of the lead voice.

Hearing yourself is a crucial part of being able to sing in key when playing live, and so far The McClymont’s have often been reliant on the humble stage monitor, a.k.a. foldback wedge, to get their vocal bearings. They have only used in-ear monitors a few times, as it’s not something they’re yet comfortable with. However, Sam is well aware that it’s something they can’t avoid forever.

When recording “Two World’s Collide” the girls not only had the chance to record with one well known producer, but three. Sam considers herself lucky to have worked with Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift’s

producer), the legendary

LEARN ROCK & POP FROMTRINITY COLLEGE LONDON

IN THIS SECOND INSTALMENT OF OUR NEW

MUSIC EDUCATION PAGE, WE TAKE A LOOK

AT A GROUND-BREAKING NEW SYLLABUS

OFFERED BY TRINITY COLLEGE LONDON.

Kings of Leon and Rhianna. Songs

have been carefully selected to

demonstrate specifi c musical skills,

such as mandolin tremolo in ‘Knights

of Cydonia’ by Muse, funk drum

grooves in Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget

You’, and double-stopped harmonics

in the bass line from Rage Against The

Machine’s ‘Born of a Broken Man’.

Trinity College London has been able

to offer such an inspiring musical

experience due to an association with

two of the world’s largest publishers

of contemporary music, Faber Music

and Peters Edition London. Barry

Walmsley, who is National Manager of

the Australian arm of the international

College, is excited to have the

publishers onboard. “It’s a commercial

arrangement in a sense that they are

providing all the copyright provisions

for us. The two of them are the largest

and most outstanding out of a handful

of international publishers, so we’re

very fortunate to have them.”

It is the great range of music available

in this syllabus which is the real

point of difference between this

and any other course offered. “Our

new music publications use real

songs,” said Walmsley. “They are

not contrived music of a particular

style for the purpose only of an

examination. They are from real

artists and bands. The other thing is that Trinity comes with

that vast history in terms of external assessment, so they

know how to put something together which is appropriate

at the various levels. I think it’s the real music which is the

number one standout that students and teachers will really

enjoy. Plus it is very current music, so the challenge for

Trinity will be to keep that music and the publications fresh.

In this style, things can be quite transient but having said

that, there are standard, classic rock songs there as well.”

It is important to outline that Trinity College London doesn’t

exist in Australia in a bricks and mortar sense, and the Rock

And Pop syllabus is an external assessment program, not one

where students study from a central location. Students are

required to work with their own teacher, in their own space

and time and success very much depends on a student’s own

discipline and work ethic. “It really works well for those who

are goal-directed or their teachers can motivate them,” explains

Walmsley. “It is totally up to the student how long they might

take for each grade and where they go with it. It is not a course

in the sense of going to a music school or academy. So it’s a

matter of them applying for an examination in a particular

session we might offer. What we have are examiners who

come out, the majority of them from the UK. They have been

standardised and carefully monitored and put through their

paces. They come out from the UK, travel around Australia

and examine the candidates who present themselves.”

Music is supposed to be

enjoyed. Why, then, have

traditional music education

methods been so… well… tedious?

Finally the penny has dropped for a

learning institution. Trinity College

London, which has been operating in

Australia since the late 1800s, now

offers a ground-breaking syllabus

which young musicians who are into

contemporary music can really relate

to. It’s called Rock And Pop, and

is a graded exam system in guitar,

bass, drums, keyboards and vocals.

The difference between this syllabus

and any other contemporary music

course is the materials used for study.

Students enrolling in this performance-

based program are able to study

music from an impressive roster of

artists such as the Rolling Stones,

The Kinks, ABBA, David Bowie and

Joni Mitchell, through to modern

day rockers like Muse, Radiohead,

The traditional road to rock’n’roll

success has always been paved with

a mixture of talent, hard work and an

ounce of good luck. Have the ground

rules changed so much that you now

need formal training to play rock

and pop music? “It’s an interesting

question,” said Barry. “In the past it

was a genre or style that people just did

and had fun with. I’m not one who says

that exams have to be onerous. These

exams are designed to continue that

fun element but give to students and

parents and teachers a benchmarking

system. I think in today’s society, we’re

very keyed into accountability, progress

and all of those kind of things which

may mean an assessment like this is

appropriate. The interesting thing

about Trinity’s point of view is that

they have come at it from the angle of

how students in rock and pop actually

learn. They are not trying to overlay

a traditional system of assessment

which may work for classical

pianists or vocalists. Therefore you

have such things as session skills,

improvisation and playback (so that

they are dealing with their aural

skills), and this is refl ective of how

students learn in this type of music.”

The Rock and Pop syllabus from

Trinity College London is an enticing

prospect for anyone wishing to gain

internationally recognised music

qualifi cations and in the process,

play some of your favourite songs. No

prerequisites are needed and you get

to choose when you are ready for your

examination. “I think the syllabus

is groundbreaking because of the

use of current material. I think it’s

groundbreaking because they address

an area of assessment which is perhaps

not understood, or is crying out for it,”

said Barry Walmsley in summary.

To fi nd out more or obtain a FREE

syllabus, contact: Barry Walmsley,

National Manager (Aust) - barry.

walmsley@trinitycollege.co.uk

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www.trinityrock.com

THE LIST OF STORES BELOW IS YOUR GUIDE TO QUALITY MUSIC PRODUCT, GREAT ADVICE AND GENUINELY HELPFUL SERVICE. YOU HAVE SEEN THE LATEST GEAR IN THIS ISSUE OF AUSTRALIAN MUSICIAN.NOW GO AND CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF AT ONE OF THESE FINE MUSIC STORES.

Carlingford Music CentreShop 1/320 Pennant Hills Road,

Carlingford, NSW 2118

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Cheapa Music427 Peel Street, Tamworth, NSW 2340

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026581 3016

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Cooma, NSW 2630

026452 6067

Dicksons Music Complex Pty Ltd6/3-9 Spring Street, Chatswood, NSW 2067

029419 2144

Engadine Music Education Centre25 Station Street, Engadine, NSW 2233

029520 3044

Gospel Pianos896 Woodville Road, Villawood, NSW 2163

029724 2022

Grays Music Centre1 Ada Street, Singleton, NSW 2330

026572 1611

Guitar Factory - Gladesville280 Victoria Road, Gladesville, NSW 2118

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Haworth GuitarsUnit 2 / 22 Durgadin Drive, Central Business

Park, Albion Park Rail, NSW 2527

024256 0088

Head over Heels MusicSowerby Street, Muswellbrook, NSW 2333

026543 1904

Icon Music3 Chatham Road, West Ryde, NSW 2114

029809 6700

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Erina, NSW 2250

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026492 3533

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Murwillumbah Music5 Commercial Road, Murwillumbah, NSW 2484

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Music Lounge Dubbo46 Wingewarra Street, Dubbo East, NSW 2830

02 6885 6690

Music Solutions Warners BayShop 5, 305 Hillsborough Road,

Warners Bay, NSW 2282

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Music Specialists MaitlandRiver Walk Arcade, 470 High Street,

Maitland, NSW 2320

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Optimum Percussion42 Burwood Road, Burwood, NSW 2134

029744 1829

Pete’s Musicians Market494 King Street, Newtown, NSW 2042

029550 1416

Planet Music - Ballina85 River Street, Ballina, NSW 2478

026681 1125

ACTBetter Music29 Colbee Court, Phillip, ACT 2606

02 6282 3199

Pro Audio Supplies87- 89 Gladstone Street, Fyshwick, ACT 2609

026249 7766

NSWA R Irwin Violins Pty Ltd208A New South Head Road,

Edgecliff, NSW 2027

029363 0203

Allans Music + Billy Hyde MusicAlexandria108 Botany Road, Alexandria, NSW 2015

029318 2255

Allans Music + Billy Hyde MusicDrumcraft100 Commonwealth Street,

Surry Hills, NSW 2010

029211 1700

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Camperdown128-130 Pyrmont Bridge Road,

Camperdown, NSW 2050

029557 7500

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Northern Beaches55 Bassett Street, Mona Vale, NSW 2103

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Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music ParramattaLevel 1, 129 Church Street,

Parramatta, NSW 2150

029633 1122

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Taren Point1 Koonya Circuit, Caringbah, NSW 2229

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Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Willoughby65 Penshurst Street, Willoughby, NSW 2068

02 9967 3777

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Newcastle627 Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW 2302

029374 3288

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Sydney - Clarence222 Clarence Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

029269 9600

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Sydney - Pitt228 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

029283 7711

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Wagga

114 Baylis Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650

02 6921 2696

Bass ‘n’ Blues Music MegastoreShop 10, 20 Albert Street, Taree, NSW 2430

026551 5067

Bass People31 Parramatta Road, Annandale,

Sydney, NSW 2038

029516 1975

Bava’s Music City252 Macquarie Street, Liverpool, NSW 2170

02 9824 2211

Big Music Australia Pty Ltd85 - 87 Alexander Street, Crows Nest, NSW 2065

028622 6555

Byron MusicShop 1&2 South Plaza, 144 Jonson Street,

Byron Bay, NSW 2481

026685 7333

Planet Music - Lismore25 Molesworth Street, Lismore, NSW 2480

026621 7784

Powerpoint Music Centre409 Bong Bong Street, Bowral, NSW 2576

024862 5344

Prestige Woodwind & Brass258 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, NSW 2022

029389 0166

Rhythmic BytesPO Box 270, Jannali, NSW 2230

02 9575 4812

River Music10 Bridge Street, Windsor, NSW 2756

024577 3355

Sax & WoodwindShop 3, 158 Parramatta Road,

Camperdown, NSW 2050

029557 4588

Somerset Music Pty Ltd8/8-10 Somerset Avenue, Narellan, NSW 2567

024603 5958

Sound Devices265 Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

029283 2077

Sounds EasySuite G05, 15 Atchinson Street,

St Leonards, NSW 2065

028213 0202

Sounds of MusicUnit 11 /30 Argyle Street, Camden, NSW 2570

084655 6455

Turramurra Music1267 Pacifi c Highway, Turramurra, NSW 2074

029449 8487

Wollongong Music Centre390 Crown Street, Wollongong, NSW 2500

024228 9286

Zephyr Music51 Hume Street, Crows Nest, NSW 2065

029439 8900

NTAllans Music + Billy Hyde Darwin24 Stuart Hwy, Stuart Park, NT 0820

088980 8222

Cool Bananas Music15/ 41 Sadgroves Road, Winnellie,

Winnellie, NT 0821

088947 2660

Rock City MusicShop 8 Polana Centre, Smith Street,

Alice Springs, NT 0870

088953 2100

The CYM ShopBuilding 16, Charles Darwin University, NT 0820

088946 6860

Top End Sounds24 Stuart Highway, Darwin, NT 0820

088980 8222

QLD‘Bout Time Music47 Targo Street, Bundaberg, QLD 4670

07 4152 9966

Allans Music + Billy Hyde BrisbaneLevel 1, Queen Adelaide Blg, 90 - 112 Queen

Street Mall, Brisbane, QLD 4000

073229 2155

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music

Brisbane - Drums, 188 Barry Parade,

Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006

073252 4692

Allans Music + Billy Hyde MusicBrisbane - Guitars, 174 Barry Parade,

Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006

073250 6333

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music

Brisbane - Orchestral, 222 Barry Parade,

Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006

073250 6399

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Cairns92 Mulgrave Road, Cairns, QLD 4870

074051 9666

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Southport53 Nerang Street, Southport, QLD 4215

075532 7100

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Sunshine Coast74 Kingsford Smith Parade, Maroochydore,

QLD 4558

07 5430 4300

Arties Music Max3/424 Gympie Rd, Strathpine, QLD 4500

073889 7499

Binary MusicShop 12, Cleveland Plaza, 48 Bloomfi eld Street,

Cleveland, QLD 4163

073488 2230

Boyds - The Piano Shop123 Lodge Road, Wooloowin, QLD 4030

073357 8885

Brass Music Specialists90 Appel Street, Graceville, QLD 4075

073278 1311

Cloud Nine GuitarsShop 7 / 11 Beor Street, Craiglie, Port Douglas,

QLD 4877

074099 1682

Ellaways Music311-337 Gympie Road, Kedron, QLD 4031

073359 8266

Ellaways Music - Underwood39-45 Compton Road, Underwood, QLD 4119

073290 5656

Green Brothers72 William Street, Rockhampton, QLD 4700

074927 3088

Guitar Brothers Pty Ltd95 Musgrave Road, Red Hill, QLD 4059

073367 3558

Ilja Grawert - Violinmaker20 Logan Road, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102,

073891 5486

Lawrence’s Musicland363 Mulgrave Road, Cairns, QLD 4870

0740331 363

Mackay Music28 Sydney Street, Mackay, QLD 4740

074957 4216

Mau Music10 Dallas Parade, Keperra, QLD 4054

07 3355 3955

Morris Bros MusicUnit 2/17 Billabong Street, Stafford, QLD 4053

073356 3299

Music 4401/ 30 Station Road, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068

073878 4566

Music Express2048 Logan Road,, Upper Mt Gravatt, QLD 4122

07 3849 7088

Musician’s Oasis20 Alford Street, Kingaroy, QLD 4610

074162 4523

Musiclab34 Campbell Street, Bowen Hills, QLD 4006

073332 8188

AM • 52

Size MusicShop 2, 84 Glen Osmond Road,

Parkside, SA 5063

088373 3370

Southern Music CentreShop 1 - 3, 65 Beach Road,

Christies Beach, SA 5165

088382 7933

Southern Music Centre - Marion297 Diagonal Road, Oaklands Park, SA 5046

088377 1252

TASBarratts Music104 George Street, Launceston, TAS 7250

036331 9355

Geoff Long Music41 Burnett Street, North Hobart, TAS 7000

036234 1456

Music Powerhouse6-18 George Street, Launceston, TAS 7250

036334 4544

VICAllans Music + Billy Hyde Ballarat219 Mair Street, Ballarat, VIC 3350

035331 1266

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Blackburn - Orchestral159 Whitehorse Road, Blackburn, VIC 3130

03 9878 8777

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Kew56 Cotham Road, Kew, VIC 3101

039852 7645

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Melbourne152 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

039654 8444

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Bendigo113 High Street, Bendigo, VIC 3550

035444 5255

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Blackburn101 - 107 Whitehorse Road,

Blackburn, VIC 3130

039878 8777

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Flemington100 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington,

Melbourne, VIC 3031

039376 1344

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Greensborough135 Main Road, Greensborough,

Melbourne, VIC 3088

039434 7041

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Roxburgh Park7/20 Somerton Road, Somerton, VIC 3062

039305 4477

Allans Music + Billy Hyde MusicShepparton83 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, VIC 3630

03 5821 6408

Allans Music Group + Billy Hyde MusicAustralia Head Offi ce29 South Corporate Ave, Rowville, VIC 3178

039695 0500

Austral Piano World245-247 Lower Heidleberg Road,

East Ivanhoe, VIC 3079

03 9497 2616

Australian Music P/L, PO Box 650, Ferntree Gully, VIC 3156

Bernies Musicland381 Canterbury Road, Ringwood, VIC 3134

039872 5122

Casey Music - Pianoforte13 Valley Fair Drive, Narre Warren,

Melbourne, VIC 3805

03 9796 7090

Pacifi c Music37 Anderson Street, Cairns, QLD 4870

07 4051 1499

Ralph White Music1154 Gold Coast Highway,

Palm Beach, QLD 4221

075534 2500

Royce Music HouseShop 6 Garden Town Shopping Centre,

222 Margaret Street, Toowoomba, QLD 4350

074632 7377

Simply for Strings Pty Ltd78 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill, QLD 4059

073368 3666

Simpson’s Pianos179A Aumuller Street, Cairns, QLD 4870

074041 1804

The Best Music ShopShop 24A Goggs Road, Homemaker City,

Jindalee, QLD 4074

073376 5454

The Guitar Centre (at the gabba)922 Stanley Street, East Brisbane, QLD 4169

073392 3821

The Music Makers - Beenleigh102A City Road, Beenleigh, QLD 4207

073287 3069

Trentin’s Music CentreVernon St, Atherton, QLD 4883

074091 1555

Uptown Music6b Robert Street, Atherton, QLD 4883

07 4091 2874

Woods Wind & Brass Pty Ltd10 George Street, Deception Bay, QLD 4508

1300 378 452

Word of Mouth MusicShop 4, 160 Brisbane Road, Booval, QLD 4304

073282 2678

SAAllans Music + Billy Hyde Adelaide58 Gawler Place, Adelaide, SA 5000

088223 5533

Allans Music + Billy Hyde Music Adelaide175-181 Waymouth St, Adelaide, SA 5000

088212 4827

Barossa Music Centre117a Murray St, Tanunda, SA 5352

08 8563 2741

BMusic154 Murray Street, Gawler, SA 5118

08 8523 1018

Flinders View Music Supplies48 - 50 Alexander Street, Port Pirie, SA 5540

088633 2133

Galaxy Guitars296 Brighton Road, Brighton, SA 5048

088377 5079

Harrison MusicGuitar Fundamentals, 68 Grenfell Street,

Adelaide, SA 5000

088223 6199

Holden Hill Music612 North East Road, Holden Hill, SA 5088

088266 2699

Music Education Network4/348 Richmond Rd, Netley, SA 5037

1300 723 700

Northern Music Centre245 Main North Road, Clare, SA 5453

088842 1071

PianoMax Australia201 Magill Road, Maylands, SA 5069

088363 2230

Ron Pearce Music2/25 Nelson Street, Stepney, SA 5069

088363 1245

Silver Keys & Strings Music Centre55 Flinders Street, Adelaide, SA 5000

088223 7354

Castlemaine Music Centre12 Templeton Street, Castlemaine, VIC 3450

035470 5913

Cellissimo1353 Burke Road, Kew, VIC 3101

039816 9910

Cranbourne Music204 Latrobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

039654 5115

Cranbourne Music Centre130 High Street, Cranbourne, VIC 3977

035996 6955

Drummers Paradise398 Victoria St, Richmond, VIC 3121

039428 3255

Eastgate Guitars and Audio315 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn, VIC 3103

039888 6899

Factory Sound Sales P/L75- 85 York Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205

039690 8344

Five Star Music102 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood, VIC 3134

03 9870 4143

Future Music Australia22 Sixth Avenue, Burwood, VIC 3125

039808 8988

Glenroy Music Centre827 Pascoe Vale Road, Glenroy, VIC 3046

039306 7570

Guitar Paradise398 -402 Victoria Street, Richmond, VIC 3121

039429 7771

Hans Music Spot77-79 Main Street, Croydon, VIC 3136

039725 8108

Hosking MusicShop 15 The Mall, Mountain Hwy,

Wantirna, VIC 3152

039720 3620

Keyboard Corner137 Boronia Rd, Boronia, VIC 3155

03 9761 0003

Leading Edge Music Echuca162 Hare St, Echuca, VIC 3564

035482 3230

Lewis Music Store124 Russell Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

039650 9305

Mannys Musical Instruments & Pro Audio161- 163 St Georges Road,

North Fitzroy, VIC 3068

039486 8555

Marban Music70 Macleod St, Bairnsdale, VIC 3875

035153 1234

Megas Music Store130 High Street, Wodonga, VIC 3690

026056 1044

Melbourne Brass & Woodwind578 North Road, Ormond, VIC 3204

039578 3677

Music Emporium11 Central Ave, Moorabbin, VIC 3189

039532 2600

Music Junction Imports Hawthorn204 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn East, VIC 3123

03 9882 7331

Music Workshop39 Fyans Street, South Geelong, VIC 3220

035221 5844

Music World Enterprises296 Waverly Road, East Malvern, VIC 3145

039572 3391

Nepean MusicUnit 4/1 Mornington-Tyabb Rd,

Mornington, VIC 3931

035975 0293

Pat’s Music940-944 Centre Rd, Oakleigh South, VIC 3167

039563 8711

Pianos Plus11A Central Ave, Moorabbin, VIC 3189

03 9532 2600

Pony Music3 / 37 -41 Hallam South Road,

Hallam, VIC 3803

039702 3244

Prestige Pianos & Organs102 Bell Street, Preston, VIC 3072

039480 6777

Ready Please Mr Musig33 John Paul Drive, Hillside, VIC 3037

039449 3252

Ron Leighs Music Factory625 Hampton Street, Brighton, VIC 3186

039593 3900

The Rock Garage1/1182 Burwood Highway, Upper Ferntree

Gully, VIC 3156

039573 5093

Wombat Woodwind and Brass40A Dight Street, Collingwood, VIC 3066

039419 7337

World of Music - Brighton809 Nepean Highway, Brighton, VIC 3186

03 9557 8600

WAAllans Music + Billy Hyde Music Nth Perth345 Charles Street, North Perth, WA 6006

089228 2223

Allen Digital Computer Organs14 Amery Street, Como, WA 6152

089450 3322

Concept Musical Instruments Pty Ltd246 Cambridge Street, Wembley, WA 6014

089381 2277

Crescendo Music8/454 Marmion Street, Myaree, WA 6154

089330 1719

Joondalup MusicUnit 4/ 101 Winton Rd, Joondalup, WA 6027

089300 0033

Just Music552 Stirling Highway, Cottesloe, WA 6011

089384 0560

Kosmic Sound & Lighting94 Hector Street, Osborne Park, WA 6017

089204 7577

Opus Living Music27 Chapman Rd, Geraldton, WA 6530

089921 1080

Piano Magic79 Belgravia Street, BelmoNT WA 6104

089477 5866

Snadens Music161 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands, WA 6009

089386 7955

Sound Centre Music GalleryShop 1, 85 Broun Avenue, Morley, WA 6062

089370 1185

Tempest Music56 Ley Street, Como, WA 6152

089450 3539

The Rock Inn762 Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley, WA 6050

089371 8822

WA Classic SoundsShop 1, 223 Railway Avenue,

Kelmscott, WA 6111

089495 1986

Wake’s Music Centre14 Albany Highway, Albany, WA 6330

08 98412975

Zenith Music309 Stirling Highway, Claremont, WA 6010

089383 1422

53 • AM

WHY WRITE ABOUT THE FENDER STRATOCASTER IN A RETRO SENSE WHEN IT’S STILL TO THIS DAY SUCH A ROCK’N’ROLL ICON? IT’S BECAUSE THAT PARTICULAR ELECTRIC GUITAR WAS THERE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF ROCK’N’ROLL AS WE KNOW IT AND EVER SINCE,

HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH SO MANY MAJOR ROCK’N’ ROLL MILESTONES THAT HAVE SHAPED CONTEMPORARY MUSIC. SURE THERE’LL BE ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE

STRAT IN THE CREATION OF ROCK MUSIC. LIKE CAR PEOPLE WHO DIVIDE THEMSELVES BETWEEN FORD OR HOLDEN, SO TOO DO GUITARISTS SOMETIMES PLEDGE BLIND ALLEGIANCE TO EITHER THE FENDER STRAT OR GIBSON LES PAUL. HOWEVER, THROUGH THE ‘50S, ‘60S, AND ‘70S, THE

GOLDEN YEARS OF ROCK MUSIC, THE FENDER STRATOCASTER WAS FRONT AND CENTRE.

Almost six decades down the track, the Strat looks pretty much today how it did when it was invented. What it tells you is that Fender, Carson, Tavares and Fullerton got it right the fi rst time. The sleek looking double cutaway ‘comfort contour body’ was enticing to musicians who were used to more conservative shaped guitars. The innovative synchronised tremolo system,

The Fender guitar company began making guitars back

in 1946 but the Stratocaster wasn’t introduced until 1954. Fender was already producing the Telecaster and Esquire models but wanted something new, something more versatile. Three guys are considered to be the fathers of the Strat; Leo Fender, Bill Carson, and Freddie Tavares, with George Fullerton’s design nouse coming into play at mass production stage. Leo Fender had always claimed that the development of the Stratocaster went right back to 1951. Freddie Tavares claimed differently, suggesting it wasn’t until ‘53 that the guitar began to take shape. What we know for sure is that the guitar’s implementation offi cially began in 1953 and took less than year before guitars rolled out of the Californian factory.

Strat players we didn’t get to mention including Stevie Ray Vaughan, who brought Tex-Mex to the world, Ritchie Blackmore, Robert Cray, Dick Dale, Ry Cooder, Rory Gallagher, and Buddy Guy among a gazillion others.

The Fender Stratocaster has sure left it’s mark on the music world and shows no sign of losing its appeal.

www.fender.com.au

Into the ‘70s, the Woodstock vibe had vanished. Dylan played and dismayed the ‘65 Newport Folk Festival by “going electric” with a Fender Stratocaster and remains a Strat player today. The Stones Altamont gig brought an edge to rock’n’roll and we experienced one of the most exciting times in contemporary music history, a period in which the truly guitar greats fl ourished. There was Zeppelin, Sabbath, The Who, and the pioneering art rock band Pink Floyd, who brought a visual stage element to their musical madness. Beneath the pizazz laid the distinctive Strat licks/tones of David Gilmour. “Well, I’ve tried them all; I just don’t like the other guitars as much as a Strat,” he said of the guitar in 1995.

The Strat was there at the beginning of rock ... there for surf rock, blues rock, art rock and even punk rock. There are numerous incredibly infl uential

followed by Clapton’s other uber-bands Blind Faith and then Derek

& The Dominoes. It was just prior to the latter two bands that Clapton

fi rst acquired his ‘Blackie’ Strat, one of the most famous guitars in

rock history: a hybrid Strat from the parts of guitars he’d bought.

If anyone focussed the world’s attention on the guitar though, it

was Jimi Hendrix and his weapon of choice of course was the

Stratocaster… right hand models, played upside down and strung for

a leftie. Hendrix had played other Fenders such as Jazzmasters and

Duo Sonics but in 1966 purchased his fi rst Strat, a CBS era model.

When CBS took over the Fender company in 1965, purists believe the

quality of the instruments suffered and weren’t fans of the larger CBS

headstcok shape. The Pre-CBS years (1959-1965) are regarded as the

golden years for the Strat and as a result, are worth a fortune today.

developed to compete against the growing appeal of the Bigsby vibrato unit, was also an appealing new option for guitarists, as was the introduction of the three single coil pickups and three-way switch.

Probably the fi rst real association between a rock star and the Strat was with Buddy Holly in the ‘50s. Holly made the Strat his own, accentuating the treble strings during solos and taking the open chord in a new direction. Holly’s main Strat was a ‘58 three-tone sunburst with an alder body with the serial number #028228. Across the pond, the lead guitarist from Cliff Richard’s band The Shadows, Hank B Marvin, was using another Strat feature, the tremolo, to stamp his own sound on the world and inspiring young minds such as Clapton and Knopfl er to take up the guitar.

The ‘60s was an era of real musical experimentation and produced for the fi rst time the tag ‘supergroup’ The most famous supergroup of all of course was The Beatles. George Harrison (and John Lennon) acquired a Stratocaster guitar in ‘65, which made it’s debut on Harrison’s ‘Nowhere Man’ solo. He is seen playing the same guitar throughout Magical Mystery Tour and on the worldwide televised performance of ‘All You Need Is Love’. The British music invasion also gave us such legendary guitar heroes as Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck who had at one time played in the band The Yardbirds. Cream came next,

AM • 54

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