Features / One Question Interviews

Matt Muffin (Lollygagger)

SPB: Have you ever forgotten lyrics or the music for a song while playing live? How did you recover?

Muffin: The best story I have is....

A few years ago, Mike and I played in a band called The Peekaboos, which later pretty much became rebranded as "Lollygagger" when Kinsey joined. One of our …

Kaada

SPB: For Misinterpretations, you used a grand piano that was (as I understand it) modified with something called Putty Kit, which leads to a unique sound. What is your experience using this and what inspired this project?

Kaada: Putty-Kit goes under many different names : Heftemasse/Klebemasse, Tack-it, Multi-Tac to name a few. It’s that thing you …

Fred Gunn (Hiram-Maxim – vocals)

SPB: From when you were starting out to now, what parts of your setup have really helped voice your sound over the years?

Gunn: Prior to forming HIRAM-MAXIM, I performed exclusively in punk bands. The extent of my gear was nothing of my own. I’d just show up and use the club’s microphone. …

Mikey Erg

SPB: Walk our readers through your kit and offer insight as to how you arrived at your sizes (shells and cymbals)? 

Mikey: My current kit is a Ludwig Blue Vistalite kit with a 26" kick drum and 14" and 18" toms. My snare is a Pork Pie "Pig lite" 13x7 snare that I just LOVE the …

Rash

SPB: What is your favorite protest song?

Eric (vocals): "The Dream is Dead" by Blight

Jesse (guitar): "Police State" by Dead Prez

Skyler (drums): "Draft Morning" by The Byrds

Jim (bass): "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Mad Caddies

SPB: Was the mic’ing of the horns in the studio different for Punk Rocksteady than on “traditional” Mad Caddies records?

Mad Caddies: The mic and position always changes depending on the horn sound. Punk Rocksteady was mostly close miking. On older records the room mics played a bigger role in the mix. 

Jarboe

SPB: What is the “go to” Jarboe keyboard (make/model) and what makes this one so essential for you?

Jarboe: M-Audio PROKEYS88 

Reliable slave / interface for the Mac recording application I use.

Cody Wilson (Cody)

SPB: Your name is Cody but this isn’t a guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar thing. Do you identify it as a solo project or would you still call it a “traditional band”?

Wilson: We are definitely a traditional band and our name originated from our writing process. The songs always start with just me and my Martin D28 at …

William Thomas Fay (Something Is Waiting)

SPB: I hear you make your own cabs. Can you tell us what the most important custom features are for your personal sound? 

Fay:

Justin Smith (Graf Orlock – guitar/vocals)

SPB: When you play live, what is your preferred guitar/amp combo? (And why that setup?)

Smith: In Graf Orlock I use a Gibson Les Paul with custom made humbuckers which are wound hotter than normal. This runs through an original model Peavey 5150 and an Orange Rockerverb 100. These go into two …

Biznaga

SPB: What was the last live show you played and what stands out about it from your current, COVID-era perspective?

Biznaga: Our last show was in Miranda de Ebro, in the north of Spain, in a quite big and nice venue called "La fábrica de tornillos", a show that could happen thanks to the support of the …

Theo (Powerplant)

SPB: Do you have a preferred color of vinyl pressing?

Theo: No! But see through ones let you see the lottery ticket you've been looking for the past two weeks beneath it. They should advance vinyl tech, I want to roll records into tubes and have them sticking out into my rear jean pocket, look like …

Moonshield

SPB: What type of amps do you use and how did you choose the combo? 

Nathan: I use a Sovtek Mig60 and a Music Man HD130. This combo was chosen because the Mig60 sounds huge and boomy and Music Man HD130 delivers crystal clear clarity. The idea is that they make up for each other's deficits. The …

Mike Marchant (Lightning Cult - songwriter, guitarist and electronics dude / also of Steady Circuits)

SPB: Tell us about your guitar/synth setup.

Marchant: I’ve used the same guitar setup for many years. It’s simple, and it sounds great. I use a Fender Telecaster and a Vox AC15 amplifier. I like low-wattage tube amps, because I can turn them …

Tom Gibbs (The Bar Stool Preachers – guitar)

SPB: What kind of guitar do you use, and what do you specifically like about it?

Gibbs: I’ve got two axes in my touring arsenal. My favourite though has to be the “1962 Hagstrom KENT PB-24-G.” I love that its super lightweight and the tone really packs a punch. It …

Dave Bate (Michael Crafter)

SPB: What parts of your (gear) setup have really helped Michael Crafter voice your sound from when you started until today?

Bate: Michael Crafter recordings are often done on the fly at rehearsal, though every now and then we like to go into the studio and record something that is a bit more palatable. …

Brian Nicewander (Han Gan)

SPB: What is the strangest place you’ve slept while on tour?

Nicewander: I think one of my most interesting tour crash experiences was in the back of a 1985 Chevy van during a tornado warning on a lonely road in Kansas. 

A storm had made it impossible to see where we were going, …

Vern (War//Plague-bass)

SPB: What type of bass do you play (and how did you choose it)?

Vern: I am currently playing a Gibson RD bass. I also have an LTD Eclipse bass with EMG active pick-ups but was looking for something classic with passive pick-ups. I stumbled upon the RD at a local guitar shop in town and …

Jeff Claxton (New Junk City – drums)

SPB: Walk us through your drum kit, if you don’t mind, explaining how you made the decisions about some of your heads or sizes. 

Chad (War//Plague – drums)

SPB: Walk us through your kit and how you chose its various pieces?

Chad: I've always been a huge fan of TAMA DRUMS ever since I was a kid! This hasn't always been my traditional set up, like everyone in War//Plague it has been a series of decisions over time to get my set …