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I’m Noah Denney bass player and singer of all the high parts in Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown.

It was about a year ago we did Ramblin’ Man Fair, for that particular festival they had Orange amps available, I had a pair of Orange AD200 and a pair of 8×10’s. I had actually never played them before and I said I would love to try those out. I loved them! It was awesome, I plugged them in and turned them on, I didn’t have to fiddle with any of the EQ it just sounded good right off the bat. It was kind of like  “Man this is like how easy I wish every bass amp would be”, I just plugged it in and sounded great, I didn’t have to do anything.

I’d say probably a tie between reliability and tone are what’s most important to me. In order to stay up there with the two guitar players in the band,  I’ve got to ride the amps pretty hard. I need something that can take a beating, I’ve pretty much destroyed lots and lots of amplifiers over the past six or seven years. I have never had a single problem with the Orange, another reason I love it they are built like tanks. They can take everything I throw at it and like I said that tone, it’s there I didn’t even have to look for it, I turned it on and it sounded great.

Its really cool to have the support of Orange amps, with everybody that’s made their name playing with those right behind them. I never really expected it to be something that happened to me, its an honour to have such a renowned brand be into what we are doing and supporting us. We are very grateful of that.

 

Hey it’s Becky from Milk Teeth, I play bass and sing.

I used to go to Hevy Fest a lot, that was one of my first “ins”. I always loved the gear, I like the classic way that it looks, you know an Orange from a mile off, you could be stood at the back of crowd and you will know the cab.

I want something that has the basics, you have good tone, tone is really essential. Does like a decent job but at the same time I like to have some versatility so you can change your sound and stuff. I tend to play quite bass heavy, a little bit of treble, I just like something punchy.

My current rig is the OB1 head by Orange and i’ve got the 8×10 cab which is great, it weighs more than i do, I googled it! I’m not using much gain on it, as I tend to get most of my gain from the RAT pedal. I tend to use it more as a clean, like I said I have the bass really high, I like it to sound deep and bassy. The mids are like eleven o’clock, the treble is actually down I used to turn it up but it’s now down a bit. Its more like ten o’clock but I think it sounds great as it is.

I’m after the next amp up, the AD200 thats on the wish list. But I think for the money the OB1 series is great, it’s just as good, it sounds way more expensive than it is.

Its really cool that Orange has taken me on as part of the roster. I think its really great that someone has put faith in a girl playing bass because some companies not all may be a bit wary, so that is refreshing. I’m surrounded by a host of other great musicians, its just really nice, I mean we are out with Good Charlotte at the moment and they are also playing Orange. So that’s cool, we are matching!

 

So you’ve heard these questions before but when did you start playing guitar?
Well my grandfather was a guitar player and my father is as well. My great grandfather played the fiddle. I just grew up playing music.

So, your father played professionally?
Yeah. He still does. He was on the road his entire life.

Does he play a similar type of music to you? I mean has your music evolved out of what you heard from him?
Yes and no. It’s like a lot of it’s from my grandfather. He played a lot of Country Western, and like Chuck Berry and the Ventures. My dad played stuff like Allman Brothers, Foghat and Wishbone Ash.

Like what we now call Classic Rock?
Yeah, and he was into those bands in the early 70s late 70s and he also played in some country bands in the 80s and 90s as well. So there was a lot of that influence. My dad is also a big blues nut, so I used to go through his blues collection at the house and he would always be teaching me, you know.

So, did you cop any of your guitar style maybe from some of those records?
Well, I was digging through anything I could find. I would say my guitar style is mostly attributed to fact that don’t listen to guitar players specifically. I stopped listening to guitar players consciously at a young age so I could focus on trying to have a different sound and not sound like a watered down version of someone else.

Well, you’ve got that…
Thank you. What I would mainly listen to was like pedal steel players and I listened to a lot of tenor saxophone players, because that’s really similar sonically, in my opinion, to the guitar. I mean you can emulate some of the saxophone sounds and some of the runs that they were doing, they had to breathe, you know. So that taught me to, kind of take a breath in between phrasings and not just ramble on. And a lot of organ players as well. I would listen to Jimmy Smith and to Chester Thompson. I Was all over the map, but I was really into it.

For someone your age you have not only the physical ability and dexterity but a very deep musical well to draw from. I just don’t know how to describe your playing. Anyway so you’re recording a new album. What can you tell me about it?
Yeah, the record is called Carolina Confessions and it’s kind of a thematic record looking for some absolution. It’s kind of the concept of the record, it’s taking the concept of confessing your sins and getting them off your conscience.

There’s an element of that in a lot of blues music. So that’s pretty heavy stuff. So, you worked with a new producer on this album?
His name is Dave Cobb and that was a really great experience because Dave’s really got his thing going on and it was great to work with him.

So when did you discover Orange Amps and what turned you on about them?
One of the first times I heard an Orange Amp it was an AD30. I heard my friend playing through it and I couldn’t understand how this much sound was coming through such a small cabinet. That’s when I really fell in love with the Orange sound. My dad, same story, he used to talk about Orange amplifiers when I was a kid. He still loves that little AD30 combo. I think Wishbone Ash used Orange, didn’t they? Anyway he used to say that one day maybe you’ll get yourself an Orange amplifier, that’s insane.

So you’re currently playing a Rockerverb 50 MKIII. How do you like the sound of that?
Love it man. I love reverb. I’m a reverb nut. I’ve gotta have it. So when the Rockerverb 50 MKIII came along and you introduced me to it I was like wow this is like, this is it. This is my bag so, it has worked out really great!

And then you’re off to Europe, well after you finish tonight at Red Rocks with the Tedeschi/Trucks Band. But you are back to Europe at some point this fall, right?
In October we’ll be going back to Europe for the third time this year.

Well, I know that our friends in Europe and across the US are looking forward to hearing you. Thanks For your time Marcus, all the best.

Check out Marcus King online

Interview by Pat Foley, Orange Nashville Artist Rep

Photo by: TLBrooker Imagery

With a booming heat record of 32 degrees in big ol’ smoky London town, we made our way to Brixton Academy to chat to The XCERTS frontman Murray Macleod before their show with Goo Goo Dolls.

Were you always into music growing up as a kid?
Murray: Starting it all off and sparking the interest was definitely the household I grew up in, both my parents and older sister was very into music. My dad in particular is pretty much a rock ’n’ roll historical – not as a profession or a job, but for as long as I can remember he’s just always had this encyclopaedic knowledge about dates, record companies, releases, band members and tours, and he has this amazing vinyl collection that I’d go through as a kid, pick albums to listen to based on their covers and end up with bands such as KISS and The Monkees, but it wasn’t until he played me The Beatles everything changed; I even remember the day and exactly where we were, sat in our car parked up waiting for my sister, and he played me live at the BBC by The Beatles, and I think I must have been about six or seven, I was really young, but it just felt like real life magic.

After your Dad sent you onto the righteous path of music, what were the first sorts of bands you discovered for yourself?
Murray: As I got older, I started finding my own way of finding music and discovered Nirvana, and their Unplugged session was actually what inspired me to start writing songs, it was unreal. We had this crappy Spanish guitar around the house, so I ended up trying to write Nirvana-sounding songs which were just awful. There was something so fascinating about Kurt Cobain as well, he was this beautiful and intricate, as well as steeped in myth, I was just so fascinated about him, as if he were sent from above. I also got heavily into Marilyn Manson around the same time, which was just polar opposites to Kurt Cobain, but obviously at the same time, incredibly fascinating. I also just have to thank my parents for keep pushing me to pursue a career in music.

Also, I have to mention the whole pop-punk explosion in the early 2000’s with Blink 182, The Offspring and New Found Glory.

Now, let’s get down to business and talk Orange – what is your history and experience with the brand? Do you remember the first time you ever saw someone play an Orange?
Murray: The very first time I had that epiphany of ‘Oh man I HAVE to play Orange!’ was when we opened for Cage the Elephant around 2009, we hadn’t even released a record at this point and it was before they blew up. I can’t remember what amp I was using at the show, but they were using Orange and they just sounded so incredibly good – I remember being completely blown away by their tone, and also noticed that the wood used in the amps by Orange was way thicker which made them so much sturdier than the amps I were using. They sounded so good, but for the longest time I couldn’t afford one, and we weren’t big enough to speak to the company about getting a loan one.

How did you eventually end up playing one?
Murray: Our manager Dan Hipgrave (Toploader guitarist) was selling a 4×12 cab and I tried it and ended up having to get it. I was using a different head at the time, but I still knew that the cab just sounded so good. I ended up trying the AD30 and it just sounded so good, it was absolutely perfect – that cab and head was all I needed. I’ve been using a full Orange rig for about a year now and it just sounds amazing.

It’s nice to have you guys from Orange coming down to our show, as I haven’t really been able to thank you for all your support, so thank you!

Hi. My name’s Will, I’m the bassist from Puppy and I’m here at Desertfest 2018.

When I started playing bass, I was actually a guitarist and probably like most guitarists, nobody else wanted to pick up the bass. So I was like, “I’ll do it.”

It’s been a bit of a journey trying to find the right kind of raucous, rumbling low end but something where you can pick out the melody as well. I don’t want just sub  – something that bites through. That’s what I look for.

I’ve always looked up to bassists that really stood out – I love Cliff Burton. I love the way he played the bass like it was a guitar. That approach, not just being “just” the rhythm section. I think that – and a lot of three pieces were always my favourite bassists as they had a third of the job to carry. You couldn’t be a wallflower bassist in a three piece. Al from Sleep, for me is a massive influence – I play a Rickenbacker too. Cliff and Al are probably my two favourite bassists of all time.

My interest in Orange came, really young actually –  before I was in any bands. I used to love Oasis as a kid. I remember seeing them playing and they had an all Orange back line. Black Sabbath too on some German performance, I remember seeing they all had a full Orange back line. I was like. “That’s just the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” Then I learned a bit more about the history of the company. I got the Orange book and I was reading about the shop they used to have on Carnaby Street (Ed’s note: It was New Compton Street.) Which was so cool and the old logo, the tree growing off the world – the Voice of the World logo. I thought it would make a great tattoo, so I’ve got it there. (On his left bicep.) Yeah – that’s about it, man. I’m a bit of a loyalist to the brand and I was super stoked to asked to use their equipment. I would be using it anyway, so yeah. You’ve got a fan for life in me basically.

My first stack was an Orange AD200 with two OBC410s and I was super proud to have that onstage. We would play the tiniest venues and I’d never go without the full stack even if it meant piling it into a cab and pissing off cab drivers. So yeah, it feels amazing to be asked to use their equipment because I spent so long drooling over pictures of musicians I adored, like Prince and Al from Sleep and all of these people I thought were super cool using their gear and I obviously just wanted to be like them. That’s why I was using the gear in the first place so it feels great to be an ambassador for the brand. It’s awesome.

 

You recently released a single ‘Dropout’, can you tell us a bit about it?
Adult Swim approached us about doing a song for their singles series, and since we are all longtime fans of AS, we couldn’t really say no. Historically, Pallbearer has mostly been an album focused band, but this gave us an opportunity to work on something that didn’t have to fit within the context of a full album, which was liberating in a way. Dropout was written, recorded, and mixed rather quickly in comparison to much of our other work, and we’re really happy with the results.

You did a live recording of it at Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago, how was that whole experience, and how did it come about?
Though it was initially tracked at Fellowship  Hall Sound in Little Rock, Audiotree hit us up about wanting to collaborate on something after our then upcoming show in Chicago. As per usual, we’d celebrated rather heavily the night before with some old friends, so when we rolled up to this old Polish cemetery at 10 am with the task of recording two live tracks, there was a definite heavy feeling in the air. Ultimately, with the help of coffee and whatever else was floating around the cemetery that morning, we pulled it off. It’s easily one of the more interesting places we’ve ever played, and I’m stoked that they reached out to us.

What’s your own musical background, earlier and current influences?
The first band I ever fell in love with was Nirvana. I remember reading about Kurt early on, and discovered that he’d loved both the Beatles and Black Sabbath. So I checked them out, and ended up sharing his admiration for both. It was around this time that I first picked up a guitar, and it’s been a wild ride since then. In the last few years, I find myself spending most of my time listening to jazz and country records from the 60’s and 70’s. There’s a lot of prog from that era in the mix, as well. I’m not stuck in the past or anything, and I believe there is a ton of great current music out there, but at the same time, it’s virtually impossible to beat an old Coltrane or Miles record.

What’s your history and experience with Orange?
I wanted an Orange amp the first time I saw one. I remember watching Tony Iommi playing a stack in this old Sabbath video, and I was immediately drawn to it. Years later, when I was finally able to actually try one out, I fell in love. I’ve played about every kind of amp that’s out there, and as the years have passed, I’ve come to realize that there really is nothing that scratches the itch like a cranked Orange. I’m a big fan of the cleans too, especially on the Rockerverb MKIII. In the studio, or a live setting, as long as I’ve got an Orange around, I know I have the best tonal foundation imaginable for what I’m looking for in an amp. I’m an unabashed fanboy.

What’s your current set up?
Currently I run both a MKII and a MKIII Rockerverb simultaneously through a ppc412 and a ppc212. This allows me blend two different amp tones, which to my ears is the best way to achieve a full, interesting sound. It has all the volume I ever really need, and I have used this setup for some time now. Oranges are built like tanks, and they are absolute workhorses, which is an absolute must when you tour as much as we do.

Photo by Johnny Hubbard via ESP guitars.

 

Each Christmas we have a competition called ‘Wish Granted’ where Orange fans could wish for the gear of their dreams – if you could pick any Orange gear, what would it be, and why?I’ve never had the opportunity to play any of Orange’s hand wired/custom shop stuff, and I’m sure they are amazing, so I’d have to go with one of those. Maybe the OR50, or something based off the old OR80’s.

Joe: I was 16, maybe 17, my old punk band was playing a show in this dude’s kitchen and the touring band let us use all of their backline, as we didn’t have any. I plugged into the Orange, I played bass and it was the loudest fuckin’ thing I had ever heard and it left a real big impression on me.

I think [it’s about] the quality mainly. I like the simplicity of it. Like I said I’m not the biggest tech guy, so I feel with most of the [Orange] amps they have really simple EQ settings and the straight forward balls-to-the-wall sound. It’s good for me and works really well for me and I’ve always felt it is a really dynamic and really ferocious sound.

Right now I’m playing the OB1-500, I was introduced to that by Sergio from Deftones when we toured with them. It was right before those amps were on the market and I was looking at his rig one day and he had six of them all stacked up. I was just asking him about them and he was schooling me on the new distortion technology and the A/B shit. I was like I guess I have to fuckin’ buy one now!

What I like about that amp is probably the sound is the most diverse out of the Orange stuff. It’s so clear, so when I do shit for our sound, like put loads of distortion over it, that signal is so clear. There is so much grit and bass underneath it, it doesn’t sound like a guitar, if you know what I mean. Not like a low tuned guitar, it sounds like distorted-ass bass! That’s what I really like about that and what compliments the Code Orange sound really well.

Go to Joe’s Ambassador page on Orangeamps.com.

Let’s dive straight into this – Orange, can you tell us about your history with the company?
Brad: Basically, I had an Ampeg deal back in the day so that’s where I started while Ken and Joby were the ones always using Orange cabs, and Joby having some sort of Orange connection. I always liked Orange, but I never had a deal, and the stuff I wanted was always a bit out of my price range, so it’s more in recent years I’ve gotten in on it as well. Joby reconnected with Orange recently and we did a bit of a revamp of our gear in the States and got some all blacked out Orange cabinets, and I got a 4 Stroke over there which I love.

Have you got the same set up for this UK and Europe tour?
Brad: On this tour I’ve got the AD200 which is a monster of an amp, it’s just such a simple set up but exactly what it needs to be. I hate when all these amps have all these annoying tweaks on them as there’s just a few things you really need. As long as there is gain I’m pretty much good to go – you set it up in like two seconds and then you’re just there like: “Well, that’s the best sound I’ve ever heard!” 

Any other Orange favourites…?
Brad: Definitely the It’s the Terror Bass which you guys don’t make anymore but should totally bring back! I still have the habit of bringing a spare amp with me on the road, but from my experiences with Orange I’ll probably never need it, but then again, you can never be too safe, right? It’s so great it could easily be your main amp as well, i
t’s just amazing that something that small can sound so good, that goes for the guitar one as well. Obviously as a bassist it’s driving mad that you’ve gotten rid of the bass one! When I got mine it was broken, and you cant really get the parts to fix it anywhere in the states. Luckily, my Orange guys in the states let me send it back here to the UK to get fixed. Everyone at Orange is so nice that it was the easiest thing to do ever.

With The Bronx we’ve also got Mariachi El Bronx, which is two bands from completely different sides of the spectrum – punk and mariachi, you must have a pretty wide musical background?
Brad: It’s interesting with me, I actually play trumpet in our other band, and that’s my main – or I guess I don’t really have a main instrument anymore, but you know, main instrument.  I started playing horn in 4th grade and did pretty well at it. It was never my intentions for that to become my life, or such a big deal, especially not that early on, I was kind of just doing my thing until it snowballed and it took me to college. Early on, I was more of a classical guy, and my mum was really into classical music as well, and I was a classical trumpet player.

Somewhere in middle school I discovered rock ‘n’ roll, started a band and went down the line of straight up old school rock like Stones, AC/DC and that sorta stuff, then that went into a punk fase. I’ve always been into a lot of stuff, and blues might be one of my favourite genres. What’s interesting to me, is that there’s actually quite a few musicians where bass and trumpet is the combo, Flea’s one of them. Obviously I can’t remember anyone else now, but oddly enough there is at least another 4-5 big musicians where that is the combo, which to me seems like the weirdest thing ever, and every time I hear about some other guy with that combo I’m just like ‘How did that even happen?’ For me it was just circumstances, I dabbled a bit between everything, guitar and drums as well – I could play them all but not well, and only ended up playing bass as the band I was in at high school needed a bassist, and here I am, years later.

 

 

It’s not all sunshine and roses being a young musician in this day and age, juggling work, education and music all at once…it ain’t easy. Because of this, it was important for Firestone to make funding for recording a part of the prize for last year’s Firestone Battle of the Bands winners, Fire Fences. Based in Bridgend, Wales, Fire Fences decided on Northstone Studios, beautifully located within the Court Colman Manor, and conveniently ten minutes down the road from their homes.

The studio, which is a modern-vintage residential studio, was built by Welsh musician and producer Jayce Lewis, who, funnily enough used to be managed by David Prowse, the original DARTH VADER, so let’s just leave it with that – he had us at Darth Vader.

This is a such a beautiful studio, how did you find it?
We randomly came across it while looking for places to record and couldn’t believe how close it was to home, which is about ten minutes down the road, and it just had the most incredible sound! As we had a bit of money to play around with at the time, we decided to splurge out and give it a go. The first time we recorded here we got quite close with Jayce, who’s almost become some sort of mentor for us. He’s helped us a lot, and now that he knows the band and the music he’s really stepped up as an important figure for the band. It really means a lot to get that help and input from someone like him with where he’s at in his career. He’s done it all before, and wants to support us to be the best we can be, which is great! Finding a place like this and a guy like Jayce so close to home…we’ve been incredibly lucky.


As I sit back to observe the recording and producing process, I discover the love between Jayce and the band – no sugar coatin’ anything here, in the best possible way. He pushes them to be their best selves, and it’s clear that they’ve already built up a strong relationship. Meanwhile, the band all have different approaches to recording, communicating and playing, with James taking his time to think things through, explain things and do everything to perfection, while the other three will boil the kettle, drink tea, have naps and go for long walks on the beach while James will go into detail to answer all my questions. For example, why did the back of his drumsticks look like they had been chewed to pieces?

I haven’t chewed them, I played them the other way around. Ironically these are Buddy Rich sticks, and they got like that from playing a technique I learnt from watching Buddy Rich play. As a jazz drummer he would play using a traditional jazz grip, but when watching videos of him playing I noticed that when he went onto the floor tom, he’d quickly flip his sticks around for more power and force, which is a technique I ended up picking up on myself.

“Ya could have just given her the short answer ya know? “I play ‘em backwards for more power”…”

Luckily, writers love a long answer, as short ones make making journalistic pieces pretty hard.

How long have you got here to record?
We’re here for a full week, Monday to Friday, which is the longest we’ve ever been able to be in the studio for, so it’s allowed us a lot more time to experiment with drums and all that. We recorded our last EP here as well, but had to get it all done in three days strictly due to financial reasons. Luckily Firestone’s helped out a lot this time around, so we get to take our time to actually enjoy the recording process and experience, and not just rush right through it. We’re able to take our shoes off, put our feet up, and rip into each other. We got some tinnies for the day as well, a couple of Red Stripes to keep us hydrated. We’re all firm believers that hydration is key.

What can you tell us about the upcoming release and the foreseeable future?
We’re doing four songs this time around, two are already done and we’ve got two to go, and honestly, the two we’ve got down so far are too good to be ours. We’re so unbelievably excited for the release and to see what the future brings. Firestone’s helping out with the artwork as well which is great, and we’ve got some very exciting things coming up over the next couple of months. For example, Noel Gallagher’s playing Birmingham Arena May 1st, and we get to play in the foyer before the show on the Firestone Unsigned Stage, where everyone will be passing through to get inside the main venue – that’s 20,000 people, to most of which we’ll be completely unknown, such an amazing way of getting out there and reaching a new audience. The added media presence of this and playing on the same night as an act like Noel Gallagher is an honour, and will probably make a lot of people take us more seriously. Having Firestone and also Orange on our side really helps a lot as well, and we reckon we’re gonna get to do some great things with their help and support!

My name is Mary Spender, I play the Orange Rocker 32 and most recently, the Rocker 15 head with a 212 vertical cab. I started playing guitar when I was 12 because I saw some boys at school with a Squire and I was very envious because I was doing classical music! Although i was enjoying it – being in orchestras, playing the viola and singing, playing violin – I found it restrictive in some ways because I wanted to write songs. I was listening to pop music (if I can be honest) as my mum introduced me into things like Jodie Mitchell and I just wanted to sing and accompany myself so I played guitar. I started on electric and bought a Yamaha Pacifica 112 and it’s kinda just gone from there.

I chose the Rocker 32 because of the stereo features but I’m totally guilty of not having stereo pedals right now! I also chose it because of the 3-band EQ on the dirty channel. Aside from the set-clean tone, it’s useful to change between the two channels for my style of playing. Orange was a strange choice for my style of music but then it’s very complimentary in the same way… it’s just cool having my Rocker 32 on stage. It was on stage for my UK tour most recently and everyone just said how good the tone sounded so I’ll take that as a compliment!

My Vigier GV Rock in revolution green is my favourite guitar. It’s short-scale, I love it, it has a very slim neck and it’s just beautiful. I’m a singer/songwriter and I’d describe my musical style as intricate, slow guitar playing with a little chicken-picking… but not quite… there’s a mixture of influences such as Mark Knopfler… so that sort of style… but sort of failing at it… so I just came up with my own thing!

The Rocker 15 Terror was released in January,  so seeing the Rocker as a head (rather than a combo) was great… and to be honest, It’s all down to the bedroom/headroom switch. Being at home, you don’t want to annoy the neighbours… too much! Although I love the Rocker 32, especially those 2 stereo speakers, I just loved the idea of having a vertical cabinet and a head!

I first saw the PPC212V at NAMM and Charlie (from Orange) actually told me it was lightweight. I tested it, and obviously carrying amps is bad for your back if they are too heavy. That’s why I chose the Rocker 32 rather than a cab and head before hand… but picking up the 15mm ply-wood vertical cab was better… it was so light. Now I just need to buy a bigger car!