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13112496_10153852776966743_239655813_oPhoto by Keira Anee.

Since the birth of The Wytches in 2011, the Brighton based psych surf rock band has built up a solid following both within and outside the UK. Bassist Dan Rumsey has been an official Orange ambassador just over a year, and was more than happy to sit down with Orange for a chat.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself ?
I live in Brighton right on the sea with my wife and my dog. It’s the best place in the world to live. Well so far anyway.

What got you into music and playing in the first place?
Well, I guess I got into it late, really. I heard bands like the Offspring, Green Day through my older brother. I remember thinking how different and exciting this music sounded to anything I’d heard before. So I slowly got all the Offspring back catalogue then looked into similar bands to them like Dead Kennedys and The Vandals and the list went on. I discovered new bands by looking up those bands influences. I was heavily into that kind of punk rock for a long time and still am. When I found Alkaline Trio and AFI though; I was done, I could have died happy. I wanted to be like these bands so I got my dad to get me a guitar and taught myself, then when my first band came along they needed a bass player so i got one of those instead. The first instrument I learned was the drumkit though but that was when I first started school and had to choose something.

Can you tell us a bit about your history and experience with Orange?
I think the first time I ever saw an Orange amp was onstage at a show, i can’t remember who now though. I remember how striking they looked. Then I first heard one properly when I was in a band where the guitarist had a tiny terror. I always thought they must be special because not many people had them. My first Orange amp was a practice bass amp which I ended up using in some pretty big venues actually. But eventually I had to upgrade so used other makes which I borrowed until I was able to become an ambassador for Orange. They were always the go to amp for me though wherever possible.

What’s your current set up?
I play an American standard Fender Jazz bass in black through an Orange 1000 watt Bass terror head; into an Orange 810 cab also in black.

Can you name five albums you’re currently listening to?
Lucette: Black is the colour
Fairport convention: Unhalfbricking
Bill Ryder Jones: West Kirby County Primary
Nick Cave and the bad seeds: Let Love In
Joanna Newsom: YS

What do you do when you’re not touring and recording, any hobbies?
I run a small illustration business called Oh So Grim. I draw stupid drawings of weird people and animals and basically try to sell it to people. I write my own music too, so I don’t really stop with the creative stuff. If I do I, feel really guilty that I’ve wasted a day, same if I watch TV for too long, then I have to go and even it out with at least some guitar practice.

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Monolord’s Mika & Thomas talk Orange at Desertfest 2016


Thomas: Hi my name is Thomas. I play guitar and sing in Monolord.

Mika: Hi my name is Mika and I play the bass in Monolord.

When was your first experience of Orange amps?

Mika: My first memory of Orange amps is from 23 years ago when i was just a small kid learning to play guitars. I was with my best friend. We were learning how to play guitar together. His farther had a huge stack of amps and guitars. Of course he had orange there.

Thomas: I think it must of been at an old beat club concert with black sabbath. They had their classic paranoid video, I think that’s the first time I saw an Orange amp.

Mika: The first time I played an orange amp I was about 20. I was with my friends at a rehearsal.

Thomas: When I was about 25 I bought my first Orange amp for recording an album in my old band.

What is your current set up?

Mika: Right now I have an 8 x 10 speaker cab and an OB1500 amp which I’m very happy about it has a lot of power in that. I had to try the OB1500 because of how good it sounded in previews. Now I am looking at getting another 8 x 10 speaker cabinet and an AD200.

Thomas: I have the OR100H. with a high powered 400W cab. Then I have two old cabs, one is from 79 and the other from around 2006. I have an old modified slave head from 73 that was modified a while back. They had put a Matamp face plate on it but now I have found an old Orange face plate that was from 73 as well. So now it’s back to a normal Orange again. It’s reliable, built like a tank! And if you play a smaller club or a bigger club it doesn’t matter, it still works and sounds great.

Thomas: We have been working really hard to get our sound that we can use together, not only sound great separately but to sound great together
Mika: We have gone through quite a lot of gear

Thomas: Ye but now it seems like we have found our thing. It sounds good on stage but we like that it even sounds good out side the stage.

Mika: I get all excited about it every time I get out the amps!

Thomas: ye like ooooo (excited expression)

Mika: Like a giggling small boy

Thomas: Like Mr Burns eeeexcellent (strums fingers together)

Mika: For my main sound I just use one fuzz pedal but of course I combine it with some effects here and there. But basically the main sound is one fuzz pedal straight to the amp and its perfect with the OB1500, you can really turn up the gain there!

Thomas: Ye the sound is more or less the guitar, a fuzz pedal and the amp. It’s nothing more really, I have some delay and flange and phaser just to broaden the sound a little more.
Of course we were really really happy when we talked to Alex in Atlanta and we also visited the office outside London. When we became ambassadors I felt … well it was like a dream!
To be able to use Orange I’m really thrilled about it!

Mika: Ye I’m stoked about it!

 

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Can you please tell us about your history with Orange?
I always wanted an Orange amp because Black Sabbath was playing them, and they were pretty hard to find in the States back in the day. We also played that NAMM show in Anaheim for Orange’s, I think it was their 40th anniversary, and we met all of the Orange people, and obviously the backline was all Orange, and I told them “I’d like to take this home with me.” and they said “Ok”, and I was like “Oh, that’s very, very nice of you!”, and I’ve been using Orange ever since.

What’s your set up then?
I had an old 15inch cabinet and a 4×10, and the MK3 200 watt head, which I love – it’s never given me any problems. After a while I needed something bigger, so I asked for the 1000 watt Tiny Terror head and an 8×10 cabinet and I’ve been playing them all over the US.

A lot of people that normally wouldn’t listen to country or southern rock still listen to Blackberry Smoke, why do you think that is?
We all come from different backgrounds, back in the day Brit and I were in a metal band called Nihilist, so we’re a band that can play a wide spectrum of music, and it boils down to good versus bad. When people say Blackberry Smoke is a country rock band that turns a lot of people off. I wouldn’t call The Eagles or The Rolling Stones country rock bands, but they both definitely did country rock-ish music at one point or another, outstanding country rock music. They also both did dance and pop music as well, and that’s why they’re both so good and still in business, they just appeal to such a wide variety of people as they instead of sticking a specific genre they stick to playing good music, whether that’s country, rock or something else. Another band like that is Motörhead. It’s a shame that so many bands get tossed around the genre machine and never manages to come out of it.

How is it being in a band that’s known to “always be on tour”?
We played less shows in 2015 than we did in 2014 and the year before that. In 2013 we played 255 shows, and when you tour like that over many years it does become a lot. We’ve started to cut back a bit because everyone’s got small children, except for Brandon. Which we know of, he might be making some children as we speak…

IMG_6490 (1)Photography by Aimee Giese

First of all, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Dan Aid, I live in Denver, CO, and I play guitar in Authority Zero.

Can you tell us a bit about the band you’re in – how you guys met, and how long you’ve been together?
Well, Authority Zero has been playing shows and putting out records since 1994, but I first met Jason and the crew in 2013. My other band, Wiredogs was opening up for them at The Marquis in Denver, and we just sort of ended up hanging out that whole night. Then every time they came through Denver after that, whether I was playing with them or not, we would always meet up and grab dinner or drinks and catch up. I got a call from Jason a couple of months ago asking if I could fill in for a couple of shows on Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog cruise, and then we got offered the Japan tour right after that, and then the dates with Pennywise came up, and then the US/Canada run, and then Europe, and I just kept saying ‘Yes!’ to everything, and that’s how we got to where we are now. Mostly I just feel really fortunate to be in this situation where I get to step into a family that has been working at this thing for 20+ years. It’s a very tight knit crew, and there’s a huge amount of heart and respect that go into every rehearsal and show, and I’m stoked to see what we create through the end of this year.

Was there anyone or anything that got you into playing in the first place?
My dad always had his guitar out when I was a kid, and he would play old Dylan tunes or Phil Ochs, and my sister and I would sing along. He then bought me this little Montana acoustic for Christmas when I was eight years old. I would sit down with this red spiral notebook of my dad’s, where he had written out all the lyrics and chord changes to his favorite songs from when he was a teenager, and I would just learn the songs by ear, and when I came across a chord I didn’t know he would teach it to me and I’d keep going.

Do you remember your first ever encounter with Orange?
The first orange amp I ever had the chance to play was a tiny terror. I remember plugging into it, shifting those three knobs into every possible configuration, and loving every tone and sound that came through it. I have never in my life had that experience with another piece of gear. In every other area of trying to create sounds for live shows or in the studio I’m always fidgeting with knobs, adding gear into my chain, taking other gear out of the chain, a constant struggle to capture something that my ears love. But with Orange, so far in my experience of it, I just have to plug into it and I get inspired by the tones that already live there. Plus they look cool. The first guitar player I ever saw playing orange was Lawrence from Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I was 14 years old at the Ogden Theater in Denver, and I distinctly remember the Orange full stack he played with the cabs and head wrapped in the white tolex. It seemed like every other guitar player in the mid 2000’s who was playing punk was playing the JCM Marshall series heads, so the orange aesthetic immediately jumped out at me.

How long have you been using Orange, and what’s your current set up?
I’ve been playing Orange amps for almost four years now. I currently use an AD30HTC head through a PPC412 cab, and I love it.

Playing with one arm you’ve been faced with a lot of challenges other guitarists haven’t, was there times you wanted to give up?
When I lost my hand I think there was a lot that felt unknown. From tying my shoes, to taking a shower, to playing guitar I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do any of it. But honestly, I’ve just figured out each of those things as they have come up. I’ve had to figure out my way of doing everything, and sometimes I’m successful and sometimes I fall on my face, but that’s just life.

What made you keep going?
I mean, I love music, and I love playing guitar, and I love writing songs, and I love sharing those songs with people. I have to do this; It doesn’t really feel like a choice. It’s where I feel the most alive, and that affects every other aspect of my life. So I guess I kept going for me, because playing music is where I feel the most powerful. And I kept going for my family, because we all lost a hand, and that sucked, but we all also have worked for and created all of these beautiful moments that I am getting to experience now. No success I have had playing guitar was created solely by me. It was created by the years of love and support from family, friends, fans, and anyone who has reached out and given a fuck and kept me going over the years.

Growing up, who was your musical role models?
Green Day and Rancid were the bands I discovered that really spoke to me as a kid. Green Day made playing the guitar feel accessible, with the simple, but super hooky riffs. Insomniac was the first record I ever sat down with and learned front to back. I feel like I really learned how to write songs from listening to Rancid records, and I feel like I learned how to put on shows from going to Rancid shows. Meeting Lars and Tim when I was 15 had a huge impact on me, they were just very human and encouraging. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I hadn’t discovered those records and had those interactions at that age.

When you’re not busy making and playing your own music, do you tend to go to other gigs?
I do. There are a ton of great local bands in Colorado like Wire Faces, Spells, In The Whale, and Slow Caves, so I love going out and seeing friends do their thing as much as I can.

What sort of advice would you give to young aspiring musicians faced with similar disabilities as yourself?
We all get knocked down. It’s how we choose to respond in the dark moments that defines who we are.

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Having just released their latest album Bloodsweat, Plague Vendor crossed the atlantic to tour the UK with noise connoisseurs Love Buzzard. Before officially starting the tour, the guys did a set at London’s Rough Trade East where I had a chat with them before politely handing them some tokens while asking them to step into the photo booth for their close ups. Here’s what they had so say.

Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Jay: I’m a 29-year-old dude that loves playing the guitar, touring the world and drinking ice-cold beer.
Michael: My name’s Michael and I live in Whittier, California. I love music, my friends and family.

How old were you when you started playing? Was there anything or anyone in particular to inspired you to do so?
Jay: I started playing guitar when I was 13 or 14, somewhere around there. My good friend Andrew inspired me to play, he was super awesome at guitar and would teach me songs. I think one of the first riffs I ever learned was “Crazy Train” by Ozzy.
Michael: My mom and dad bought me a Fender bass package, the one that came with a P Bass and small amp when I was 12-13 for Christmas. My dad loves music and growing up he would constantly be showing me different shit. From The Beatles to Radiohead to Frank Zappa…The list is endless.

Do you remember your first ever encounter with Orange, whether it was used by someone else or your first time playing one?
Jay: I was and still am a super huge fan of The Blood Brothers, I remember seeing them for the first time when I was 16 and Cody, the guitar player, was playing an Orange combo and I thought it sounded so fucking awesome. Shortly after that show I got my first job and saved up for 6 months to buy a Rockerverb 100 and a 2×12 cab. The Rockerverb that I bought way back then is still the same one I use today! I love it.
Michael: I would always see Orange amps in Guitar Center growing up and always thought they looked like the coolest amps.. Then when I heard them I knew they were the coolest amps. I think Jay was the first person that I knew that had one…and then I bought an Orange bass head when we started the band.

How long have you been using Orange, and what’s your current set up?
Jay: I’ve been using the same setup for the past 10 years. I have a Rockerverb 100 and an Orange 2×12 cabinet. I’m all about Orange.
Michael: I’ve been using Orange for the last 8 years. I have the Terror Bass 500w and I love it.

Any specific pedals that works well with it?
Jay: I think the overdrive on the Rockerverb is the best I’ve ever heard so I don’t use any distortion/overdrive. I do use some delay for some of the songs though.
Michael: I just bought a bass overdrive pedal a few months ago and it sounds badass. Super crunchy and heavy. 

What do you look for in an amp?
Jay: Something that is loud and clear and has a great high end. Also, a great amp needs to have an awesome overdrive right out of the box.
Michael: Something that is loud and kinda on the warmer side.

What albums are you currently listening to?
Jay: I really like the new Autolux album Pussy’s Dead. Also, I’ve been really into old PJ Harvey stuff like To Bring You My Love era.
Michael: The new Underworld album Barbara, Barbara, we face a shining future. Also the new Tame Impala record Currents.

Any hilarious jokes, words of wisdom or funny anecdotes you wanna share with the readers?
Jay: I’d say if you start a band keep pushing. Things will happen even if it’s a slow start.
Michael: Find what brings you joy in life and do that. No matter what it is and no matter what anyone tells you. Life isn’t meant to be lived for someone else. You do you, boo boo.

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How did you end up using Orange?
When we started out I was using Marshall, which I did for five or six years. They’re big amps and it was a bit of a hassle getting them around, so I ended up trying a Rockverb 50, and I was like ‘That’s it, this sounds amazing!’ A year later they both got stolen out of our trailer, and we went and got three more so we’d have one for back up. After that we used them for about three more years, before deciding to experiment with a few different brands. After about a year of doing that and not really finding anything I liked as much, I went back to Orange.

What’s your current set-up then?
Over here in the UK, I’m playing the OR50 head with two 2×12 cabs, and it sounds monstrous! Back home I was using the Custom Shop 50 with two open back cabinets. The ones over here are closed, and I’m kind of digging them, you know? The OR50 and the Custom Shop 50 both sounds good, and I almost feel like I’m cheating on one of them. I haven’t tried the Custom Shop 50 through the closed back cabs yet, so maybe I should give that a try.

How about when you’re recording?
We recorded with Brendan O’Brien, and he’s got so much vintage gear and old amps, so we would use a bit of whatever he had around. You don’t need the same massive wall on sound in a studio as on stage, and often a smaller amp might sound amazing in a studio. We used a lot of different things instead of just sticking to one. On the ‘Little Piece of Dixie’ record I used Orange the whole time.

I’ve noticed there’s been a bit of a wait between all of your albums, with five years between the two first ones, is there any hope of new music from you guys before 2018?
The reason it’s been such a long wait between the records is because we’re always on the road. When recording an album we don’t spend more than a week in the studio, we know what we’re going to do, so we just go in and get the job done. After that Charlie and I will go somewhere else and lay down the vocals. But to answer your question, it shouldn’t be that much of a wait before the next one, this one’s only been out a year and they’re already talking about recording again. Charlie’s already got quite a few tunes written, and we’re all looking forward to it.

All of your albums have been released on four different labels, do you think you’ve ‘found the one’ now?
Here in the UK, Earache records are unbelievable. They don’t have an office in the States, but if they did I wouldn’t go anywhere else. We’re so happy to have them over here, we love everybody there and they’re all so nice and fun to be around. In the US we’ve been hopping a bit around as record labels just change so much. We haven’t landed any major record deal yet, but we don’t really worry about that. We’re at that point in our career where if we want to give out an album, we can.

You keep getting compared to Lynyrd Skynyrd, is that something you get a bit sick of, or do you just take it as a massive compliment?
When we started this band I’d never expect that, we just got together and started playing, and people would just associate us with Lynyrd Skynyrd, which is awesome. At first I thought it was unbelievable, as I honestly don’t think we sound anything like them, they’re in a league of their own. It still blows me away when people compare us to them, and I feel honoured.

You’re also known to cover some heavier rock bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin how did that come about?
All of us are kind of metal heads in a way. But then Charlie’s also introduced me to so much music I’d never really listened to, like bluegrass. It’s crazy that when you listen to metal you hear all these guitar players that are just blazing, and I was always like “this is amazing, these guys are killing it!”, and then Charlie started playing me some bluegrass, just a guy with a tiny mandolin, and it was just unbelievable. It’s got a totally different feel to it, but it’ll blow your mind watching a bluegrass player play. But yeah, back to the rock thing. We all listen to it, but I tend to be a little bit more outspoken about it I guess, which has kind of labelled me as the ‘metal head’ of the band.

To me you almost seem like a crossover band, where people that wouldn’t necessarily listen to southern rock, will still listen to Blackberry Smoke, I guess the fact that you’re influenced by so many different genres might be one of the reasons for that?
Yeah definitely! Truth be told though, it was actually Charlie’s idea of covering Sabbath, but we were all really into it, and we do all listen to all kinds of music. I grew up listening to bands like Megadeath and Maiden, the latter which I have yet to see live. I snuck in to one of their shows when I was younger, but didn’t get to see the whole thing.

After more than four decades in the industry, you’re now getting the highest acknowledgement there is in rock ’n’ roll by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – how does that feel?
We are thrilled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s hard to imagine that it’s really happening.

You’re notoriously known for your 12 string bass and at times you’ve almost had a function as second lead guitarist, how did the idea about the 12 string bass come about?
I had the idea for the 12 string bass back in 1973. Our friends Paul Hamer and Jol Danzig were starting the Hamer Guitar Company and by 1977 I was able to talk them into making me one.


Can you tell us a bit about your history and experiences with Orange?
Our guitarist Rick Nielsen and I went to London in 1968 and met Cliff Cooper at his Orange Music shop where he was just starting to make Orange Amplifiers. Rick ended up buying one of his 2×12 combos at the time which he still uses on stage. 

What’s you’re current set up – guitars, pedals and amps?
My current live rig is an AD50 Custom Shop head running an Orange 4×12 cabinet and an AD200B MK3 head running another Orange 4×12 cabinet. I don’t use any effects or pedals.

As mentioned earlier, you’ve all been doing this for a very long time, will this be your last album, or do you have any plans of recording yet another one? How does the future look like for Cheap Trick?
We are releasing a new LP, “Bang, Zoom, Crazy, Hello” April 1st on Big Machine Records. After that, our plan is to release a new record every year. We’ve almost completed our follow up record!

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You just finished touring with Slayer and Anthrax – how was that?
Maciek: It’s been really fucking cool, and kind of a milestone as they’re bands we all look up to. Definitely something to tick off our list.

How long have you been using Orange?
Vidar: We’ve been using Orange for long time, since before we started recording. Bjarte’s been using Orange for as long as I can remember. I had an old vintage Marshall amp that caught fire, and after that I swapped to Orange.
Maciek: I’ve got the TH30, Rockerverb and Thunderverb, and they just always deliver and they’re very reliable. And it looks fucking cool.

Do you have any specific pedals you feel work well with the amps?
Maciek: Well, yeah, there’s quite a few, but Orange sounds really good on it’s own. It’s a really good base, and then you can have fun with some pedals on top. I always use my Echoplex Preamp from Dunlop. Since we’ve got three guitars we all have to be on different levels, and I think it works really well with that one.
Vidar: I try to use as few pedals as possible, if it was up to me I’d just plug it straight into the amp and go, but obviously I do use some, I’ve had a Big Muff for a while and that works well, but then again, all my pedals works well with Orange.

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Do you remember the first time you saw an Orange amp?
Vidar: I think it was Hellacopters, in the Toys and Flavours video.
Maciek: Not really, but I remember that when we started in 2009 Norway got kind of like an Orange boom, because I cant really think of any other Norwegian bands besides us having used Orange..?
Vidar: I’m sure there are a few, I just can’t think of them.

You’re one of few bands with Norwegian lyrics to have made it outside of Norway, was there ever any doubt, or moments when you considered English lyrics?
Vidar: We’ve actually never had a proper conversation about it. There’s been a few people saying we’d get further if we did, but I guess we kind of just proved them wrong.
Maciek: It’s a part of our sound as well, we’d sound completely different if our songs were in English. We’ve got one English verse, that’ll do. And to be fair, I don’t really know how much of a difference it would have made if our songs were in English, we’re doing really well as it is. It’s pretty cool doing gigs outside of Norway when you see people singing along, trying to get the Norwegian words right. It’s almost tempting to stop and ask them what they’re actually singing.

Kvelertak.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up? Was there anyone in specific that got you into music?
Vidar: Whatever my parents were listening to, so a mix between Dire Straits and Abba, but I guess what kind of sold music to me was when I got a Guns N’ Roses cassette.
Maciek: I’ve always liked music. I used to be really into skateboarding and listened to a lot of punk. It wasn’t until a bit later I got unto metal. Death was one of the bands that made me want to be good, but I guess it was mostly punk that got me started.

What are you currently listening to?
Maciek: I listen to quite a lot of hip hop, there’s been a lot of Lars Vaular lately, and Yelawolf.
Vidar: There’s a Finnish band called ‘Vasas Flora och Fauna’, which is kind of folk music. While touring with bands such as Slayer and Anthrax and listening to metal non-stop, it’s nice to unwind with something completely different.

Norwegian hip hop and Finnish folk music, I can imagine a few people will find that quite surprising!
Maciek: I listen to a fair bit of Hawaii music as well, like Johnny Pineapple.
Vidar: We’ve been playing Scorpions in our tour bus, which I never knew I liked.
Maciek: Erlend’s got Hellbillies backstage playlist, which consists of a bunch of bands that sounds just like Hellbillies. We’ve listened to that a lot.

Kvelertak Website
Kvelertak Facebook

You’ve just released your newest album ‘Innocence and Decadence,’ how has the tour been so far?
It’s been good! We started by doing some shows around Sweden, which was pretty cool. Besides from playing some festivals in Sweden earlier this year, it had been a few years since the last time, and we got the impression people were glad to have us back. We’ve also played some big shows in Germany, so it’s been really good so far and I’ve had a lot of fun.

You were originally the guitarist in Graveyard, how is it being back after all these years as a bassist?
Swapping instruments hasn’t really made that much of a difference, it’s more the fact that the band has grown so much over the last couple of years, whether it’s the fact that they’ve made loads of good music while I’ve been away, or playing bigger venues. Last time I was in Graveyard we played at people’s houses and tiny clubs.

How long have you been using Orange?
I’ve never used Orange when playing guitar, so it’s actually just been the last year or so, after I returned to Graveyard as a bassist.

Why did you decide to give Orange a go?
Rikard, who used to play bass, recorded the last two albums using Orange, so it kind of came natural that when playing those songs, I would use the same equipment. I did experience a bit trying a few different brands like Ampeg and Fender, but Orange just seemed like the best fit for the kind of music we’re playing. They’re pretty straightforward without too many buttons, so it’s quite easy to get good sound.

Can you run us through your current set up?
I’m using the AD200B MK 3 head and the OBC810 8×10 cab. I tried some of the smaller cabs as well and they sounded pretty similar, but when playing big venues it kind of just looks better with the big one, you know.

Do you remember the first time you ever saw an Orange amp?
I’m pretty sure it was Black Sabbath or one of the other old school British heavy rock bands. After that I think it was Witchcraft when we opened for them in Örebro. That was years ago though.

You released a solo album last year; do you play most of the instruments on it yourself?
Yes I do, I can’t drum so I had to get someone else in to do that, but besides that it’s mostly me.

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How is it making a solo album compared to recording with a band?
I’ve been in bands for such a long time, so I kind of just felt the need to do it all on my own, not because I necessarily think it’s better that way, but just to try it. Sometimes it can be frustrating to work with other people as things might not always turn out the way you thought it would, but that can also mean that sometimes it’ll be better than what you originally had in mind, there’s pros and cons. I guess just was pretty curious to find out how it would be to do it all on my own, and even though I found it quite difficult and it took me a long time, I feel like I learnt a lot from it, and I really enjoyed it.

Well I’m glad you did, it’s a great record!
Oh you think so? Thank you! It’s very different from what I do with Graveyard, and how we’ve done our new album.

How is it balancing a solo career with being in Graveyard?
Impossible really. You can’t really combine the two. I did have my own band for a bit during summer and did some gigs and festival promoting my album, but now that our new album’s out I just don’t have the time. I do have my own studio though, so when I’m not touring I still make my own music.

Have you got any other hobbies when not on the road?
I’m quite interested in old analogue synthesizers and vintage electronic music, so I spend most of my time in the studio and writing song.

When you’re not busy making your own music, what do you listen to?
Oh, that’s a tricky one. If you take a look at my record collection there is a lot of sixties and seventies rock, American West Coast psychedelia and British progressive hard rock, but then there’s also some experimental music in there like German electro from the seventies, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze…spaced out instrumental music. I guess I’ve got a bit of everything.

If you had to pick a favourite album, which one would it have to be?
Shit, that’s tricky! After all these years I’m still not sick of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blonde on Blonde’. I haven’t listened to it in a while, but it seems to be one of those albums that can just stand the test of time.

Oh really? I’m actually quite surprised by that, I would have expected something heavier, like Black Sabbath or something.
Yeah, well it’s really difficult to pick just one album. Sabbath would definitely be in there if I could pick my top five.

Go on then..
King Crimson – In The Court of The Crimson King
Black Sabbath – Paranoid
Pink Floyd – Meddle
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde

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What’s been your relationship with Orange? What is your first memory of the amps?
I found my first orange head in the mid 90’s in a used music store in Colorado. And I bought that for 600 bucks. I played that for a long time, it was a 70’s OR120 I believe. Over the years I have tried out a bunch of different Orange stuff and I think the new stuff they have out now is probably my favorite amps I’ve played of all time. They sound absolutely incredible when I plug them in and start playing I have no complaints about anything as far this Rockerverb and the OR100, absolutely amazing sounding heads and I’m very happy to playing Orange again!

What’s been your first impressions of the Rockerverb MKIII
My first impression of the new Rockerverb 100 MKIII,  as soon as I plugged in and turned it up. I thought it sounded absolutely incredible. I love the dirty channels on these new Oranges, I think they sound very natural and warm. As opposed to a lot of distorted channels on other amps that don’t sound natural and warm to me. I love the built in attenuator that it also has in it, it’s a feature I have not seen on an Orange amp, that I know of. The tone is incredible as well, I’m loving the tone of the new Oranges!

What’s your impression of the Bax?
You guys just call it the Bax?

Yep, the Bax Bangeetar!!!
Ok! I’m personally not a huge overdrive or distortion pedal kind of guy but my first impression of the Bax Bangeetar. Wait, what? Its actually a guitar pre EQ? Oh ok wow! I should have looked at it before I played it! At this point I’m pretty sure I need one in my life, as soon as possible. I usually don’t use stompboxes for leads or anything like that but I think I might start!

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