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Ryan : Hi i’m Ryan, and I’m from the Cribs and here we are in London, at the University.

The first time I remember seeing an Orange amp, I think it was in Weezer’s first record, I opened up the sleeve and there was a picture of all their gear. Their bass player Matt, had this Orange amp and I thought it looked really cool. I became interested at that point because as a kid you end up looking at pictures of gear more than you do using gear because you don’t really have many opportunities. I think I really fantasised about owning one as a school kid. I remember cutting out a photo of an Orange stack from a catalogue and sticking it on my bedroom wall and being like, one day I’m going to get one of these amps.

The first time I got an Orange, was probably in like 2001. It was when the Orange crush came out and I got one for my birthday. I was really excited because there was an Orange amp out there that I could actually afford, it was a way of getting an Orange, on a modest budget. I still really love that amp! I think it was the Crush 30, it became our main recording amp. All our early demos we recorded with the Crush and even now when we go to the studio, I always take the Orange crush with us. We split the signal between my Orange rig and the crush because I think it sounds good on record. I really love that amp!

My main criteria of an amp is that it sounds raunchy, I don’t like it to sound super scooped like you get with most amps. I think a lot of amps are missing something in the mid range and that’s what I liked with Orange. To me they always sounded like the guitar sound of the 70’s records which I always really loved.

A lot of other amps that I’ve used, don’t feedback well and that for me is a really important thing, we use a lot of feedback. I see feedback as one of the more exciting parts of playing guitar as you can’t really control what it is going to do. I always loved the way Orange’s sound when they are being cranked up and the feedback you can get from them and the way you can play the amp in that way. It’s always been an important part of our sound.

My current set up is AD30 that I bought in 2002-2003 maybe, it was the first thing I bought when we got a record deal. Because I thought it would sound like a big Orange Crush and I loved the sound of it. I’ve been using it every since, that’s been my only live amp since 2003-4. In the last couple of years i’ve added that bottom cab and then the Matamp, the Green amp. I used it, all set to bass frequencies, it was mainly when we did the big outdoor stages or the arena shows, I wanted to feel the amp behind me. I’m so happy with my current set up, i’m kind of so used to it, I don’t think I could deal with using anything else at this point.

I tried the Getaway Driver out recently on a new song we have been working on, I thought I would use it as the main pedal for the session. I was really impressed by it, the thing that I find interesting about it, it is definitively a drive pedal, it really has that character but you can get really crazy with it. I was surprised at how dirty that pedal actually gets, usually drives can be a bit tasteful. Which obviously the Getaway Driver can do but it can also do something at the other end of the spectrum which I appreciate.

Ye, it feels cool to be part of the Orange family, when I was a kid I dreamed of owning an Orange. When you become a touring musician it’s easy for you to see the amps you use as the tools of your trade but I still try to contextualise how I felt when I was a kid about the gear and dreamed about owning it. To be a recognised part of the Orange family feels really good, strokes my ego!

 

Tim Sult: Tim Sult from Clutch here, i don’t remember the first time I saw an Orange amp but I definitely remember the first time I heard an Orange amp. That was when I saw Sleep play live, when we were recording our first album, that would have been in 1993.

When we were on tour, probably the year after that in 1994, I found an old Orange amp, in a music store in Colorado for $600, so I bought that. It was an old OR120, I was just using it for everything, I just used to turn it up as loud as it would go, that was all I did with it for a while, until I blew it up! Which happened many times!

We have different gear over here in Europe than we do in the U.S. but over here I have got a 40th anniversary OR50 up on stage, I love that thing. At home I found two, old Orange combos, two 70’s combos. I believe they are both OR120 overdrive combos and I have been playing those in the U.S. and those are phenomenal, it would be great if you could clone those old Oranges.

For me I like a clean tone, with just a little bit extra, I don’t really have much luck going with a really overdrivey tone. I usually think it sounds a bit better, more Clutch like if it is a little more clean. So thats what I like about the OR’s they have a big, clean sound, that you can add overdrive into.

For some reason the Orange cabs always seem like they have a little more life than any other cabs that I own, so that is definitely my favourite part about the Orange cabinets. They seem to have more top end and more bottom end, than any of the other cabinets I have.

I usually don’t use a huge amount of effects, I use a phaser, I have a Electro Harmonix Micro Pog, octave thing I always like to use, and I use a wah.  I always run my effects through the front of the amp, I have never used any kind of effects loop. If you have a good sounding amp, thats 95% of the battle right there, I think my thing with Orange is to let the amp itself make the tone and not make the pedals themselves make the tone.

With the next album, we have been writing for a good long time, I am definitely going to be trying to work in as much Orange stuff as humanly possible!

Kelby Ray: Hi, I’m Kelby Ray of The Cadillac Three – Proud Orange User. I think Orange Amps – the look, is just so classic. It’s super old school, super Rock N’ Roll and something I always thought just looked so cool. The first time I ever used an Orange Amp was at a festival in Nashville as like a backline situation. I plugged into it and it was so easy to use – not a lot of knobs and it just sounded great. I want something that’s going to work, not too much hustle and fuss and something that’s just Rock N’ Roll. Orange is all those things, so that’s why I’ve always gravitated towards them, they’re something I’ve always loved to play.

My influences are from all over. I used to listen to a lot of 80s country, particularly growing up in Nashville, also learning to play the guitar in high school, things like Jimi Hendrix, Metallica, Pantera – little bit of everything. Blues. Influences from all over the place. Hell, I even liked Mariah Carey when I was a kid. The way my set up works in The Cadillac Three, I’m playing lap steel but I split it and play into a guitar amp and a bass amp at the same time. I’m just looking for something that sounds good mixed together. Right now, I’m using the AD30HTC and AD200 and they sound great working together. It’s a cool sound  that you just can’t emulate anyway else. The Orange sound is just well rounded enough it makes MY sound as part of the band something huge and it really adds a lot of depth to what we’re doing.

Orange Amps are so diverse with many different artists that play them. To be a part of that family is just really a cool thing. I’m getting to do something unique and add my own flair into the musical world through Orange and it’s just super awesome.

First time I saw an Orange amp would have been when I was, kind of teaching myself to play guitar, I just remember seeing these great big, bright, beautiful things at the back of these stages. To notice the difference in sound, was kind of what first woke me up to Orange amps or at least made me first realise them.

I remember the first time I really genuinely played one and found that it was compatible with the kind of tone I was trying to achieve and the sounds I was trying to make with my fingers. It was a couple of years ago, using the Rockerverb MKII, which then ended up being the amp I toured with for about a year and a half or so. The thing I really like about Orange and the thing I really like about the Rockerverb is, it is quite restrictive, the rest of it is up to you. That is something I resonated with, there wasn’t too much fussing about.

So I recently in the last six months, switched from the Rockerverb MKII up to the Rockerverb MKIII. The thing that really stepped up the amp into a whole new territory was the attenuator on it, being able to know that there is one knob on the end of the chain that will affect the volume of the amp but won’t affect the tone.

Whether its festivals, whether its venues big or small, I get to turn up with this amp and know the tone is going to be the same every single time and not worry I’m going to leave people with hearing impairment.

The Two-Stroke in particular has been a really fun thing to play around with, as like a post EQ thing. The one thing I have always loved about Stevie Ray Vaughan tone is it sounds like he is tearing paper. For some reason he was able to make this sound, that sounds like it just tears through the air and comes to you, but you hear every note and rips apart the world to get to you. I find that Strats do that and I find that Orange, the amps do that as well and the two of them together, its the closest I’ve found to being able to achieve that tone for myself, in my kind of way. The thing I’m really interested in the Two Stroke is the clarity it brings.

The minute I switched over to Orange there was noticeable difference, the kind of reaction I was getting from the crowd, the comments I was receiving afterwards about the guitar tone. Just two songs in a 1/2 hour, 40 minute set and the one thing people always remembered was the guitar.

To be on a list of people of such iconic names, who also agree with that state of mind or like to play these amps is a crazy thing and I’m happy to be a part of the family. Because even though my tone and inspiration has come from Texas, I’m not. Its important that I can travel the world with an amp that respects the tone I’m trying to play and allows to make it unique if i’m ready to make it unique. It doesn’t do the work for me but gives me the tools necessary to do the best job that I can.

 

Tuk Smith – Rick thanks for meeting.

Rick Nielsen – Happy to be here.

Tuk – We are going to talk about some good shit. In the early days, you guys did 300 shows a year plus, you’ve never quit touring. You tour now more than any other band, what is your secret?

Rick – You got to like what you are doing and people have got to hire you, if we weren’t hired then I don’t know if we would be out quite as much. But about eight years ago we said maybe we shouldn’t tour so much, so we should raise our price and that didn’t stop anything, so we should have raised our prices ten years ago!

Tuk – I’ve heard you have a really special Orange amp? It’s an early one?

Rick – That one right there, right in the middle, I think it is the first one ever made. Basically I bought it from Orange music, in London, I bought it from Cliff Cooper who started Orange.

Tuk – What year was this?

Rick –  It was somewhere between 1968 and 1970, because I bought my Mellotron, my first Mellotron from Cliff Cooper, it was used one over in London and I had it shipped over by boat. It was on the first album of Fuse in 1969, we recorded in 1968 so that would have been in.

Tuk – So you’re a self proclaimed hoarder?

Rick – Ye! So this is number one and the guys at Orange told me they made four of them and they haven’t even seen one, so that’s the very first one, very rare. So I’ve had it for forty or something years. Except for the emblem being bust, its perfect.

Tuk – Do you ever track in the studio with Orange?

Rick – I track in the studio with it yes, its got a punch, its got great punch to it. Then Orange was kind enough to build me another one and they made a chequer board for me. Its a little different configuration, looks a bit different. But then about a month ago I was in Seattle, went guitar and amp shopping with Mike McCready from Pearl Jam and I walk in this store, they were all looking at this and that. Then I go BOOM! I point over and that was down on the floor, that is a direct copy of this same one I already have, so I have got two of the four.

Tuk – Have you ever thrown a pick into an orifice, a mouth or an eye ball and was there a lawsuit?

Rick – A lot of cleavage, that is where it is usually drawn.

Tuk – Tell me about the cameo in the Fat Boys movie, because that was fucking wild.

Rick – See they wanted a really crappy actor and they got it. I can’t act, I can react, I’m a pretty good reactor! But as far as acting…

Tuk – I think your rat tail sold it though, you had a nice one.

Rick – They cut out my best line in that movie because I said “I was only going thirty five” but the other line was “I was only going thirty five” and then I gave him the finger!

Tuk – Well if you need somebody cute, to play rhythm guitar Rick, so you don’t have to do all the duties, I’m right here buddy.

Rick – Well why don’t you play with us tonight?

Tuk -Well I didn’t know you were serious Rick but that is awesome!

“There has always been always been an Orange amp in every studio that we have recorded in for the last 23 years”

“Hey, whats up, this Brian ‘Head’ Welch from Korn and I’m with Orange.

The first time I saw Orange was in a recording studio, sometime in the 90’s, that’s when we started mixing the Orange tone into other amps for albums on certain songs. There has always been an Orange amp in every studio that we have recorded in for the last 23 years, every producer respects them. I know a lot of guys out there using them, like Jim Root from Slipknot, I love it as he is like plug in and that is Slipknots tone, pretty cool.

I’m using the Rockerverb on the road, as for now I’m using it for my clean channel because it just has what I call “buttery” clean sound, like drops of water. I use effects with it, this song “falling away from me” is really melodic and needs to sound like, watery and the Orange amp got me that tone amazingly. I’m also messing around with my dirty tone, I haven’t got that far yet but I think a lot of cool things are to come with the Rockerverb.

Just to be added to the roster of incredible musicians, the legends really of music. Being on the Orange amps roster is an honour, what history, its amazing to have history like that in a company and I’m honoured to be on board.”

 

 

My first experience with Orange amps was with my band Hero Jr, I had been using vintage Marshalls for pretty much my entire career and I didn’t want to take them on the road. So the guys at Orange said try this one and I got the OR50 with the PPC212 cabinet and the minute I took it out of the box and played it, it was awesome. I had a couple of rehearsals with it and then I was on the road and I have been on the road with this amp for 650 shows over the last 5 years. They have been club shows, festival shows, I have used it in the studio, its been thrown around the van, its been across the country a few times and from the time it came out of the box until our last tour that ended yesterday it has been perfect.

I basically use the same settings in the rehearsal room, in small clubs and larger festivals, the only thing I change sometimes is the volume. But other than that this amp is super consistent and stays really true to the tone that I want, at all settings.

Today we are going to be playing direct, I have my pedal board it is on complete true bypass, so I’m just going from the guitar into the amplifier and this is the way the lead pickup sounds.

This amp just responds to the notes, whether I’m playing really hard, I think I have got a pretty heavy touch, most of the time i am really wacking the guitar.

But even for the softer stuff, its just got a really true sound. I would say I would use that setting more than 50-60% of the show. Sometimes for leads I switch to the middle pick up and it gives me the really nasally sound which with this guitar and this amp its really the classic British sound that fell in love with from the first time I heard it.

And it stays really clear when I go down the neck but its not too clean and I really don’t like that “guitar player clean” sound, I really enjoy this amp because it seems to catch my personality which is awesome.

When I use the neck pick up, its for some solos were I just want it to have a little bit balls and almost get it to break up in low end and the great thing about this amp especially when it is paired with this cabinet, this cabinet can take low end and really not break up, its super bad ass for that.

I really find that right there, with this guitar and this amp its a sweet spot.

The great thing about using this all the time is that, whether I’m on an album or playing live it really sounds the same, wherever I go, whatever mics you put in front of it, its super super reliable. So yeh its been on tour with me for 650 shows, no problems, couple of tube changes, everything else is exactly the same setup as when it came out of the box and its pretty rad.

 

As Cheap Trick embark on their 2017 tour, which marks the 40th anniversary of their ’77 self titled debut record, I met up with bassist Tom for a quick pre-gig chat. As I arrive at the Kentish Town Forum for my interview, I seek shelter from the rain while chatting to one of the main security dudes who pretty much find me roaming the backstage area there on a monthly basis with all sorts of bands, as the venue almost seem to be a Mekka for Orange ambassadors.

While waiting around as a drowned cat dreaming of the remaining of my pint that’s been left in unsafe hands with my mate at the pub (low and behold – it was still there when I got back!), Cheap Trick’s tour manager and Tom comes to find me, leaving me to wish I could time travel back to 1978 to tell my 18 year old dad what was about to go down. Tom brings me upstairs to his hospitality room, where he introduces me to his wife and two kids, his daughter being sat on the sofa chilling out and playing the bass – cool kid = level expert. We take a seat, and I make myself as comfortably as humanly possible sat face to face with rock royalty and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

First of all – congratulation on the 40 year anniversary of your first record! How does it feel to still be going that strong after four decades in the industry?
Well, we’ve always just been taking it one day at a time, it was never anything we did while trying to plan our future, it’s just something that’s been happening – You do a record, you do a tour, and at first it was a massive thing just being able to do it and survive, and we’ve just been lucky enough to be able to just go along with it. It’s not like we had some master plan on how to do it or how to make it, we fell into it and did our best, got extremely lucky, and made it.

I had a quick chat with you last year right before you got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you mentioned then that your plan was to release a new album every year?
And we went and did it, didn’t we?! And even more to come, as we’ve actually just finished recording a Christmas record about two months ago, which will actually make it three records in two years! The Christmas record will be released around Halloween, and it came out great! We did one standard, and then all sorts of different songs on there, it’s really cool.

Are they your own Christmas songs, covers, or a little mix of both?
We’ve got a few originals, and we covered songs from artists that we really like which have done Christmas songs we think’s really cool, you know, Roy Wood and that sort of thing. The only confusing thing about recording this record, is that every song had the word Christmas in it, so we could never keep it straight during recording, trying to figure out which song was which; ‘Ok guys so let’s do the Christm….. the sleigh song next.’

That’s so awesome, and the fact that after all these years playing together you’re still hungry for more and keep coming up with great new material.
It just seems very natural for us, I can’t really explain it. People will ask for advice, and, I just dont have any. We love recording and writing together, and we always search for that perfect record which you can never achieve, so I guess that might be one of those things that keeps us going, there’s always room for improvement and change. Occasionally you get this one tone and we’re all just like ‘No one moves, stand in this spot – THIS.IS.IT!’

So, the reason we’re both here today; Orange Amps.
Yes, and you know what? Our guitar player Rick Nielsen and I were friends before we started working together, so in 1968 we came to London, I was 18 and he was 20, and everything we loved, came out of London. It was the British invasion, and we were totally into it. So when we came here, we went to Cliff’s shop, and he was telling us all about his plans of putting out a line of amps which he was building in the back of the shop, and the first ever band I saw using Orange was Fleetwood Mac. They came to the US in ’69, and it was so great. At that time they had those really big ones, you know, giants. The cabinet was like ten feet tall, it was a joke. After that, we all just absolutely loved Orange Amps, and I’ve loved them ever since.

How long have you been using Orange yourself?
For a very long time, I don’t even know what year it was. I’ve had an Orange guitar head which I’ve had for years that I use when I record, but I dont take that one on the road. I love the AD50 and the AD200, and what’s so great with Orange having done so well for themselves, is that I can go pretty much anywhere in the world and get those amps, the exact rig that you want.

So what is it about the Orange Amps that draws you to them, is it the fact that you can pretty much just plug in and play?
Yeah absolutely! I don’t use any pedals, none of us do, so it’s just straight out, and I really like the push. Orange is great because you can push them and make them sound great at low volume too. Mainly I get a guitar sound, and add low end to it for bass, which I find especially useful since I’ve got a 12 string bass.

Let’s talk some more about your famous 12 string bass…
Well, when I decided I wanted a 12 string bass, there was no such thing as a 12 string bass, there was an 8 string, but that was a crummy lil’ thing that didn’t have any low end, they didn’t fret out, and they just weren’t all that great. We just wanted our sound to be as big as possible, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I just get a bass with a whole bunch of strings, so it’ll sound kind of like a guitar player just playing along with the bass player?’ I originally started out as a guitar player, so it’s sort of just like a huge, giant rhythm guitar.

Well, you mentioned your Christmas Record being released later this year, are you still planning on sticking to the whole ‘releasing an album a year’ thing after that as well?
Yes, absolutely! As long as the label allows it, and they were the ones who suggested it, so there’ll definitely be more new music coming your way…

It’s been 30 years since you joined Sepultura in 1987, can you tell us a bit about how the music and your sound has developed over the years?
It’s developed together with everything else, like all of us growing up as people and traveling the world. We started out at a very young age, looking for pedals and gear that was nearly impossible to find in Brazil, and I started out using Mesa/Boogie, which I used for many years. Then this rep from Orange approached me, just at the time where a lot of heavier bands were embracing Orange, and as I was becoming a bit sick of my Mesa/Boogie sound I was ready to try something different, and I mean, you can watch Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ video where both Iommi and Geezer Butler are using Orange, so when I was given the opportunity to try it for myself I took it straight away – Orange always just had that ‘aura of the masters’. Orange offered more of an organic sound then what I was used to, because what I really love is when I’m able to just plug in and play. There is a lot of demand for distortion and heaviness with Sepultura, and I was very surprised that the Rockerverb II had all of that. A warm, and heavy guitar sound that kind of seemed to expand a bit more. In the studio I use a few different amps depending on what I need, but live the Rockerverb is absolutely fantastic, and on this tour I’m playing through both a Rockerverb 100 MKII and a Rockerverb 100 MKIII, and I could not be happier with all the support from Orange!

You mention Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler as some of the masters, was there anyone else in particular that got you into playing when you were younger?
Mainly KISS and Queen, they were my two main bands. Queen came to Brazil in 1981, but my mum wouldn’t let me go because I was too young. Then KISS came in 1983, and that was my first ever show. Being able to go see them live at their Creatures of The Night tour, was insane, that changed my life. That’s why I’m here! Seeing that, in my home town, at my football team’s stadium.. As I said, it changed everything. When I first started playing, my goal was to play ‘Stairway to Heaven’, so that’s what I told my teacher. She gave me the basics and a good ground to learn on, gradually. It started out with acoustic Brazilian music, before moving onto other things. Slowly I’d expand my music taste as well, and start listening to bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix and Cream, all of those incredible vintage sounding bands and artists. I’m also inspired by Brazilian music, and as I’ve become older and developed my taste I’ve picked up on a lot of the older Brazilian music, which has been a huge inspiration to Sepultura. That’s played a huge part in finding our sound, using Brazilian percussion and other bits from our more traditional music.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve also got a radio show?
Yeah, I’ve got a show with my 19 year old son Yohan, it’s great to have him involved and see how he’s developed over the years of the show, he himself is a musician as well, although more into the progressive side of rock, which you have to be an incredibly good musician to be able to play. We’ve been doing the show for five years now, and it’s really great, it’s so hard to get played on the radio, so I’ve been lucky enough to be able to open up doors for a lot of younger Brazilian bands. There’s one band called Claustrofobia, a group of young kids playing trash who also mix some of the Brazilian percussion into their music. They released an album called ‘Download Hatred’ at the end of the last year and it’s just brilliant, so check it out if you can, it’s fantastic. Besides that we have fun, and total freedom to play whatever we want, which of course is a lot of heavy and metal, but also Beatles, Stones and other bands like that too, as well as Napalm Death and Slipknot. All the extremes, and everything in between.

Who are you, and what are you about?
My name is Steve Bello, and I was born at an early age. Been a guitar player for 38 years, turned professional in 1988, and have been a teacher for 21 years as well. I’ve had my own band, in various incarnations, since 2003, and recorded six albums to date. Right now, my line-up features bassist Jimmy Donegan and drummer Tommy Irwin. I released my sixth album back in December 2015 called LAYERS OF TIME, which can be streamed and purchased on stevebellorocks.com
So it’s been nearly 40 years since you picked up the guitar, do you remember what sparked your interest and made you do so?
I heard Led Zeppelin when I was four years old, thanks to my aunt, not that she was aware of it at the time. My grandfather was a jazz guitarist way back when, so while I liked that there was a guitar player in the house, I wanted to play heavy rock from the start. Grew up listening to Zep, Queen, Aerosmith, Kiss. Started learning guitar at age 9 but didn’t take it seriously until I saw Ritchie Blackmore on MTV smashing his guitar, and seeing videos of Jimi Hendrix lighting his Strat on fire. Both of those moments made me think “I have to play guitar for life!” I’ve never smashed or burned one…yet.
Having been a professional guitarist for nearly three decades I’m sure this is a tricky one, but is there any highlights that sticks out in your career?
Getting endorsed with Ibanez guitars back in 2003 was a major life-changer. I’ve had small victories along the way. Opening for Uli Roth at Starland Ballroom in 2012 was another biggie. And then when I played with TM Stevens and TC Tolliver in Germany in 2014, I saw that as a huge boost. Opened for King’s X recently at Stone Pony, so that’s another nice notch in my bedpost. 
What do you look for in an amp?
First of all, the tone has to hit me the right way. I don’t like futzing with too many knobs and controls, just want to get a good clean and solid rock sounds out of the box. There has to be versatility too. Having just one staple sound isn’t enough for me personally.
You’ve mentioned before that your daughter introduced you to Orange – clearly you raised her well – does music run in the family?
She unknowingly introduced me to Orange, let’s put it that way. She plugged an Ibanez guitar into a Rockerverb 50, and as soon as she hit that low E string, I said “Gimme that guitar!” Music does run in my family, for sure. Emma was a bass player but now she’s more focused on singing and studying music theory. My son Julian plays clarinet in high school band, and was fooling around on drums for a bit. 
Can you tell us about your relationship and experiences with Orange?
I’ve had nothing but amazing experiences and relationships with Orange since I started writing to Alex back in 2013. I got to meet him at NAMM 2014, and he introduced me to Cliff Cooper. I plugged into the CR120 head in the demo room and was sold. Ever since then, Alex has been prompt with returning my emails and helping me get the right gear in my hands. And he likes my cat Linus too.
What’s your dream set up?
I have all Ibanez guitars, main ones are my 7-strings, but I have some 6s for other gigs. For amps, I have the CR120 head into the PPC212OB cabinet. Also have a CR35RT combo as well as the CR20. And I had to get a Micro Terror because it’s just too damn cool! As for pedals, I have Morley, Digitech, Electro-Harmonix, Boss, Ibanez, and my signature Nuclear Paradise pedal designed by Checkered Pedals. Why all of this? Because it makes my legs look longer…oh and it sounds good too. I also stick to Von York strings, and my signature Spectraflex guitar cable called BelloFlex.
You also teach music, what would be your advice for people wanting to get into playing?
Find a good lawyer after you learn your first E chord. From there, learn as much as you can, as best as you can. You will have the one staple genre that moves you the most but it’s good to dance around other platforms. 
I’ve seen you’ve got quite a few shows lined up at the start of the year, how is the rest of 2017 looking? Are you working towards a new record?
Got a couple of shows lined up in 2017, working on getting more of course. I have 11 new songs written and demoed for my next album, so if all goes well, I will begin recording in the Summer of 2017 and release the album in the Winter.
Last words of wisdom?
Never cook bacon with your shirt off.