Mascis and a Sunrise-pickup-equipped Gibson CF-100 playing at the
2010 SXSW festival.
Photo by Kelly Davidson | etchedonfilm.com
What acoustic guitars did you
use on the album?
Mostly a Martin 000-18. I can’t
remember the exact year, but
it’s from the ’50s. Then I have a
Gibson CF–100 that I play live.
I also have a Martin D-28 that
I use sometimes.
Did you mic the guitars or use
a piezo pickup?
Mostly mic’d, unless it’s through
some effects. If it’s through a
pickup, I usually use a Sunrise.
Songs like “Where Are
You,” “Can I,” and “What
Happened” feature distorted
guitar parts. Were they recorded
with acoustic or electric guitars?
It’s acoustic through a fuzz pedal.
All of it?
Yeah.
And which fuzz pedal did you
use for those parts?
I think a lot of those parts were
recorded when I was using a
fuzz that Jim Roth, the guitarist
in Built to Spill, made. I think
it’s a copy of a Tone Bender,
although I don’t know which
one, MKI or MKII.
Was it hard to keep the
fuzzed-out acoustic from feeding
back and going nuts?
Nah. I’m used to that battle, so
it doesn’t bother me.
Other than the tambourine
on “Not Enough,” there’s no
drums or percussion on the
album. Why?
Just so it didn’t sound like all
my other stuff. If I put drums
on it, then I’ll start putting in
other guitars. I just wanted to
try and make it sound a little
different somehow.
In addition to your Several
Shades of Why tour and some
Dinosaur Jr. shows, you have
some Indian kirtan and devotional
singing shows lined up.
How did that come about?
Just through Lady Amma. She’s
kind of like a Mother Teresa
figure and has a lot of charities.
She has a lot of music at
her programs, and I wanted to
contribute something—to play
there and try to relate to the
people who wouldn’t necessarily
be into my music.
Are you going to continue
to pursue this more acoustic
sound in the future or are
there no set plans?
I don’t have any plans, really.
Okay. Let’s switch gears a
bit and talk about the guitar
that you’ve been famous for
over all these years. What’s
the story behind your first
Jazzmaster?
Mascis, a '60s Jazzmaster, and a decidedly pared-down amp rig (a Fender
Twin) at a gig with Sweet Apple at the 2010 SXSW festival. Photo by Kynan Tait |
I got it from a place called
Slimy Bob’s Guitar Rip Off
shop in Connecticut. He’d
always advertise all the stuff
he had in the local paper,
The
Valley Advocate. I wanted to get
a Strat and I’d saved up money.
There was one for $400 and
the store was pretty far away for
me—over an hour or an hour-and-
a-half drive. When I finally
got there, he was like, “Oh
yeah, the Strat—that’s $450.” I
didn’t have that much, but he
had a Jaguar and a Jazzmaster
that were cheaper. The Jaguar
was $200 and the Jazzmaster
was $300. I thought the Jaguar
looked cooler, but the neck on
the Jazzmaster felt better. It was
longer, worn down, and it had
the big Grover tuning pegs—
which somehow impressed me
from seeing them on, like, Peter
Frampton’s Les Paul or something.
They were all crammed
in on one side of the Fender. So
I went for that one.