Morgan Lander and Tara McLeod discuss the all-female metal band’s explosive early success and the journey leading up to their 20th anniversary.
For some bands, timing is everything. The recording industry snatches up some artists in the prime of youth, and the chaotic emotions and stresses that go with it end up being shaped into some of pop culture’s most influential and vibrant music. And, almost as a byproduct, their traditional paths into adulthood (as well as their comfort zones) are completely hijacked—with high school substituted by rock-stardom.
That was the case for Kittie, the Canadian all-girl metal band founded in 1996 by sisters Morgan and Mercedes Lander (lead vocals/guitar and drums, respectively) and Fallon Bowman (vocals/guitar), joined shortly after by Tanya Candler (bass). They were 14, 13, 12, and 13 years old. In 2000, they received an RIAA gold certification for their debut album Spit—which shipped almost two million copies worldwide—before any of them had received their high school diploma.
“We were just playing in the basement, having fun. We always joked, ‘Oh, when we go on tour…’ but everybody does that, everybody has their dreams, right?” says Morgan Lander, now 36. “Now I can look back and say I understand the gravity of what was going on, but then, we really didn’t have the emotional ability to truly grasp what was happening.”
That matured perspective, as well as the pure survivalist victory of running a band that’s lasted 20 years, led them to create Origins/Evolutions, a three-disc set containing a documentary and a live album that was released in March 2018.
Throughout their career, Kittie has played with five bassists (Candler, Talena Atfield, Jennifer Arroyo, Trish Doan, and Ivy Vujic) and four guitarists (Bowman, Jeff Phillips, Lisa Marx, and current guitarist Tara McLeod), and worked with four producers (Garth Richardson, Steve Thompson, Jack Ponti, and Siegfried Meier) to make six full-length albums. That Kittie “family” is very much celebrated by the band’s remaining members, the Lander sisters and McLeod, and the memory of their late bassist Doan, who died suddenly last year, lives on through the music they made with her for more than a decade. In an interview with Morgan Lander and McLeod, they spoke frequently about the value of their lasting relationships in music, and the pains and joys that went into two decades of Kittie.
How does it feel to be releasing a documentary about your career?
Morgan Lander: As a band, I like to say we made it. We’re celebrating the 20-year anniversary and we made a documentary about it, and people actually care. As a band that’s the ultimate.
How was the 20th anniversary show?
Lander: The show felt like a culmination of all the work that I’ve done and that we’ve done. I had approached everyone with the idea, and everybody gave a resounding “yes.” Tanya [Candler], our original bass player, had to get an okay by her doctor because she was six months pregnant at the time. So, she was rocking out playing with her bass—it was awesome. We were like, “Don’t jump too high!” [Laughs.] After all these years having not stood on the stage with some of these girls, the chemistry is still there and it reminds you why you started. Everybody was on a high that night.
—Morgan Lander
Tara McLeod: It was so magical. Everyone just knew how important this was. There were people flying in from all over the world—these fans that we’ve been friends with for years. The support and the love was amazing. I remember standing out in the crowd when they were doing [material from] Oracle, so it was Jennifer [Arroyo] and Jeff [Phillips] jamming with them. And I remember just being blown away by how good they sounded!
Did you gain any unexpected insights from watching the documentary about the band’s history?
Lander: For me, realizing just how young we were. Now, being 36 years old and looking back, it’s beneficial to have all that time pass to see how I might’ve acted differently. There’s a lot of redemption and forgiveness that’s involved in this as well, because there were a lot of girls in the band that left and not always on great terms. It’s all about healing and celebration as much as it is about the fans and the music. I’m glad it opened a dialogue and there was a lot of peace involved in all of that.
Other than the significance of the date, what was the motivation behind making the documentary?
Lander: In a way, it sums everything up; it puts a nice cap on things. If there was never going to be another Kittie album, I think that this would be a great way to say, “Well, it’s been a great ride, we may not do this professionally 24/7 anymore, but we can look back and say it was all worth it.” I don’t think that when we set out to do it, that the healing aspect and catharsis was something I was expecting—but I’m certainly glad it happened.
TIDBIT: To mark two decades as a band, Kittie released Origins/Evolutions, a three-disc live album and documentary. In celebration of this mile marker, Kittie reunited former members to play material from the band’s six studio albums in a special concert in hometown London, Ontario.
How did you first get into playing guitar?
Lander: Originally, I took piano lessons. It wasn’t until I was about 10 or 11 years old that I started to get into guitar. My musical tastes changed to more guitar-driven rock ’n’ roll. I took classical lessons for a little while when I was younger, but mostly when I got back into it from the age of 12, I went to a guy who just taught me basic theory. He was a big metal guy. He liked Anthrax and GWAR, so I was like, “This guy likes cool music.” It seemed like it was fun for him, too.
McLeod: I started pretty much in the traditional way: 12 years old, I got my first guitar and went to guitar lessons. I was really lucky. I had a guy who was still in high school and he basically changed the direction of my life by giving me the album Jar of Flies [by Alice in Chains] and I would’ve never ever listened to that. He just made me fall in love with the instrument because he taught me things that I really wanted to play. I felt lucky because he was pretty strict on me practicing, but he also went about it in a way that I would continue playing guitar, whereas a lot of my friends started out the same time as me and ended up quitting.
Morgan, you were just 14 when the band took off. Everything exploded so quickly—it was like you guys grew up in studios and on stages. What was that like?
Lander: It’s been a really interesting life, let me tell you. Honestly, it was a strange time. The album got released and it was really big, and it was like suddenly everything we knew was gone—our lives were forever changed. We were on tour with people twice our age. We were super naïve, enthusiastic, and probably very annoying as well, because we were kids who were genuinely living our dream. You’re trying to figure out who you are as well as navigate the teenage emotions that come with that, but you’re also doing it while you have an audience and critics. It can be very hurtful—a lot of people had a lot of nasty things to say and it was hard on us.
How important do you think your youth was to your success?
Lander: It certainly added an aspect of energy and attitude that I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with now or even 10 years ago. Especially with the first album, that whole attitude we had going on was 100 percent youth. It would be different if we had started later in our lives. It was the perfect storm.
In the film, you mention a lot of the criticism you faced for being an all-girl metal band. What was it like dealing with that?
Lander: Especially then, during the early 2000s, it all felt very anti-female … “bro” culture. The first few tours we did, we felt like we were having to prove ourselves. We’d be setting up and there would be a crowd full of people with their arms folded, like, “What are we about to witness?” Luckily as a band, even back then, we understood our power. We knew that when we started playing that people’s minds were going to be changed—it’s just that we had to go out and do that.
McLeod: I’ve been very lucky. When I joined Kittie at 21, it was already established, and those girls had already been through so much of that stuff. I’ve played gigs where I showed up at the venue and the security tried to kick me out. I get that sort of thing often, or like walking onto a stage and someone goes, “What are you doing?” That sort of thing happens all the time. It’s annoying, but if that’s the worst thing I have to deal with, I’m alright with it. I usually end up becoming kind of one of the boys, I guess. But I think that speaks highly of the musicians that I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
Frontwoman Morgan Lander played Gibson Gothic Vs on tour supporting Kittie’s 2000 debut album, Spit, but now she plays Hamer Vector models live and in the studio. Photo by Neil Zlozower
Women do seem to increasingly have more of a voice these days.
McLeod: They certainly do. And especially in Canada, all the female metal musicians, we’re all very connected and we’re all very close friends. It’s this nice little network of women who support each other, and everyone goes through the same experiences and it’s good to have those friends. And people expect us to butt heads, but it couldn’t be more the opposite.
Lander: I long for the day when maybe it doesn’t have to be an issue—when a woman in a band isn’t like a token woman in a band. Obviously prior to that, the dialogue needs to continue to happen for people to be aware that that’s what’s happening. But one day when it doesn’t have to be a focus, it doesn’t have to be pointed out—I long for that day.
How did you originally become personally connected with metal?
Lander: When I was 12 years old, my family moved. We left all my friends, everything I had known, and my personality started to change. I was angry and I felt like I didn’t know how to express it, and metal music was able to encapsulate the way I felt. I was a pretty angry young person. We had a great upbringing, but there was just something inside of me that was always stirring, like a tornado. When we decided to start the band, I didn’t really think, “Well, I’ll be the singer because I know how to sing.” Nobody else really wanted to do it and I volunteered because I felt like I was angry enough that I could.
like a tornado.” —Morgan Lander
You mean like screaming, in particular? That takes both guts and commitment to pull off.
Lander: Absolutely, yeah. Because it’s not something you’re perfect at right away, especially the true form of screaming where you’re not going to hurt yourself. That takes years to get the technique down. It’s weird though, because since I’ve been doing this for so long now, the screaming thing comes naturally to me and the singing aspect is the thing I had to work on that doesn’t feel all that natural.
Tara, how did you get into metal?
McLeod: I really started getting into metal when I started jamming with the girls. It was a very eye-opening experience joining Kittie, because [it introduced me to] some of these bands that I hadn’t even given a chance. But just to get into it by playing it was a pretty neat experience. I feel that to really understand the genre you have to either see it live or play it live. There’s just something incredible about that. Also, the metal community is very open. In my experience, they’re very non-judgmental; you can be who you are, and whatever you want to be. For a lot of fans, they probably were kids growing up getting bullied at school and that was their outlet. I think metal is exceptional for inclusivity. I play a whole lot of genres because I work as a hired hand, and I feel most connected with fans while playing metal.
Heavier genres do seem to involve more of a social catharsis.
McLeod: Yes. I would understand if maybe sitting in your bedroom at night listening to metal doesn’t seem like a party. But when you get to an actual show and have people around you and the music and the energy with the room, a lot of times you can be connected to the band, because they’re not going to be in an arena. And there’s not going to be that photo pit in the way, and you can get up to the stage and have a sort of interaction. I’ve had plenty of interactions with fans while playing.
Guitars
Hamer Custom Vector 2005
Various Hamer models
Amps
Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Mesa/Boogie Road King
Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 4x12 Slant cab
Strings, Picks & Accessories
Dunlop Jazz III XL picks
D’Addario EXL117 (.011–.056)
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Going off of that live aspect, does that feed into the band’s approach in the studio?
Lander: Absolutely. I would say as a band we’ve been very basic when it comes to live setup and also in the studio. We’ve always been big fans of sounding polished in the studio, but not like something that you can’t pull off live—so you can go to a show and say, “That sounds just like the album.” Because it’s just an extension of that studio album, the live aspect, with all the energy that comes along with it. We have, in the past, experimented with longer recording processes by adding a lot more harmonies and a lot more guitar layering, and that sort of thing. But I always felt like those albums never felt like who we were. At our core, I think we’re just a raw, organic metal band, and I love for that sound to be captured.
Like on Funeral for Yesterday?
Lander: Yes, definitely. And I mean, I love the songs on Funeral for Yesterday. I think the songwriting is some of our best work. I just think that production-wise and the way that it was recorded, it didn’t end up sounding the way I had hoped.
McLeod: That experience was a little tense. But after that we’ve worked with our good friend Siegfried Meier.
You guys have worked with a lot of producers over the years. Who was your favorite?
Lander: Our first two albums [Spit, Oracle] were recorded with Garth Richardson, who’s a huge name in the metal and rock world. That was our very first recording experience. He rolled up with a semi-truck and unloaded all this crazy gear, and we were like kids in a candy store. We got to play on some gear that was worth tons of money—stuff that was way older than we were. Those first two albums really set the bar high. But, I will say Siegfried Meier is my favorite producer to work with. [Editor’s note: Meier was second engineer on Oracle, and producer on In the Black and I’ve Failed You.] We always have a great time; the vibe is great. You can have your gear, you can have whatever, but if you’re not having a good time, that can show up in the music.Sig’s a good dude and he knows exactly who we are as a band and what we want. I feel like that’s the redefinition of Kittie.
And that’s interesting, too, because you were able to pull someone out of your past, after the band has changed so much, and discover this deeper relationship with them.
Lander: Yeah, absolutely. It all came full circle. He’s a big part of who we are as a band now.
McLeod: Every time we go into the studio with him, it’s just the most ridiculous, hysterical situation ever. He has a real gift for keeping the mood of the studio positive, and it’s like hanging out with your friends all day, laughing your ass off, and doing what you love. The best recording experience I’ve ever had is with Kittie, because it’s just a party. And I don’t mean booze or anything like that—it’s just laughing and drinking tea.
Tara McLeod’s preferred guitar is a PRS Custom 22, but she often plays a goldtop Les Paul with Kittie. “I take the lacquer off the back of the neck of my guitars, she says. “Every single guitar I own has the lacquer stripped away.”
Photo by Jose L Pimienta
What is your songwriting process as a band?
Lander: When we started, it was a lot sloppier and quicker. We used to have a rule: “If we’re not happy with it in 20 minutes, let’s move on.” That sounds crazy, right? But as kids, our minds were everywhere. Over the years, we’ve taken that basic foundation and really worked at it. And so, if we’re not satisfied with something, we can get together at another time and rewrite, and then come back together to discuss things and jam it out. We’ve always done our best work when we have that chemistry together in a room. Rather than sending stuff over email or that sort of thing … I’ve just never been good with that.
With your guitar parts, do you prefer to plan ahead or improvise?
McLeod: I prefer to be prepared. On my first Kittie recording experience [In the Black], our producer Jack Ponti didn’t want it to be planned—he wanted it to be off-the-cuff. So, a lot of my parts were rejected and he’d be like, “Okay, I’m going to run the track—just jam along with it.” Which, you know, does get some good stuff because you get your happy mistakes there, but I do like to put some thought into it. Outside of Kittie, I do write pop songs and I have my riff library in my computer. I’m mostly a hired player; I play for pop artists and do songwriting.
What are your go-to guitars?
Lander: I’ve been playing the same guitars for years. I started out playing with the Gibson Gothic Vs that they put out around 1999 or 2000. I have several Hamer Vectors and I love those guitars. I think they sound amazing. Since I got them, I record exclusively on our albums with them and play them live. I have a lot of different guitars and Hamer has always been my go-to.
McLeod: I have an endorsement with PRS, so I have a Custom 22. But I also play a goldtop Les Paul depending on what tone I want. If I want to be a little more diverse, I’ll use the PRS because I can get an assortment of tones out of it, whereas the Les Paul is the Les Paul. I take the lacquer off the back of the neck of my guitars. Every single guitar I own has the lacquer stripped away, and I find PRS is exceptionally sticky back there. It makes it feel like silk, if you get that off.
What’s your rig setup like?
Lander: We’ve been playing exclusively Mesa/Boogie pretty much since we started touring, so that’s my preference. I have a Dual and a Triple Rectifier, and also a Road King. I have played all three of those on and off, but usually the Triple is my go-to. I just really appreciate the power and the sound that I’ve come to associate with what I want the band to sound like.
McLeod: I do enjoy using the digital amplifiers, like Axe-Fx and the Kemper Profiler, in the studio. But I’m always going to be a bit of a purist. I like real amplifiers. I like the sound of real stompbox pedals. That’s my go-to. On the last few gigs that I’ve had, it’s been required that I use real gear as opposed to Axe-Fx, and that’s really nice because I do prefer it. With Kittie, we always use Mesa amplifiers.
I don’t really use a whole lot of effects with them because it’s basically a straightforward metal sound with a couple of effects in there. But now I’m scaled back to a Mesa/Boogie Express 5:50, which is nice, because combo amps are excellent because they’re small. It’s the amplifier that I’ve got the most compliments on for its clean tone. Everyone thinks Mesa is just metal, but they have beautiful, beautiful clean tone.
Guitars
PRS Custom 22
Gibson Les Paul goldtop
Amps
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Mesa/Boogie Express 5:50
Marshall JCM900 Lead 1960 4x12 cab
Effects
Xotic EP Booster
Fulltone OCD
Keeley Compressor
MXR EVH Phase 90
Cusack Tap-A-Delay
Vox wah
Strings and Picks
Jim Dunlop Jazz III picks
D’Addario (.010–.056)
How about pedals?
McLeod: EarthQuaker Devices makes a pedal called the Ghost Echo. I absolutely love it, because I play with a shoegaze band sometimes and that’s my tone for that band. It’s amazing. I’ve got the MXR EVH90 Eddie Van Halen phaser, which I use a lot. I think the secret is, I keep an Xotic EP Booster on my board, and I just keep it on. I don’t actually use it as a boost.
Morgan, what’s it like working with your sister? Tell us more about your relationships with your bandmates.
Lander: Because we grew up together and grew up playing together, Mercedes and I have a weird thing that—you just know. When you’ve played with someone for as long as we have, it just clicks, it makes sense. You know what the person’s next move is going to be. Tara is such a fabulous guitar player and is so invested in her instrument, and she also likes all different genres of music. She’s one of my best friends. When she joined [in 2005], it added a really amazing element that I think was lacking—it can get stagnant after a while, people with the same ideas. I think it was integral to the evolution of the band.
McLeod: On the creative side of things, Morgan and I are very comfortable with each other because we’re both naturally very shy. We just don’t feel any sort of embarrassment showing each other an idea. And that makes for a much more relaxed writing session.
Morgan, as a lifelong metal fan, what do you listen to these days?
Lander: I really dig Chelsea Wolfe and stuff like that. Her new album is pretty sweet. I’ve actually been listening to a lot of synthwave. I don’t think I’m nearly as angry as I used to be [laughs]. It’s a different vibe. It’s kind of guitar-driven—Dance with the Dead, Mega Drive, Perturbator.
Do you have any music in store for the future?
Lander: That’s a good question! I don’t know that we’ll do another studio album. I think the possibility is always there. In revisiting the things that we’ve been through in making the documentary and playing the 20th anniversary show, it has reignited our passion for the band. While we’ve all gone our separate ways, there’s a piece of Kittie in all of us, and it’s something that will never truly die—so never say never. There’s a possibility of another show like that at some point. I guess time will tell.
Morgan, as a founding member, how have your goals changed over the years?
Lander: Personally, I feel like a less selfish person. I just want to be happy. I continue to make music with friends and I talk to all my Kittie bandmates and ex-bandmates quite often. For a long time, I’ve felt that making music and trying to continuously prove everyone wrong and “make it” in the industry has been really taxing. And sometimes it does take the fun out of what originally was supposed to be a fun thing. So, my goals are getting back to the basics of: I want to have a good time, and make music that I’m passionate about and feel good about.
Fronting an all-girl metal band in the ’90s was not easy. How do you feel being someone who young women look up to?
Lander: It’s a weird thing for me, for people to say, “Your experience is interesting,” or “Your experience matters.” But I’m learning more and more that it does, and I think it’s important to be able to tell that side of things. Hey, but, every experience is relevant, you know? It’s all part of it.
Onstage in Colorado Springs in 2011, a snarling, ferocious Kittie tours behind their I’ve Failed You album.
In the decade when grunge hit its peak, an aggressive, in-your-face metal act like Kittie was just what the public wanted. Here, the band performs “Charlotte,” the second single from their debut album Spit, with a sound that resonated with audiences worldwide.
Meet the Wampler Catacombs and the Syntax: The Catacombs offers delay and reverb pedal with 11 iconic sounds in one intuitive package. While the the Wampler Syntax features a compact and versatile MIDI program selector, tap-tempo controller, and amp channel switcher.
Ever since Brian Wampler first picked up a guitar, he's been chasing the perfect sound - a quest that led him to build pedals in the first place. One challenge kept coming up, both for him and the countless musicians he's talked to: the struggle to have a wide range of sounds with complex editing capabilities while keeping the pedal interface manageable. Musicians either compromise on versatility or sacrifice precious space. Brian knew there had to be a better way. That's why he created the Catacombs - a pedal that eliminates the compromise altogether. It packs 11 of the most popular delay and reverb sounds into one intuitive, powerful package. Whether you're after a trusty digital delay and a plate reverb or a musical shimmer and a spaced out echo we have you covered!
The team at Wampler have worked for a long time on ensuring Catacombs will become an indispensable part of your rig. Each program offers tap-tempo control and can be saved into one of the pedal's eight front panel preset locations for instant recall. Delays and reverbs can be run in Stereo, in parallel or in series. But it doesn’t end there - the pedal also comes with a complete software version as a plugin for your DAW in AAX, AU, and VST3 format for both Mac and PC. The Catacombs plugin is FREE to all customers that register their Warranty online ($49.99 if purchased separately).
Legendary Delays
When designing the Catacombs, Brian wanted to put a whole universe of sonic textures at your fingertips. With six delay programs, you can feel the warmth and depth of analog delays (ANLG), the harmonic nuances of a Bucket Brigade Device delay (BBD), or the nostalgic modulated vibe of classic artisanal tape and mechanical delays (TAPE). Feeling adventurous? The other-worldly Echo-Space Delay (SPC) awaits. The favorite Wampler Faux Tape Echo (FTE) and an accurate recreation of the classic 2290 digital delay (DIGI) also feature. Each setting offers tap-tempo control and can be easily saved into one of the pedal's eight front panel preset locations for instant recall. It's like having a studio's worth of delay effects right at your feet.
Iconic Reverbs
But he didn't stop at delays. The Catacombs also houses five finely tuned reverb programs that Brian and his team honed to perfection. With just a twist of a knob, you'll discover expansive halls (HALL), a warm vintage plate (PLT), and that classic spring reverb (SPR) with plenty of "drip." The shimmer reverb (SHMR) allows a whole new layer of sonic texture, especially when paired with an expression pedal, and the intimate ambiance of the ROOM setting creates that perfect studio reverb. Just like the delay programs, each reverb is easy to control and can be quickly saved into one of the eight onboard presets. The Catacombs is all about giving you the tools to shape your sound effortlessly.
Stompbox-like Control
Like the Terraform and Metaverse before it, the Catacombs is designed to be as quick to dial in as possible. We replaced confusing menus and fiddly touch screens with clearly marked knobs you can adjust on the fly. Controls for Time, Feedback, Modulation, and Level (with Alt functions for each effect type) put all the essential tools right at your fingertips.
Digital Power with an Analog Soul
In creating the Catacombs, Brian wanted to blend the best of both worlds. It uses a
high-performance DSP engine to bring each effect to life with authentic character, and gives you eight front panel preset locations where you can save and instantly recall your favorite settings. If you're looking to expand even further, you can access up to 128 presets with full MIDI control, it has optional stereo routing, a parallel or serial switch, and an assignable expression pedal input to control any parameter (or multiple parameters) in real time. It's a pedal that can grow with you, adapting to any musical situation.
Brian Wampler’s attention to detail and commitment to designing the best and most player friendly products out there is second to none. Those qualities are on full display within the Catacombs. From its convenient form factor to its flexible controls and full MIDI implementation via mini-TRS jacks, the Catacombs is all Wampler.
- Studio quality conversion 48 kHz sampling rate with 24-bit audio
- Full 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response
- Studio-quality vintage and modern effects - 6 Delays and 5 Reverbs designed and realized in-house at Wampler
- Simple user interface making your sound design instantaneous
- All parameters controllable via an outboard expression pedal
- 8 onboard preset locations to save your favorite patches, 128 total via MIDI
- Full MIDI control with CC and PC commands and MIDI clock compatibility
- True Stereo or Mono I/O
- Complete set of AAX, AU, and VST3 plugins FREE when pedal registered online
- Pedalboard friendly enclosure with minimal footprint
- Power draw - 9V DC center pin negative, external supply only: 130mA at 9V
- Dimensions : 4.5” x 3.75” x 2.25” (114 x 95 x 56mm) Weight: 2 pounds (910g)
- Includes Wampler’s limited 5-year warranty
- Designed and Built in the USA
The Wampler Catacombs carries a street price of $299.97.
For more information visit wamplerpedals.com.
Wampler Syntax
The Wampler Syntax Rig Control Pedal offers dual-sided functionality and easy setup via slide switches, and seamless integration with your favorite gear.
Let me know if this sounds familiar: you have a powerful effects pedal with a ton of built-in features, but they're buried under menus. The onboard footswitches won't cut it, so you add a dedicated MIDI controller, maybe a tap tempo pedal, maybe an external footswitch. Before you know it you have removed the convenience that an all-in-one pedal was supposed to offer.
Brian Wampler feels your pain. That's why he designed a dual-sided MIDI program selector, tap-tempo controller, and amp channel switcher and put it in a tiny housing. We call it the Syntax: a micro-format, multifunction switcher that lets you go deep with your favorite delays, modelers, amps, and other gear with the press of a footswitch.
Effortless Setup
Syntax has way more power than its small enclosure suggests. Even more impressive is you get all its functionality via simple, independent slide switches. A quick slider push can set one footswitch to scroll MIDI program changes while the other taps out your delay's tempo. Or connect Syntax to your amp in latching mode to swap channels. It's up to you, and it really is that easy.
MIDI Switching from a Micro Pedal
Syntax is a full-fledged MIDI preset controller in a mini-stomp housing. Able to output PC messages 1 through 8, this little stomp can set presets on all your favorite MIDI-enabled gear - including the Catacombs, Metaverse, and Terraform. All three can be daisy-chained together via MIDI and synchronized presets can be selected from the Syntax with ease. No complex menus, just a simple setup and plug-in, and you're ready to scroll through up to eight of your favorite tones. With a dedicated MIDI In port it can also be integrated into a larger MIDI environment.
Tap Tempo & Latching
Here's something Brian has always thought: why should we settle for pedals that do just one thing when they could do more? Latching and momentary footswitches might look the same externally but they perform different and equally important functions with different rigs, so he figured, why not create a pedal that can handle both? Want to switch amp channels or toggle effects seamlessly? Or maybe you need a rock-solid external tap tempo? You got it. It's all in the Syntax, ready to adapt to any rig you throw at it.
A Lot More Control in A Lot Less Space
Whether you lean heavily on MIDI, need tap-tempo for your favorite delay, or want to free up some pedalboard real estate for a new Catacombs (hint, hint), the Wampler Syntax is the perfect choice. Designed to be placed either horizontally or vertically on your board, it works seamlessly with all digital Wampler pedals, as well as your other favorite gear. It brings your entire rig together while giving you even more room to expand.
Brian Wampler’s attention to detail and commitment to designing the best and most player friendly products out there is second to none. Those qualities are on full display within the Syntax. From its convenient form factor to its ease of use and versatility, the Syntax is all Wampler.
- Rock solid construction and high-grade components selected for optimal performance
- Compact 2 footswitch preset switching remote via MIDI (PC1-8)
- Latching and momentary function through Ext out TRS socket - function selectable via dual slide switches
- Dimensions: 1.5” x 3.5” x 1.5” (38.1mm x 88.9mm x 38.1mm) - height excludes knobs and switches
- Power draw: 20mA at 9V - 18V 9-18V power jack – DC supply only, no battery connection within
- Includes limited 5-year warranty
- Built in USA
The Wampler Syntax carries a street price of $99.97.
For more information visit wamplerpedals.com.
D'Addario's new Bridge Pin Puller and Tour-Grade Peg Winder are designed to make string changes a breeze.
The Bridge Pin Puller is designed to be the fastest, easiest, and safest way to remove bridge pins from an acoustic guitar. Small enough to fit in your pocket, the standalone bridge pin puller is a great way for acoustic players to avoid fumbling with bridge pins during string changes and maintenance. The ergonomic design comfortably fits in hand but won’t place extra pressure on the instrument or bridge during use. Best of all, the clamp design encloses the pin, keeping it secure inside the puller until it’s released.
The Tour-Grade Peg Winder offers next-level performance for luthiers, techs, or anyone who wants to change strings with maximum speed and ease. The multi-tool design brings together a ball bearing, non-damaging socket for smoother winding, molded grips, and a spring-loaded bridge pin puller, delivering an all-in-one option to handle most standard string changes.
From the straight-forward simplicity of the Bridge Pin Puller to the all-around convenienceof the Tour-Grade Peg Winder, D’Addario has your string changes covered.
For more information, please visit daddario.com.
On this episode of the 100 Guitarists podcast, we’re talking about our favorite Lukather tracks, from his best rhythm parts to his most rippin’ solos. And even though he spends most of his playing time with the biggest names, we’ve managed to call up a few deep cuts.
Steve Lukather is one of the most documented guitarists in the hit-making biz. He grew up as an L.A. teen with a crew of fellow musicians who would go on to make their livings at the top of the session scene. By the time Lukather and his pals formed Toto, they were already experienced chart-toppers. The band went on to success with hits including the rockin’ “Hold the Line,” breezy, bouncing “Rosanna,” and the timeless “Africa.”
As a session player, Lukather’s reign in the ’70s and ‘80s extended from Olivia Newton-John to Herbie Hancock to Michael Jackson. And alongside Michael McDonald—whose “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” included Lukather’s distinctive rhythm riffage—Daryl Hall and John Oates, Kenny Loggins, Peter Cetera, and Christopher Cross (among many others) he may have earned the title of yacht rock’s number one guitar player.
On this episode of the 100 Guitarists podcast, we’re talking about our favorite Lukather tracks, from his best rhythm parts to his most rippin’ solos. And even though he spends most of his playing time with the biggest names, we’ve managed to call up a few deep cuts.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
Use code EMG100 for 15% off at checkout!
Learn more: emgpickups.com
Nashville session and stage MVPs craft an aural wonderland with their genre-defying instrumental album, In Stereo.
Working from a shared language of elegance and grit, Nashville guitar domos Tom Bukovac and Guthrie Trapp have crafted In Stereo, an album that celebrates the transcendent power of instrumental music—its ability to transport listeners and to convey complex emotions without words.
In Stereo also honors Trapp and Bukovac’s friendship, which ignited when Trapp and Bukovac met over a decade ago at Nashville’s 12 South Taproom eatery and club—an after-hours musician’s hangout at the time. They also sometimes played casually at Bukovac’s now-gone used instrument shop, but when they’re onstage today—say at Trapp’s Monday night residency at Nashville’s Underdog, or at a special event like Billy Gibbons’ BMI Troubadour Award ceremony last year—their chemistry is obvious and combustible.
“Guthrie is very unpredictable, but for some reason our two styles seem to mix well.”—Tom Bukovac
“It’s like dancing with somebody,” Bukovac says about their creative partnership. “It is very easy and complementary. Guthrie is very unpredictable, but for some reason our two styles seem to mix well, although we play very differently.”
As Pepé Le Pew probably said, “Vive la différence.” While they’re both important figures in Nashville’s guitar culture as badass, in-demand session and live players, Trapp also points out that the foundation of their respective careers is on opposite swings of that pendulum. Bukovac’s reputation was built on his studio work. Besides his touring history, he’s played on over 1,200 albums including recordings by the Black Keys, Glen Campbell, Keith Urban, Stevie Nicks, Bob Seger, and Hermanos Gutiérrez. And Trapp considers himself mostly a stage guitarist. He emerged as a member of the Don Kelly Band, which has been a Lower Broadway proving ground for a host of Nashville 6-string hotshots, including Brent Mason, Johnny Hiland, and Redd Volkaert. In recent years, you may have seen him on the road with John Oates. It’s also possible you’ve heard Trapp on recordings by Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, and Roseanne Cash, among others.But back to In Stereo. “This record is truly for the love of music and not giving a shit what anybody else is going to think about it,” relates Trapp, as he, Bukovac, and I sit and talk, and they noodle unplugged on a Danocaster and an ES-355, respectively, in the warm, instrument-filled surroundings of the Cabin Studio in East Nashville. The album was recorded there and at another studio, simply called the Studio, with Brandon Bell engineering.
“When we started working on the album, it was very loose,” explains Bukovac. “I never wanted to bring in anything that was complete because the key is collaboration. So, I knew better than to come in with a complete song. And Guthrie didn’t do that either. We would just come in with a riff for an idea and then let the other guy finish it—and that’s the best way to do it.”
“It’s got enough humanity—real playing—mixed with the cinematic side of it.”—Tom BukovacAll of which helped make In Stereo’s 11 compositions seamless and diverse. The album opens with a minute-long ambient piece called “Where’s the Bluegrass Band,” which blends acoustic and electric guitars, feedback, and keyboards with generous delay and reverb—telegraphing that listeners should expect the unexpected. Of course, if you’ve been following their careers, including their estimable YouTube presence, you’re already expecting that, too. So, a soulful composition like “The Black Cloud,” which builds from a Beatles-esque melody to a muscular and emotive power ballad of sorts, comes as no surprise. “Desert Man” is more of a mindblower, with its dark-shaded tones and haunting melodies. “Cascade Park” is an unpredictable journey that begins with delay-drenched piano and leads to Trapp’s acoustic guitar, which evolves from contemplative melody to feral soloing. And “Bad Cat Serenade” and “Transition Logo Blues” balance the worlds of country and jazz fusion. Overall, the music is timeless, emotional, and exploratory, creating its own world, much as Ennio Morricone did with his classic film soundtracks.
Tom Bukovac's Gear for In Stereo
Tom Bukovac and his ’58 Les Paul sunburst—one of just a handful of guitars he used to record In Stereo.
Guitars
- 1958 Gibson Les Paul ’Burst
- 1962 Stratocaster
- Harmony acoustic rebuilt by James Burkette
- Jeff Senn Strat
Synth
- Roland XP-30
Amp
- Black-panel Fender Princeton
Effects
- Nobels ODR-1
- Strymon Brigadier dBucket Delay
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario NYXL’s (.010–.046)
- Fender Mediums
“It’s a lot to ask somebody to sit and listen to an instrumental record,” Bukovac offers, “so I was just trying to make sure—and I know Guthrie did the same—it doesn’t get boring. When I finally sat and listened to this thing in its entirety, which was many months after we actually recorded, I had forgotten what we’d even done. I was overwhelmed. I love that I never got bored. It moves along and has moments where it gets into sort of a trance, in a good way, but it never stays there too long. It’s got enough humanity—real playing—mixed with the cinematic side of it.”
Trapp picks up the thread: “If you’re in Nashville for a long time and you’re paying attention at all, you understand this is a song town. No matter how you slice it, it’s all about the vocal and the lyric and the song. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re making an avant-garde instrumental guitar record. That influence is pounded in your brain—how important it is to trim the fat and get down to the song. A song is a song. It doesn't matter if it’s instrumental or not. It’s a ‘Don’t get bogged down and get to the chorus’ kind of thing.”
“A song is a song. It doesn’t matter if it’s instrumental or not. It’s a ‘Don’t get bogged down and get to the chorus’ kind of thing.”—Guthrie Trapp
Which alludes to the sense of movement in all these compositions. “It’s very important that every section of a song delivers every transition,” Bukovac adds. “When you go into a new room, when you open that door, it’s got to be right. That’s what I think about records. And there’s a lot of shifting on this record. We go from one field to another, and were very concerned about making sure that each transition delivers.”
Guthrie Trapp's Gear for In Stereo
Guthrie Trapp recording with his Danocaster Single Cut, made by Nashville’s Dan Strain.
Guitar
- Dan Strain Danocaster Single Cut
Amps
- Kendrick The Rig 1x12 combo
- Black-panel Fender Princeton
Effects
- Strymon Brigadier dBucket Delay
- Strymon Lex
- Nobels ODR-1
- Xotic RC Booster
- T-Rex Tremster
- Boss TU Tuner
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario NYXL’s (.010–.046)
- Medium celluloid
That kind of thoughtful development—the set up and delivery of various compositional sections in songs—isn’t exactly a lost art, but it’s certainly rarer than in earlier decades. Listen to Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road to hear how Davey Johnstone sets up verses, choruses, and bridges—or anything by David Gilmour—for reference. It’s also a goal best accomplished with a team of exceptional players, and, of course, Trapp and Bukovac enlisted some of Music City’s finest. The cast includes steel-guitar legend Paul Franklin, keyboardist Tim Lauer, bassists Steve Mackey and Jacob Lowery, and drummers Jordan Perlson and Lester Estelle.
“Don’t tell my mom, because of course we all want to make a living, but playing music that has integrity is at the top for me.”—Guthrie Trapp
“We recorded the basics—really, most of the tracks—live on the floor,” says Trapp.
“We kept a lot of the original throw-down/go-down solos,” Bukovac adds. “There were very few fixes and overdubs. One of the best moves we made was letting an outside person objectively sequence it, because you can get a little bit too inside your own thing. It’s like … if you’ve ever done a photo shoot, if you let somebody else choose the photo, it’s never going to be the one you’d choose, and it’s probably a better choice.” That task fell to bassist and singer Nick Govrik.
The terrain Bukovac and Trapp cover on their first album together is expansive and transporting—and packed with impressive melodies and guitar sounds.
The shipment of In Stereo’s vinyl arrived shortly before Trapp, Bukovac, and I talked, and while Bukovac released his first solo album, Plexi Soul, in 2021, and Trapp put out his releases Pick Peace and Life After Dark in 2012 and 2018, respectively, they seemed as excited to listen to it as teenagers in a garage band unveiling their debut single. That’s because, despite their standing and successes, playing guitar and making music is truly in their blood. What they play is a genuine expression of who they are, ripped from their DNA and presented to the world.
“Don’t tell my mom this, because of course we all want to make a living, but playing music that has integrity is at the top for me,” says Trapp. “These days, with AI and people worried or insecure about where the music business is going, and all these Instagram players who just are fixing everything with Pro Tools so they sound like they’re in a studio, I don’t worry because we’re not selling bullshit. We have 35 years of real experience between us, and when we do social media, we’re just reaching for a cell phone and posting it. It’s organic. That, to me, is a big difference. At the end of the day, I can sleep well knowing that I have earned the respect of the people that I respect the most. It’s just authentic music made for the very reason we got into this in the first place. We love it.”
YouTube It
Guthrie Trapp and Tom Bukovac practice their live chemistry together at Trapp’s standing Monday night gig at Nashville’s guitar-centric Underdog.