Bad Brains’ Dr. Know

Doc brought the funk, the heavy, and the chill during the Brains’ midday Saturday set that included “Banned in D.C.,” “Pay to Cum,” “Attitude,” and even saw Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe come out for “Redbone in the City.” As for the “Old Blackie” used by Doc, he told us in 2012 that: “I never really liked Strats because they were too tinny, but I got a black parts Strat[-style], which I still play live. That was when ESP first came out and they had the shop over on [New York City’s] 48th Street—they were originally a parts company. Old Blackie has an alder body, which I prefer because it has more oomph. The pickups are DiMarzios that Steve Blucher made for me. The [middle- and neck-position] single-coils are stacked humbuckers.”