Week #3 is here! Enter below for your chance to WIN one of SIX pedals from All-Pedal, Carl Martin, Electro-Harmonix, Fortin Amplification, Hagerman, and Vidami!
All-Pedal Devil's Triad - Jeff Loomis Signature Pedal
In Collaboration with Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy, we are proud to introduce the Devil's Triad™. Jeff Loomis Signature Guitar Pedal.
Carl Martin Axis Flanger
What’s more groovy than a flanger? A new, smaller flanger, loaded with features and painted a bold psychedelic purple….that’s what! Introducing the re-designed Carl Martin Axis Flanger. We simplified the controls to give you all the control you had with our Carl Martin Classic Flanger but reduced the size so you don’t have to worry about leaving the Axis Flanger on your pedalboard ‘cause you don’t have enough room’. Complete with a buffered Bypass footswitch for on and off control (indicated by an LED), Speed, Depth, Pre-delay and Feedback controls, the Axis Flanger comes in a machined aluminum case finished in psychedelic purple, and those cool Carl Martin graphics. The Axis Flanger must be powered by a regulated 9v Power Supply like the Carl Martin DC Factory, and like all the Carl Martin fx pedals, we use the best parts to make sure you get the best sound! Watch out baby…the flange is back!
Electro-Harmonix Lester G Rotary Speaker Pedal
DELUXE ROTARY SPEAKER EMULATOR - The ultimate rotary speaker emulator packed with goodies like a specially designed compression circuit to supercharge the rotating speaker effect on guitar!
The EHX Lester G uses the finest rotary speaker simulation available today, and comes with a variety of deluxe features. Stereo outputs provide a lush, realistic effect. Tube-emulated overdrive is available with the DRIVE knob, and speaker mix can be fine-tuned with the BALANCE knob. Switch between adjustable FAST and SLOW modes for an accurate reproduction of a classic rotary speaker cabinet’s speed adjustment. An expression pedal jack allows for fine tuning of the rotation speed with an expression pedal.
The Lester G also features a compression circuit that adds lush sustain to electric guitar. Using the compressor, the LESTER G provides guitarists with the fat, full sustain of an organ, to get the most out of the rotating speaker effect.
Fortin Amplification Zuul+
Within the modern guitar community, the Zuul has long been the industry standard for noise gate technology.
Hagerman Thermionic Reinforcer
The new Hagerman Thermionic Reinforcer is an all-tube guitar preamplifier showcasing a proprietary new tube clipping circuit, delivering a more aggressive, modern sound. Employing a pair of 12AX7 tubes running at high voltage, this pedal has enough output to directly feed a power amplifier via effects loop (or operate as a normal pedal). There are two clipping modes; classic tube overdrive, and the novel high-gain symmetrical clipping circuit, recently developed by Hagerman. Another interesting feature is the use of a Contour control, which is a tone circuit placed ahead of clipping stages, offering the ability to tighten the sound, akin to placing a Klon or TS ahead of the pedal. Bass and Treble controls post-clipping provide a wide range of tonality, from bright to dark.
Vidami Blue
The Vidami Blue is a revolutionary 3-in-1 foot pedal that gives you hands-free control of today’s most popular music and education technology, allowing you to Loop & Slow Videos, Turn Pages & Control your favorite DAWs.
Video Mode
Effortlessly Loop and Slow Down songs and riffs on YouTube and more than 55 compatible Online Video learning platforms including: FenderPlay, TrueFire, MartyMusic, JamPlay, Pickup Music and more. (Please note that YouTube, and all other compatible platforms must be used from within the Safari or Chrome browser on Desktop/laptop computers, or from within the Safari browser on iPad/iPhone)
Page Turning/TAB Mode
Easily Turn Pages, Scroll Tabs, Lyrics, and other functions on your favorite Digital Sheet Music apps and Tab sites like: OnSong, forScore, Ultimate Guitar Tab and others.
DAW Mode
Free your creative spirit as you Record, Loop, Add Tracks, Set Markers, and more on today’s most popular Digital Audio Workstations including: GarageBand, Logic Pro, Reaper, Pro Tools, Studio One, Cubase & Ableton Live.
The Vidami Blue is compatible with iPhone and iPad on iOS 15 and Desktop Computers, Laptops & ChromeBooks
Left to right: Joe Lally. Brandan Canty, and Anthony Pirog
So you might be surprised to learn that such an accomplished low-ender didn’t always feel confident about his own musical knowledge. “I spent all that time in Fugazi not formally being able to articulate about music very well with the other people in the band,” Joe says. “It was very frustrating at times. There were times I wanted to leave the band because it felt like I couldn’t even talk about what I wanted to do.”
It was only after Fugazi went on indefinite hiatus that, realizing he wanted to keep making music, Joe decided to get some education. “I took a few lessons at Flea’s school in L.A., the Silverlake Conservatory. I studied with Tree, the dean of the school, who showed me some things about songwriting on piano. I was looking at it like I was getting piano lessons, but really he was showing me the sound of major, the sound of minor, and the sound of the dominant 7 chord. Those three chords are the basic beginnings of learning music theory.”
As Joe learned it, the major sound was “Here, There, and Everywhere" by the Beatles, the minor was Santana’s “Evil Ways,” and the dominant 7 was “I Feel Good” by James Brown. “I learned to play those chord changes on piano, and came to understand more about songs and completing my own song ideas.”
Joe mainly learned by asking questions. “To a degree, that’s what I want people to get from the lessons I give,” he continues. “There’s so much you can go into theory-wise, but you don’t really need to to be able to write music, play music, and figure out other people’s music.”
Joe went on to write and release three solo albums, as well as two with Ataxia, his project with Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarists John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer. In 2016, he formed instrumental jazz-punk fusion trio the Messthetics with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and genre-spanning guitar virtuoso Anthony Pirog. They’ve since toured heavily and released three full lengths. He also joined Ian Mackaye—Fugazi’s and the Evens’s singer-guitarist—along with Evens drummer Amy Farina to form Coriky.
Lally’s humble online flyer.
“I foolishly never picked up a book because I thought it would ruin what I did know. When I told a friend I was teaching theory, he asked, ‘Has it ruined your playing yet?’”
When off the road, Joe worked different jobs in DC’s independent music scene to pay the bills. But when the pandemic lockdown came, he decided to start giving online lessons. He made flyers and posted them on social media.
“I’m not teaching formal theory, which I think is weird and abstract and doesn’t show people everything,” says Joe. “It takes years of learning formally to see how everything is connected to see how this thing is part of that other thing we learned years ago. Most of my students are adults who have been playing but now want to know more about what they’ve been doing.”
But music theory is something we all operate within, says Joe, whether we’re knowledgeable about it or not. “We are engaged in theory. We just may not know it. When you’re playing or writing a song, you might think ‘that note sounds right’ or ‘that note sounds wrong.’ It's because we are relating it to something in theory that we’ve picked up from all the music we’ve listened to.”
Joe recognizes that some people are apprehensive about learning music theory, and he admits that when he was in Fugazi, he was, too. “I foolishly never picked up a book because I thought it would ruin what I did know. When I told a friend I was teaching theory, he asked, ‘Has it ruined your playing yet?’
“But formal study should use your thinking mind, and when you play, you’re outside of thinking. Creativity is outside of thought. You hear about jazz players who practice scales over and over, and what they’re really practicing is the sounds of these things that they want to hear. But when they play, they let go of all of that. So I realized my playing is never going to change. I’m always going to write the way I wrote.”
To immerse yourself in Joe’s creative world, check out the Messthetics’s 2024 album, The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, which adds saxophonist Lewis to the trio, bringing together Fugazi’s powerful rhythm section with two players from the creative improv world.
To inquire about bass lessons with Joe Lally, contact him on Instagram at @joelally898.
