Country shredder Daniel Donato.
Question: What was the defining band of your teenage years?
Guest Picker Daniel Donato
Photo of J.D. Simo by Adam Abrashoff
A: The defining band of my teenage years was the Don Kelley Band, an infamous and tenured Nashville honky-tonk band. This band introduced me to the potential that simple country music can have when played and sung by an incredibly tight and hardworking, disciplined group of four members. The band hosted Nashvilleās finest and most famous Telecaster players: Brent Mason, Johnny Hiland, J.D. Simo, Guthrie Trapp, Luke McQueary, just to name a few.
Gypsy jazz innovator Django Reinhardt.
Photo of Django Reinhardt by William P. Gottlieb
Current obsession: Bob Dylan, Django Reinhardt, Bob Wills, Khruangbin, and 1995ā1998 Phish. Whether it is a lyrical reach, compositional approach, or mindset intention, I find great inspiration in these spirits mentioned above. They are all fantastic at conveying their own unique and eternal perspective of how they see the truth, the most subjectively specific yet objectively enduring ideal that anyone who ever creates anything can ever aspire to manifest into form in space and time.
Charles Saufley Gear Editor
Psychedelic rockers Quicksilver Messenger Service.
A: Teenage me craved romance, freedom, and energy. I could never pick one band to sum those longings. But these artists and songs embody the hunger and awakening of my young self: Neil Young & Crazy Horseās āLike a Hurricane,ā John Coltraneās āAfrica,ā Black Flagās āNervous Breakdown,ā Sonic Youthās āTeen Age Riot,ā Roberta Flackās āThe First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,ā Pink Floydās āEchoes,ā Quicksilver Messenger Serviceās āFresh Air,ā and Augustus Pabloās āKing Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown.ā
ā80s noise rockers Sonic Youth.
Photo of Sonic Youth by Monica Dee
Current obsession: Surf musicāas in, music actually played to the breath of the ocean and waves. Recently my gal and I played a medley of dreamy instrumentals for a friendās wedding with the waves lapping below. Iād love so much to do that again.
Perry Bean Videographer
The real Mr. Bean.
A: What I wouldnāt give to go back to the ā90s and hear NOFX for the first time again! I must have skateboarded 20,000 miles to White Trash, Two Heebs, and a Bean. That band created a baseline for most everything I still listen to today. Melodic, technical, and goofy. Just how I like it!
NOFX's White Trash, Two Heebs, and a Bean.
Current obsession: Lately I canāt seem to get away from literally anything Will Putney touches. If he produced it, mixed it, played on it, or wrote it, chances are Iām gonna love it. I still canāt believe I havenāt wrecked my car listening to his band End.
The album cover of Endās Splinters From an Ever-Changing Face.
Lee Whiles Reader of the Month
A: The Presidents of the United States of America! I was around 14 when a friend played me their debut album on cassette. Up until that point, the only music I really listened to was whatever my parents played (which I still love) but that band blew my world right open!
The Presidents of the United States of Americaās album, II.
Current obsession: My covers band is currently learning the Fugeesā āReady or Not,ā and my favorite heavy metal vocalist Keith Buckley has just released a new song from his new project Many Eyes called āRevelation,ā so Iām just bouncing between those two songs. Oh, and a UKHC [U.K. hardcore] band called Malevolence.
UKHC band Malevolence.
Photo of Malevolence by Stefan Bollmann
Celebrating 10 years of Revv & 5 years since the release of the G2, Revv is debuting V2 circuit revisions of the G2, G3, & G4, implementing new designs for more tone in 3 little pedals, in a limited edition colorway.
The Revv Amplification 5th Anniversary G-Series V2 Lineup features:
- 3 Fresh Flavors of Boutique Canadian Tone - G-Series pedals are sonic recreations of 3 of Revvās boutique amp channels used by Nashville session stars & metal touring artists alike.
- The Standard, Redefined - V2 circuit revisions are based on the Generator 120 MK3 Rev. B & incorporate new design elements for the most tube-like response & tone ever.
- Limited Edition - Exclusive new colorway featuring a black enclosure w/ custom graphics, embossed Revv badge, & color-coded knobs.
- Find Your Sound - The G2 is a powerful & versatile overdrive capable of everything from touch-sensitive boost to organic vintage stack tones, taken from Revvās Green Channel.
- High Gain Clarity - The G3 utilizes Revvās legendary Purple Channel, a tight & responsive high gain tone perfect for drop tuning & cutting through any mix.
- Fat Solo Tones - The G4 is based on Revvās thick & saturated Red Channel, the ideal sound for chewy crunch, modern rock wall of sound, & liquid sustaining solos.
- Made in Canada - 100% analog circuit w/ top jacks, true bypass, & 2 year warranty.
Revvās G-Series pedals have a street price of $229 & can be ordered immediately through many fine dealers worldwide.
For more information, please visit revvamplification.com.
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
Hats off to Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK, our celebrity Question of the Month respondent.
Guest Picker - Carmen Vandenberg, Bones UK
The cover of Soft, Bones UKās new album, due in mid-September.
A: My favorite method these days (and to be honest, from when I started playing) is to put on my favorite blues records, listen with my eyes closed, and, at the end, see what my brain compartmentalizes and keeps stored away. Then, I try and play back what I heard and what my fingers or brain decided they liked!
Bone UKās labelmade, Des Rocks.
Obsession: Right now, I am into anyone trying to create sounds that havenāt been made beforeābands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, and our labelmate, Des Rocs! Thereās a Colombian band called DiamantĆ© Electrico who Iāve been really into recently. Really anyone whoās trying to create innovative and inspiring sounds.
Reader of the Month - Sam C. Schiff.
Sam spent endless hours trying to learn the solo Leslie West played on āLong Red,ā off of The Road Goes Ever On.
A: The best way to learn guitar is to listen to some good guitar playing! Put on a record, hear something tasty, and play on repeat until it comes out of your fingers. For me, it was Leslie West playing āLong Redā on the Mountain album, The Road Goes Ever On. I stayed up all night listening to that track until I could match Leslieās phrasing. I still canāt, no one can, but I learned a lot!
Smithās own low-wattage amp build.
Obsession: My latest musical obsession is low-wattage tube amps like the 5-watt Fender Champ heard on the Laylaalbum. Crank it up all the way for great tube distortion and sustain, and itās still not loud enough to wake up the neighbors!
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Charles Saufley takes to gear like a duck to water!
A: Learning by ear and feel is most fun for me. I write and free-form jam more than I learn other peopleās licks. When I do want to learn something specific, Iāll poke around on YouTube for a demo or a lesson or watch films of a player I like, and then typically mangle that in my own āspecialā way that yields something else. But I rarely have patience for tabs or notation.
The Grateful Deadās 1967 debut album.
Obsession: Distorted and overdriven sounds with very little sustaināKeith Richardsā Between the Buttons tones, for example. Jerry Garciaās plonky tones on the first Grateful Dead LP are another cool, less-fuzzy version of that texture.
Publisher - Jon Levy
A: Iām a primitive beast: The only way I can learn new music is by ear, so itās a good thing I find that method enjoyable. Iām entirely illiterate with staff notation. Put sheet music in front of me and Iāll stare at it with twitchy, fearful incomprehension like an ape gaping at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Iām almost as clueless with tab, but I can follow along with chord charts if Iām under duress.
The two-hit wonders behind the early ā70s soft-rock hits, āFallinā in Loveā and āDon't Pull Your Love.ā
Obsession: Revisiting and learning AM-radio pop hits circa 1966ā1972. The Grass Roots, Edison Lighthouse, the Association, the Archies, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynoldsānothing is too cheesy for me to dissect and savor. Yes, I admit I have a serious problem.
