Inventive open tunings, offset time signatures, jangly Teles, and dream-machine pedals help illuminate the cinematic melodies and moods for the archetype of Midwest emo.
The 15-year history of Rig Rundown has established that guitar gear fascination (and obsession) runs deep in our community. Itās the life blood of our show. But if there was ever antithetical example to guitar gluttony and equipment idolatry, it would be American Football. Their original self-proclaimed ābedroom college projectā focused on self-expression, musical creativity, and working with what you had, which wasnāt much.
For the recording of their pioneering American Football album released in 1999, they borrowed most of their gear, shared a single guitar cable and tuner, didnāt use bass, and formulated odd open tunings that allowed for sinuously melodic cinematic passages between Kinsella and Holmes. Their exploration of unique open tunings inspire a legion of players include 6-string virtuoso Yvette Young. (She now ships all her signature Ibanez guitars in a tricky open tuningāFāAāCāGāBāEāderived from American Football.) Their ingenious and scrappy methods went on to inform the brand of Midwest emo that simmered a devoted fanbase waiting for their return after disbanding in 2000. First returning to the stage in 2014 and delivering two more American Football albums in 2016 and 2019, the band continues using minimal gear for maximum art.
Ahead of American Footballās headlining show at Nashvilleās Brooklyn Bowl, cofounding members Mike Kinsella (vocals/guitar) and Steve Holmes (guitar) invited PGās Perry Bean onstage for a refreshingly practical gear chat. Kinsella recalls the bandās basic beginnings and explains how he starts every American Football demo. Then, Holmes shows off his āgorgeous and favoriteā Tele. Plus, we encounter a Rig Rundown first where the tech has veto power over setlists.Brought to you by D'Addario Trigger Capo.
A Fender From a Friend
American Footballās origins were aided by friends who borrowed them gear. The band recorded most of their earliest work on whatever equipment that worked and was loaned to them. (Guitarist/singer Mike Kinsella admits in the Rundown that he didnāt even own a guitar when they recorded the first EP.) Additionally, through their 26 years theyāve been ransacked several times depleting their gear collection, so theyāre not too precious about anything. This Fender Player Plus Telecaster was recently given to him from pal Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy. Kinsella believes Trohman gave Fender his specs or may have modded it before it was gifted to him, because the DiMarzio Chopper T was added before he got the T. Kinsella notes that he leaves the 3-way selector in the middle position most times.
Retail Therapy
āI really enjoying going to Chicago Music Exchange because their staff is so nice and helpful. I just have so much fun there,ā states Kinsella. Every couple years Mike goes there with the intention of buying a guitar and most recently he got this Fender Vintera 70s Telecaster Custom thatās been upgraded with the DiMarzio Chopper T.
Dark and Dead
Another one of Kinsellaās causalities to crooks was a late-ā90s Fender Tele-Sonic. He reacquired a different chambered Tele when visiting Texas. He uses this one onstage the least, but really enjoys his ādark, dead soundā that makes him feel in ātotal control.ā This quirky Tele has a chambered mahogany body, a maple neck on a rosewood fretboard, a compact 24.75" scale length, and DeArmond Dynasonic single-coil pickups.
Keeping It Straight
Guitarists Mike Kinsella and Steve Holmes rarely play in the same open tunings. To make sure each set goes smoothly, the bandās tech Mike Garzon has veto power on song inclusion and order based on what he can pull off while also being an auxiliary member covering percussion and keyboards. Hereās a cheat sheet that helps map the choreography each song needs and where it could potentially work in the set.
Mike In Stereo
Fenders have long been part of the bandās tone and on this North American run Kinsella used a pair of Fender Deluxe Reverb reissues. Heās plugging into them both to give a fuller, spacier, dreamier stereo effect.
Mike Kinsella's Pedalboard
The band never used pedals when recording or performing their first EP and debut full length in the late ā90s. To achieve differing sounds, they would create open tunings, change pickup selections, and layer all guitars parts. Pedals didnāt enter the equation until they restarted in 2014 when they wanted to expound on their original ideas, or as Kinsella explains in the Rundown, āwe wanted to make the dreamy part, even dreamier.ā The embellishments are accomplished with a Keeley Caverns, an EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run, an Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano, a Fat-Boost FB-3, and an EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker. And an Ernie Ball MVP Volume Pedal is first in the chain before his Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner.
Steve's Squeeze
Before recording the bandās return album, LP2, Holmes secured this 2014 Fender American Elite Telecaster. āItās a gorgeous guitar. Itās my favorite guitar. If I had three of them, thatās all I would play,ā admits Holmes. He prefers to use the Elite for songs that require a more midrange sting.
Double Offsets
The Fender American Professional Jazzmaster gets stage time with Steve for the lowered tunings in their catalog, where the Fender ā60s Jaguar Fiesta Red works in the set for parts that require a more high-end, shriller attack.
Loud and Proud
Steve opted for the beefier, 85W Fender ā65 Twin Reverb reissue for these summer shows because of its ability to provide the volume and stay clean.
Steve Holmes' Pedalboard
The double EQD Dispatch Master layout is giving Steve a reverb wash while the second dream box adds in delay on top of the reverb. He will occasionally engage them both to build a climactic moment in a song. The Walrus Audio Emissary parallel boost works to push the signal and the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer adds in some snarl. Holmes relies on an Ernie Ball VP Junior 250K for dynamics and a Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner to keep his Fenders in check.
Shop American Football's Rig
Fender Player Plus Telecaster
DiMarzio Chopper T Bridge
Fender American Professional Jazzmaster
Fender Vintera '70s Telecaster Custom
Fender Deluxe Reverb
Fender Twin Reverb
Keeley Caverns
EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run
EHX Holy Grail Nano
EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master
Walrus Audio Emissary
In the guitar, Yvette Young found a refuge from the pressures of the world of classical music competition, and from parental expectations.
With the album Catharsis, the unique guitar visionary has reached a new creative zenith. But it wasnāt easy.
A tattoo of the word āresilientā adorns both Yvette Youngās collarbone and the T-shirts and masks that just recently sold out on her website. Thatās an apt descriptor for Youngās strong will. It served her well when, even with the meteoric rise to success of her band, Covet, the behind-the-scenes environment turned extremely toxic after a band memberās behavior became erratic. Young is reluctant to say more about the matter, but she felt unsafe and trapped, and she wanted to quit the band sheād started to instead either pursue a solo project or revisit the visual arts. (A former art teacher, she double-majored in fine arts and education at UCLA, and made money painting guitars, including one for WILLOW.)
āI went from a situation where I was afraid of one of my bandmates, and did what I needed to do to free myself from what I felt to be an emotionally, and thus creatively draining, situation,ā reveals Young, who parted ways with Covetās members during the recording sessions for the new album, Catharsis, and had the bass parts re-done by noted touring and session bassist Jon Button.
So, Catharsis reflects the close of an old, painful chapter and the beginning of a new one. āThe process was arduous, and decisions were difficult and super daunting, but Iām ultimately so proud I got through. I learned so much about recording and chasing a sound, and I learned about advocating for myself and fighting for what I want,ā says Young. āI think itās an important thing for a lot of creatives to remember: Art must not come at the expense of overall well-being and safety, and the only sustainable way to create is in an environment that you feel free. Thatās what this music is to meāmy freedom.ā
covet - firebird (official video)
Making the album proved to be therapeutic. āI feel like, on Catharsis, some of the songs are a bit darker and it was definitely me having an outlet for some stuff that was painful, but a lot of it is uplifting and very happy and dance-y,ā Young says. āBecause music is transformative, and if youāre ever feeling in a bad mood, if you write music that sounds really happy, it can uplift you. Writing music that sounds like how you wish you felt can be really helpful sometimes.ā
āIāve always been really fascinated with ācan you make someone feel something or convince them of something without even saying a word?āā
A public search for new band members would have drawn too much unnecessary attention and Yvette would have had to spend too much time vetting every prospect. Instead, she found her new bandmates via her good friend, composer and pianist Summer Swee-Singh, who recruited bassist Brandon Dove and drummer Jessica Burdeaux. Burdeaux was Summerās bandmate at the time, but had an opening in her schedule. āSummer is an angel. She knows me. She knows that Iām an overly nice person sometimes. I tend to let people boss me around and then I give up,ā explains Young. āShe said, āYou need people that are just as caring and just as hardworking.āā
Dove and Burdeauxās work ethic was immediately on full display as they learned Covetās ultra-technical music in just two weeks. To much online gossip and drama, the revamped Covet lineup was revealed on social media in October 2022. But even as the wheels were set in motion, Youngās resiliency was put to another series of tests. Just four days before the first show of their appropriately named Rebirth tour, their vanāa 2007 Ford E-350 that Young paid for out of pocketāwas stolen. Covet then raised money on GoFundMe to rent a van and get the tour going. But then that rental van was broken into, with the windows smashed and gear stolen. Even with all of these mishaps, the first tour of the new Covet lineup was successful.
Emotional Nerd Rock
The songs on Catharsis, with its mix of melancholy and majesty, are the most accurate representation of where Youngās current interests are. āI want to write something thatās catchy. I want people to be able to hum itālike for your average listener who doesnāt understand guitar, who doesnāt listen to music. I want them to be able to enter this music and still get something from it,ā she says. āBut I donāt want to leave guitar players bored, so Iām going to put some flashiness and odd-time stuff in there, but trick people into dancing to it. Thatās really fun for me.ā
The current Covet lineup, touring behind the new album, Catharsis, is drummer Jessica Burdeaux, Yvette Young, and bassist Brandon Dove.
Photo by Eli Chavez
On their Facebook page Covet describes themselves as āEmotional Nerd Rockā and Catharsis songs like āFirebirdā and āLovespell,ā the album closer that features saxophonist Alex Rose from Minus the Bear, deceptively sneak geeky polyrhythms and metric mind games into the context of feel-good, catchy music. In āLovespell,ā Young explains, āThereās a part where Iām in five, drums are in four, and bass is in three. And youāre dancing to it, and you canāt tell. I play it on tour now, and thatās the song that people dance to the hardest. They donāt even notice it. I feel like Iām in a good place. I have a cool opportunity where Iām writing catchy stuff that moms and dads like and can listen to, but Iām also trying to open peopleās minds up to more progressive elements of music that you wouldnāt necessarily find on the radio.ā
āInterlude,ā Catharsisā piano-driven track with a nostalgic/melancholic vibe,is similar in mood to some of Youngās previously released solo piano music. āItās so funny, because my voice on piano is a little bit different than my voice on guitar,ā she explains. āWhen I write, it feels like Iām not even there anymore. Like it feels that who I am doesnāt matter. I just hear stuff and it comes out. I know that sounds crazy, but I feel like Iām just channeling emotions and trying to find ways to express certain abstract feelings without having to use lyrics. Thatās the value of instrumental music. Iāve always been really fascinated with āCan you make someone feel something or convince them of something without even saying a word?ā Just by the tension of the music, the timbre, the pedals that you use, the way that you phrase something, the key changes, all of that. Itās really fun to try to do that. The piano music and Covetās music is all storytelling. Itās me trying to transport people to a fantasy place.ā
Music on Her Own Terms
Young is among todayās most important young guitarists. Steve Vai named her as one of the five guitarists taking the instrument to the next level and recruited her to teach at his Vai Academy last summer. Ibanez has graced the virtuoso with two signature models: the YY10 and the newly released YY20. So, Young is a now a bona fide guitar hero, but the road to stardom was not easy.
Since the beginning, Young has had a conflicted relationship with music. Born in San Jose, California, to parents from Beijing, China, Young started piano at 4 and was immediately thrown into the fire. Her father, a piano salesman/technician, composed music, and her cousins played competitive piano at a very high level. Little Yvette was next in lineāa prodigy in the making. She had to practice four hours a day and played high stakes competitions from age 9 to 18.
Youngās painting for the cover of her new album is a perfect reflection of its sense of uplift and emergence from adversity.
āThe classical world was pushed really hard on me. I donāt know if it was my thing when I was younger,āā recalls Young, who, in her youth, was obligated to practice fragments of 30-minute concertos over and over again until they were memorized and mastered. She also started violin at 7 and later played in her high school orchestra and the California Youth Symphony, where she was concertmaster. While Young delighted audiences with her flawless performances, deep down she hated the competitive aspect of music. It was not fun and Youngās internalized perfection in her musical and academic pursuits (having to be a straight-A student), combined with the intense pressure of the elite classical worldās cutthroat environment, led to anorexia nervosa. This eating disorder saw Young in and out of the hospital during a four-year span in her teens. The condition became so severe that Young would sporadically flatline in her sleep. Miraculously, she survived.
This dark period marked the beginning of Youngās new journey. While in the hospital, she picked up the guitar. It wasnāt a deliberate move; she wasnāt seeking another instrument to conquer and compete with. Rather, the 6-string was therapeutic and empowering. It also helped reignite her passion for music. āOne cool thing about guitar, for me, is it was really important that it was an instrument I picked for myself. I donāt let anyone else dictate how I approach it,ā says Young, āMusic saved my life. I donāt think Iād be here if not for guitar. Guitar helped pull me out of my eating disorder. It made it so I felt like I had a voice, when I donāt feel like Iām the most outspoken person. The most exciting part of it all is that now I have the opportunity to share with people how wonderful of an outlet music, in particular guitar, can be. And how amazing it can be for building up your confidence. Iāve been through a lot. Iāll always be writing music. Itās kind of like my comfort but itās also my way of expressing joy.ā
āArt must not come at the expense of overall well-being and safety, and the only sustainable way to create is in an environment that you feel free.ā
Young learned some chords by watching videos, and while she understood music theory, that didnāt factor at all into how she approached the instrument. Young explains: āHonestly, because of my classical upbringing, I feel like I have a good ear. I would listen to songs andāI didnāt even really read tabs at that pointāI would just figure them out meticulously, note-by-note, and then teach it to myself.ā The first song Young learned was Creedās wistful ballad āOne Last Breathā (referred to as āSix Feet From the Edgeā), and she listened to Radiohead, and folk artists like Cat Stevens and Sufjan Stevens. While she first learned everything in standard tuning, Midwest emo bands like American Football and math-rock bands like Toe were major influences and led her to the world of alternate tunings, which she has built her style around ever since.
In 2013, while working as an art teacher, Young found fame accidentally after posting guitar videos on Facebook. One of her students created an Instagram page for her, and suddenly she became very famous. āI didnāt expect to have one of my videos go viral. The one video that went viral was this tapping fast thing, and I got contacted by a bunch of companies to do videos for them,ā recalls Young. āAt the time, I was a teacher, I was working in a school, and music was just this fun side thingāthis outlet I get to do after I work my 9 to 5, to feel better. I had no idea that these videos would pop off like that, so it was exciting.ā In 2014, Young formed Covet, and the trio has since been at the forefront of the math-rock scene.
Yvette Youngās GearĀ
Youngās new bandmates, Jessica Burdeaux and Brandon Dove, learned Covetās ultra-technical music in just two weeks.
Photo by Sarah Phung
Guitars
- Ibanez YY10
- Ibanez YY20
Amps
- Vox AC30
- Vox AC10
- Roland JC-40
- Yamaha THR10
Strings
- D'Addario NYXL (.011-.056)
Effects
- DigiTech Whammy Ricochet
- Walrus Audio Julianna
- Caroline Guitar Company Somersault
- Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
- MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe
- Earthquaker Devices Avalanche Run
- Earthquaker Devices The Warden
- Dirge Electronics Slowly Melting
- Moreland Magnetics 707 Fuzz
- DigiTech FreqOut
- Hologram Electronics Microcosm
- ZVEX Mastotron
- Ground Control Audio Noodles
- Boss OC-5 Octave
- Meris Mercury 7
- Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword
- Strymon Zuma
A 6-Stringed Piano
Young is part of a new generation of virtuoso guitarists that have created a new language far removed from the vocabulary of legacy, boomer guitar heroes. You wonāt hear Hendrix, Slash, or even Yngwie-inspired licks. The omission of these influences wasnāt deliberate, however. āI just wasnāt exposed to it. Itās like when you grow up more sheltered. I didnāt really consume any pop culture, to be honest. I wasnāt even allowed to listen to rock rock when I was younger because my parents were more traditional, and they were like, āclassical music is the way.ā Iām a late bloomer, man. I just discovered rock like, last week,āā she jokes. āI started out listening to indie music/post rock. Post rock really appealed to me because it was a lot like classical music in the way that it progresses. Itās very dynamic and itās emotional. For me, music has always been less about virtuosity and more about its emotional appeal.ā
Still, thereās no doubting Youngās virtuosic abilities. Her ultra-technical style is inspired by the pianoās polyphonic capabilities. She views the lower strings as the left-hand accompaniment register of a piano and will use it to play implied bass parts and harmonies. The upper strings of the guitar are used as the right-hand melodic side of the piano. Both hands may cross over into the other register if the music calls for it. Pianistic effects are achieved by her use of uncommon tunings, fingerstyle moves, and right-hand tapping.
āNow I have the opportunity to share with people how wonderful of an outlet music, in particular guitar, can be.ā
While tapping is a big part of Youngās style, its modern-era pioneer, the late Eddie Van Halen, wasnāt even in the equation when Young started doing it. Rather, she picked up the technique from listening to bands like TTNG and other acts in the obscure art/indie scene that she grew up with. Sheās recently gotten into Van Halenās playing, though, and has also started incorporating more conventional guitar-isms, like bending.
āI donāt really know how it happened. One day I was just like āInstead of this slide up one fret, what if I bent to that?ā I was like, āOoh, I love the way this sounds with delay.ā It sounds really cool. I checked out a bit of Van Halen, too. I wanted something that had a lot of energy. I was running and I was listening to that, and was like, āOkay, yeah, like the way Eddie plays is really cool.ā I think subconsciously I probably just digested all of that and spat it out in the form of my own writing.ā
Another part of her distinctive sound is muting. āIām muting with my right-hand palm and with my left hand,ā she explains. āMy right hand will mute the lower strings and Iāll sometimes use the pointer finger on my left hand to stop the high strings from ringing out. Iām also doing whammy bar stuff. This is new to me. I feel like I had a little bit of a breakthrough and I downgraded to .011s now because I need to be able to bend. I was using .012s before and I had a dark era where I was at .013s.ā
āIn order to stay passionate at what I do, to not have it feel like how I felt in the classical worldādoing things for other people or trying to impress other peopleāI really have to be my own fortress and I have to really stay in tune with what excites me.ā
So, Youngās new Ibanez YY10 and YY20 models come with .011s. āFirst I did the YY10, Strat style, then YY20 Tele style, orange finish,ā she says, explaining their genesis. āThereās no Wilkinson tremolo system. There may or may not be a new one in the works, but Iām really excited because [if it happens] itās gonna be a higher end one.ā
These signature guitars are tuned (low to high) FāAāCāGāBāE when they are shipped. āI wanted to just kind of challenge people to try it,ā she relates. āIāve been talking to a bunch of students and theyāre like, āI never tried open tunings because Iāve always been scared of tuning it to something different.ā I was like, āWell what if it just came that way?āā
Youngās own musical voice is ever evolving and, despite making a name for herself as a virtuoso, the self-described āpeople pleaserā resists pressure to cater to any expectations. āAs I matured in my craft, I was like, āI feel like this isnāt even what Iām excited about,āā she says. āIām sitting here live, playing these technical songs, sweating bullets, not feeling the music, just really worried ācause everyone has their phone out and all eyes are on me, and I better not mess up this run or else itās gonna end up on YouTube. I hated that. In order to stay passionate at what I do, to not have it feel like how I felt in the classical worldādoing things for other people or trying to impress other peopleāI really have to be my own fortress and I have to really stay in tune with what excites me. The direction I go in becomes really clear when I focus on what gives me goosebumps when Iām playing, what makes me jump up and down ācause Iām so excited about it.ā
YouTube It
Yvette Young wasnāt raised on legacy guitar heroes and, as a result, her approach is fresh and highly personal. āI truly discovered it like an outsider. I was working on guitar and was like, āI guess you could play it like this.ā That definitely contributed to me sounding the way I sound,ā says Young. āBut I also consumed and listened to a wide variety of music. I was trying to take all the things I find exciting about different genres and just blend them into one sound.ā
āShibuyaā sees Youngātuned to DāAāDāF#āAāE (low to high) with a capo on the 2nd fretāusing her unique approach with plucks, taps, slaps, and slides to create a mesmerizing musical experience.
The videographer behind our very first Rundown recounts meeting Brian May, being wowed by Morello, going deaf with Sleep, and more.
Watch the Full Rig Rundowns:
10. Yvette Young
9. Billy Strings
8. AC/DC
7. The Fall of Troy
6. Pelican
5. Screaming Females
4. A Perfect Circle
3. Sleep
2. Tom Morello
1. Queen