Since their debut, Before the Sun Goes Down, in 2014, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley have made a name for themselves as some of the hottest country and bluegrass players in the business. As individuals, their credits range from Willie Nelson to Earl Scruggs to Merle Haggard—and as a duo, they’ve toured and recorded with artists including Tommy Emmanuel, Taj Mahal, Jorma Kaukonen & Hot Tuna, Luther Dickinson, and Molly Tuttle. It’s likely their forthcoming full-length release, Living in a Song, will only bolster their already impressive reputation.
Out on February 10th, Living in a Song is a new collection of two covers and 10 originals that were inspired by Ickes and Hensley’s life on the road. They collaborated with long-time producer Brent Maher (Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson) along with some award-winning songwriters to compose a total of 40 songs, which were then trimmed down to the resulting selection. That final cut of material leans into a classic country sound, with some Americana and bluegrass thrown in.
Along with the aforementioned credits, Ickes and Hensley have long been established, separately, as formidable musicians. Ickes has been International Bluegrass Music Association Dobro Player of the Year an incredible 15 times, and Hensley made his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry at just 11 years old. In other words, the two have been around the block, and especially know their way around dobros and flattop acoustics.
Earlier this month, PG’s John Bohlinger met up with the duo at 3Sirens Studio in Nashville, where they played some mind-blowing music, and gave a rundown of some of their favorite guitars and gear.
Click here to pre-save Living in a Song which releases on Friday, Feb. 10.
Brought to you by D’Addario Humidipak.
Mind-Bending Bender
This dreadnought was built for Trey by the Oregon-based Preston Thompson Guitars in 2018. It’s the company’s D-MA model, with sinker mahogany back and sides and an Adirondack spruce top. But what truly makes the guitar special is its StringBender B-bender, which was built into the model by former Byrd and StringBender founder, Gene Parsons, himself. It’s also equipped with an LR Baggs Lyric. As for accessories, Trey uses D’Addario Nickel Bronze .013-.056 strings on all of his guitars, Blue Chip TAD60 picks, a Dunlop Blues Bottle slide, and a D’Addario Rich Robinson slide.
The Guts
Here's a tight shot of the inner mechanisms that engage the B-Bender.
Fighting Spirit
Trey’s favorite guitar is his 1954 Martin D-28. “I’ve had this one for about 20 years now,” he says, “I think I’m the third owner of it.” The first owner wore the neck down so that “it’s real skinny and gets super fat right at the fifth fret.” He brings his D-28 to most of his recording sessions, and while it also has an LR Baggs Lyric, “This guitar does not want to be plugged in at all,” he says, “It just fights back.” It has Brazilian rosewood back and sides; as for the top wood, “Anybody’s guess is as good as mine.”
Ugly Duckling
Found at Fanny’s House of Music in Nashville, this 1965 Harmony Sovereign Deluxe H1265 makes a bit of a statement with its prominent pickguard and mustache bridge. Or, as Trey puts it, “It’s possibly the ugliest guitar I’ve ever seen.” He calls the jumbo-bodied model his “Taj Mahal guitar,” as the bluesman requested it when Trey and Rob joined him for a few performances late last year. “I really like it,” Trey says, smiling, “It’s the guitar that shouldn’t be.”
No. 610
“This is probably one of my other favorites,” Trey says of his 2015 Wayne Henderson dreadnought—the guitar maker’s 610th build. Its specced to a Martin D-18, with mahogany back and sides. The Virginia builder famously built a few models for Eric Clapton, and notoriously has a very, very long wait list—which is why Trey was so afraid to put a pickup in it and take it out on the road after he got it. And then…. “The first night I took it out, it wasn’t on the strap button good, and it fell and hit the concrete floor. This piece here was split,” he says, gesturing to an area on the top plate. Thankfully, he was able to get it repaired. “It sounded really good before I dropped it, but it sounded about a million times better after I dropped it,” he says, “So, the moral of the story is: Drop your guitar.”
Before the War
Another D-18 copy, this 2017 Pre-War Guitars Co. model has mahogany back and sides, and is outfitted with an LR Baggs Anthem SL. It bears Taj Mahal’s signature on the front, and Trey’s on the back. The latter choice was Trey’s way of imitating Earl Scruggs, since he saw Scruggs had done the same to a couple of his instruments when he performed with him as a kid.
Black Dove
Next, a 2022 Gibson Elvis Dove, is “probably the only oddball acoustic I have,” says Trey. “I wasn’t planning on flatpicking on this thing, but I’ve already used it for some sessions.” Its maple back and sides make it the perfect choice to emulate the J-200 he borrowed from his producer for a country record he and Rob just finished recording.
Tried and True
Last in the acoustic queue is Trey’s 2021 Martin D-41. “This one’s been my main guitar for about a year now,” he says. It’s equipped with an LR Baggs Anthem SL, and has a bit of a lower setup compared to his other guitars—but with medium gauge strings, he says, it doesn’t buzz.
Loud and Clear
When Trey isn’t going DI through his LR Baggs Voiceprint, he runs his acoustics through his Fishman Loudbox Artist.
Go-To Gibson
Trey’s go-to electric is his Gibson Custom Shop 1958 Les Paul Reissue VOS, which he got in 2008. He keeps this guitar and his other electrics strung with D’Addario NYXL .010-.046 strings, which can be a bit jarring to his fretting hand when switching over from the .013s on his acoustics. “It takes a minute to not rip the neck off,” he says.
Byrd Build
This 2017 Parsons StringBender T-style was one of Gene Parsons’ early prototypes when he started building guitars.
Headshot For the Headstock
Here's Gene Parsons riding proudly on his 2017 T-style build for Trey Hensley.
To the T
The newest addition to Trey’s electric arsenal is this Berly Guitars Telecaster, built with Rocketfire ’60s-style pickups and “frets basically as big as my Les Paul.”
Trey Hensley’s Pedalboards (Acoustic)
Trey’s acoustic pedalboard is set up with a D’Addario tuner, an EHX Nano Q-Tron Envelope Filter, a Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus, a Boss HM-2W Waza Craft Heavy Metal, a DigiTech Whammy Ricochet, an EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo Reverb, a Grace Design Alix preamp, and an LR Baggs Voiceprint. Power comes from a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2. It might be a bit unconventional for him to have two DIs, but he says he uses the Alix “for some EQ and mainly a boost; I’m bypassing it as a DI.” And, referring to the Voiceprint, he says, “If I can only take one pedal, it’s going to be that.”
Trey Hensley’s Pedalboards (Electric)
“I’ll preface it by saying, I don’t know what I’m doing,” admits Trey. On his electric pedalboard, he goes into his Dunlop Zakk Wylde Wah, then his D’Addario tuner—“You want that, after the wah,”—then into an EHX Micro Q-Tron, a Keeley Super Phat Mod, a Keeley Sweet Spot Johnny Hiland Super Drive, a JHS PackRat, an EHX J Mascis Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi, a Keeley Dark Side, and an MXR EVH Phase 90.
Ol’ Reliable
Trey has several amps for acoustic and electric. Today he was using a Fender ’68 Custom Princeton Reverb Reissue for his electric.
Bold and Byrly
“When you play a really good dobro, it’s in your face super fast,” says Rob Ickes, describing his main axe, a Byrl Guitars Rob Ickes Signature Series resonator—an instrument distinguished by its half-and-half ebony and curly maple fretboard. It’s equipped with a Fishman Nashville Reso Series pickup, which Ickes says is probably the first pickup that he’s used that’s nearly 100 percent faithful to the dobro sound. He uses D’Addario Nickel Bronze strings, Blue Chip thumb picks, and Bob Perry gold-plated fingerpicks, as well as a Scheerhorn bar slide.
Scheer Invention
This resonator guitar, made by Tim Scheerhorn, has Indian rosewood back and sides and a spruce top. According to Ickes, Scheerhorn “was kind of the Stradivarius of the dobro.” He was the first to start using solid woods—as opposed to the earlier use of plywood—and put sound posts inside the body, like those in a violin. “He also does a little baffle that helps force the sound out of the sound holes,” explains Ickes.
Maple Flames
The second Byrl resonator Ickes shared with us is made from flame maple, giving it that distinctive look, and is actually the first guitar he got from Byrl. He tunes it to an open G chord, which he recently discovered is the original Hawaiian tuning. It has a Beard Legend spun cone made of an aluminum alloy and named after Mike Auldridge.
One Man’s Trash
Ickes found this 1930s dobro at a music store owned by a friend outside of Franklin, Tennessee. It’s made with a stamped cone. “It’s a little bit garbage can, in a good way,” he says, “I’ll use it on sessions if I want a trashier sound.” He normally keeps it in a lower tuning, such as open D.
Family Heirloom
This 1927 Montgomery Ward guitar has a story as intriguing as its sound. It belonged to Ickes’ grandfather, who was a fiddle player: He discovered it one day in the attic of his family home. “This one spoke to me right out of the box,” he shares,” It had that funk—times 10.” It sports signatures from Taj Mahal and Merle Haggard, the latter of whom Ickes recorded a bluegrass album with back in 2006. “I take this to a lot of sessions, in case they need that funky kind of dirt-road sound,” he explains.
Let Slide
“This next one is a more modern version of that,” Ickes says of another model, a Wayne Henderson guitar which he says is the first slide guitar Henderson built. “I just said, ‘Do what you do, but raise the action a bit here at the nut.’” It has a Fishman Nashville Series Reso pickup which Ickes has go into a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI.
A Flash in the Pan
One of the most interesting guitars in Ickes’ collection is his 1932 Rickenbacker Frying Pan, an electric lap steel that was one of the first ever of its kind to be created. “It just cracks me up how they nailed it right out of the box,” he comments. Its single knob is a combination of tone and volume—“As you move to the right, it gets brighter and louder. As you move to the left it gets quieter.”
Silver Surfer
As you can tell, several of the guitars that Ickes brought on this Rig Rundown are from the 1930s, including this Rickenbacker lap steel, nicknamed the “Silver Surfer.” Its mirror-like fretboard made it difficult for Ickes to see the frets when playing live, so he had them covered in red tape, which make them stand out much better.
Black and White
The last of Ickes’ guitars is another 1930s Rickenbacker lap steel, which he fondly refers to as the “Panda,” due to its black-and-white decor. He loves how it sounds, but admits, “This is great if you don’t leave the house [with it],” as it’s very heavy and doesn’t really stay in tune.
Dulcet Dairy Tones
Despite how Ickes typically favors vintage amps, he’s fond of this newer 20-watt Milkman Creamer, which he bought with a lap steel from a friend in California after hearing the two in combination. It has all the vintage vibe without the hassle of old amps.
Li’l Champ
Another amp in Ickes’ collection is his ’50s Fender Champ.
Small Yet Mighty
A third amp that Ickes shared with us is a vintage 1930s Rickenbacker.
Rob Ickes’ Pedalboards (Dobro)
Ickes has two separate pedal boards for his dobro and for his lap steel. Both boards are powered with separate Truetone 1 Spots. He keeps things simple on his dobro board, which includes a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI, an MXR Eddie Van Halen Phase 90, a Walrus Audio Mako Series R1 Reverb, and a ’80s era Boss DM-2 Delay.
Rob Ickes' Lap Steel Pedalboard
The simple setup trend continues with his lap steel pedalboard, which is made up of another four pedals: an EXH Micro Q-Tron, a Keeley Super Phat Mod, an MXR Phase 90, and a Keeley Omni Reverb.
Given that, it’s no surprise that Björklund has captured the attention of a host of remarkable artists, including Mark Lanegan, X’s John Doe and Exene Cervenka, and Jack White, who hired her to perform on Lazaretto and its subsequent tour. Björklund also just released her second solo album, the evocative and haunting Shaken. A masterpiece of aural cinema that owes as much to Morricone as to Mozart, the album should solidify her place among the greats of the alt-Americana movement.
How did you get started on pedal steel? Aren’t they difficult to get ahold of in Denmark?
Yeah, it’s a really rare instrument in almost all of Europe. I started out as a guitar player, and I played a lot of country music, but I was always really curious about other instruments. When I went to a music store, I would always try out the banjo or the mandolin or whatever was there, just to see, “Hey—what’s that sound like?”
I was always really intrigued by the pedal steel but, of course, I didn’t know anybody who played it, and the only times I saw it were when an American band would come through town. I had a friendly acquaintance that played, and one day he said, “I have this student model sitting at home—why don’t you buy that from me?” I said, “Yes! Let me buy that!” I regretted that day for a few months, because it was so hard to figure out how to play it. But I eventually fell in love with the instrument. It requires a lot of coordination with your feet, your knees, your fingers, your eyes, your ears—everything is engaged in playing it!
Do you generally compose your songs on the steel?
No, not necessarily. Some songs I write on the pedal steel, and some songs I write on guitar or something else. Some songs—like “Missing at Sea”—are obviously composed from the pedal-steel part, goofing around on the instrument and finding new ways of getting sounds out of it.
Photo by Aleksandar Ratkovic.
That track, in particular, features a very unconventional steel lick. How did you come up with that part?
It’s made up of that loop lick you hear through almost the whole song, that boo-eep sound. I was playing around with some pull-offs and some bouncing things—because that’s fun to do sometimes—and I just stumbled across that lick and loved it. Then it was just like making a sandwich: I piled things on top of it, recording myself and playing on top of that. It came to me fairly quickly once I had that first lick.
You certainly have an unconventional approach to the instrument. How did you develop your style?
I think I don’t play conventionally because I wasn’t born and raised in America. I have a different cultural background. I didn’t hear the steel guitar for the whole of my upbringing, and it was not until I got a little older that I noticed the instrument. Since nobody around me played it, I had to teach myself. I think you can hear that I grew up on European music, like classical music, Danish traditional folk music, and stuff like that. Those things shine through in my way of playing. I can’t play like they do in Nashville. I love the way they play, but I was not born and raised with it, so it’s unachievable for me to play like they do. I had to come up with my own playing style.
There’s a common thread of melancholia in new Scandinavian country and Americana artists such as yourself and First Aid Kit. What do you attribute that to?
Denmark and Sweden have a lot of culture in common, and we’re deeply rooted in darkness and light—long, dark, cold winters in which you sit down and wait for the spring to come. It has this kind of feeling of longing and loneliness, and a lot of our culture is rooted in that.
Which artists were particularly influential to your steel playing?
People like Daniel Lanois. The way he plays his pedal steel is really inspiring, because he doesn’t go the Nashville or traditional way either—he has come up with his own unique style. But some of the old cats like Lloyd Green and traditional players like that influence me through things like how their tones were so massive and so interesting. Of course they play wonderful stuff, but it’s something about the intensity of their tone that’s very inspiring.
Björklund performing with Howe Gelb at the Sea Rock Festival in Kotor, Montenegro. Photo by Aleksandar Ratkovic.
Shaken has a very cinematic quality—it sounds more like a 38-minute suite than individual tracks. Did you write all of the tracks with one another in mind?
Oh, I love you—thank you! That’s perfect, and I would love it if people saw it like that! It was kind of tied together at the end. To get that quality of flow in a record, you need to place each song very carefully and pay attention to how they play up against each other, so that’s the next level of composing. It’s not just making a song: The whole album is the picture you want to make, more than just the individual songs. They’re placed very carefully in an order that enhances certain features in each song.
It’s a bit of a rarity to hear such a cohesive album when so many artists seem focused on singles instead of larger statements.
That’s a curse of the modern times, but I’m old-fashioned, and I’m going to stick to being old-fashioned. I might be out of fashion, if you want to call it that, but that’s just how I roll.
Tell us about the guitars you used.
I always play a 10-string Sho-Bud single-neck. That’s kind of my main steel guitar. I have a 12-string, but it’s too heavy for me to even lift up off the ground—and the double-neck I wouldn’t even know how to get into a case, because it’s just so heavy. So I stick to my 10-string, but I love it.
Is it a vintage model?
I think the one I used for the record is from the late ’50s. The pickup and body are original, but some of the mechanics are changed. It runs like a Jaguar: smooth and just perfect!
Björklund's current live rig consisting of her 10-string Sho-Bud, a '70s Marshall JMP combo, and her few essential stomps—including a EHX POG, Xotic BB Preamp, Goodrich Volume Pedal, and a Boss DD-5 Digital Delay.
Do you service your guitars yourself? There probably aren’t many steel guitar techs in Denmark.
There are zero in Denmark, and I haven’t found one in Europe either. Whenever I get the chance to travel near Nashville, I bring my steels for a tune-up. I go to a guy named Jeff Surratt at Show Pro Custom Steel Guitars.
Which nylon-string and standard electric guitars did you use on the record?
One of the first good guitars I ever got was a Spanish guitar built by Manuel Contreras. It was imported from Spain when I was really young. I love that guitar—it has such warm, melancholy tone. We also used my Fender Jazzmaster on some stuff. It’s a vintage ’60s model.
Do you play much standard electric live?
Yes, I do. I bring an old Gretsch Chet Atkins model with me.
What amps did you use for the album?
We recorded in Bristol, England, and we used the studio’s amps. I mostly used an old Vox AC30 and, I think, a Fender Twin. Right now, I actually use a Marshall amp—an old combo from the ’70s. It’s great with steel guitar! It has really nice core tone, and it doesn’t get too crazy or anything with the overdrive. It just breaks the edges a little.
Photo by Jan Stuhr.
How about effects?
I always have some kind of distortion pedal and a delay pedal or tape echo if I’m in Europe with my big setup. I also sometimes use an Electro-Harmonix POG.
Do you favor any particular distortion pedal?
Yes. It’s by Xotic FX—the BB Preamp. It’s perfect for steel! I have been looking around for a good distortion pedal for so long, so I was so happy when I found it.
Maggie Björklund's Gear
Guitars
Late-’50s Sho-Bud 10-string pedal steels
Early-’60s Fender Jazzmaster
Vintage Manuel Contreras nylon-string
Amps
’70s Marshall JMP combo
Effects
Xotic BB Preamp
Electro-Harmonix POG
Goodrich volume pedal
Various echoes and tape delays
Do you have a favorite track on the album?
Can you ask a mother to choose between her children? I wrote big parts of the album while my mother was very sick and dying, but I found out that a big loss is also very tightly connected to big love. The whole thing about saying goodbye to a person in your life for good is that it’s really about love. So, in that sense, there are some very good things to be found in a situation you would rather not have. But “Fro Fro Heart” really nails down
that feeling for me.
The album has a lot of intricately placed instrumentation and a very sophisticated use
of negative space.
Since I grew up in the countryside, my parents listened to mostly classical music. That had a big impact on how I see and hear music. I’m not a particularly A-A-B-A kind of person, if you know what I mean. My brain is more wired in the way of classical pieces, where you don’t necessarily repeat yourself in the same piece.
Were any particular composers especially influential?
I have a special place in my heart for Mozart. I know people call him a lightweight, but he’s like the Beatles—you can keep finding new levels in his music. He used a lot of negative space and things like strategically holding off instruments and silence and such. But also composers like [Giuseppe] Sarti and [Claude] Debussy—people who make really weird, complex music. I love that!
YouTube It
Maggie Björklund and her quintet play the haunting, captivatingly quirky new track “Missing at Sea” before a rapt audience in Copenhagen.
On the opposite end of the musical spectrum, you’ve recently played with Jack White. How did that relationship come to be and what was the experience like?
Well, I love Jack White’s music—he’s one of the best there is, and he’s an amazing musician. So it was just fantastic to work with him. He sought me out and needed somebody like me, so it worked out great! I played on four or five tracks of the new album, though I can’t remember which ones at the moment.
You’ve collaborated with many interesting artists, including Jim Barr of Portishead, John Parish, and Kurt Wagner from Lambchop on this album. What is it you enjoy most about that process?
Well, to be so fortunate to work with such great musicians and artists. It’s really inspiring because it opens up your world more than it closes it down. It means a lot to be in such a situation with these amazing musicians, and it automatically shows itself in how you play. It opens up your vision.
This thinline Tele is from the mid-to-late ’60s and is tuned down a whole step, to D. It was damaged in the Nashville flood in 2010, but Gill took it to Joe Glaser and he brought it back to life.
Paul Franklin used a Franklin double-neck pedal steel on Bakersfield. His father made the instrument out of formica, and built the two 10-string necks (one in E9 tuning and the other in C6 tuning) based on the setup of Buddy Emmons’ steel.
Amps
Both Paul Franklin and Vince Gill are big fans of Little Walter Tube Amps. Here’s Franklin's VG-50, which is a 50-watt head that uses 6550 tubes and features controls for volume, bass, and treble.
Effects
Although Franklin usually uses minimal effects, he sometimes plugs into this Benado Steel Dream effects unit. It contains reverb, delay, and overdrive along with an output for a dry signal if he wants the direct sound of the pedal steel.
