Kurt Rosenwinkelās new album is a trip nearly 30 years into the past, to a time when he and his collaborators found lightning in a bottle in a renowned New York club.
Fully saturated in bebop language, Kurt had created a modern, signature style grounded in stunning compositions. His band was full of what we now know as some of the most accomplished jazz musicians of the era: Mark Turner on tenor sax, Ben Street on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums.
How interesting, then, to find out that this body of work was fully formed years earlier, as evidenced by his latest release, The Next Step Band (Live at Smalls, 1996). Between 1994 and 2001, the group had a weekly residency at Smalls, the West Village club that was becoming a proving ground for New York Cityās straight-ahead elite. By 1996, they had already developed a remarkable chemistry, inhabiting Kurtās challenging compositions with empathy and authority. A recording was made of one of the shows on Alesis Digital Audio Tape, or ADAT, which Kurt carried around with him for almost three decades.
āWe were four very strong personalities. Would we survive on the road again?ā
Why release it now? āMy wife had been suggesting for several years that I revisit this era,ā Rosenwinkel says. āI was resistant. I couldnāt see the point in looking back. Also, we were four very strong personalities. Would we survive on the road again? I finally had some time in my schedule and listened, and I knew it was time to share this history.ā
Kurt Rosenwinkel & The Next Step Band - "The Next Step"
Rosenwinkel says that the development of the music was āpart and parcelā with the room at Smalls. āIt was a great room for music with a lot of detail; bebop-based things with quick turns,ā he says. āWe had the fortune of having this steady gig every week, and I was writing music all the time. We would rehearse at my place in Brooklyn. Ben and Mark lived close by, and Jeff was just over the bridge on Varick Street. I had already spent a lot of time playing duos with Ben, and when Mark and I met we had an instant connection. So from the start, we bonded. We would experience a kind of telepathy on stage. I wrote a lot of those songs in one week when I was housesitting at Chris Cheekās house in Brooklyn. We rehearsed during the week, and it was an intense period of study where I resolved to learn as much as I could about the mechanics of the instrument.ā
There are many remarkable aspects to what Kurt is doing. His compositions, from the start, demonstrate a fully mature, individual voice grounded in his forebears: Strayhorn, Coltrane, Bud Powell, Bill Evans. Kurtās harmonic approach is extremely sophisticated. The changes can be profuse, surprises alight, and yet the music never feels overstuffed or pointlessly intellectual. As a soloist, his linear lines are charged with risk-taking drama, and his ability to accompany himself with perfectly placed chord shapes is uncanny. He never seems to run out of ideas. As if this isnāt enough, he manages to include several pieces on the record where he uses alternate tunings. Itās hard enough to play compositions with this much harmonic density in standard tuning. Doing so by relearning where the notes are on the neck is mind-boggling. (The tuning is BāāGāDāāAāāBāāEā.)
āFrom the start, we bonded. We would experience a kind of telepathy on stage.ā
Why retune? āI was shedding incredibly long hours in those days,ā says Rosenwinkel. āIt got to the point where my intellectual focus was overwhelming. There was so much critical analysis of the fretboard going on that I felt I needed a beginnerās mind. The altered tuning came about because I wanted to sabotage my knowledge. I didnāt want to know anything when I touched the instrument. All the codification and classification were getting in the way of my enjoyment of the music. It was beautiful to not know what I was doing, and many of these songs came out of that. It really served its purpose, in terms of putting the intellect in its proper place. The deeper senses, the heart, need to lead your music. That being said, when I came back to the conventional tuning, I was really happy to feel as if I knew something again!ā
The Next Step Band (Live at Smalls, 1996) is a snapshot of the rare musical and cultural symbiosis that made Smalls a hotspot for era-defining up-and-comers in the ā90s.
The community around the venue was part of the experience, too. āThe scene at Smalls was such that youād meet hundreds of people, coming in and out all the time, a whole spectrum of musicians including people my age, and an older generation that stretched all the way back to the ā50s, to Bud Powell and Charlie Parker. Weād hang out in the back room just talking all night. There was no barāit was BYOBāso it was all about the music. There was all the rice and beans you could eat, which for some of us was our main sustenance during the week. People would live at Smalls. A couple times someone crawled out of the wall where they were sleeping in back of the stage, had a good stretch, and traipsed between us as we were playing! A lot of people had strong experiences with the music at that time, and I think you can hear that in the music.ā
Kurt has also just released a massive book of his compositionsā594 pages, 150 songs. Some nine years in the making, itās a compendium of his lifeās work. Not content just to print lead sheets, he has included printable PDFs of band arrangements, Sibelius files so readers can make their own arrangements, musings and reflections on each of the songs, and pictures from each time period. Itās a beautifully crafted presentation, suitable for a coffee table. I asked Kurt about the epic journey leading to this profuse, diverse, and deep collection of songs.
āThe altered tuning came about because I wanted to sabotage my knowledge. I didnāt want to know anything when I touched the instrument.āāI began composing songs when I was nine years old; Iāve always considered myself a composer first,ā he says. āI try to use every means at my disposal to help the writing process, going back and forth between piano, guitar, and the computer software. About one in 10 songs seems to come out relatively whole. In other cases, I can start with something, and find that it takes years to finish. āEast Coast Love Affairā was like that. I wrote the A section, and didnāt find the B section ātil three years later, when it came from another song I was working on. Itās like archaeology. Youāre digging around in the soil for the valuable artifactsādusting them off, putting the pieces together. I find my harmony by feelingwhat chord wants to come next, experimenting with light and dark. There have been periods in my life where Iāve written longer forms with a lot of complexity, and other times when Iāve gone for simplicity. As Iāve gotten older, itās easier to get right down to it and get at the essence of the piece right away. I donāt really plan to write anything. I tend to wait for it to come to me.ā
Kurt Rosenwinkel's Gear
Rosenwinkel says he doesn't have just one signature guitar sound, and heās proud of thatāheās always chasing something he can never quite catch.
Photo by Aleks KonÄar
Guitars
- DāAngelico Master Builder New Yorker
- Westville Kurt Rosenwinkel Signature Vanguard
- Yamaha SG500
- Moffa Maryan
Amps
- Fractal Audio FM9
Effects
- Pro Co RAT
- EHX POG2
- Xotic EP Booster
- Line 6 Echo Pro
Strings & Picks
- Thomastik Infeld BB111 Jazz BeBop Strings
- Westville signature picks (tortoise, smooth, polished, celluloid 1.5 mm pick in traditional teardrop shape)
Was there a line connecting these different eras and focal points, from over three decades of putting pen to paper? āA prism comes to mind, something that reflects various aspects of your soul at different times. Iāve never been a person that needed to have a strong identity that is connected to any external thing, I tend to flow in and out of different identities. Thatās what led me to do all kinds of different music, whether with [A Tribe Called Quest rapper/producer] Q-Tip, a whole textural thing, free improv, jazz tunes, and Iām even planning on making a rock record. I was totally into the so-called downtown thing in the ā90s, the Knitting Factory. Very few people in my circle at Smalls crossed over into that terrain. Whatever comes out of me, thatās the way it is. With Caipi [Rosenwinkelās 2017 release featuring guitarist/singer Pedro Martins], for instance, I didnāt set out to make a Brazilian record. I just started to hear songs that had some of that vibe. It wasnāt a conscious process, it was all completely natural.ā
āItās like archaeology. Youāre digging around in the soil for the valuable artifactsādusting them off, putting the pieces together.ā
Sifting through this book allows us to see the breadth of Kurtās output. It starts with those early formative pieces on this new live record, tunes that are exuberant, harmonically elaborate, bebop-based, sometimes pensive. They dig into the past and fly into the future. We see a more quiet, meditative side from Deep Song. The Caipi record takes us into new rhythmic territory with pieces that have vocals. Star of Jupiter offers virtuosity that suggests the influence of Allan Holdsworth.
Itās interesting to see Rosenwinkelās guitar sound morph as well. In the early and mid-ā90s, he played an Epiphone Sheraton through a Polytoneānot an atypical setup for the era. As time goes on, he continually experiments with any available technology, all in service of his liquid phrasing. At this point, he uses a Fractal Audio amp modeler for most effects, while still retaining the EHX POG, a box he was early to champion.
Rosenwinkelās new compilation book, adorned on the cover with this photo, gathers decades of the guitaristās compositions into one profound, exciting work.
Cover photo by Greg Miles
āI donāt have a signature sound,ā says Rosenwinkel. āI have many signature sounds. When I recorded The Next Step, part of what I realized was that my āsoundā was what I was doing with my voice. I was unconsciously singing along to what I was playing. I had often hated the sound I got in recording studios in the ā90s. I realized that it was the blend of the guitar coming out of the amp and my voice that was what the audience was hearing. So we began recording my voice in the studio. A lot of people tried to copy that. The thing is that Iām always going for the same sound; itās always been in my head, but I canāt ever reach it, so thatās why you get all these different iterations. Iāve heard people say that I should play with a more āpureā guitar sound. But there is no pure guitar sound. Every pickup, every amplifier, every guitar is different. What I would like is if the guitar sounded the way it does before itās plugged in. That would be my ideal, but you canāt get that. It has less attack, all these qualities that Iām trying to achieve. I donāt consider what Iām using as effects. They are all just tools for matching what I have in my mind to the instrument.ā
āIāve heard people say that I should play with a more āpureā guitar sound. But there is no pure guitar sound.ā
Rosenwinkel discusses his legato phrasing and his left-hand pull-offs and hammer-ons, flourishes that are unique amongst his contemporaries. āIf every one of Charlie Parkerās lines had a transient to it, it would sound terrible,ā says Rosenwinkel. āIt would be too much rhythmic information. Thereās emphasis and thereās continuity, and in that continuity you can hear all the content in the line. Itās the same with Lee Konitz. Itās fluid, very articulate, but liquid. The melodies are clear. I donāt want to be fighting with the ride cymbal in these transients. A lot of people who copy me get it wrong, because they donāt have the same very specific phrasing goals as me.ā
With the Next Step Band, Rosenwinkel would sometimes play songs in unconventional tunings, complicating the already complex arrangements in a sort of challenge to himself.
Kurt is also an eloquent teacher. During the pandemic, he began to release a series of master classes with troves of information, and heās a perennial and beloved instructor at the Alternative Guitar Summit Camp that I run in upstate New York every summer. This year, he shared illuminating details of his work with Heartcore, his record label. Itās become a place not only for his own releases, but a platform for deserving new artists whoāve profited from his attention. Theyāve released over 20 records in nine years, and instituted a program where an employee of the label visits refugee camps in Europe and records childrenās songs. Rosenwinkel then recruits master musician friends to create parts and arrangements to fill out the recording. All proceeds benefit the children.
Kurt expanded on these ventures while teaching at the guitar camp in late August. āI always wanted to start my own business,ā he said. āI decided to build Heartcore as a vehicle for representing the light in music, how it illuminates the contours of our souls. In 2017, when we started, the landscape was pretty desolate. Old constructs were crumbling. So I gathered my resources, not only to release my own work, but to experience the joy of finding some cat tearing it up for whom I could provide a platform. We work really hard to spread this incredible music around the world, and Iām truly proud of what weāve done.ā
YouTube It
This grainy video captures part of a legendary Rosenwinkel set at his homebase, Smalls, in March 1997.
āWill the next Tool album take more than 10,000 days?ā
That was an ongoing (and agonizing) joke for Tool fans that awaited the bandās fifth album following the release of 2006ās 10,000 Days. (A cruel clairvoyance of a title.) For those counting, when Fear Inoculum was finally delivered on August 30, 2019, it was just 4,868 days from their previous album. All crummy jokes aside, the anticipation of the album was real for a reason: the music. And the rhythmic cog of their constant contorting of depth and darkness is bassist Justin Chancellor.
Sure, drummer Danny Carey is a living legend bashing everything his large frame can smash and crash. Adam Jones transforms his guitar into a Hans Zimmer production with varied textures, temperaments, and traits his tone expresses. During shows, singer and lyricist Maynard James Keenan prowls in the shadows adding to the bandās musical mysticism. This triumvirate core dished out the punishing EP Opiate in 1992, and their 1993 debut full-length Undertow was more complex and calculated in its rage. But in 1995, when Justin Chancellor replaced Paul DāAmour on bass, Tool immediately expanded their dimensionality. The original three continued to dazzle and dumbfound listeners, but the addition of Chancellor and his pocket-minded role unlocked a collective vocabulary previously unspoken. Simply put, if Tool was an octopus, Chancellor was the head. The others could be momentarily independent tentacles exploring the melodic murkiness of their respective reaches, but when they needed to propel forward, Chancellor was steering. His lines are the base for the bandās groove and attitude that became a focal point on subsequent releases with 1996ās Ćnima, 2001ās Lateralus, 2006ās 10,000 Days, and eventually 2019ās Fear Inoculum. The former three went triple-platinum, while the latter three were No. 1 on the Billboard 200. (Ćnima landed in the No. 2 spot.)
If you ever catch yourself playing air guitar to Tool, youāre probably mimicking Chancellorās parts. āSchism,ā āThe Pot,ā āForty Six & 2,ā āH.,ā āFear Inoculum,ā āDescending,ā āThe Grudge,ā and plenty of others feature his buoyant bass riffs.
Chancellorās tone has had a longstanding relationship with Wal basses, Gallien-Krueger amps, and Mesa/Boogie cabs. The evolving part of his rig has been his pedalboard. At this juncture of the bandās run supporting Fear Inoculum, Chancellorās board is larger than his guitar-playing counterparts. Yet everything has a place and purpose. Some of it is duplicity, some of it is to avoid any required knob-turning during the show, and as we find out in the Rundown, some of it is just for fun. Grab a seat and get comfortable as Chancellor and his tech Pete Lewis walk PGās elated Chris Kies through his live setup.
Brought to you by DāAddario: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr
and DāAddario XPND Pedalboard: https://www.daddario.com/XPNDRR
Like a Glove
While recording Ćnima, Chancelor borrowed a friendās Wal bass that was originally fretless, but his pal did the dirty work of embedding frets into it. āThat original bassā tone immediately fit in with the band and covered the right area of sound,ā remembers Chancellor. He promptly ordered his own replica of that build, and this is the second edition of it. The above 4-string has been his main bass for the last 15 years. It has a mahogany core, birdās-eye maple caps, a neck incorporating mahogany, maple and rosewood, and a rosewood fretboard. Some minor changes to improve comfort and playability include lighter hardware and Luminlay fret markers. Chancellorās basses take a custom set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass strings that have the standard .045-.065-.85, but because they tune down to drop-D for most songs, he swaps in a .110 from the Power Slinky pack. And when they go to drop-C for their oldest material, heāll put on a .135 string. He hammers on the strings with a custom Dunlop (1 mm) Tortex Tri pick. All his instrument cables come from Mogami.
Full-Circle StingRay
Chancellor recalls auditioning for Tool with an Ernie Ball StingRay, but it just didnāt work with the bandās sound at the time. Fast forward two decades and the StingRay has found a cozy place in the Tool setlist. The 2018 Music Man StingRay Special is used on āDescendingā from Fear Inoculum. Anyone keen on details will notice the high-tech solution of duct tape and marker that allows Justin to incrementally notch up the volume during the songās blossoming midsection.
Pretty Practice P
Justin scooped this beautiful 1963 Fender P bass from Normās Rare Guitars. He does have a small collection of old instruments, but they have to meet two requirements before he makes the buy: They have to sound amazing and they have to be players so he can ābang away on themā without remorse. He doesnāt play it onstage (the vintage Pās output doesnāt have enough horsepower for Tool), but he does bring it on tour because he finds it inspirational to play, so itās often with him backstage, on the bus, or in the hotel room.
Welcome to the Thunderdome!
This configuration of Demeter preamps and Gallien-Krueger power amps has been the nucleus of power for Justinās studio and stage sound for years. The Gallien-Krueger 2001RB heads each hit their own cabinet. The ācleanā RB runs into a Mesa/Boogie RoadReady 8x10. The middle RB head in the rack is the ādirtyā amp that goes into a prototype Mesa/Boogie 4x12 that is EQād gnarlier and takes all of Chancellorās pedals. He feels the 10" speakers retain the integral low-end bass tone better than the 12s, while the larger speakers are better suited for offering his distorted or effected tones an overall warmth that can disappear in the 10s. (The bottom 2001RB is on deck in case either head fails.)
Above the G-Ks are the Demeter Bass Tube Preamplifiers that give FOH a pure sound to mix in as needed. (The second Demeter unit is a backup.)
And up to the Radial JD7 Injectors are amp switchers that also help remove noise, signal loss, or hum and buzz.
Mesa Mountains
Here are the two Mesa/Boogie cabsāthe 8x10 on the left and the custom prototype 4x12 on the right.
Justin Chancellor's Pedalboard
This setup is either a bass playerās dream or nightmare, but for someone as adventurous as Chancellor, this is where the party starts. At a glance, youāll notice many of his pedals are available at your favorite guitar store, including six Boss boxes, an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, and MXR Micro Amp. Crucial foot-operated pedals are in blue with the Dunlop JCT95 Justin Chancellor Cry Baby Wah with a Tone Bender-style fuzz circuit (far left) and DigiTech Bass Whammy (middle). He really likes using the Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 for distortion and feedback when the Whammy is engaged or heās playing up the neck. Covering delays are three pedalsāhe has the pink Providence DLY-4 Chrono Delay for āPneumaā that is programmed to match Dannyās BPMs, which slightly increase during the song from 113 ms to 115 ms. The Boss DD-3s are set for different speeds with the one labeled āFasterā handling āThe Grudgeā and the other one doing more steady repeats. Thereās a pair of vintage Guyatone pedalsāthe Guyatone VT-X Vintage Tremolo Pedal (Flip Series) and Guyatone BR2 Bottom Wah Rocker (a gift from Adam Jones). The Gamechanger Audio Plus pedal is used to freeze moments and allow Justin to grab onto feedback or play over something. The Boss GEB-7 Bass Equalizer and Pro Co Turbo Rat help reinforce his resounding, beefy backbone of bass tone. The MXR Micro Amp helps goose his grimy rumbles. The Boss LS-2 Line Selector is a one-kick escape hatch out of the complicated signal chain for parts of āSchism.ā The Wal and Music Man stay in check with the TU-3S tuner, a pair of Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Pluses help bring things to life, and everything is wired up with EBS patch cables.
Shop Justin Chancellor's Rig
Music Man StingRay Special HH
Dunlop JCT95 Justin Chancellor Cry Baby Wah
Gamechanger Audio Plus Pedal
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Boss BF-2 Flanger
Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble
Boss GEB-7 Bass Equalizer
ProCo Turbo Rat
Tech 21 SansAmp GT2
DigiTech Bass Whammy
MXR Micro Amp
Boss LS-2 Line Selector
Ernie Ball VP Junior 250K
Boss TU-3S Tuner
JHS Switchback A/B Effects Loop Switcher
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus
Radial JD7 Injector
Hotline TNT is helmed by Will Anderson (on the right), but the interplay between him and fellow guitarist Olivia Garner (second from right) has come to define the bandās massive, shoegaze-influenced wall of sound.
Each of the 12 tracks on Cartwheel features enormous guitar sounds from Anderson and guitarist Olivia Garner that, together, comprise a thrashing, muddy, angry, joyful, and howling slurry, as if the instruments were in the thralls of a cathartic musical bender. Above it all, Andersonās simply written lyrics map out tart terraināanyone who has experienced the throes of love in all of its messy stages will recognize themselves in his words.
Anderson, who is originally from Wisconsin, launched his music career 10 years ago with the Canadian noise-pop band, Weed, before eventually launching Hotline TNT in 2021 with the projectās debut, Nineteen in Love. Anderson traversed music scenes from coast to coastāNew York and North Carolina, Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota, Vancouver and Seattleāand his DIY dedication helped grow Hotline TNTās audience until the band caught the attention of Jack Whiteās Third Man Records. Thanks in part to the labelās support, Cartwheel transcends the bandās 2021 introduction, infusing more engaging, heartfelt melodies without losing any of the bandās trademark grinding urgency.
Hotline TNT - "Protocol"
Inspired by his older brotherās jazz band, Anderson started playing bass towards the end of his time in the fifth grade. Within a few years, heād picked up the guitar, and by high school, he was playing in cover bands with his brother. His college years marked his first attempts at songwriting, a process which, for Anderson, starts with chords and melodies, then lyrics.
Up until signing with Third Man, Anderson had been supplementing his music work with substitute teaching at a public high school in New York City. One of his colleagues had been in the Scottish rock band Teenage Fanclub, and, knowing the difficulty of being a working musician, covered for Anderson at some points so he could work on Hotline TNT matters.
āWhenever I hold a pick, my wrist gets really tight, and I just think, āno.āā āWill Anderson
Garner, meanwhile, started playing guitar in middle school in Louisiana. Her dadās favorite band was the Smiths, which imprinted heavily on her while growing up. But these days, sheās reaching for Neil Young and Crazy Horse, ā90s material like Red House Painters, or ā80s pop band Beat Happeningāone of Kurt Cobainās favorites, Garner notes, and āa band who every person who picks up the guitar should listen to.ā (Her other band, in fact, is named Touch Girl Apple Blossom, inspired by lyrics from the Beat Happening track āIndian Summer.ā) Itās a mix that makes sense for Hotline TNTās woolly, melodic maelstrom.
Hotline TNT's Gear
Anderson and Garner arenāt very particular about their gearāAnderson didnāt know what an amp head was until a few years agoābut they favor the fuzzy balance between a Pro Co RAT and an EHX Big Muff.
Photo by Wes Knoll
Guitars
- Yamaha SG-3
- 1996 MIJ FenderĀ Telecaster with Lollar pickups
- 2014 MIM Fender Strat with Lollar pickups
Amps
- Randall RX120RH
Effects
- Pro Co RAT
- EHX Big Muff Pi
Strings
- Ernie Ball Super Slinky Nickel Wound (.009ā.042)
Garner now lives in Austin, where Hotline TNT played at SXSW this year. āWill and I run around in similar circles of music,ā she says, āso when Hotline TNT was looking for a guitar player, I came to New York and rehearsed with them. It was a good fit, so I joined. Itās been a wild ride.ā
Garner acquired her main guitarāa natural finish, short-scale Peavey T-30āfrom a former bandmate in an upgrade from her previous Squier. āItās my baby,ā she says. āWhat I like about it is that itās really lightweight, so no back problems, and I appreciate the short scale.ā
āDespite the fact that this particular guitar has been with me for so long, Iām actually not that precious with it.ā āWill Anderson
Andersonās primary guitar is a vintage Japanese-made Yamaha SG-3 that he bought in Vancouver when he was 19. āThese days, Yamaha SG-3s go for $2,500 in the high range, but I bought my guitar for about $788 in Vancouver from a music store called Not Just Another Music Shop,ā he says. āAt the time, I just thought it looked cool. Because I couldnāt afford to buy it outright, I made payments on it all summer long before I could take it home.ā Andersonās SG-3-driven leads on Cartwheel, by the way, are all straight from his fingers. āI do not play with a pickānever have,ā he notes. āI get a lot of comments about this at shows. Whenever I hold a pick, my wrist gets really tight, and I just think, āno.āā
All three Hotline TNT guitarists, Will Anderson, Olivia Garner, and Matt Berry, come together on Cartwheel to create an entrancing blend of textural distortion under Andersonās romance-inspired lyrics.
Despite his allegiance to his Yamaha, Anderson admits that heās actually not all that sentimental about the instrument. The thing he loves best about the SG-3 doesnāt have to do with tone or playabilityāitās that it still performs after years of abuse. āDespite the fact that this particular guitar has been with me for so long, Iām actually not that precious with it,ā he says. āIf something happened to it, Iād be sad, sure, but Iād also think, āAlright, itās time to find a new one.āā
Still, when it comes to travel, Anderson doesnāt take many chances with his guitar. āOverseas, I usually put my guitar on a gig bag that I carry on my back when I board the plane,ā he says. āI pretty much talk my way into things and out of things when it comes to dealing with travel.ā
āI pretty much talk my way into things and out of things when it comes to dealing with travel.ā āWill Anderson
Andersonās love for his main axe is about as far as his gear passion goes. Though he feels an increasing sense of responsibility to improve his gear knowledge base, he confesses to being happily clueless. A few years back, he bought a solid-state Randall half-stack, which is still his go-to amp, and it provided an unexpected learning experience. āTo show you how little I know about gear, two or three years ago somebody said to me, āCan I borrow your amp head for our set?ā I was like, āYou can. Is it onstage now? Because I donāt know. What is that thing?ā I didnāt know what a head was until recently.ā
While Anderson plucks out finer lead parts, Garner says her role is to create a āgiant wall of soundā with open chords and thick distortion.
Photo by Jade Amey
Effects-wise, Anderson and Garner strike a warm balance between a Pro Co RAT, a Boss DS-1, and a Big Muff Pi that Anderson bought in high school. The interplay between the three is all over Cartwheel, but is especially prominent on āProtocolā and āBMX,ā which both utilize the pedalsā respective distortions as percussive and resonant elements. The blend creates a sort of halo: It extends outward like its own multi-layered cloud strata, enveloping the lyrics in āI Thought Youād Change,ā and creating an uplifting effect that counters the descending melodies in āStumpā and āSon in Law.ā
The goal, says Garner, is to create āa giant wall of sound with big, giant chords.ā āI hold down the big chords while Will will do his leads,ā she says. One of Andersonās oldest friends, Matt Berry, recently joined the band, completing a triple-guitar threat. (Berry serves as de facto guitar tech for the band, even changing Andersonās strings.)
āI pretty much talk my way into things and out of things when it comes to dealing with travel.ā āWill Anderson
Hotline TNT isnāt Andersonās only outlet. Heās morphed his extracurricular interests into a hydra-esque presence online, which includes hosting both a Twitch stream and an Instagram talk show, and publishing a basketball zine. āItās all about feeding the same vision and aesthetic,ā says Anderson. āPeople seem to be rocking with it, so thatās cool.ā
Will Anderson was teaching at a New York high school before Jack Whiteās Third Man Records signed Hotline TNT.
Photo by Jade Amey
But his other endeavors might have to be set on the backburner this year, as Hotline TNTās stock is rising. They spent much of 2023 on the road, but this time out, they had a better van and sleeping accommodations. Even if they didnāt, though, Anderson wouldnāt mind. Touring feels like homeāespecially if he gets to see the midwest in the fall. Early this year, Hotline TNT is ripping through mainland Europeāincluding Italy, France, and Germanyāand later, theyāll hit Japan, a personal highlight for Anderson. In line with their laissez-faire approach to gear, Anderson says they plan to leave their gear at home, and pick up fill-ins overseas to make sure they donāt run into international voltage variance issues.
Anderson currently has six demos in the hopper toward his next album. Usually, he says heād already have another record ready to go, but Hotline TNTās explosion in popularity has kept them busy on the road, and working with Third Man has flooded the band with exciting opportunities. But Anderson does have a shortlist of people to work with for the next release, and a rough sketch of the collectionās themes: relationships, heartbreak, and family.
But donāt expect to learn what the bandās name means any time soon. āIt does stand for something, but I cannot reveal publicly what it is because me and the original members of the band from four years ago came up with it,ā says Anderson. āItās our sacred vow to keep that a secret.ā
YouTube It
Bathe in colored stage lights and sweet, thick distortion with Hotline TNTās live performance in Toronto in March 2023.
