PG's video team recollects recent Rig Rundowns with Jedd Hughes, Donny BenĆ©t , Knocked Loose, Loathe, Adrian Vandenberg, and Tyler Childers. Then Bohlinger and Kies report back after building the dream pedalboard for downtown Nashville gigs. After that the trio talk about fresh gear drops including Blackstar HT MKIII series amps, PRS DGT 15 David Grissom amp, and the Gibson Custom Jason Isbell āRed Eyeā 1959 Les Paul Standard Collector's Edition. Then they share their thoughts on the careers and impact of Duane Eddy and Steve Albini. Finally they cover some new music releases from David Gilmour, Sturgill Simpson, and Slash. Lastly, they end with Bohlinger remembering the time he recorded a song with Joe Bonamassa.
After 26 years, the seminal noisy rockers return to the studio to create Rack, a master class of pummeling, machine-like grooves, raving vocals, and knotty, dissonant, and incisive guitar mayhem.
The last time the Jesus Lizard released an album, the world was different. The year was 1998: Most people counted themselves lucky to have a cell phone, Seinfeld finished its final season, Total Request Live was just hitting MTV, and among the yearās No. 1 albums were Dave Matthews Bandās Before These Crowded Streets, Beastie Boysā Hello Nasty, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Kornās Follow the Leader, and the Armageddonsoundtrack. These were the early days of mp3 cultureāNapster didnāt come along until 1999āso if you wanted to hear those albums, youād have to go to the store and buy a copy.
The Jesus Lizardās sixth album, Blue, served as the bandās final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, theyād earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denisonās incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizardās musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawkāwith vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmetāand alongside various other projects including Thā Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singerās ear. That song, called āWest Side,ā will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: āHe said, āWow, thatās really good. What is that?ā And I said, āItās just some new thing. Why donāt we do an album?āā From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizardās creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a bandāespecially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performanceāprepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of āthree or four years.ā
āWhen the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.ā āDuane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: āPractice loud.ā The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. āWe keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,ā he explains. āTo me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.ā
Itās a proven solution. On Rackārecorded at Patrick Carneyās Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allenāthe band sound as vigorous as ever, proving theyāve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. āDuaneās approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,ā explains Allen. āThe conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ā80s and ā90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.ā
āI try to be really, really precise,ā he says. āI think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.ā Together, they build a tension with Yowās careening voice. āThe vocals tend to be all over the placeāin and out of tune, in and out of time,ā he points out. āYouāve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then youāve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. Thatās why it works.ā
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadnāt released a new record since 1998ās Blue.
Denisonās guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yowās unhinged raving, as on āAlexis Feels Sick,ā where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of āWhat If,ā where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singerās unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesnāt stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking āArmistice Day,ā his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chefās knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ānā roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
āDuring recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,ā explains Allen. āListen to Duaneās guitar solos on Jack Whiteās āMorning, Noon, and Night,ā Tomahawkās āFatback,ā and āGrindā off Rack. Thereās a common ācontained chaosā thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubikās cube that could only be solved by Duane.ā
āDuaneās approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.ā āRack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, āI donāt over practice everything,ā the guitarist says. Instead, once heās created a part, āI set it aside and donāt wear it out.ā On Rack, itās obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its ācleaner, hyper-articulated soundā on āSwan the Dog.ā Though heās been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electricāhe points out he played a demo model and says, āI just couldnāt let go of it,ā so he ordered his ownāthat wasnāt until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ā60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60ā2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various ampsāMarshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little Jāat Audio Eagle. Live, if heās not on backline gear, youāll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. āAll of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,ā he explains. āItās just so practical and easy.ā
The tools have only changed slightly since the bandās earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though heās started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that āhis guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.ā
āHonestly, I donāt think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,ā Denison says. āI tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ā80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didnāt sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I donāt know what that tells youāIām consistent?ā
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashvilleās Blue Room this past June with āHide & Seekā from Rack.
The PG Video crew of John Bohlinger, Perry Bean and Chris Kies recall a pair of killer Rig Rundowns with Nuno Bettencourt & Pat Badger of Extreme and Sammy Boller. Then the trio focus on new gear pieces from Keeley, Danelectro, Gibson, Line 6, and Schecter, before dishing out their opinions on relic guitars, sharing new music they're excited about from Gary Clark Jr, Charley Crockett and Black Country Communion. And they conclude their hang with a discussion about how AI will continue shaping music and songwriting.
Ultimate Gear Talk with Tool & Pantera, Ed Sheeran's Looping Magic, PRS & Peavey Spotlight | Gig Rundown Ep. 2
The PG Video crew of John Bohlinger, Perry Bean and Chris Kies comment on recent monster Rig Rundowns with Justin Chancellor, Rex Brown, and Zakk Wylde. Then the trio focus on new gear pieces from Ed Sheeran, HeadRush, and PRS, before dishing out some new music they're excited about from Pelican, Knocked Loose, and St. Vincent. They conclude their chat with a horrific bandmate story from Llorona and chime in with their own terrible tales from the tour bus.
Exclusive: In-Depth Look at Isbell & Kingfish Rig Rundowns, Vintage Gear, New Pearl Jam, Keeley & EVH | Gig Rundown
The Rig Rundown crew breaks ground on a casual new video series where they'll chat about everything happening in guitardom and the musical universe. This time, they cover recent Rig Rundowns with Kingfish and Jason Isbell, discuss fresh music from Pearl Jam and Marcus King, ponder if using vintage gear on tour is worth it, and highlight some new products from Keeley and EVH. They close out with a debate on Billy Corgan's suggestion to rebrand the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tune in and turn up!