The fact that this power pop punk quartet has never even been to Japan seems to make perfect sense, or possibly none at all. Big in Japan, made up of bassist Joey (no surname was given on the band's website) guitarist Toddball (no surname was given on the band's website) singer/guitarist Zac Damon (the least suspicious surname from the band's website) and drummer Corky Pigeon (the most suspicious name from the band's website) seems to be interested less in the promotion of music than the playing of it. It's about time somebody was. Recently, Guitar Center got a chance to talk with the aspiring foursome that's likely to be big in the land of the free and the home of the brave, as well.
GC: Tell me about the guitars that you have in your collection.
Zac: I have a white Les Paul custom. That's my main guitar and I just recently put P-94 pickups in it, which are the P-90 style single-coil pickup but in the humbucker size. I have those in both of my guitars. My back-up guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul, a sunburst. They're both left-handed because I'm a left-handed player. Those are the only two guitars I have right now. I had a whole bunch but I sold them all.
GC: So, why did you hold on to those particular Les Pauls? Are you extremely happy with that sound?
Zac: Yeah, I like the Les Paul. I've always wanted a white Les Paul custom. So, I bought that one and that's my main guitar. I'm definitely going to always keep that one. The Epiphone, I pretty much kept a hold of because as long as it has the same pickups in it, it would feel pretty much the same and sound pretty much the same as my main Les Paul. So, if I break a string live, I can use that one for back-up. It won't sound too different.
GC: What about the amps, pedals and/or special effects you have?
Zac: My amp is an original 1972 Hi-Watt Custom 100. But I use a Marshall JC 900 cabinet. For a distortion pedal, I use a Morley Diamond Distortion. It's a line of pedals I guess they discontinued. It's the best distortion pedal I've ever found and I've used tons of them. I love the way this one sounds. Then, I just use a Boss chromatic tuner pedal and a Boss Blues Driver for extra gain and volume for leads and stuff.
GC: Have you found anything that's even remotely close to the sound you got from your original Morley pedal?
Zac: No, I haven't found any other distortion pedal that sounds like this one. I really like the way it sounds. I like that whole line of pedals that Morely made. Crystal Chorus is another pedal I really like. They're kind of cheesy-looking pedals and they have stupid names but they sound great. I have a flanger pedal in the same line that's the best I've ever heard. I really like this pedal and I'm bummed they stopped making them. You can find them on ebay. They were cheap. They discontinued them and Musician's Friend had them on closeout for twenty bucks. That's where I originally got the chorus pedal and the distortion pedal. Now, you can't find them, so now they're going up to 60, 70 bucks on ebay. I really, really like them a lot.
GC: What was the coolest recent addition you added to your set-up?
Zac: The newest thing was that Boss Blues Driver because I wanted something to boost gain and volume for guitar melody-type stuff, for a louder guitar part. I just recently put that in the mix. I really, really like that pedal and our other guitar player got one, too. A band I really like a lot called Guided by Voices, the lead guitar player of that band uses one. That's where I first heard it and really liked the way it sounded when he used that, so I thought I'd try one out.
GC: Is that how you usually go out and get your new, next piece of gear? By hearing somebody's whose music that you like and wanting to emulate that sound?
Zac: Definitely. I'll try stuff out in the store every once in awhile. But, if I see a band that I really like and I really like their guitar tones, I'll always check out their pedals, the gear they use. I got the Hi-Watt because a friend of mine had one and another band I really like called Poster Children, they both use Hi-Watts. Definitely my favorite amp.
GC: What's the next thing you think you'd like to go ahead and get?
Zac: (laughs) That's a tough one. I don't know. I always want to get new guitars. I love guitars.
GC: Vintage or custom guitars?
Zac: Not necessarily. I'm not so particular like some people are about vintage guitars. If I can find a cool, old beat-up guitar for a decent price, I'll buy it. But I'm not going to go out of my way and pay a whole bunch of money for a vintage guitar. I've always wanted a Telecaster. I've wanted to get one of those because I've never had one. I've had everything else except a Telecaster. There's not really too much that I've been absolutely wanting to have.
GC: Nothing on the amp side?
Zac: Not really. I'm just so happy with what I have right now. I think maybe a practice amp or something. Actually, I take that back. I would really like to get an Orange half-stack. I really, really like those, too. I actually had one for a while and I wish I still had it.
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GC: Maybe after this tour you can get one.
Zac: There you go. Who knows, who knows.
GC: Let's say I'm an intermediate player and I already have the basic set-up and I want to go ahead and expand. What do you think is the next thing I should get to improve my sound?
Zac: I'm a huge fan of those Morley pedals. I think half of my guitar sound is that pedal and the other half is my amp. Definitely I would say if you can get your hands on a Hi-Watt, I think those are just really, really great amps.
GC: As a guitar player, do you practice a lot?
Zac: I just kind of jam. I'm more of a songwriter than I am a lead guitar player. I just mess around with the chords and do different variations. A lot of rhythm stuff. I'll mess around and wank with solo stuff, but that's not really my thing. Lately I haven't been practicing as much as I should be, but I try to get in at least an hour a day. Just sitting down and playing.
GC: Is there a certain writing procedure that you go through?
Zac: Usually, I will sit down with my guitar and I'll just come up with a riff or some little guitar hook that I like. Then I'll expand on that and the vocal melodies will start coming to me. I'll just start humming along, making up nonsense lyrics. I'll just add and build on top of that and start a skeleton. I'll start adding in little things in between the verses, choruses or bridge, whatever. Lyrics are always dead last. I'll finish a song and melody completely and maybe I'll have a couple of lines that I just came up with as I was writing or not writing the tune. Very rarely do I come up with the vocal melody and lyrics before. I think maybe once or twice I've done that. Usually it's always the same way.
GC: Do you do most of the writing of the music or do you basically have an open forum for all the members of the band to go ahead and contribute ideas?
Zac: It's definitely an open forum. Everybody can contribute if they want to try it, if they want to write a song. But it's all me, thus far. I'll just bring it to the band and they'll add their little colors to it. Our bass player is a really, really super bass player and he comes up with some crazy stuff I could never think of. Our new guitar player's got some stuff that he's written and I think we'll start mixing it up a little bit with everybody writing a little bit. It's just a matter of someone bringing something to the band and we all have to agree that we like it. If one of us doesn't like it, it won't be added.
GC: You said lyrics come last. Are there certain personal situations that inspire or do you just make lyrics up based upon other people's experiences?
Zac: A lot of it is personal experience. I write a lot of lyrics out of my own personal frustrations with things in my life or things that bother me. I think that's probably my main inspiration. Of course, relationships. I write a lot of songs about my girlfriend and that kind of stuff. Usually I don't write happy love songs. I usually write about when we're having problems with something. I have a harder time writing happy love songs. (laughs) But I tend to write about negative things because I think I get my frustrations out that way.
GC: What advice would you give to the fifteen or sixteen year-olds who are in their garages right now and are trying to put a band together?
Zac: First and foremost, as with any band, concentrate on cultivating your songwriting and being a tight band. Not that we're the greatest band in the world, but I think a lot of bands get caught up in everything but the songwriting part. You know, we want to make shirts and put our albums out and go on tour. But the most important things are the songs. Without good songs you really don't have anything. I would say put all your energy into writing good songs and be really critical of what you write. After that, it's just a matter of practicing and trying to be a good, tight band. You want to have good energy live and all that stuff.
GC: How did the record deal come about for you?
Zac: I used to play in this band called Screeching Weasel, on a couple albums. One of those albums was on Fat Records and through that I had gotten in touch with the label manager. When I got this band together I called him up and said, "Hey, I got this new band. Do you want to check it out?" He said yeah. So we burned him a CD and sent it down and luckily everybody down there liked it. One of the things is if there's a band that they're interested in, they put it on the table. Everybody at the label checks it out and then they vote. If they have so many votes, they'll sign the band. Luckily everybody liked us.
GC: Did you come up with the name? I think it's a great name for a band.
Zac: Yeah, I came up with the name. There was really no funny circumstance to it. I just thought of it. We had a different name at first and I didn't really like it. So, I was just brainstorming, just trying to think of stuff and I can't even remember what it was that inspired that name. It's funny but it sounds cool, too. It's not too silly.
GC: We'd be interested to find out if you've shopped at Guitar Center?
Zac: Yeah, I've bought lots of stuff at Guitar Center and it's always been fine. I wish they'd carry a wider variety of amps. But you know, I understand the logistics of catering to what your main sellers are going to be. I think there is quite a good array of stuff there to choose from. I especially like the one in Hollywood because they have the cool vintage room in the back, with all those old guitars and amps.
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