What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?
My Gibson Les Paul – my favourite tool, my partner in crime, my constant road companion, my Rolls Royce.
How did you come across this particular item?
My dad was a guitarist in bands when he was a kid and a young adult, and always wanted a Les Paul but could never afford it. When I was about 20 I’d been playing in touring bands for a few years, bought a couple of my own guitars and other bits of gear. One day I came home and Dad had come into some money and decided to get this. I guess he wanted to live his guitar fantasy vicariously through me – on the condition that he could play the beast whenever he wanted. Seemed like a pretty good deal.
What is it that you like about it so much?
It’s just a beast. It’s heavy as a dump truck, sounds like a tonne of silk and basically plays itself. It’s everything I like in a guitar – black, classic, and elegant. It also carries a fair bit of sentimental attachment now – it’s been around the country with me many, many times. Bits have fallen off and been replaced, the bridge is about an inch away from death and it has been through some rough moments but has always lived to tell the tale.
How do you use it and how has it shaped the way you write music?
It’s been featured heavily on every Grenadiers record, not to mention countless others. It lives at our drummer Jimmy’s studio in Adelaide, Capitalsound, and is used as a studio tool there all the time. Different guitars affect how you play for sure, and I guess a lot of Grenadiers songs have taken shape the way they have in no small part due to how I play this particular guitar. To get a great sound of a Les Paul playing rock music, you need to dig in, play hard and really wrangle the thing, so that’s what I do. It’s a part of Grenadiers’ sound.
Tell us a little about what you have coming up?
We’ve just dropped a new single and video called ‘Suburban Life’ and are hitting the road for a few dates in Brisbane, The Gold Coast, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Greandiers are touring the East Coast throughout May. ‘Suburban Life’ is out now.
