Brendan Benson from The Raconteurs recently sent us a few photos from their recent 2011 tour. He relies on the transparent compression and vintage squash of his OB.1 Optical Compressor & Clean Boost for his touring rig. Very cool! :)
Couple shots of his pedal board during soundcheck before the show:
Jon Graboff has been very busy over the years, recording with artists across genres and across the planet. Possibly best known for his work with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, he has also recorded and/or toured with the likes of: Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, David Byrne, Carrie Underwood, Joan Osborn, Yo La Tengo, Ben E. King, Harper Simon, Phil Lesh and others. Recently we had a chance to chat with Jon and talk pedal steel, effects pedals, his musical experiences, and all sorts of other fun.
Can you tell us a bit about your formative musical experiences?
Well… when you’re from New York City, and there’s everything around you from jazz to hardcore, from afro-Cuban to Bollywood… it all gets inside you one way or another and informs your musical outlook. My mother was a very talented classical violinist and my dad was an artist and illustrator who played a pretty wicked clarinet. There was music of all kinds going on around me pretty much all my life.
What drew you to pedal steel guitar?
I’m not sure what attracted me to the pedal steel guitar but I remember the first time I heard one… even though I had no idea what it was at the time. I heard the first few notes on the Byrd’s album “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” and I clearly recall being captivated by the sound of it. A few months later, I was in a roadside diner with my family. We were going somewhere and someone played “If Teardrops Were Pennies and Heartaches Were Gold” by Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner on the jukebox. There is a pedal steel intro on that too and I thought, hey, that’s the same instrument! Interestingly, they were both played by steel guitar great Lloyd Green.
We’re putting the finishing touches on Lex Rotary.
Gregg running Lex through our audio quality tests:
Alex Somers, guitarist with Jónsi, just sent us a couple photos of himself and his El Capistan, which he used on their most recent tour. He told us that the pedal made it onto his touring rig as soon as he received it. “It sounds so good! Thanks so much for making such a cool pedal.”
We’re glad that his El Capistan is contributing to such wonderful music!
Alex with his El Capistan:
El Capistan on his pedal board:
Here’s a video from Jónsi’s most recent album.
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