After the release of their sophomore album, 'Tremors', mid last year, newly Melbourne-based rockers Greenthief are back with a 'Simple Drug'.
'Simple Drug' carries on from where 'Tremors' left off with nods towards Greenthief's more eclectic, rock influences like Queens Of The Stone Age and The Mars Volta.
With shows in Brisbane and Sydney this weekend (8, 9 April), the band's frontman Julian Schweitzer shares 5 of his fave guitarists and the tones these modern axe-wielders create.
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
Hard to go past old-mate Tom. Some of the most creative guitar tones of all time in my opinion. Definitely a huge influence in how I play the guitar as well as a massive drawing factor of why I began playing in the first place.Tom seems to use a variety of guitars, but he is very fond of his Tele, my personal favourite. Disclaimer: it should be mentioned that the bass guitar tone of Timmy Commerford is also key to the size of Tom’s tone.
Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)
Jonny = God. Usually the more weirder guitar tones of Radiohead belong to Jonny. His creativeness behind his axe has been a pivotal sound of one of the most iconic, modern-rock bands of recent times.I’m pretty sure Jonny (as well as all the members) uses the classic fender/ vox combination, which was a big influence on my set-up, that being… fender/ vox.
Josh Home (Queens Of The Stone Age)
It is hard to think of a cooler guitar band in recent times then QOTSA and Josh’s tone has a lot to do with it. It’s the perfect combination of grit, swag and cool that result in a toughness that dudes fist pump too while the ladies get their dance on.Josh often uses semi-hollow body guitars, which inspired me to follow suit when recording heavier bits in our songs. His signature guitar (Maton - BB1200) is all over the second Greenthief EP, which lead me to almost purchase one a few years back.
Omar Rodríguez-López (The Mars Volta)
I feel what makes Omar’s guitar tone so great is how clean, yet powerful it sounds. I remember reading somewhere that he owns around 500 guitar pedals, which isn’t surprising when listening to his playing.Of course, his signature style of playing all the wrong notes yet making them sound so perfect is the true highlight of his playing.
Luy Amiel (The Hunted Crows)
Throwing a curve ball here, but Luy Amiel from local two-piece heroes The Hunted Crows has more power in his dual rig (single guitar split between guitar and bass) then most traditional set-ups making some bass players question their very existence on this earth.I think if I were ever to play in a two-piece I would have a long chat with Luy over a cup of tea to see what is going on under the hood.
Greenthief Shows
Sat 8 Apr - Ric's Bar (Brisbane)Sun 9 Apr - Frankie's Pizza (Sydney)
