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Guitarist
Interview with Jenks Miller of Horseback
June 2010 Name: Jenks Miller Bands: Horseback, Mount Moriah, Jenks Miller (solo), In the Year of the Pig (drums) Websites: myspace.com/horsebacknoise, myspace.com/mountmoriah, myspace.com/intheyearofthepig QRD – What was your first guitar & what happened to it? Jenks – A 1980 Gibson SG. Still play it. Just got some TLC at Fret Sounds in Graham, NC. QRD – What’s your typical set-up from guitar to effects to amplifier? Jenks – gtr>Boss chromatic tuner>harmonic percolator>stereo Memory Man>amp QRD – What’s the most important part of your rig – guitar, amplifier, or effects? Jenks – Amp. QRD – What’s your main amplifier & why? Jenks – A Peavey Delta Blues (1x15), because it has an excellent clean signal (modeled after an AC30) but is easier to carry than an AC30. The 15” speaker provides a nice bass response, in case I need to fill out the tone for spare (or solo) arrangements. QRD – What’s your main guitar & what are the features that make it such? Jenks – Totally depends on the situation. A modified Telecaster (in Mount Moriah, sometimes in Horseback, whenever I need that twang), a Gibson SG (heavier sounds, & often solo), a Les Paul (heavier sounds &/or ebow), & a 1964 Gretsch Astro Jet (solo). QRD – If you had a signature guitar, what would it look like & what would some of its features be? Jenks – I don’t like signature guitars. I like basic stuff. QRD – If you had a signature pedal, what would it be & what would some of its features be? Jenks – Ditto for pedals. QRD – How many guitars do you own? Jenks – Too many! Not enough! QRD – How & where do you store your guitars? Jenks – Out of the way. QRD – What features do you look for when buying a guitar? Jenks – How it plays & how it sounds. The fewer bells & whistles, the better. QRD – How much do you think a good guitar should cost? Jenks – Between $400-$1000, used & broken in. QRD – Do you upgrade & customize your guitars or just stick with what you get? Jenks – I usually stick with what I get. The setup is important, especially for different tunings. So sometimes additional setup is needed. QRD – How thoroughly do you research or test a piece of equipment before buying it? Jenks – I must play it first. It takes only a couple minutes to tell if a guitar is right or not. QRD – Do you change your rig around often? Jenks – No. QRD – Are you after one particular guitar tone & locking into it, or do you like to change your tone around a lot? Jenks – I am after one particular tone (well, maybe two or three particular tones) that can be modified dynamically while playing, with my fingers &/or pick strokes. QRD – What are some guitars, amps, & pedals you particularly lust after? Jenks – None. The gear is always in service to the playing & not the other way around. QRD – What do you think are some important features to be on a person’s first guitar that aren’t always there? Jenks – It’s probably a good idea to buy a cheaper (used) guitar first, so one can decide if playing guitar is something he or she wants to do. QRD – What have been the best & worst guitar related purchases you’ve made? Jenks – Best: my Peavey amp, in terms of value. Worst: a chorus pedal. QRD – What are some effect, amp, & guitar brands you particularly like or dis-like & why? Jenks – I think effects are generally overused & can hinder the development of a player’s individual technique. I try to dislike all effects as much as possible (sometimes they still sneak into the signal chain). Most brands of amplifier & guitar have at least a couple excellent models; those choices completely depend on the application. QRD – What’s the first thing you play when you pick up a guitar? Jenks – I tune it. QRD – How old were you when you started playing guitar? Jenks – 15. QRD – At what age do you think you leveled up to your best guitar playing? Jenks – 23 or 24, but I’m always trying to improve. QRD – Why do you think a guitar fits you more so than other instruments? Jenks – I don’t think this is true, necessarily. I also like playing drums, bass, & keys; but I’m not very good. Guitars have a wide range of sounds & stylistic applications, so I tend to gravitate to guitar. QRD – Do you think guitar should be people’s first instrument as often as it is? Jenks – No. Piano is probably the best introductory instrument, since its interface is very logical & makes for a good teaching instrument. QRD – Do you see your guitar as your ally or adversary in making music? Jenks – Ally. QRD – Who are the guitarists that most influenced your playing & sound? Jenks – Neil Young, John Fahey, Loren Connors, Keiji Haino, Tony Iommi, Matthew Bower. Non-guitarists: John Coltrane, Tony Conrad, Brian Eno. QRD – Do you think people anthropomorphizing their guitars is natural or silly? Jenks – Natural. Guitars have “personalities,” so it’s kind of inevitable. QRD – What’s the most physical damage you’ve done to a guitar & how did you do it? Jenks – Nothing significant. I’m pretty protective of my instruments. QRD – What do you do to practice other than simply playing? Jenks – I don’t practice much any more outside of playing. Sometimes fingerpicking exercises are built into the songwriting process, in order to train my muscle memory for a specific part. I used to practice much more, developing my ear by playing along to recordings. QRD – How many hours a week do you play guitar & how many hours would you like to? Jenks – It varies greatly, probably between 1-15 hours. On the higher end if I’m recording or touring. QRD – What type of pick do you use & why? Jenks – Medium. It seems to be the most flexible, ie: able to produce the greatest number of distinct sounds. I use my fingers a lot, too, for greater tone control. QRD – What gauge strings do you use & why? Jenks – 11’s, for a similar reason. QRD – How often do you change strings? Jenks – Maybe once a month. More if needed. QRD – How often do you break strings? Jenks – A couple here & there. QRD – Which do you feel is more proficient, your strumming hand or fretting hand & how does that effect your style? Jenks – My strumming (picking) hand, because it controls the rhythm of my playing & dynamic sound of the guitar. Both hands have to work together, though. QRD – Do you set-up your guitar yourself or send it to a guitar tech (or not set it up at all) & why? Jenks – A guitar tech: Usually Brian Haran at Fret Sounds in Graham, NC. He’s a pro & knows much more about set-up than I do. QRD – What tunings do you use & why? Jenks – Standard, Drop-D, & DADF#AD. I prefer open tunings for fingerpicking or droning sounds. QRD – Do you prefer tablature, sheet music, or some other notation system for writing down your own ideas? Jenks – I usually don’t write my ideas down. I record them instead. QRD – How high do you hold your guitar when playing (strap length)? Jenks – Fairly high, to allow access to the entire fretboard. When playing solo, I usually hold my guitar on my lap. QRD – What’s a bad habit in your playing you wish you could break? Jenks – Improper intonation drives me up the wall. I’m continually trying to get better at intoning notes. QRD – Playing what other instrument do you think can most help someone’s guitar playing? Jenks – Piano, drums. Practically any other instrument will help in some way. QRD – What’s a type of guitar playing do you wish you could do that you can’t? Jenks – Sweep-picking death metal style guitar. But this would require a completely different set-up, so I don’t lose sleep over it! QRD – What’s a guitar goal you’ve never accomplished? Jenks – I’m still working on them all, I guess. Probably always will be. QRD – What’s the last guitar trick you learned? Jenks – I don’t know any tricks. I actually don’t know what a guitar trick is! Slinging a guitar around my back? Playing with my teeth? I can’t do either of those things. QRD – What’s a guitar technique you’d like to master, but haven’t? Jenks – Still working on them all. There’s always room for improvement. QRD – Did you ever take guitar lessons & if so, what did you learn from them? Jenks – I took lessons for two years when I first started playing guitar. Lessons helped me make the mental connection between what I am hearing & what I am playing ? this has proved to be a very valuable skill. QRD – What would you teach someone in a guitar lesson that you don’t think they would generally get from a guitar teacher? Jenks – Most guitar lessons seem to focus on technique (which is important) & neglect how your playing effects your sound. I suppose I would talk a lot about sound. I’d also talk about playing with other musicians as a group, & how to listen for changes in dynamics & mood in this kind of ensemble situation. QRD – What’s something someone would have to do to emulate your style? Jenks – Play fewer notes. QRD – What’s your take on tremolo systems? Jenks – I love tremolo. QRD – What do you see as the difference between lead guitar & rhythm guitar players? Jenks – Lead guitar players have bigger egos & less rhythm. QRD – If a band has good guitar work, can you ignore the rest of the band not being good? Jenks – No. Good guitar playing plays to the band (& the arrangement) as a whole. If I’m noticing the guitar playing at the expense of the rest of the band, it’s usually a bad sign. QRD – What famous musician’s guitar would you like to own & why? Jenks – None. I would just worry about banging it up. QRD – Who do you think is currently the most innovative guitar player & why? Jenks – As long as Keith Rowe is around, he’ll probably qualify. QRD – Where can people hear your best guitar work? Jenks – Any Horseback record (Impale Golden Horn, The Invisible Mountain, the upcoming Forbidden Planet), the upcoming Mount Moriah debut, or my solo-improvised record, Approaching the Invisible Mountain. QRD – Anything else? Jenks – Nope! Thanks, Brian.
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