Gearbuds

Tis’ the season, y’all; this week the Buds welcome accomplished engineer, musician, studio owner, and all-around swell cat Danny Reisch to the show. Good Danny’s Studio outside of Austin is a beautiful musician’s studio that has hosted luminaries like The Zombies, The Animals, Lizzo, HAIM, 3EB, and so many more.

An “analog guy ’til I die” we talk with Danny about making deliberate choices on format/medium/microphone, spending years recording Daytrotter sessions, being inspired by Back to the Future, a recently acquired MCI tape machine from Dan Duzynski, the holy trio of firsts (a studio, weed, and Ween), dreaming about Woodstock (not necessarily but maybe 99), and windows in the control room. No spoilers, but this episode contains the secret to life somewhere around the back half. AND Dave does falsetto.

Also discussed: Hornet Plugins Freqs, Craigslisters selling more than drugs, buying an SVT from Uphill Recording Services, the new Bee Gees documentary Can You Mend a Broken Heart, BrandNewNoise’s Krankie, and the importance of Pet Sounds. We also take a moment to celebrate the life Josh Shapera, a man the world lost too soon.

Step outside for five (even if you don’t smoke).

Where to even start with this one? Today we welcome old friend, noted raconteur, and newest member of Tallboys Pete Falknor to the show. From running the day to day at Empty Bottle, Thalia Hall, and Chicago Music Exchange to partnering with our pal Shelby Pollard on his new venture Black Bobbin, dial this episode in to grab some lifetips from a handsome dad who has seen a thing or two. Maybe also stick around to the end for stories about the bonkers rig of Billy Corgan and welcoming genius of Dave Chappelle.

Also discussed: selling drugs on Craigslist, Kansas cabs, Steve Lukather hates tabs, a very special group Dave’s Docs about Sound of Metal, Sofie hating the Yamaha TA60, Songs for the Deaf era QOTSA, heartwarming Christmas gear gifts, playing Sabbath for mom, and hanging out with Fred Durst.

Don’t carry piss in your cargo pockets. Or do. Whatever.

Episode 85, 85 Bears, bears eat beets. This week we’ve got ourselves a quick-hitting budcast in which said buds catch up on recent deals and acquisitions… including one between Hank and Dave in our first encounter since March!

We spend some time checking in with crabby Craigslisters, provide some GB merch updates, talk patience and holidays as the time to strike, contactless transaction tips, lowballs, and being a kind human.

Also discussed: Vital Audio synths, Boss’ new Tonebender collab with Sola Sound, the OG Coodercaster, Facebook guitar groups, Reverb’s One Mic initiative, Johnny Winter and Firebirds, Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary, and Hank’s top records of 2020.

Put on your bulletproof vest and be careful with your drugs.

Can you believe how good the show has gotten lately. Total semi-pros; honestly not sure how long we can keep this up. Today is yet another high-water mark as we welcome Hank’s old friend and our newest bud Bethany Thomas to the GB team.

An accomplished and celebrated theater actress, BT has also put out TWO sick records during lockdown, the solo release “BT/She/Her” and collaboration “Material Flats” with Tawny Newsome. We discuss her history and musical journey, hanging out with Hank at her *baller* 25th birthday party, the mental shift between acting and performing music, less orange/more purple, and calling Ted Leo for guitar solos.

Also discussed: Daredevil Pedals’ British Black Belt pedal release and video, Boss HM-2 Waza, Moog Claravox, Softube Saturation Knob, Camel Crusher, Van Morrison and Eric Clapton going peak boomer, goofy Craigslisters, the new Bowie biopic, and other wholly unnecessary films.

Put a good Bowie record on and just get to mashin’.

Here at Gearbuds HQ, we bring you the GOODS. This week that holds extra true as we are joined by our newest Gearbud, Evan Thomas Weiss, the monstrously talented and prolific driving force behind Into It. Over It., Pet Symmetry, Their / They’re / There, and probably a few more you already know and love.

On top of being The Nicest Guy(tm), Evan also finds time to work in brand partnerships at Reverb, which we discuss as he generously walks us through his musical history and evolution. We consider the irony in being a Gearboi but not a DAWboi, having his cover blown after showing up on a Rolling Stone best of list, trying to hone in on the source of his drive and motivation, remembering all of the songs, and our first cars.

Also discussed: sweet old Eventide and Korg rack gear, Recording in Progress and the importance of engineers, Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity, Slate’s Fresh Air plugin, Black Friday plugin deals from Soundtoys, UA, Waves, NI, Trapt getting kicked off FB, and the legacy Bruce Swedien.

…What’s a spammer jammer?

Every now and then you’ve just gotta take a little gear time, you know?

This week the focus was all music, gear, Hank, and Dave (shocking no one at all) with proper dissection and vibes on the new features of just-announced Ableton Live 11, updates to the Free Stuff segment, the Deftones controversy, Ticketmaster testing for COVID, and prerequisite Craigslist belly-aching and dork posts.

We also chat Reverb market updates, The Pedal Movie trailer, Black Bobbin’s Lollar JM pickups, the DOPE soon-to-be-released Daredevil British Black Belt pedal, Slate sample packs, KISS docs, Moby’s copy of Devo’s debut record, and THICC waves.

PSA: Hank is short for Henry.

Buddies - it’s time to celebrate. This week JoVia Armstrong joins the show and if you’re in the mood for some poddin’, settle in.

Jo is a world-class percussionist, educator, and composer, touring the globe with acts like JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound and Les Nubians and sponsored by Sabian, Gon Bops, QSC, & Icon.

Along with digging into the Gibson/Sweetwater theft i.e. Sweetwatergate and all of our normal shenanigans, Hank’s former Mbira Technologies colleague fills us in on the trials and tribulations that led her to where she is today, breaking out of strict musical rules, and even shares the story of Hank accidentally big-timing her on a session at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio. JoVia was also generous enough to lead us through discussions of race, equality, and social justice, and also fills us in on the scholastic work she’s doing with immersive audio and creating natural highs with music; whooooooa broooooo.

Discussed: Waves’ IR-L plugin, Captured by Robots!, Spotify payout structures, Isaiah Sharkey, Bad Company, AMS, and Weather Report.

If you expect anything from music, you’re expecting too much.

Hope all of you Fearbuds had a safe, enjoyable, and spooky Halloween. This week your favorite ghouls Hank and Dave were joined by our newest Gearboo, the multi-talented Deanna Devore.

Hailing from Toronto but settled in Chicago, Deanna is an accomplished guitarist and singer, songwriter, producer, and film/television composer. Not only that, ole Hank used to play in her backing band!

Deanna was kind enough to walk us through her history and background, taking us through the creation process of her newest singles featuring collaborators like D.Lylez from The Voice. We also had a fruitful discussion about writing on guitar and transposing to keyboard, and even took turns predicting some Futuregear

Also discussed: droidsmith’s Ghosts & Babes [Halloween], sub-sub-sub segments about Craigslist, the new Shure MV7, Rockafire Explosion, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s Grand Opening and Closing, and Tom Misch.

Quantization doesn’t always have to be at 100%.

Happy Monday, friends. This week Hank and Dave were joined by our newest buddy, the thoughtful and introspective Ryan Deffet; settle in for a soothing journey.

Ryan is a driving force and singer/songwriter/guitarist for Chicago bands Space Gators and Faux Furrs while also finding the time to be an in-demand record producer and engineer. While following Ryan’s path we mull over the idea of writing for your audience, the dichotomy between the introverted artist and raucous rock and roll stage performance, being mindful in sharing and juggling energies across multiple projects, and the joy of moving into one’s own studio space.

Also discussed: Melda Productions free plugin suite, Jack White being a good dude, Novation’s Aphex Twin collab, Behringer’s ARP 2600 clone, Google Hum to Search, Bobby Keys, officially kicking off the rename of Hank Hits with Neil Young’s After the Goldrush, perfect sandwiches, and the inherently debatable philosophy of Partscasters.

The world’s scary enough, don’t yell at me when I’m trying to buy your stuff.

This week the Buds welcome Pete Jonas to the crew, and what a delightful new addition he is.

Pushing through some technical difficulties, Hank and Dave trace Pete’s musical background, attending Berklee and offering his guitar, bass, piano, and production chops to acts like Jagwar Twin, About You, Goody Grace, Mark E. Bassy, playing live (and drunk) with Travis Barker, and performing with Avril Lavigne on Jimmy Fallon.

We also discuss the realities of celebrity and finding yourself in front of paparazzi cameras, guitar as a safety blanket, bashing out the Star Spangled Banner center court at a Knicks game, meeting Mr. Lexicon, and even close it out with a little unabashed tone snobbery.

Also discussed: BPB Dirty Filter plugin, The Flaming Lips, Black Bobbin teaming up with Hopewell Brewery, Mick Ronson, the Chase Bliss/Benson Automatone, Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky, and Nels Cline as the reason for all Jazzmaster sales.

Make your guitar solo sound like a painting.