Multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Matt Beck has worked with artists ranging from Matchbox Twenty to Gwen Stefani to Rod Stewart, and has just been hand-picked by Bono and the Edge (of U2) to be the guitarist for Spider-Man, the upcoming mega-musical featuring their music. Beck’s new release, Anything Which Gives You Pleasure, features classic pop songwriting and gorgeous guitar tones gleaned from his years of audio experimentation. “I have somewhere in the realm of 500 pedals. I took over one of my wife’s bookcases with them,” he explains with an unapologetic smile. “Some are very esoteric.”

But which pedals are must-haves? And which ones suck? Beck broke down his library of stomp boxes into easy-to-swallow categories: the ones you need, the ones to avoid, the ones that need a loooong break — and the ones to watch.

By Mike Errico

PEDALS YOU NEED

1) Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer: #1, top of the line. I have a bunch, some of which are modified by Robert Keeley, who takes out the insides and replaces the capacitors and resistors and … I don’t really understand it, but it sounds fuller. I also use an original TS-808, which is the original Tube Screamer with the much heralded Germanium chip. The original 808 was green, and has the small square button in the middle, but the originals have a hyphen between the “TS” and the “808,” so that’s how you know what you’re looking at. Just a little tidbit. Even if you don’t use it a lot, this pedal is one that you can’t really live without.

Classic Recorded Example: Stevie Ray Vaughan — who I think used the TS-9’s — something like “Couldn’t Stand the Weather.” They work great with single coils, and of course, Stevie Ray was a single coil player. Such a beautiful, singing tone.

Worst Distortion Pedal: (Laughs) TC Electronics, generally considered high-end gear, makes a booster pedal that is very sought after, but they made a distortion pedal and it’s just the worst. I think it’s just called “Booster/Distortion.” Nobody ever uses the distortion, it’s so shitty, but the booster is actually pretty good. Also, I know this isn’t a pedal, but the distortion on the Roland JC-120 amp is probably the worst I’ve ever heard.

2) Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man: Industry standard, just the best. It was the next step after tape echo machines and tries to emulate those delays without the tape breaking down and all that. Back story: On old tape machines the motors are inconsistent, so when the tape comes around the head there’s a kind of slow modulation. I’m not a studio engineer type guy so I couldn’t tell you exactly the details, but that’s what this pedal is all about. Awesome.

Classic Recorded Example: All the early Edge stuff on U2, until he got into the rack gear — then he had a TC Electronics 2290. But I think for the first two records (Boy, October) he was exclusively using Memory Mans. He said he was more of the timekeeper of the band than the drummer (Larry Mullen, Jr.) — he’d get the song’s tempo on the delay first, and then the band would play along. I’ve been doing a lot of research on the Edge since being picked by him to play Spider-Man.

Worst Delay Pedal: The Boss delays aren’t the greatest. They got better as they went along. But the first one I had was a DD-1, and I thought it was badass. Funny, I’ve never thought about “worst”, I’ve always been looking for good stuff!

3) Demeter Tremulator This tremolo pedal is even better than my Boss TR-1 or TR-2 tremolos that are modded by Robert Keeley. The Tremulator is very natural sounding, just like amp trem, and doesn’t suck up any volume the way pre-modded Boss trems do. It doesn’t take up a lot of space on the pedal board, either.

Classic Recorded Example: It’s hard to tell with tremolos, you know? I know I use it live. I took it on the road with the Break and Repair Method, which features Paul Doucette from Matchbox Twenty. I still take out the TR-2, but I love the Tremulator.

Worst Tremolo Pedal: Hm… the Ibanez TL 5.

4) AC Booster, by Exotic Effects: Treble boosts started way back with the British rockers, like when Eric Clapton used the The Rangemaster — the Holy Grail of treble boosts — to push the front end of the amp into distortion. But the Rangemaster is not something people can’t live without, because they’re just not that attainable. I use the AC Booster by Exotic Effects. It’s got four knobs on it — bass, treble, gain and volume — so you can actually add some distortion or separate out the bass and treble. If you have an aggressive setting, you could just use it for leads.

Worst Boost Pedal: That’s a tough call, as it’s hard to mess up pure db gain.

5) Z-Vex Seek Wah: It’s an X factor type pedal that gives that “whoa” kind of thing. Bascially, the sound goes through a sequence of eight fixed settings of a wah at different tempos, giving a weird jumble of vowels through the signal. It was designed as an emulation of the old Oberheim OB-8 synthesizers that had the “sample and hold” functions. Think ELP’s “Karn Evil 9″: “…welcome back my friends to the show that never ends…” I’ve gotten a little tired of it, but it’s made it onto a lot of records I’ve done. There’s also something called a Robo Talk made by Exotic Effects which actually is the sample and hold function of the Oberheim.

Classic Recorded Example: (Sings) “…welcome back my friends/ to the show that never ends…” That opening synth? That’s what it sounds like.

Worst Seek Wah: There is only one, so…

PEDALS THAT NEED A BREAK

1) Z-Vex Seek-Wah: (Laughs) I think I’m partially responsible for its downfall, too. It’s a great pedal, but so idiosyncratic. There’s no hiding it, and it only does one thing, so I kind of cringe when I hear it now.

2) The Wah Wah…with an explanation…: It’s because people don’t play it well. They don’t play it right. They sit there and they wank on it in time, so I don’t want to say that it’s over, because in capable hands it’s so expressive, but for the most part the idiots that step on that thing have killed it.

3) Phaser: It’s a little played. I think ’70s and sometimes ’80s… you know, when they put the whole song through them, like Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane” or Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” — which is just the drums, and is kind of cool, but still… when someone hits it, it’s like they’re trying to be all psychedelic and heroin-y… not good.

4) Doubling effects: Any harmonizers that give the ability to play stuff in fifths, like Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart”… I mean, c’mon.

5) Whammy Pedal I think Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) owns it. He was coming from a hip-hop thing, and showed such ingenuity on it that anyone else sounds derivative. Now when you hear it you roll your eyes like, “there’s some guy wanking on that fucking thing again.”

THE NEW HOTNESS

Mid Fi Electronics Pitch Pirate: It’s basically a pedal that uses portamento, makes wild vibrato swings and also times out slides from one note to another. It sounds less like a Whammy Pedal, and more like you’re twisting a knob on a Moog synth. It’s pretty cool.

Clari(Not): Similar, but it brings in delay and fuzz.

Boss Slicer pedal: This one could go the way of the Seek Wah, but it’s new. It takes the phrase you play and cuts into it so it sounds like you’re playing to a drum beat. You can set the rhythm and it’ll send the signal back to you all chopped up. Weird.

Matt Beck Official MySpace Page
Matt Beck, Anything Which Gives You Pleasure is available now

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
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Well, now that you’ve clicked on the link, you know you want to know. You also know more about yourself. You may have also commented on the music industry, in a roundabout way.

But I’m not here to disappoint. Click the pig’s face to find out how to cook it. For real.

Any resemblance to music industry honchos, living or dead, is purely coincidental. And frankly, kind of mean spirited.

Much love to the good people of Holy Taco.

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
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If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not at Mardi Gras. Wherever you are, take a moment to conjure an ecstatic and impossibly colorful place — that’s New Orleans, and in particular, that’s New Orleans at Mardi Gras.

Antoinette K-Doe, the widow of rhythm & blues legend Ernie K-Doe, died early Mardi Gras morning of a heart attack. She was 66.

Antoinette presided over the Mother-in-Law Lounge, a small, funky club in the shadow of I-10 on North Claiborne Avenue that she opened to give Ernie a steady place to play. In the process, she helped orchestrate a renaissance in his career, and after his death in 2001 she preserved her late husband’s memory while contributing to a New Orleans community very much in need.

I had the opportunity to interview her at the Mother-in-Law Lounge at Mardi Gras last year. She had laid out a buffet at the foot of the stage featuring a dark, thick stew seasoned with unknown animal vertebrae. Musicians wandered in and out, played, drank and passed time. In the resulting video, she discusses the club, and the city, she loves. She will be missed.

Here’s the link:
http://www.blender.com/Antoinettekdoeinterview/video/804.aspx

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Errico/8888939428
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Taunted by idiots up front? Tired of getting beer thrown at you? Some nights you just want to kick someone’s ass. Let the experts show you how it’s done.

Build Your Case: A svelte Black Flag-era Henry Rollins allows some mulleted d-bag to taunt him repeatedly while receding into the crowd between swings. Strangely patient for someone with that many neck veins, Rollins just waits, lets the fan tire himself out, and maybe get a little sloppy before bringing the unholy heat.

Take Care of Business: Green Day songs are always straight to the point, and it’s obvious that Billie Joe Armstrong brings the same aesthetic to lil’ mohawked m-f’ers. After the fan declines an invitation to fight on stage, Armstrong takes the fight to him, wins (though it’s hard to tell in the chaos), taunts his rival, apologizes to the crowd and intros the next song. That’s a pro, folks.

Use Your Tools: A seasoned veteran, Keith Richards is aware that more torque can be generated with a Fender Telecaster than with heroin-soaked wrists. I mean, that’s just science. So when the balloons fall and an idiot runs on stage pursued by a roadie, Keith delivers the goods.

Farm Out Your Beatings: Angus Young is the greatest rock and roll guitarist ever, which means he doesn’t have time for people who think they can huck full beers at him. Far wiser than Axl, who’d have put a boot in this dude’s eye, Angus simply has the offender brought to him, mafia-style, and tweaks his nose, sidestepping lawsuits and making his point. It’s doubtful that guy’s nose was in the same shape by the end of the night.

Give the Drummer Some: At a wild Texas show, Kurt Cobain gets a couple great shots taken at him from, of all people, the security guy, who allegedly had been beating on fans all night, you know, in the name of security. I’ve never seen a drummer jump out from behind a kit faster than Dave Grohl does, here, and though he’s skinny, he looks like the kind of guy you’d have to kill to stop from coming at you. Drummers are usually the only band members in any kind of physical shape, which is a big reason why drum machines haven’t been able to replace them.

Ask Yourself, “What Would Axl Do?” I think we all know. If his spontaneity had only affected his creative output, we’d be on Chinese Democracy XVII by now.

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
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If you’re in a band, you have a love/hate/but mostly love relationship with your rehearsal space. It’s your safe house, your treehouse, your crackhouse. The grosser it is, the better it’ll be to talk about when you’re being interviewed by, oh, Katie Couric. Or Gideon Yago. Or Tabatha Soren. Or Sway. Or… oh, hell, I just wanted to say Tabatha Soren.

Not to digress: Here is America’s Favorite Band, Morbid Angel (oh, hell yeah you know you love them) at their rehearsal space. If it it looks familiar, it’s probably because it is. It’s a friggin’ Mini-Storage locker. With beer cups sitting on the trunk of a… powder blue… is that a Ford Fairmont? K-Car? Awesome-mobile?

I thought all people kept in mini-storage was murder evidence. And the rolling garage door is always broken. And it’s always raining. And night. So you have to go into the trunk of the Fairmont and jack up the door so you can find the severed heads that have been soaking in formaldehyde. Cold case… SOLVED. OK, so most of that was from “Silence of the Lambs.” OK, all of it. You’re missing the point.

The point is, this is dedication. Straight up.

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
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I’m not going to comment. I’ll leave that to you. I’ll only say that on Flight 1549 there was an Australian singer-songwriter…

Here is the press release, in full:

For Immediate Release

Dubbed “Hudson Miracle Beauty,” By New York Daily News, Emma Sophina Signs Recording Contract With Decca Label Group

First Single “Send Another Prayer” Available Digitally February 9th

Appearances Slated With CBS Early Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Extra and Fox News Channel

February 9, 2009 (New York, NY) - Australian beauty Emma Sophina is realizing her dream of a major music career after surviving the infamous plane crash on New York’s frigid Hudson River. The near-disaster on January 15th was the life-affirming event that led the 26-year-old singer to her newly signed recording deal with Decca, and the release of her first-ever single, “Send Another Prayer,” available digitally on February 9th. America will hear her story first-hand when
the talented songstress appears on CBS Early Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Extra and Fox News Channel’s, “Fox & Friends” the week of February 9th.

Looking for new direction in her life, the Perth, Australia native decided to pack her bags and head to the U.S. to visit friends in New York and Charlotte, NC for a vacation. She booked a flight on U.S.
Airways Flight 1549 that took off from New York’s Laguardia Airport -fast-forward to the moments when that very aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River. The now iconic photo of Sophina bobbing in a lifeboat was published around the world, and continues to be a startling reminder of that fateful day. Upon being rescued, Emma had all but one phone number of a producer friend she had planned to work with in the U.S., Marc Swersky. Swersky, who has
collaborated with the likes of Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole and Hilary Duff, came to the rescue in more ways than one, and assisted Emma with setting her emotions to music.

“Send Another Prayer” is Emma’s inspirational tribute to hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger and his entire crew. She commented, “They’ve given me the gift of life. They’ve let me go on to pursue my dreams. The song is about the fact that I have new life again.” The New York Daily News called “Send Another Prayer,” “an emotional but upbeat number the kids can dance to.”

Music industry executives were so taken with Sophina that a bidding war ensued once the track began circulating. After several meetings with top labels, Sophina officially signed with Decca, who are releasing the single digitally with additional tracks to be recorded in the coming weeks.

For more information, please visit: www.myspace.com/emmasophina

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
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“Do you consider yourself a role model?” is a classic, if kind of cheap, interview question. But what is the answer?

We’ve all heard the resounding “Yes, I’m a role model” from people who turn out far from it (hi, disgraced televangelists). We’ve also heard the resounding “No” from people who, for many reasons, just don’t want the responsibility. But does it matter if people want it or not?

This week’s Role Model recap:

Lil Wayne told Katie Couric that he is not a role model. In fact, “If you need an example for how to live, then you just shouldn’t have been born.” Oh, wait. Except he admits that is a role model to his kids. So… yeah. Skip that last part.

The Pussycat Dolls released “Top of the World” and consider their work a shining example of empowerment and … more empowerment… to young women everywhere.

Meanwhile:

American hero Michael Phelps proved that world-record shattering lung capacity has other, more nefarious application when coupled with a bong. Kellogg’s and Subway recoiled in horror, dropped his endorsements, yet somehow both remain on top of stoners’ “Must Eat” lists.

Christian Bale gave us a superheroic peek under Batman’s cape. Wow. Imagine doing that at your job? (I bet you can.)

Miley Cyrus gave a lesson in cultural sensitivity, Tom Daschle didn’t pay taxes, Rod Blagojevich walked onto Letterman while Paul Shaffer played “My Way”… A-Rod reportedly tested positive for steroids…

Personally, I have only seen this to be true:

We are all role models.
We do not choose this position.
We do not get to choose who we are role models to.
We do not get to choose which of our actions will be deemed role model–worthy.

All that’s left is debate: “Lil Wayne as role model” is a picture of self-actualization, financial success, artistic achievement. “Lil Wayne as failed role model” is convicted on drug charges, glamorizing gangsta lifestyle, assisting in the drug trade by remaining an unrepentant customer… etc. etc. And Katie Couric? A woman in a powerful position, delivering critical information to America? Or a smug, softball-throwing teleprompter reader?

The only real answer to that cheap interview question is “Yes.” The challenge comes, in private moments, in living up to that answer.

BONUS VIDEO: CHARLES BARKLEY

[Editor's Note: Looks like Subway is back on board with Michael Phelps. Stoners are celebrating with an interlocking, five-ringed Olympic Hackey Sack circle: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/20...]

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com

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Resolved: Quantity always trumps quality.

As an artist working in several media at once, I’m having to create a lot of work under sometimes crazy deadlines. And it stresses the hell out of me. Once, while worrying about the quality of work done quickly, I was taught a great lesson from an unlikely authority: my dad. The guy who never taught me to shave and still hasn’t given me “the talk” (I’m flying blind on both topics) turned me on to a game-changing story from a book called Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

The story discusses an experiment done in a ceramics class. Instead of paraphrasing, I will flaunt the rules of copyright and quote it here:

The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot — albeit a perfect one — to get an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work — and learning from their mistakes — the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.

Get me drinking some night, and this story will come out. That’s basically a guarantee. Not that the story is the cancer cure of my artistic life: I’m still a self-doubting pile of disaster every time I debut a new song, score a TV theme or complete an article. I’m simply reminded not to be so damn precious. Completion of anything is success, and at worst, I’m stumbling in the best of all possible directions.

In hopes that you will identify, I’ve catalogued two basic art-spasms I have, and have given the corresponding quote from Art & Fear that talks me out of the trees:

SPASM: Wow, I think I just created something that totally sucks.
QUOTE: “The function of the overwhelming majority of your artwork is simply to teach you how to make the small fraction of your artwork that soars.”
LESSON: It’s not really for you to decide if what you do is good. The reward of your most recent work is your next piece of work. So get on it. Or, to quote the Foo Fighters: “Done, done/on to the next one.” Wow. I just quoted the Foo Fighters.

SPASM: I suck.
QUOTE: “There is probably no clearer waste of psychic energy than worrying about how much talent you have — and probably no worry more common. This is true even among artists of considerable accomplishment.”
LESSON: Art is a muscle. So go to the gym.

I’m not shilling a self-help book. I don’t even know these guys. I’m just saying: This helped me. I hope it helps you.

Art & Fear:Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
David Bayles & Ted Orland
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961454733/kkorg-20

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
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