Now We're A 4 Piece

The history of Midnight Mob began as a traditional 5 piece band: drums, bass, two guitars and a singer. The first rhythm guitar player, Handsome Eric, lasted a few months before deciding it was too much and there were other things he would rather do.  We rocked as 4 piece for a short time until J5 rolled through becoming the 2nd rhythm guitar player and lead player as well.  At this time we actually released a cover cd called "Delicious Cream" where he can be heard on.  J5 lasted a few months until we realized that he wasn't the right fit and we parted ways. His last show was at a lesbian bar coincidentally which is the same show Spydyr came out to see us but couldn't get in. We rocked out again as a 4 piece for about a year until Spydyr reared his head again and bumped into Catastrophe. Shortly after that Spydyr joined up and coincidentally his first show was at that same lesbian bar. We rocked together and traveled the country as a 5 piece for a number of years until he realized it wasn't for him anymore. Then Spydyr departed once again making Midnight Mob a 4 piece.

We're taking Spydyr's departure as a clear message that Midnight Mob should be a 4 piece.  The tricky part is going forward as a 4 piece after writing and recording a new ep with two guitars in mind. It's definitely is not as easy as I thought. The whole soundscape changes from a playing standpoint and spectator standpoint.  It's very weird at first because you're not used to hearing the band with one less guitar. It becomes really apparent how much space that one guitar filled. At first there was definitely that moment of doubt, can we really pull this off? We had two practices and then did an open mic to test the waters to see what's up.  We video taped it and learned a whole lot of what we needed to work on.  For all aspiring bands out there, video tape as many shows as possible to get the honest truth.

The performance wasn't nearly as bad as we thought but lots of light was shed on what we need to work on.  At first overwhelming, but then it actually became fun and exciting. I guess it kind of felt like starting a new band all over again. It was also a challenge that took a lot of thought regarding my guitar tone and set up in addition to what guitar parts will be played, which parts won't be and which parts will be combined. In addition, to all that I also had to adjust all the muscle memory working the foot pedals in addition to the guitar work. It sounds like a lot of work and it really is, but it's been pretty eye opening.

In order to handle the foot work, guitar work and backing vocals I had to upgrade to a bigger more customizable pedal board. Now it gets a bit techie.  After a bunch of research I got myself a Pedaltrain Pro powered by a Voodoo Lab power supply. This board allowed me to place my footswitch right in the middle front with the most common pedals I use around it.  I also bought a straight stand with a boom swivel at the top, which allows me to place the mic stand more comfortably in front of me without having those long tripod legs getting in the way.  Since I am the only guitar I decided to upgrade a majority of my pedals to boutique pedals. Previously I was using all Boss pedals which at the time was good enough because another guitar was making sound and covering up a lot of guitar sound.  Now I'm completely exposed and everything has to be on point. I upgraded my tremolo to a Strymon Flint, my delay to Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master and reverb to TC Electronic Hall of Fame. The whammy and Cry Baby wah stayed the same. Then on my rhythm channel I dropped the gain a little and cranked the master.  I also add a tiny bit of reverb as well. All this stuff is played through a Peavey tube head and a Peavey 4x12 cab. I recently tried a 2x12 cab, but it really doesn't cut it, not a fan.

This little blog actually became way more in depth than I thought.  I wrote it because it's been probably the most common question recently and I thought why not put it all out there.  Honestly it's been really challenging but really fun. We have done 2 actual shows as a 4 piece and we have gotten great feedback, which makes all this work worthwhile and reassuring.  This Saturday 11/21 in Philadelphia at Bull Shooters Saloon will be my first show with all my new gear and I'm pretty excited about using it. It's going to take some time to get used to all the changes, but totally well worth it.

- Squeeze