Matthew Caws of Nada Surf
Phase Out
Out of your entire guitar collection (past or present) which 2 stand out to you and why?
For the past few years, my main live guitar has been a 1969 Telecaster that I bought about twenty years ago. It’s been on all our albums since The Proximity Effect, but I did play it onstage for a long time because i’ve always love the humbucking sound of a Les Paul, but ever since putting a Seymour Duncan “Little ’59” pickup in the bridge position, this Tele feels like it’s the best of all worlds. It also stays in tune really well. : )
The guitar I probably feel the most sentimental about is my Gibson J200 acoustic. It’s been pretty beat up over the years and is being repaired in new york right now. I live in Cambridge, England now but I don’t think i’m going to travel with it anymore. i’ll move back the states one day and it’ll be my everyday strummer then. Right now i’m really enjoying a Martin 00-18, it’s a little quieter and smaller, easier to hold…just wants to be picked up.
Windfall
What unexpected piece of music gear has inspired you the most?
I guess that would have to be the Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere. Well, I don’t know if it qualifies as a windfall (I knew I wanted a Hammond rotary speaker emulator pedal) but what was unexpected was that I would then keep some version of it on my pedal board for now 22 years. It ended up becoming my go-to sound anytime I wanted something different. I love the accidental nature of it, as the rhythm of the rotary speaker almost never matches the rhythm of what you’re playing. It introduces a little bit of chaos and chance, but in the loveliest-sounding way.
Pine Away
What piece of music gear do you wish you still had, and/or perhaps something you regret not buying when you had the opportunity?
I bought a 1966 Vox semi-hollow 12-string from Richard Barone from an ad in the Village Voice somewhere around 1987 for $400. A couple of years later I thought I was broke and sold it. A couple of years after that I was really broke and realised I should have kept it. I’ve regretted it every since. It’s the Will Sergeant (Echo and the Bunnymen) guitar. The solo of “Killing Moon” is that guitar unplugged. The piece of gear I regret not buying is a baritone acoustic i saw in a store in Northampton, Mass once.
Wild Card
Can you share a favorite memory from your time spent at Tiny Telephone? Also-how did the process at Tiny Telephone differ from other studios you’ve been in?
I loved driving through the automatic exit gate, it felt like leaving the batcave. Tiny Telephone used to share a courtyard with Survival Research Laboratories (SRL). Their founder Mark Pauline was very entertaining and would explain (but thankfully not demonstrate) the machines he was building and that were parked in the courtyard. Tiny Telephone’s owner, John Vanderslice, is one of my favorite people in the world and a dear friend. The vibe was so special there. Everything worked, the gear was incredible, everyone was friendly, and it was incredibly affordable. I can’t wait to visit the new (to me, it’s not new anymore I know) location in Oakland!
Final Thoughts
Any shout outs, plugs, or random tidbits of advice?
My new favorite piece of gear is the Behringer RD-8. It’s a knock-off of a Roland TR-8 but for a millionth of the price. The sounds are super-solid and pleasing and it takes up a lot of room, which i like…makes me want to look at it rather than at my computer.
Shout-outs, I wouldn’t even know where to start. I feel so lucky to be in music. I feel like people who make music are almost all super-nice. Maybe it’s something about what all those vibrations do to you-maybe they chill you out, and it’s always the good old days. Well, except of course that I wish we could all be on tour. but soon I hope, fingers crossed.
