i n s t r u m e ntali s t s : H o w lo c al m u s i c ian s g e t th e i r s o u n d s

CHRIS CRISPY BESS

LOCATION: Rougemont, N.C., but practices in Hillsborough, N.C. AGE: 39 MEMBERSHIPS: Current: Killer Filler. Former: Southern Culture on the Skids, Enormous Richard INFLUENCES: Booker T. Jones, Art Neville, the rest of Killer Filler KNOWN FOR: Versatility between keyboards, guitar and whatever percussion gear he can find; short, little sausage fingers; arranging; frugality SEE HIM: Bess hosts his new Mega-Instro Summit at The Cave Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m. Killer Filler joins Atomic Mosquitos, The Noseriders and The Surge.

AMPLIFIERS

FENDER TWIN REVERB (FOR GUITAR): I was on tour with Southern Culture in 1998, and we did a tour that went way out to the West Coast and back. We had four road guys with us to help us with driving, and the problem we discovered was they were all more interested in getting laid at the end of the night than packing gear. We had a rash of equipment get stolen because these guys were at the bar picking up chicks while other fellas were up at the stage going, Ill take that. In Salt Lake City, we ran out of basses. We were driving around, trying to find Mary Huff a bass. She didnt find anything she liked, but while she was trying out basses, we found this Twin Reverb. MOTION SOUND PRO-3 + AMPEG B-3 (FOR KEYBOARDS): Leslie speakers have two rotating parts, used to create vibrato through the Doppler effect and mimic the sounds possible with an actual church organ. Theres a rotating horn for the organs high end and a rotating drum for the low end over a massive 15-inch speaker. This set-up creates a similar sound without requiring transport of the Leslie cabinet. This gives you the high horn, but it sends fake lows down to whatever you want. I use my Ampeg B-3, an old bass amp from the 60s.

GUITAR PEDALS

FRANTONE 2003 BROOKLYN OVERDRIVE: Bess is new to the world of overdrive pedals, but thismade by Fran Blanche and Mia Theodoratus in Brooklynallows him to add just enough edge to his sound. Somewhere between a really clean boost and a really primitive 70s distortion. I like it because it sounds good with a Fender Twin Reverb. A lot of overdrive pedals sound shrill and tiny with this amp. When we record, I dont use the Twin for solos. I use little amps because, when you turn em up loud, they sound good. They grind a little more. Live, it sounded sterile, plug-ordinary. It wasnt trashy enough. This is there to give it a little grit.
DIGITECH WHAMMY PEDAL: I dont use the Whammy in a conventional way. A lot of people use it for pitchbending and really high solo-type things. Ive watched Jack White do brilliant stuff with one. I use it like a baritone guitar. I tried pitchshift pedals, but this was better than any of them. The pedal allows Bess to play an entire show without switching between (and toting) other guitars.
M-AUDIO AXIOM 61: Very few people use it the way I use it anymore, says Bess of his set-up, which was cheap and allowed the sounds of the piano and organ to stand apart. The keyboard works as a MIDI controller, meaning what Bess plays with his hands gets interpreted by a minicomputeran Alesis NanoPiano moduleand turned into a classic upright piano sound. Bess ignores many of the controllers features, including its drum pads.
ON TRYING NEW THINGS: With a workers compensation check after his father lost part of his finger, his parents bought a $1,000 piano. He learned and, in high school, picked up accordion. The instruments were in such disuse in his Missouri hometown that people would leave boxes of them on his doorstep. He always wanted an organ, but he could never afford one until he found a Farfisa in a thrift store in 1993. When he joined Southern Culture in 1996, he finally started using proper gear: Ive learned that, in this business, once Im comfortable, Im usually getting fired.

Interview by Grayson Currin; Photo by D.l. Anderson
1966 YAMAHA SG-2: Companys first solid-body electrics; not sold in U.S. but brought here by soldiers stationed in Vietnam. Bess originally belonged to a Fort Bragg soldier, though he found it in China Grove, N.C., without paint, pick-up covers, knobs, vibrato unit, sixth tuning key. It was cracked, too. Five separate luthiers and Bess restored it to its original shape. Its now missing two screws in the bridge: An $88 basketcase. But unlike a lot of Japanese guitars, its a really quality piece. It feels like an old Fender. Pick it up. Theres nothing cheese log about that guitar at all. Its basically a Jaguar with a Japanese accent. The pick-ups are really bright. Worth $1,000, but Bess would never sell it.
HAMMOND XK-2: His first eBay purchase, Bess needed a Hammond to replace the one he was borrowing from Southern Culture founder Rick Miller while he played in that band. Using nine draw bars on the left side that control the tone and range of the organs keys, Bess generally aims for the sound of the cheap combo organs he bought in thrift stores in the 90s.

Specializing in Professional Festival, Concert and Theatre Sound Production

Gear List

Front Of House: QSC HPR153i - 600w three way powered speakers (x2) QSC K12 - 1000w two way powered speakers (x4) JBL Eon G2 - 400w powered speakers (x4) JBL Eon G1 - powered speakers (x2) Peavey QW118 - subs (x4) powered by QSE RMX2450 - 1200w/ch amplier JBL JRX118S - subs (x2) powered by Samson SR3200 - 1100w/ch amplier JBL MR825 - speakers powered by QSC GX5 - 700w/ch amplier Yamaha Stagepass 300 - sound system Monitoring: Yamaha BR15M - 15" monitor wedges (x6) Pyle 12" - monitor wedges (x2) QSC GX5 - 700w/ch ampliers (x3) Speaker Processing: TC Electronic XO24 - speaker processing DBX Driverack 260 - speaker processing (x2) DBX 2231 - 32 band stereo graphic equalizer DBX 215 - 15 band stereo graphic equalizers (x2) Rane DEQ 60 Graphic Equalizer Alesis DEQ830 - 32 band 8-way graphic equalizer Samson D2500 - 32 band stereo digital graphic equalizer DBX 223 - crossover Mixing Desks: Allen and Heath iLive Digital Desk - 48 channel, with on board effects, GEQ Allen and Heath ZED 420 - 20 channel desk Allen and Heath ZED 14 - 14 channel desk Mackie ProFX12 - 12 channel desk Soundcraft F1 - 12 channel desk Outboard: TC Electronic M350 - multi-effects units (x2) Lexicon MPX100 - multi-effects unit Alesis Microverb 4 - multi-effects unit
Drawmer MX30 - 2 channel compressor DBX 1046 - 4 channel compressor Samson D3500 - 15 band stereo parametric equalizer Presonus EQ3B - parametric equalizer Tascam CD-01UPro - CD player Denon DN-C615 - CD player Sony MDS-E12 - minidisk player Microphones: AKG C414 TLII (condenser) (x1) AKG C416 (condenser) (x3) AKG C409 (condenser) (x1) AKG C411 (condenser) (x2) AKG C415 (condenser) (x2) AKG C420 (condenser) (x2) AKG D409 (x1) Audix D2 (x2) Audix D4 (x1) Audix D6 (x1) Audix i5 (x2) Audix OM7 (x2) Audio Technica ATM350 (condenser) (x2) CAD M9 (valve) (x1) Crowley & Tripp Naked Eye (ribbon) (x1) Electrovoice RE510 (condenser) (x4) Electrovoice RE410 (condenser) x1 Electrovoice N/D468 (x2) Electrovoice N/D967 (x1) Nady CM420 (condenser) (x1) Microtech Gefell M300 (condenser) (x2) Neumann KMS105 (condenser) (x1) Neumann KM183 (omni condenser) (x2) Neumann TLM103 (condenser) (x1) Neumann TLM 193 (condenser) (x4) Rode NT5 (omni/cardioid condenser) (x2) Rode NT1 (condenser) (x2) Rode NTG-1 (condenser) (x2) Samson VR88 (ribbon) (x1) Sennheiser b604 (x1) Sennheiser e602 (x1) Sennheiser e614 (condenser) (x6) Sennheiser e840 (x4) Sennheiser e845 (x2) Sennheiser e906 (x1) Sennheiser e935 (x1) Sennheiser MKE2 (x2) Shure SM57 (x2) Shure SM58 (x4) Shure SM7 (x1) Shure 55SH Series II (x1) Shure SM63
Radio Microphones: Sennheiser G3 System (x2) AKG WMS System (x4) Sennheiser Freeport Systems (x3) DI Boxes: Radial Pro D1 (x4) Radial Pro D2 (x1) Radial J48 (x1) Radial ProAV (x1) ProCo (x4) Backline: Yamaha P70 Keyboard Alesis Nanopiano (via above keyboard) Markbass Bass Rig (CMD 151P Jeff Berlin 15" combo + 102HF extension cabinet ) Live Theatre Playback: QLab on Macbook Recording: Logic Studio on Macbook and MacPro computers UAD and Melodyne plug-ins MOTU 8pre - audio interface MOTU 828 - audio interface Focusrite ISA428 - pre-amps/converters DAV Broadhurst Gardens No. 2 - pre-amps PMC TB-2A - monitor speakers Sony MDR 7509 - headphones Sony MDR 7506 - headphones Beyerdynamic DT250 - headphones Rane HC 4S - headphone amplier Samson S Monitor - headphone ampliers (x4) Whirlwind PA1 - headphone amplier Tascam HD-P2 - ash drive stereo recorder Olympus LS-10 - ash drive stereo recorder Lighting: Par56 Parcans (x8) Wind up lighting stands (x2)
Engineers: Bob Bickerton, Brendyn Montgomery and JR Richardson - Live sound, sound design, recording and production credits include: Adam International Chamber Music Festival, WOMAD, Nelson Jazz Festival, Nelson Arts Festival, Nelson School Of Music Winter Festival, Haley Westenra, Fiona Pears, Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Moana and the Moa Hunters, Peggy Seeger, Richard Nunns, Glen Colquhoun, Lunasa, Michael Houstoun, Dierdre Irons, New Zealand String Quartet, Michelangelo Quartet, New Zealand Trio, Peter Nagy, James Campbell, Cairde, Mosaic, Duo Jackson, Jane Pujji, Paul Bond, Alex and Duncan Davidson, Te Tau Ihu Kapahaka Groups, Nelson Symphony Orchestra, Gaelynne Pound, Dunedin Sinfonia, Saddlers Wells Royal Ballet, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Michael Fowler Centre, Aotea Centre, Green Fire Islands project, Donal Lunny, Kevin Burke, Jim Murray, Kevin Field, Kevin Haynes, Carolina Moon, Tim Beveridge, Graham Wardrop, Anna Coddinton, Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention), Martin Carthy (Steeleye Span), Roger Mannins, Ron Samson, Joe Robinson, Prazak Quartet, Piers Lane, Mamaku Project, Midge Marsden, Tom Sharplin, Cheryl Grice-Watterson, Jonathan Besser, Cats, Sound Of Music, Oliver, Chicago, Torch Songs, Hot Club Sandwich, Anika Moa, King Kapisi, dDub, Jez Lowe, Elina, Musical Island Boys, Saxcess, Bonanza, Jan Preston, Nick Granville, Sideshow Bob, Swing 42, Gahu, Dougie McLean, Jazz Divas, Tomato Kiss, Rainbow Bridge, Whirimako Black, Summer Shakespeare, Departure Lounge, Suzanne Prentice, Pacic Curls, Nairobi Trio, Jan Tawroszewicz, Malcolm McNeil, Gypsy Pickers, Janet Roddick, Sam Manzanza, Thomas Oliver band, Dame Malvina Major, Marg Layton, Jennifer WardLealand, Rodger Fox Big Band, Akasa, Mark Hadlow, Grease, Annie, Snow White, Mike Nock, Grant Winterburn, Harry Harrison, Mimi Fox, Mojave, Te Radar, Sacha V, Mojo Funk, Mosaic, Mundi, Peruquios, John Carty, John Hopkins, Matthew Marshall, Brilleaux, Zamba Flam, Impressions, Billy TK, Mike Garner, Emma Pask, Kevin Hunt, Black Sand Diva, Declan Masterson (Riverdance), Brendan Power (Riverdance), Michele van Heutem, The Immigrants, OneVibe, Tina Cross, Taisha, Caitlin Smith, Funkey Monkeys, Luger Boa, Iva Lamkum, La La Luna, David Goldthorpe, Strike. Bob Bickerton is an ex director of the Nelson School Of Music, ex General Manager of the Dunedin Sinfonia, ex founding member and chairperson of the NZ Uilleann Pipers Association and Ceol Aneas. As a multi-instrumentalist he has performed in all major concert venues, folk and Arts festivals in New Zealand and has performed to around 250,000 school students in the last 25 years with his educational programmes. Brendyn Montgomery has an MA in traditional Irish Flute playing and is a regular performer around New Zealand.