Tag: Sic Tic

Gear Repair

My Les Paul Jenna Nelson repaired after I destroyed it on my first U.K. tour

The best way to prevent the inevitable panic attack of your gear failing while on the road is to be prepared. When you use your gear every day in volatile environments with varying weather conditions and sobriety levels, it’s likely your shit will break at some point. One time my guitar amp fell out of the back of my van and smashed the tubes. The next time that amp fell out of my van the reverb tank magically worked again. You just never know!

We interviewed my favorite Brooklyn guitar tech, Jenna Nelson (who also plays in the garage band Sic Tic), and Rosie Slater (frequent touring drummer for New Myths, Delicate Steve, and Catty), about what you can do  when your gear situation gets wacky.

photo by Micheal Cooper

AF: What are the most common things to break on guitars/basses?

JN: Jacks come loose. Tuners get bonked. Knobs come off. Strap buttons get wiggly. Electronics get dirty and cause crackly or intermittent signals. Nuts get cracked… On a more serious level you have your headstock breaks which are relatively common on Gibson style instruments where the headstocks are pitched backwards at an angle.

AF: What are some easy fixes people should learn before going on tour?

JN: Carry a little multi-tool or assortment of screwdrivers, pliers and wire cutters in your case to tighten any loose hardware while you’re out. I’d also carry a bit of electrical tape wrapped around a Sharpie for emergency (temporary!) wiring fixes. For the more advanced, a wrench to adjust your truss rod (please make sure you use the correct size and shape!) can come in very handy for tours where you’re passing through wildly differing weather.

AF: What is a guitar set up and how often should you get your guitars set up?

JN: I recommend setting up your guitar or bass twice a year [in] spring and fall – right after a big humidity change is a good rule. Some instruments can hold onto a setup for longer, but most necks like to move around with the weather. If you’ve got a recording date or tour coming up, that’s also a good time for a setup to take care of any fret buzz, intonation issues, or general wonkiness that’s going to get in the way of your best playing.

I begin all setups by first talking to the person about how they play their instrument and any issues they’re having with it, hear any concerns or questions they have, and make notes on their desired “action” (how high the strings sit above the frets), any special tunings, and their string gauge preference – as the pitch and thickness of the strings affects the way the neck bows. Setups are very personal. Not everyone wants shredder-low action and if you always play in drop-D tuning, your tech should know to set it up that way.

After I have the instrument on my bench, I’ll play it and take some measurements of the neck relief and action, noticing where any buzzing may occur. I check out how the strings sit in the nut, and visually inspect the instrument for any cracks, scrapes, or dings. Then I make some neck adjustments using the truss rod. I’ll move the bridge and/or saddles around to where I think they should be and then I test every note. I’ll do this back and forth until I’m happy with the way it’s playing and then make any adjustments needed at the nut.

Next, I remove the strings (although I’m happy to keep them on during the setup for bassists), polish the fret tops, remove any fretboard grime and condition the wood, and run some graphite through the nut and saddle slots to keep the strings from getting caught up in there. I clean the instrument’s body, checking all screws, strap buttons, tuners, jack, etc. for tightness. I’ll then restring the instrument and make sure everything is still good before stretching out the strings and setting the intonation as perfectly as possible.

Finally, I plug it in and adjust the pickup heights (although this is also very personal and I am happy to work with people and make any little adjustments when they come to pick up their guitar or bass), and check that all the controls function smoothly and as they should, using a deoxidizing cleaner when needed.

Getting regular setups can prevent you from needing more serious work down the line, or at least delay it. Longer scale instruments like basses can be especially prone to settling into a bad neck bow and not wanting to let go if they’ve been that way for too long. The frets can also wear out unevenly if the neck has been too bowed or too straight for a long time. I always check for any excessive fret wear or neck twisting during a setup and make any recommendations for further work or things to keep an eye on. In the case of acoustic guitars, the glued-on bridge can start lifting off the body if the guitar has been too dry or left with a badly bowed neck or too much string tension.

AF: How can you take better care of your guitars/basses in general?

JN: Humidify them! October-April, roughly. Keep them stored away from radiators and drafty areas. Electric instruments don’t need that much, but New York apartments are brutal places for acoustic instruments. Sponge humidifiers need to be refilled every couple days and can be DIY’d easily if you’re on a budget. This will save you lots of money and heartache in the long run.

Bring a collapsible stand to your gigs if you’re worried about your guitar taking a fall. I’ve actually got my eye on this little rubberized block thing that you can rest on top of your amp and it secures the neck in place sans stand. I play a Thunderbird bass which is particularly difficult to lean on things.

My strongest advice is to get to know what you like about your instrument and play it often! Treat it with respect and it will give back to you. Even the most unlikely of instruments can bring mountains of inspiration and joy, so I treat them all equally.

AF: Any other tips?

JN: Don’t be afraid to ask questions! There are things you only learn after doing something 50 times, or 500 times, or 5000 times. I learn something new with almost every instrument I touch, and I’m excited to share the knowledge that comes with that experience with anyone who comes into my workshop (AKA my bedroom, lol).

photo by Eleanor Petry

AF: How do you keep your drums in tip-top shape while on the road?

RS: The road is definitely tough on drums, but I’ll take some extra time (if there is any) when I set up to make sure that all of the drums are tuned and warm, and then making sure everything is put away carefully at the end of the night. I also keep everything in either hard shell cases or really padded bags.

AF: What are the most common things to break on drums while touring?

RS: There are so many tiny little tension rods and screws on a kit and the vibration from being in the van for long drives can make them loosen and fall out. I’ve cracked a couple of cymbals, broken sticks, popped snares, popped bottom heads… it seems like there is always something, but I’d have to say that loosing tension rods, felts and wingnuts is probably the most common.

AF: How do you change a drum head and how often should you do this?

RS: I probably don’t change them as regularly as others might? My policy is to change them when they start sounding weird and no amount of tuning and tape can help… I have a couple snares that I should probably change but they still sound great so I’m just hoping they don’t break! Changing heads is not too bad. First, you loosen all of the tension rods (I loosen them but don’t pull them out of the rims because there are tiny separators between the tension rod and rim that can get lost really easily). Next, you take the old head off and put the new one on. Once you get it situated with the rim and tension rods lined up with the lugs, I like to tighten each rod by hand until there is a little bit of tension on each. Then you tighten each rod with a key until the tension is slightly tighter, but even (the drum head will make some cracking sounds as it gets tighter). When the tension is pretty even, I like to just make slight (quarter-ish) turns, moving across the head instead of clockwise, until the head is tight. Keeping the tension on each rod even is really important. You can check by tapping the head in front of each rod and if it sounds the same, you’re good to go. Then it’s really just about getting the drum to sound the way you want it to. It takes a lot of trial and error until you get more comfortable matching the sound you want with the feel of the head and tension rods. To be fair though, I read an interview with Taylor Hawkins and it said something to the effect that he puts a head on a snare, makes it super tight, says a little prayer, and hopes for the best… I’ve tried that too and it works, haha.

AF: Any other tips for keeping your gear safe and sound?

RS: Cover all your gear up in the van and keep an eye on it in clubs.

More tips on how to take care of your gear on the road:

  • Invest in good cases. Gatorcases have great padding, but hard cases are your safest bet.
  • Pack extra quarter inch, patch and XLR cables (usually the first things to go).
  • Watch this over/under technique demo and wrap your cords properly.
  • Pack extra sets of guitar and bass strings.
  • Pack extra tubes.
  • Pack as many guitar picks as you can and keep them in your wallet or small container, like an old Altoid tin.
  • Learn how to fix your gear and troubleshoot before you leave for tour.
  • Label everything with your name and contact info. Be fancy and get a stencil with your band name!
  • Keep an Emergency Repair Kit with the following supplies:
    • Duct Tape – Can fix anything!
    • Soldering Kit
    • Cable tester
    • Screwdriver / Allen wrench

Van Pack Tetris 101

  • Heavy Stuff goes on bottom
  • Soft cases go on top or next to amps
  • Make guitars and other breakables easy to access so you can take them inside when you’re staying at motels, with friends, or any kind randos.

Even if you’ve taken every precaution sometimes things will still break! When this happens we like to blame it on Mercury Retrograde. Check Ismercuryinretrograde.com to cover all your bases.

PET POLITICS: Co-Pet Parenting with Frank and Jenna from Sic Tic

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Sic Tic photo by Janeth Ann Gonda

Sic Tic has one of the most innovative rock sounds in the Brooklyn scene, pairing the raw rip of grunge with the precision of jazz musicians. I have had the pleasure of seeing them evolve over the past five years to form their current line up; their sound went to a whole new level when guitarist Frank Rathbone asked bassist Jenna Nelson and drummer John Swanson to join the band several years back. They have also been active members and proponents of the Brooklyn-based DIY label GP Stripes.

Frank, Jenna, and John are the type of people whose connection you feel through their stage performance—not only in the sense of creative back-and-forth, but of friendship. There is a warmth about the band’s vibe that you can feel, and I think that is a testament to their closeness as individuals as well as artists. Knowing that Frank and Jenna also co-parent some fur babies together, I was interested in hearing how the process of being partners in so many facets of life crossed over into various channels.

AF: When did you each start playing music, and what were your first instruments?

JN: Viola was my first instrument, which I began playing in fifth grade. I was good friends with my neighbor who was a year older, and she played the viola when orchestra club began in fifth grade, so I wanted to as well. She stopped after that first year, but I really liked it and continued playing. I spent a lot of time hiding out in my closet (I’d kill for a closet this size in NY) when I was growing up, especially in middle school because I was socially awkward and got teased a lot. Sometimes I would sneak my dad’s old acoustic Ovation guitar out and pretend to play “Wild Thing” and imagine a different life for myself, which, in retrospect, seems a lot like my life now. I got my own guitar in high school and wrote dozens of awful sappy emo songs. I was also very active in my youth group and sang in the band. I sort of played the bass, too, but I was just borrowing it and didn’t really know what I was doing with an electric instrument yet. I finally got my very own bass when Sic Tic formed!

FR: I learned the trumpet from my grandpa when I was 8. When I was 12 my uncle gave me a guitar and I started a band with my friends in my basement. We would write a ton of songs, record them to tape, then never play them again. I still have all those tapes.

AF: Was there a particular band, song, or genre that drove you each respectively into the music sphere?

JN: I was really into Rickie Lee Jones when I was in preschool. I would carry this ragged record cover around with me, even to the grocery store. It’s a picture of her wearing a beret and smoking a cigarette. Pretty sure I knew all the words to this album. I remember being afraid the first time I heard music with screaming in it – but the kind of glittering fear that drives you toward the thing. It unlocked something inside me that had been bottled up for a long time, or started to at least. I wanted to learn how to evoke this feeling, to feel powerful.

FR: When I was in 3rd grade the high school band, orchestra, and drum line came to our school. I remember feeling moved by the drum line.

AF: How did Sic Tic form?

FR: I had a few other groups that played under the name Sic Tic, but they were disbanded when I met Jenna. When we first started dating I wanted to show her my music so I wrote some songs and booked some recording sessions. Jenna started learning the songs and we decided to start up a group. I had been sending songs to my old friend John in Texas, so I called him up and asked if he wanted to come to NY.

JN: Yeah, we started dating in mid-2013. I hadn’t been involved with any music for a long time and wanted to get back into it. I’d been living in Brooklyn for about seven months. Mutual friends kept telling me what a great musician Frank was, but he didn’t play anything for me for the first several weeks. When he finally did I was like “damn, they weren’t kidding!” He recorded that solo album to impress me, which obviously worked. I encouraged him to keep the name Sic Tic. The following summer we were ready to get serious, and at the same time, a room opened up in our apartment. Frank called John, who had been living in Austin for two years, and was like, “Dude! We need a drummer and we have a room, get up here!” I think that was a Tuesday and he showed up with a backpack and a guitar on Friday. Gigawatts Fest 2014 was that weekend and we all went out and got stoked to be a band together. We had our first show that September at Palisades.

AF: How did you two meet?

FR: We smiled at each other a few times at Little Skips. Then one night at an art opening there our friend Linda introduced us. I told Jenna I always thought she was cute.

JN: We sort of instantly hit it off. We went to a couple shows that night, at the Silent Barn and Fitness, which used to be in our basement, and then he said he had to go walk his dog… I basically never left.

FR: Pretty sure Shorty sealed the deal.

AF: How does the writing process work within your band?

JN: Frank writes most of our material. Usually he gets a rough idea of a song done and then brings it to me and John. We’ll work out the arrangement, drums, bass, and vocal parts together from there. Then maybe we’ll make a demo and see how it all sits, rework it, etc. We all live, practice, and record together. John’s been putting a lot of work into our home recording setup lately, so that’s been more accessible to us.

AF: Have you ever written a song about animals?

JN: Just human animals!

AF: Can you introduce your fur babies to us please?

FR: Shorty is a little biscuit colored pit bull.

JN: With white paws and chest, nine-and-a-half-ish-years-old. Very affectionate, cat enthusiast, hater of the doorbell, the most personality of any dog I’ve met. She’s basically my therapy dog. We also have a cockatiel, Joey, who is endearingly obnoxious. We’re frenemies. Frank found him at Little Skips, too, trapped in the gate.

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Jenna & Shorty – photo by Jenna Nelson

AF: What’s Shorty’s backstory?

FR: 7 or 8 years ago my friend Maggie was working at a vet clinic. Someone brought in a pit bull they had found abandoned in Prospect Park, tied to a fence with a big bag of food. They named her Honey. Maggie sent her my way and I took her in and called her Shorty.

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Frank & Shorty – photo by Frank Rathbone

AF: Did you have pets growing up?

JN: My family almost always had a big dog and an indoor/outdoor cat. There was also a smattering of Betta fish and various small rodents. For a year or so when I was in fifth grade, we had to rent a house that was furnished and the owners left some of their pets behind! This included a pretty generic fish tank and a hedgehog that lived in a big box in the carport that we had to feed cat food. In college I had a chinchilla, and later a ball python which I would bring around to parties.

FR: Yeah, we had a lot of animals in the house too. Dogs, cats, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, lizards, fish, frogs. We had a parrot named Picasso that escaped. I drew a picture of him and put posters up around town. The next few months we would get calls. He was hanging out with a flock of crows.

AF: What were your first experiences with animals? first pets?

JN: My first pet was a Siamese cat named Jasmine that had been my mom’s before she married my dad. At one point they lived on a lake and she caught fish. She died perfectly healthy at 17, bitten by a coral snake. Up until the year we moved into that hedgehog house, my family had lived in these dense woods in central Florida, bordering a nature preserve, near Rattlesnake Lake, off of Rattlesnake road. This is the land that was an island before the rest of Florida emerged from the ocean. You could find ancient shark teeth in the white sands of the woods, between 200–year-old oak trees and towering pines. There were herds of wild boar that would come through our yard, flocks of wild turkeys, our neighbors pair of peacocks, beautiful iridescent Indigo snakes, bald eagles, owls, the rare panther… Nearly all of our neighbors had horses, but I was allergic and my parents were too hippy to give me allergy medicine, so no horses for us, although I did take riding lessons. We also had chickens, and a turkey once which I was very sad to find out was not actually supposed to be my pet.

FR: I don’t remember. They were just always around.

AF: If your pet had a band, what band or genre would it be for? What instrument would they play?

FR: Shorty really likes soft finger picky folk songs. She would be the singer.

AF: If your pet could be the mascot for any food item, sports team, musical gear company, etc – what would it be?

FR: Blueberries.

JN: We joke sometimes that she would run a junk yard called “Shorty’s Trash Mountain.”

AF: Did you meet any cute or interesting animals on tour?

JN: Yes! We did our first tour in the fall with Haybaby which was completely a dream come true. Leslie graciously put us up in Richmond – we played a lot of places near there, so we were able to stay in their beautiful house for like 5 nights – and we got to hang with the two cats a lot. There were also got some nice fish and their downstairs neighbors have a couple of very friendly dogs. Sic Tic played our first show with Haybaby and personally, they are one of my absolute favorite bands on the planet, ever, and they are wonderful people. I get kinda overwhelmed with happiness thinking about that tour, and when it was over I honestly missed seeing them perform every night.

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Sic Tic photo by Secret Loft

AF: What are Sic Tic’s plans for 2018 (and beyond)?

JN: We’ll be releasing a lot of music and more music videos. Still working on the timeline for everything, but we are very excited about the new material. Hopefully we will be hitting the road again soon! I’ve got the tour bug. There’s so much of this country I have not yet seen and I want meet everyone and share sounds. Touring overseas or out of the States is also a huge goal! Iceland, Germany, Japan, Norway!

AF: Do you have a favorite song about animals?

JN: The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog”? That’s the first thing that comes to mind. I really like that one for karaoke.

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