The Weather Underground
Hits the Road with
Gibson Guitars

L.A.’s The Weather Underground had a busy winter lined up this year with a residence at the Silverlake Lounge and trip up and down the California coast and east to SXSW in Austin. We thought, why not give them a little more to do? The fast-forward garage indie rave-ups and garage anthems from this band along with their college-lit leanings (influenced by both Franz Kafka and Ingmar Bergman!) made them the perfect candidates to drop a load of Gibsons on with strict word count. The Underground took a band’s worth of guitars on the road with them for some in-depth testing. The Weather Underground is Harley Prechtel-Cortez on guitar and vocals, Shoichi Bagley on guitar and keys, Ryan Kirkpatrick on bass and Diego Guerrero on drums.

We’re in San Antonio, Texas right now in the middle of a Southwestern tour. We’ve played some amazing shows so far in Phoenix, Albuquerque, and Amarillo and SXSW is right on the horizon. We couldn’t be more excited. After recently spending some time in the studio and playing gigs in our home state of California we’re feeling good about being out on the road and playing each night for different people, many of whom have never seen our band before.

When Performer first asked us to review pieces of gear we were a little wary. I guess we were a little scared that included might be stuff that we’re not particularly keen on (i.e. keytars, etc). But when we found out that we would have Gibson guitars to play there was a huge sigh of relief and excitement. Sho and Harley both play Epiphone Hollowbodies (Sheraton and Supernova, respectively) so we were really looking forward to trying out other guitars in that vein.

Gibson ES 335
Price: $3742.00

The Gibson ES 335 is quite a guitar. It’s got a tobacco sunburst finish with pearl inlays and I played this guitar at every one of our residency shows at the Silverlake Lounge last month as my main guitar. The neck and action was really right on. The pick-ups are perfect and the guitar has a very nice warmth to it. The action was good and the tone variation worked for all aspects of our set. I played this guitar through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp and the way that it cuts is incredible! It is easier to get that natural distortion sound with this guitar. In fact, certain songs that I would normally use a tube distortion pedal with I would actually play clean when using this guitar.

An aspect of the ES 335 that really got me is its weight. It felt heavier than an Epiphone hollow-body. Normally I prefer a lighter guitar but in this case the weight actually provided for better playability. I also found the 335 to be particularly universal whether playing rhythm or lead guitar, using effects pedals or dry. It catches feedback when you want it but is never overbearing so you can control the amount you are getting. This is an all around classic American guitar. I loved it and frankly I wish I still had it with me right now as I write this. (Harley Prechtel-Cortez)

Gibson Dove Acoustic
Price: $2899.00

We also played the Gibson Dove Acoustic guitar. This guitar is beautiful, both design-wise and in terms of the way it plays. We played this guitar for a number of shows including a few live on-air acoustic radio performances. Right now we have a Mexican Folk-influenced song in the set and we wanted to try it with an acoustic. It sounded great with the Dove! My favorite thing about this guitar is the volume knob inside the hole hidden from view, so as to not sacrifice the aesthetics of the guitar.
The sound of the Dove is also notable. It has a classic older sound to it. It almost felt as if I was playing a vintage guitar. The sound is not as tinny as a lot of newer guitars and it has a great neck. The Dove is one of those few guitars that sound great for recording and live purposes. (Harley Prechtel-Cortez)

Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass
Price: $699.99

As a huge Jefferson Airplane fan and bass guitar enthusiast, I was very excited to get my hands on the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass. It has an interesting pickup output selector that can deliver varying volumes at the click of a switch. It’s also got a standard scale neck that is a rarity for vintage hollow body basses. Unfortunately I felt this bass a bit sterile overall in both feel and look. Jack Casady had a big, beautiful, texturous tone. I am not sure this bass fully embodies that sound and it does not seem to reflect the character of the instruments Casady played in those amazing early years. I have yearned for something current to give the old Gibson Eb-2s and Gretschs a run for their money, clearly a strong standard for any bass to live up to. That being said, this Casady bass is a good bass, but not an instant classic. (Ryan Kirkpatrick)

Photos by Jessica Watkins

www.gibson.com

The Weather Underground’s latest EP, Bird In The Hand is out now. Get it on iTunes or order it from www.theweatherundergroundband.com. They’re set to tour throughout 2008, including appearances this summer at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. and The High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, Calif.