Premier Guitar | 9 years ago
Article and photos: bit.ly/KurtVileRR
PG’s Chris Kies chilled with Kurt Vile, Rob Laakso, and Jesse Trbovich of the psychedelic folk-rock outfit before their sold-out show at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on February 25th.
Rob Laasko, like his stringed brother Jesse Trbovich on the other side of the stage, bounces between guitar and bass during shows. His current No. 1 bass is this late ’70s Fender P Bass. (It is worth noting that Laasko mentions in the video that his real No. 1—a vintage B.C. Rich Mockingbird—was “accidentally” left back in Philly.)
The band’s other multi-instrumentalist, Jesse Trbovich, spends most of his stage time with this Fender ’57 Reissue Stratocaster that is all stock aside from a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Strat Surfer Series in the middle position allowing him to have hum-canceling operation in the second and fourth position. This Strat sees a lot of action in the band’s older material because as Trbovich describes it, “that’s where the vibe was—a Strat and a whammy bar.”
The band’s namesake travels with not one, but two 1964 Fender Jaguars. During an earlier interview with PG, Vile explained his need to have dual ’64s: “I bought it in 2011 when I was on tour. I really focused on getting familiar with it, so much so that I just bought another ’64 Jaguar for the road.” One typically is tuned to standard or down a half-step while the other could be in any number of Vile’s own creative open tunings.
To continue learning about the band's gear, visit: bit.ly/KurtVileRR
