Premier Guitar | 6 years ago
Article & photos: http://bit.ly/FiveTimesSurpriseRR
Premier Guitar’s Ted Drozdowski dropped into Nashville’s POGO studios to eavesdrop on the sessions for the new improv/art-rock group Five Times Surprise—and, of course, to do a Rig Rundown with the three string-playing virtuosos at its epicenter: famed free-ranging guitarist Henry Kaiser, guitarist Anthony Pirog of the Messthetics, and the Dixie Dregs’ legendary bassist Andy West. Actually, there are four, since the group also includes eclectic electric violinist Tracy Silverman. But hey, this ain’t Premier Fiddle, so…
For the Five Times Surprise sessions, Henry Kaiser’s big dog was a prototype built by Michael Spalt of Austria’s Spalt Instruments. It has a 27" scale rosewood neck, but its superpower is a Don Ramsay Linear Tremolo, which rolls on a linear bearing and stays in tune like Pavarotti. The 6-string has Seymour Duncan pickups.
When you see Anthony Pirog with Five Times Surprise—who have yet to play a live gig—or the Messthetics, which is anchored by Fugazi’s rhythm section, he’ll likely have this 1962 Fender Jazzmaster in his hands. He scored the guitar, his favorite, on eBay in 2007 and put in Joe Barden pickups with coil-splitting, as well as a Mastery bridge, although the vibrato system is original.
Continue reading: http://bit.ly/FiveTimesSurpriseRR
