Our first thought when we heard “Wednesday Night Melody” – the new single by Los Angeles power pop trio Bleached – was: “This song should be on Rock Band!” – which, if you think about it for a minute or two – is a heck of a compliment. The ladies’ 2016 record “Welcome the Worms” showcases an evolution from their early vintage sounding garage-psych-pop, to a more muscular and modern “alt” sound that, while more produced and punchy, manages to retains the cathartic fun of those classic radio friendly punk songs a la’ Joan Jett. The distorted guitar is pretty dominant in the band’s sound, so were curious to find out what’s on the board of the guitarist and founding sister Jessie Clavin.
Is there a guitar pedal that was crucial to Bleached’s distorted and lead guitar sounds in ‘Welcome to the Worms’?
Jessie- We used a lot of them, but the Devi Ever Bit Mangler is dirty! Good crunch, and screams the notes.
Is there a new pedal on your board that’s been inspiring in recent months?
Jessie- yes! the (Fulltone) Plimsoul Pedal. I love it! It’s a boost with sustain and you can control your tone. I don’t like playing with a lot of reverb on my amp but I like a little on the solos so the sustain helps keep those notes connected.
What else is on your board and what are you tempted to add to it?
Jessie- I have a EHX Memory Man, a ZVex Box of Rock and BOSS CE-5 chorus pedal. I just started using the reverse reverb on the Memory Man and that gives a really cool Hendrix sound! On our song “I’m all over the place” we used an (EHX) POG pedal and that’s what made it sound kind of like a violin… That pedal should be making an appearance on my board soon!
