Toronto’s noise rock band FRIGS have been rocking our world for the past few weeks. So much so that we decided to put them on the cover of our SXSW 2018 issue of our sister mag The Deli, linked to the recent Austin Stompbox Exhibit. You can read the cover feature here.
To complete the circle, we thought that a Q&A with the band’s guitarist Duncan Hay Jennings about his guitar pedals was in order.
Tell us about your first time with… a guitar pedal. How old were you and what did you stomp on?
Must’ve been twelve or thirteen — I think it was an overdrive or distortion pedal, probably some cheap Danelectro one. I liked it — sounded good with those power chords.
Was there a specific pedal (or two) that kind of changed your life?
Not really, to be honest. That first pedal I played through probably left the biggest impression — that Danelectro distortion.
What do you have on your board these days?
My approach to pedals has always been pretty utilitarian. Nothing flashy, and you’ll notice that in the attached photo. I’m also really new to pedalboards, I always thought they were kinda lame — but here I am.
There’s the Moog boost, which I’ve got set up to give a nice subtle drive sound. Just recently replaced an Empress FX Fuzz with that ZVex Box of Rock, which I’m liking so far. From there we head into the Boss DM-3, which is mostly set to a really quick slap back, with a small tail to it. That’s a nice delay, my aunt got it for my brother years ago. Somehow I ended up with it. Then we’re heading into the Boss CE-5 chorus. Mostly subtle tones are set on this one. The EHX Holy Grail [Nano] just gives a little verb when I need it, but I’m mostly running a really dry sound these days. Last, we’ve got the EHX Freeze – I love this pedal. Lots of fun. Since Bria, our singer, stopped playing guitar, the Freeze helped fill some space.
