Jason Gerardo 108 Beads featuring Stev Skye
Nov 25, 2010 Stëv Skye
I know, I know. It has been a while. My eye has been on the Skye all this time, I swear, but Stev has switched hats a few times over the past several months, from working on his own music to helping others with theirs (and lots of other stuff). One person he has been working with is Jason Gerardo.
Who is this Jason Gerardo guy? Well, Jason Gerardo–we’ll call him Jason for short–is a local (Phoenix area) singer and songwriter. He’s got a voice that could easily front a rock band. Or he could bring it down a few notches and do more acoustic/laid back songs. I know Jason’s a fan of Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, so I’ll throw that name out there as a frame of reference, just so you get an idea.
In fact, if Jason were to load up on flannel shirts and grow his hair out a bit, he could almost look like Eddie Vedder if he wanted to. But that’s neither here nor there.
108 Beads
Jason and Stev collaborated on Jason’s first album, called 108 Beads. Stev helped Jason to re-arrange the songs that Jason had written, but he also played the instruments and did all the recording and sound engineering in the EPS-Skye Studios as well.
The album features Jason on vocals backed by Stev’s acoustic guitar. There is one song, “Until Right Now”, which features a whole band full of instruments, all played by Stev, all at the same time. OK, not 100% true, but Stev did play all the instruments, including his trusty Strat, and wove them all together seamlessly with his magical software and editing equipment.
I dig “Until Right Now” a lot, but I think “Wake Up” is the one that gets stuck in my head most often, which subconsciously makes it my favorite song off the album whether I like it or not. All-in-all, it’s a great listen. It’s raw music with a lot of heart and soul and you can hear all the tracks, plus the latest single from the dynamic duo of Gerardo/Skye called “More Than Fine,” if you click on over to Jason Gerardo’s official Internet headquarters (www.jasongerardo.com).
Tags: 108 Beads, Fender Stratocaster, Jason Gerardo, stev skye, Stev Skye Studio
Two Degrees of Separation
Mar 17, 2010 Guitar & Gear
What do Stev Skye and David Gilmour have in common?
Well, lots of things. Both play guitar. Both prefer Fender Stratocasters. Both have home studios.
Both have a Neve console in their home studios. David Gilmour’s Neve sound board is in his famous house boat studio, the Astoria, which is where the interview with him (above) took place.
Unfortunately, Stev was having some issues with his Neve lately.
And here’s where it gets really, really interesting. . .
To get it all ironed out, a man named Robin Porter came out to have a look at the Neve console in Stev’s studio. Robin Porter is the guy who actually designed the board that Stev has in his studio. He’s also the guy who added a similar Neve console to the Astoria studio so that David Gilmour could capture his epic sounds in all their splendor.
Having Robin Porter come out to fix your Neve is pretty much like having Carroll Shelby come out to have a look under the hood of your Shelby Cobra, should you be one of the fortunate few to own one.
It’s epic in its own right, in fact.
The good news is that the Stev Neve (hey, that rhymes!) is up and running now thanks to Robin and actual music is being recorded with it at long last. That also means we’re getting things rolling again here at Eye On The Skye, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, here’s another look at the Astoria studio, with a bit of Shakespeare, Gilmour style. . .
Tags: David Gilmour, Fender Stratocaster, Neve, stev skye, Stev Skye Studio
Stev Skye guitar FX
Dec 22, 2009 Guitar & Gear
(Continued from my conversation with Stev Skye regarding his guitar and gear).
“When you play, I hear Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan influences more than any others. I’m not saying I hear you playing them, if that makes sense, but I definitely feel their influences when you play.”
“Absolutely. I would agree that those two more than any others have influenced my playing and my sound.”
“So how do you find that sound? How do you know it’s yours?” I ask.
“Well, it varies from song to song, but I hear it in my head and I try to match what I hear. It’s pretty much all up there (pointing to his head) so I just try to replicate what I hear in my mind.”
“Makes sense,” I say. “So then how do you reproduce a certain sound, once you think you have it? I mean, is it hard to remember what you played, how you played it and all the settings between the guitar, the amp and all the effects, etc.?”
“Well, I have four main ‘sounds’ that I stick to for the most part (he starts to demonstrate). I have the total clean sound (plays), then the overdrive sound (plays again) which is more of a ‘gritty’ sound. Then I have the rhythm distortion sound (plays) which is tighter sounding and finally, I have the louder more distorted ballistic atomic sound that I use in my solos.”
To achieve his sound, Stev uses a combination of guitar pedal FX along with his custom Two-Rock amp. Here is Stev Skye’s Signal Chain:
Boss CH-1 SUPER Chorus Pedal Standard
Vox V847A Wah Pedal Standard
Fulltone MDV2 Mini DejaVibe 2 Guitar Effects Pedal Cream (made with original Univibe parts)
MXR M169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Standard
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Effects Pedal Original Reissue Standard (Modified by Robert Keeley)
Fulltone OCD Overdrive Obsessive Compulsive Drive Standard Distortion Pedal
As I mentioned, Stev uses a custom designed guitar amp from Two-Rock. The amp is a 100-watt Custom Reverb Signature Model Version 2, all tube, handmade for specifically for Stev by Two-Rock. We’ll get into more details on the Two-Rock amp in another post!
Tags: Boss CH-1 SUPER Chorus Pedal, Distortion Pedal, Fender Stratocaster, Fulltone Deja Vibe 2 Univibe, Fulltone OCD Overdrive Obsessive Compulsive Drive, Guitar Center, Guitar inspiration, Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Effects Pedal, Jimi Hendrix, MXR M169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay Guitar Effects Pedal, Robert Keeley, stev skye, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Two-Rock Guitar Amp, Vox Wah Pedal