J.P. Shilo - interview, part I.

Guilherme Lucas interviewed J.P. Shilo and we couldn't pass the opportunity of publishing it. It is a very personal interview, a technical talk between two musicians. A little off our usual style, but worthy reading. This is the first part of a three part instalment. Part two, coming soon.

Part two : https://mondobizarremagazine.blogspot.com/2020/10/jp-shilo-interview-part-ii.html

Part three: http://mondobizarremagazine.blogspot.com/2021/05/jp-shilo-interview-part-iii.html

J.P. Shilo © L.J.Spruyt Photography

For some years now, I have been following the brilliant work of J.P. Shilo, in all his facets as a multi-instrumentalist. My initial contact with him was through the great Rowland S. Howard. J.P. was the bassist who, along with Mick Harvey, accompanied him live. Wanting to know more about him, I discovered his band, Hungry Ghosts. It was unconditional love at first audition ... from then on, I have been carefully following his musical career. He's a musical genius. Period! After having already interviewed him, in a different context, for Mondo Bizarre Magazine, here is a new one, solely focused on his musical gear. From musicians to musicians and to everyone who might be interested in knowing more about technical issues related to J.P.'s music.

Can you talk about your Fender Jazzmaster guitar? Is it all original, or does it have any hardware changes made by you?

I bought the Jazzmaster in 1997 – brand new, in Melbourne. I guess that makes it 23 now. It is finally “finding its voice”. It is all original. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUTnWShOsSk)
On the first Hungry Ghosts record, I was loaned a nice old one from the 60s by Birdland Studio’s Lindsay Gravina. That’s where I got my first taste and never looked back. By the time we got to NYC we got to play Sonic Youth’s guitars! A Fender smorgasbord.
I had a strat copy as a youngster, but soon outgrew it/refined my taste by the time I started writing seriously. I never really felt comfortable with it…

J.P. Shilo © L.J.Spruyt Photography

In Pop Crimes: The Songs of Rowland S. Howard, you also play with a Fender Jaguar. What are your impressions of that guitar compared to the sound of your Jazzmaster? 

I have been fortunate enough over the recent years to have been loaned a lovely selection of vintage Jags to aid me in my mission of honouring RSH in the Pop Crimes shows.
The first one (the one I have used mostly used on this project, and also on various recordings) was kindly loaned by Rob Snarski of The Blackeyed Susans. His is the red L Series one from 1963(?) I believe the neck was replaced in the seventies.
(Playing through a vintage Jag is “crucial” in trying to emulate or even give a vague “impression” of RSH’s signature tone. )

My Jazzmaster’s “voice” is far too young & mellow… and would require much more reliance on pedals and amp to even come close to achieving the tone.

It’s one thing to play the same notes, but the pick-ups and the age of them are what really reveal the true tone. If you can start with that signal from the actual guitar, you’re in the right ballpark.
Most recently I used a 1965 shoreline gold, loaned to me by Lewis Boyes, (who plays w/ Adalita, and runs a fantastic boutique store in Melbourne called Found Sound) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUkvk7qW05A)

My dear friend, Julian Wu, from Melbourne, loaned me his 1965 olympic white Jag for the recent U.K. / France shows. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgbb_rlaq74&list=PLtdFi4AWsK3w4yYzUTeTOu-JiT-RotPCj&index=3)
Each one is obviously slightly different, but as I said I am very lucky to have been trusted to take them all for a spin.

As far as the design of a Jag vs Jazzmaster, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying the positioning of the pick-up selector on the Jag is often fraught with the looming dread of the “cut-off” position/combination. I always wondered why I often saw photos of peoples Jags with tape on the switches. Now I know, one has to be conscious not to accidentally kill the signal in ones enthusiasm. That is its only drawback.
I love the floating tremolo system, all that behind the bridge option for making noises. Lots of other guitars have behind the bridge strings exposed, but not really enough length to get a quality resonance from.

I was intrigued to see Lee Ranaldo & Thurston Moore’s modifications on a couple, (when Hungry Ghosts used their studio.) They had pick-ups built in behind the bridge, to fully harness it as a working option.
I am most comfortable on Jags and Jazzmasters. Everything else feels weird now.
My electric parts for Hungry Ghosts are best executed on a Jazzmaster.

I also love playing nylon string guitars though, and love to modify and manipulate them beyond their intended classical purpose. I currently use a sweet “parlour” size model called “Motif” made by “La Patrie” from Quebec. I’ve been writing a lot of new pieces for Hungry Ghosts on it.

J.P. Shilo © L.J.Spruyt Photography

Which guitar amplifier do you use the most? What is your favorite? - Which pedal set do you usually use live? Are there any changes to that set, depending on the band, or artists, with whom you are playing?

Again I am a Fender man, and have used a Pro Reverb for many years – (I believe that was Poison Ivy’s preference too.)
Of late I have been plugging into (and preferring) Music Man amps. They are essentially a Fender just with a different badge

I recently purchased an old 4x10 Music Man, which is great to get that pure amp tone.
Interestingly, it was Mick who pointed out to me in our recent rehearsals that the Music Man was RSH’s preferred make, that it was a 210 used on The Friend Catcher! and that it made sense that I was naturally gravitating toward it. (My ears must be becoming refined )
Rowland’s use of the Twin Reverb was more out of convenience. They were/are easier to access/hire around the world.

I’ve said before, in the Hungry Ghosts days, I didn’t use pedals, (not even a tuner!) Apart from the fact I couldn’t afford to buy any, it somehow seemed like it was “cheating” or compromising the pure tone of the guitar. Phasers and flangers, etc. kind of gross me out… they seem tacky, and often end up sounding a bit “Disneyland” in the wrong hands… haha (I’ve loosened up on that idea though over the years - depending on the project I am working on, but quite often they feel like a disguise, or like cosmetics. I can’t hear the guitarist, just their favourite flavour of ice cream! Haha).
I like to experiment with sounds etc. obviously, but I like to hear a pedal, if I click it on, I want it to actually do something. Quite often I see players with a fully loaded display of pedals at their disposal, but nothing that can’t necessarily be achieved by just cranking up the amp and letting the valves sing! I’m not particularly impressed by “bling”.

When I was playing in a short-lived side project called The Saddests (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi01sd0OmtI), I had a beautiful old vintage Colorsound Overdriver with the creamiest fuzz, and hugest boost… that I only clicked on for one solo in the whole set. It was always a “surprise”! I often scared the daylights out of the unsuspecting mixer, who would spill their drinks and frantically spread their fingers out over all the faders, wondering where the hell that sound just exploded from! They would spent the whole set, finding their ideal balance of the mix, etc. then Bam! By the time they located the source, the solo was over! Haha… It is an effect, and should do that.

As far as other pedals go, I am actually quite sparse and always try to actually modify the guitar physically.

That said, the RSH pedal by Reuss Musical Instruments was a Godsend in being able to articulate the sounds of the MXR blue box & distortion + in the one unit for the Pop Crimes shows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxWndzKDPEs). I still use the RSH 2 model, even though my suggestion of adding an extra knob to vary how much blue box effect could be dialled in led to updated models. I’ve just managed to find the sweet spot on it for the sets that we’ve played.

I’ve used the RSH 3 on a piano accordion (haha) but not guitar (yet) Hopefully I get around to it.
My pet peeve/bug-bear on tour is the Fender Twin without a Master Volume. The fact that one can barely push them on stage past 1 without deafening everyone else is a right pain, and the valves rarely get a chance to find that really rich crackling sweet spot tone, that the ones with master volumes can. Also so many times I turn up for soundcheck, have stipulated that I need a Fender Valve amp with working spring reverb, and then the footswitch is missing, or the reverb doesn’t work. Aaargh.
A neat little tool, I’ll have to invest in, is one of those “Glow-Baby” volume controls (that plugs in through the effects loop – between the pre-amp and power amp stages to be able to get that warm tube sound) that would have gotten me out of a pickle on the road.

I did have my Pro Reverb tweaked to achieve something similar. Giving me enough head room to push the gain up to “hot”.

J.P. Shilo © L.J.Spruyt Photography