BEC STEVENS
HAILS FROM TYERRERNOTEPANNER/BEAUTY POINT, TASMANIA PLAYS SOLO
SOUNDS LIKE SHARP AND SPIRITED POST-POISON CITY EMO LATEST DROP BIG WORRY
(LP OUT MARCH 17TH VIA DAMAGED)
How did you first discover the guitar?
My older brother, who I idolised, started learning it when I was super little and I just thought he was the coolest. When I turned about 11 or 12, he got a new guitar so I stole the shitty little nylon-string he’d been learning on and started to play. It was a solid year of me in primary school playing ‘Smoke In The Water’ – classic – in front of anyone who’d listen (probably just the dog).
I’ll always consider my first real guitar to be a steel-string Tanglewood I got when I was 17. I got offered my first-ever paid show at my local pub and I was so excited, but I was dreading playing my ugly little nylon-string. My folks were stoked I was playing a paid show in front of people in an actual venue (after years of busking), so bless their hearts, they went and got me the Tanglewood so I’d have a hot new guitar for my first real show. The funniest part of this story is that I’d actually been sneaking into that pub underage for about six months – that’s how I got the show.
What’s your current go-to?
Almost always my Telecaster. I got my Squier ’60s custom Tele when I was about 20. I loved the idea of playing an electric but I think because I was surrounded by gatekeeping men, I’d just told myself it was a “man’s game” and couldn’t play on (how sad). But I remember being in a guitar shop one day and I was daydreaming about all the guitars in there, and then… I saw her. I think the old music dudes that worked there loved that I wanted to get it, so they gave be a mad discount. I’ve been playing that Tele ever since. She gets it right every time, and she suits my sound and playing style.
Who and/or what are your main influences?
I get a lot of inspiration from acts like The Menzingers, Hole, Ceres and Kathleen Hana – and for a big swing in the other direction, people like Kathleen Edwards, Phoebe Bridgers, Liz Stringer and Mia Dyson. Thematically, my music revolves a lot around trying to evoke certain feelings and memories, and I’ve got a lot of heavy stuff in my life that I write about, so I draw a lot from that when I’m trying to write guitar parts. Mood and tone are so important.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
I’d love to lie and say ‘yes’ and list off an abundance of cool niche pedals, but it would certainly be a fib. Not that I don’t appreciate all that stuff, I’m just still learning as I have the attention span of a peanut. Being a full-time broke girl, all the pedals I have are second-hand ones that I’ve bought from mates.
What advice would you give your past self?
Pay attention! I started learning guitar when I was young. I had always sung, and thanks to my folks, been into music and songwriting from a young age. When I started learning guitar, I just wanted to be able to play something while I sang, so once I learnt some basic chords and tab-reading skills, I would just learn how to play every song I wanted to cover. But I didn’t stick to practicing and getting better. If I had the attention span back then (and now), I could be a far more competent and confident guitarist. It’s definitely not too late for me to get better and hone in on strengthening my skills, but wow, I am just so good at not practicing…
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be?
Knowing that I am not the best guitarist, this sounds like a thing of nightmares – I hope I never have to do that. There are definitely a few guitarists I idolise, though, who I’d be chuffed to even hold a guitar in the same room as – Sulynn Hago from Propagandhi being one of them. God, they shred so hard. I used to watch their covers of Prop songs before they got asked to be in the band – iconic. Their skill and style are something I’d kill to have.