ANNA LIENHOP
HAILS FROM NAARM/MELBOURNE, VICTORIA PLAYS IN MOODY BEACHES
SOUNDS LIKE HEADY AND CHARGED PUNKGAZE LATEST DROP ACID OCEAN (LP OUT NOW VIA POISON CITY)
How did you first discover the guitar?
My first guitar was a secondhand three-quarter nylon-string that was purchased for my music class in primary school. I couldn’t tell you what it was, but I can tell you it probably wasn’t ever in tune. I think I fell in love with the guitar when I was able to write a whole song with two chords after my first lesson.
What’s your current go-to?
It’s a black DeArmond Guild M-75 that I got off eBay for maybe $500. It was in storage when I fell out of love with playing guitar, but I eventually picked it up again for Moody Beaches and rediscovered the joy of it all. I love the brittle and crisp sound it produces (probably from the gold foil pickups). There’s nothing like it, and I’m very comfortable with it, despite it being heavy and a nightmare to find a flight case for.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
As much of a gear nerd as I am, I really hate carrying it all around. My current amp is a little Fender Blues Junior. It packs a punch, and you don’t really need to cross-train at a gym to carry it – great for rehearsal and most gigs, but if there’s a backline I’ll usually default to a Twin because they’re awesome. The mainstays on my pedalboard are a Boss BD-2, a Boss DM-2 copy (Mooer Ana Echo), a Keeley Caverns (a highly underrated pedal, which can sound both wild and classy) a Klon clone that I got as a Valentine’s Day present.
My favourite toys that aren’t on my board are a Boss PS-2 for creative and glitchy fun (yes I like Boss pedals, so what!?) and a Korg Volca Keys synth – it’s the size of a pencil case, and it’s endlessly entertaining on long car rides (but bring headphones, that synth-hole you dug yourself into doesn’t sound nearly as awesome to your bandmates and friends).
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
Generally I think about random pieces of gear that I was loaned or played once, which for whatever reason stand out; not necessarily rare pieces, just those that I’m not able to buy at the time or can’t justify the price tag. Like a ValveTone head I once borrowed for a gig – that tone was sosatisfying – or the neck of a late ’70s Music Man Sabre at a guitar store near me, which made me feel like a total shredlord. It felt so smooth.
Someday I’d like to grab a Hotcake. They’re such a hero pedal. I’m still on the hunt for a guitar that’s flexible enough to use for all of my different projects – I don’t know what it is, but I’ll know it when I play it. So far some of the Fender Teles are piquing my interest, but I guess we’ll see. The thrill of the hunt is the best part of it, right?
What would your signature model look like?
It’s black, not too heavy (because my shoulders are a mess), plays nice, has good sustain, and holds a the tone resembling the crunch of a new-season pink lady apple.
What advice would you give your past self? Perfection is the enemy of progress.
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be? Selda Bagcan and her song ‘Ince Ince Bir Kar Yagar’. That song absolutely slaps.