SOPHIE MCCOMISH
HAILS FROM EORA/SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES
PLAYS IN BODY TYPE
SOUNDS LIKE BEAUTIFULLY CHAOTIC, GARAGE-Y POP-ROCK LATEST DROP EXPIRED CANDY (LP OUT JUNE 2ND VIA POISON CITY)
How did you first discover the guitar?
My dad has played my whole life, so the guitar was always around me. My sister did too – shoutout to her old Freo band Cassidy. Dad’s got some beautiful guitars, including an acoustic Gibson from the ‘40s and a white ‘Made In USA’ Strat from the ‘80s. His group The Vagrants won a band competition in the ‘60s, and the prize was to open for The Rolling Stones in Perth. I begged him to give me lessons but he was reluctant – I guess he didn’t want me to go down the rock’n’roll path… Sorry, dad, but here I am! My first electric guitar was a vintage lilac Danelectro DC59. She doesn’t get much of a ride anymore, but I’ll never let her go.
What’s your current go-to?
I play a J Mascis Squier Jazzmaster, which I bought from a mate. Someone told me they were real good value for money and played as good, if not better, than their Fender cousins. It has a real buzzy G string, which freaked me out for a while, so I went through a period where I played a Strat instead – during that time, I lent the Jazz to someone who made me realise how freaking hot it sounds, buzzy or not, so I switched back. She’s noisy, she’s unpredictable, she’s not precious, and she can handle the chaos of a Body Type live set. Plus, running the Jazz through my dirt-heavy pedalboard makes it sound so thick and hairy.
Who and/or what are your main influences?
Early on I was into gooey, gaze-y indie rock tones – Deerhunter are a seminal influence for me, and I bought my first-ever pedal (a Boss RV-5) because I loved Alex from Beach House. Nowadays, I’m more about Blur and Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac. But really, my biggest influence in my songwriting is the women I encounter: women I know, women I read about, women in art, women making noise, all the women I create with… My whole goal as an artist is to normalise the female experience in a rock’n’roll context, where it’s usually so silenced. So I guess that’s why I make noise!
Are you much of a gear nerd?
I’m an aspiring gear nerd for sure. My rig is pretty minimal, but I’m vibing the TS808-into-Rat combo I’ve got going on. It sounds especially hot through an AC30.
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
I want a Marshall stack. Oh and one of those St. Vincent signature Music Man guitars, they rule.
What would your signature model look like?
Oh God, I love this question so much. I’m more of an aesthete than a gear nerd, and I’m a bit of a Fender loyalist, so maybe it’d be a Jazz in a fairy floss pink glitter finish, rosewood fingerboard with pearly heart-shaped fret markers, white pickguard, crystal star-shaped tone knobs, and my signature on the headstock of course. I’m pretty into the J Mascis pickups, so they can stay.
What advice would you give your past self?
Don’t be scared to be noisy! Don’t be scared to be a bit shit! Hide it all behind some fat distortion – go buy a Big Muff, baby!
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be? Are you kidding? Imagine playing ‘Bad Reputation’ with Joan Jett, as if that wouldn’t be the funnest thing in the world!