Interview with Kindling’s Stephen Pierce

Kindling (Easthampton, MA) has just dropped their first full length LP, Everywhere Else. Broader in scope than last year’s Galaxies EP, the new album is, as expected, chock full of cathartic pop hooks slathered in layers of heavy shoegaze fuzz and reverbed-out bliss. I was fortunate enough to interview guitarist and vocalist Stephen Pierce over e-mail to talk about what went into perfecting their heavy sound on the record and what’s in store for the near future. We also got a solid list of recommendations if you’re looking for some new noisy punk to listen to. By Zac S.



What was the studio environment like? Do you all record your parts separately, or is some of it live-in-studio?

The basic tracks are all done live, drums - bass - guitar. We do it ‘til we get a performance that Andy [Skelly], our drummer, is happy with, correct any bass issues with punches, and then I get to go crazy with guitar. I think recording it live preserves some of the energy and urgency that feels pretty important to me. As for environment, we recorded with our friend Justin Pizzoferrato at Sonelab, and I’m not sure there are many places on earth I’d rather be than in there with him working on something. He’s become such a good friend through all of this, and we seem to appreciate the same sorts of things about music and guitar sound and mixing… Our aesthetic senses align pretty perfectly. When you’re spending a good block of time working on something that’s so meaningful to you, it definitely helps to be doing it with someone that you genuinely want to be around. He’s not afraid to push me if he thinks something could be better, or fuller, or higher in the mix or whatever, and since I like him so much and trust his ear more than most people’s, I am more than happy to listen to that sort of input.

The guitars on the new LP are absolutely huge. What guitars do you play on this album? Anything custom or special we should know about? What do you run through for the thick fuzzy rhythms? Any secret-weapon pedals?



I used my two favorite Jazzmasters, one is a blend of old (64 body, supposedly a 65 neck) and modern (guts, bridge), and the other I built. Both have Duncan Antiquity pickups, but the one I built just seems a little hotter, more aggressive. I also used a Stratocaster with two humbuckers for some songs, and a Martin 0018 when I needed to. Nothing outlandish, just the stuff that feels comfortable to me. I used a couple of fuzz pedals: a green Sovtek Big Muff, a modern unexciting Muff, a Jax Shin-Ei FY2, and I think I also borrowed Justin’s Rams Head muff. Oh, a Wren & Cuff Caprid, too. That’s mostly like a Rams Head. Since the LP recording, I’ve used this '78 NYC Muff that I got, and a Fender Blender on recordings, also. I’m excited for those recordings to get out there eventually. Aside from all the fuzz, it’s pretty simple. Justin’s Memory Man Deluxe, a Catalinbread Belle Epoch, some Mr Black reverb pedals, a couple of delays— nothing too esoteric or advanced, except the Klon Centaur. Plus a whole bunch of old Fender tube amps and reverb tanks.

I also have to ask about the bass. It’s so murky and buzzy!

That’s a Jazz bass through a Peavey Centurion head with a Big Muff. The Peavey is actually really rad. We split the signal to a Traynor YBA-1, also.

I think I hear lots of well-placed tremolo-bar abuse in the rhythm guitars, à la Kevin Shields. Am I right? Do you have any tips for holding onto the damn thing while playing?

I have big hands so I have to space the bar out away from the strings a bit, then I bend it a little at the base so it doesn’t just fall out of the collet all the time. When I’m holding the bar, I just sort of let it sit in my palm rather than grip it hard. Allows a more fluid bend, for me. But to each their own.

What’s the secret for getting such dreamy, distant-sounding vocals? Is it ever tough to croon so slow and sweet over the punkier tracks like Weightlessly?

No secret, really— Just seems to be where our vocals naturally land. Sometimes I wish we could fit more syllables in from a lyric-writing standpoint, but both of our vocals sound the best when approached with a little roominess, a little breathing space.

Seems like this album is all guitar/bass/drums/vocals– no keyboards or mandolins or anything. Was this intentional? Do you ever feel limited in the studio by sticking to your main instruments?

Being tied down to a certain amount of time in the studio, we used it all on the instruments we have—I don’t really own anything beyond guitars, basses, amps… So you write with what you have. I know that being in the studio availed us to instruments that we don’t have, but it’s kind of like a recipe for something: You don’t just add ingredients because they’re available, and with the exception of a few things, nothing really seemed like the right ingredient for the recipe. As it was, I wasn’t planning on adding any acoustic guitar to the record, but that’s an example where availability pushed us to use something new on certain songs. There were talks in the studio about adding mellotron to a song or two, also, but we just weren’t able to get to it, time-wise. We crammed so much into the time we had with what we’re familiar with, and ended up using every last minute on what we ended up with.

You definitely explore more dynamics and space on this album, like on Capital Cities and Coma, where you let the vocals and drums stand out a little more. Was it tough to let yourselves emerge from under the thick blankets of guitars? Were there any 12-minute slow jams left on the cutting room floor?

I’ve habitually wanted to have the vocals pretty low in the mix and have had to be coaxed into being OK with them being a little more 'present'— probably comes from not really wanting to hear myself or being self-conscious about my own voice, or maybe from spending so much time working on how the music sounds and wanting that to shine through. With each recording, though, Justin has been successful at getting me to be OK with louder vocals. The stuff we just did, he & Gretchen [Williams] both thought it should be higher than they were sitting in the mix, and— well, they were right. There wasn’t really any spare stuff from this session, but we are putting out a 6-song 12" EP later this fall with songs that we did at the same time. As it should happen, they’re mostly the poppier songs that didn’t fit the vibe of Everywhere Else.

What should audiences expect for your upcoming live shows?

A ringing in their ears afterwards, maybe. We are definitely not a quiet band. Lately we’ve been playing a set that’s mostly LP songs and are looking forward to starting to play some of the LP2 songs that we’ve recently demoed. We’ve been messing around with a cover song, too, which is super fun to play. We did it at soundcheck at our release show & it went well enough that we added it into our set for the night. Maybe it’ll make other appearances. Generally, though, we keep our sets pretty concise with very little space between songs, hopefully it presents as a well-thought-through thing.

Have you had any trouble translating your huge-sounding recordings for the stage?

The only challenge, really, had been working out a situation where the vocals were audible over the guitars. We sorted that out earlier this summer: Gretchen borrowed one of Justin’s super gated mics one practice, and the next practice she had one of her own. It worked that well.

On tour, who does the driving, and how do you pass the time?

It’s mostly me. Our van has some quirks, and I’ve mostly tamed it. So I pass the time by driving and listening to whatever. I really like stopping at Wawa and Sheetz when we’re in that part of the country; eating crappy road food is another way I like to pass the time and they seem to have a lot better options than most shitty gas stations do. I got into bringing running stuff on tour, so I don’t feel like such a useless lump after a few days in. One of my friends is able to bring a bike on the road when he tours. I’m jealous of that. Who actually likes running?

You guys recorded Spike & Wave at home. While your recordings have “thickened up” since then, you definitely achieved a distinctly heavy sound there. Which came first— how you wanted to sound live, or how you wanted to sound on tape?

I don’t really remember if I actually had considered how it would translate to being played live when making Spike & Wave. I do think about that sort of thing a little more these days, but I’d rather compromise to make it work live than compromise the recording: My focus is on how the permanent documentation of the song lines up with my vision for it, figuring that we’ll be able to get 'close enough’ with most stuff live, with some work & tweaking.

Follow-up: For the amateur home-recording-enthusiasts among us, do you have any tips for getting the sound you want at home?

Embrace naiveté, take risks, and believe in yourself. I had no idea what I was doing, and I was mortified when it was heard by actual audio engineers, but I guess it all worked out. I think a lot of it is just genuinely being a huge fan of music, and paying close analytical attention to the recordings that you love. Doesn’t hurt to read about technique, I’m sure, but I never really did too much of that.

This might be dumb question, but it’s bothered me since I got it. On the Galaxies EP, why have all four tracks on the A-Side and ship with a blank B-Side?

Not a dumb question. The b-side was supposed to be silkscreened with a design referencing the front cover, but for whatever reason that never ended up happening. Every time I am reminded, I wonder why it never happened and I get a little bummed that what I thought would be a really cool presentation ended up not actualized. We had the art ready and everything.

You put out a heavy cover of The Dicks’ Hate the Police last year and donated the proceeds to charity. Are there any other less (or perhaps more?) politically-driven songs you’re trying to convince the rest of the band to cover?

I love covers. In a world where free time was endlessly available and there wasn’t anything else more important to work on, we would do a cover 7" every month or so. Andy & I started messing around with a cover of “Raise the Curtain” by Jerry’s Kids a while back. We just finished a recording of a Replacements song. Gretchen has been pushing to do a couple of Descendents songs. I love doing covers. We all do, I think. It would be really easy for us to do too many. We have to be careful, try to stay selective.

Any chance we’ll get to hear that Replacements cover soon?

Hopefully. We just finished recording it & are trying to figure out exactly what we’re going to be doing with it. Sooner or later, I’m sure



Back to the new album— Everywhere Else includes a few tracks you’ve released previously. Do you think they’re a better fit thematically with the rest of the new material?

When the songs from the [Spare Room] demo & [Spike & Wave] 7" were recorded, the band was just Gretchen & I; they evolved so much with the addition of a full band, it seemed like we should just record them anew to capture the new energy that everyone else is bringing to the songs. Especially for the ones we grew accustomed to playing live. I see those songs as the thread that connects what the band was to what the band presently is.

Did you have any reference songs you’d listen to when recording the new album? I always find myself listening to Siamese Dream when I try to record guitars at home (mostly in vain).

Not really, I kind of ended up in an echo chamber as far as getting really hyper-analytical of the demos of the LP songs for the weeks (months, maybe) leading up to recording. Efficiency was a major concern, so for me, going in with the clearest vision for what needed to be done was really important. But I get obsessive about music— more as a fan than as an artist. I’ll listen to the same record several times a day, sometimes as the only thing that I’ll listen to for days.

I don’t know exactly why this appeals to me, but if I were to guess, it would be that when a record really resonates with me, I want to know everything about it. Every note. I want to figure out what it is about the record that makes me feel so strongly about it: Like, what’s the anchor? What are the things that I don’t like? What makes this record different than others like it? I’m sure that whatever it is I get from that process shows up in Kindling songs, whether or not we end up sounding like whatever the source of inspiration might’ve been.

Rapid-fire: Worst book you’ve ever read?

I didn’t like White Noise by Don Delisle. Just something about his phrasing irritated me. I don’t know if it reminded me of the way someone I didn’t like spoke or whatever, but I just couldn’t get through it without being annoyed. I finished it, though, I guess just to see if it got any better. It didn’t.

First CD/Cassette/Record you got as a kid?

I don’t really remember the first actual cd or cassette, but I do remember the dubbed tape that got me into punk. A family friend made me a cassette of Screeching Weasel’s My Brain Hurts on one side, and some NOFX record on the other. Then hearing Weasel’s split with Born Against opened THAT door, and the line becomes pretty easy to trace.

Favorite class from high school or college?

I liked reading, and I also liked fucking off, so when I had an English class run by an old hippie who was down with my going in my own direction with what I read, that was the best. Also, growing up a young punk in a town of jocks and squares, this teacher seemed to be more sympathetic to, you know, my being the sort of person that I was at the time. Felt less alienated in her class.

Coffee or tea?

Tea is nice, but coffee is necessary.

Any underrated songs or albums you think people should listen to?

I think that people should give Sabbath records after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath more of a chance. Sabotage is one of my favorites all the way through. So is the song “A Hard Road” off Never Say Die, and though cheesy, I love the song “You Won’t Change Me” off Technical Ecstasy. Iommi’s lead in that is really something.

Beyond that, “Harm” by Infinity Girl should be everyone’s favorite. “Shush” by Coaches. This new Halfsour record coming out in the fall. Soft Fangs’ song “The Light”— I guess I just listed everything Dustin [Watson] has put out on Disposable America recently. Longing’s [self-titled] LP is great. Cali X’s “Nights in the Dark” was one of the best records of last year. I’ve been listening to “Guilty” by Dirty Dishes a lot recently. I dunno, there’s a lot out there right now that’s so good. We’re lucky to be around so much of it.

You can buy a copy of Everywhere Else (digital, vinyl, cassette), as well their earlier hits and some really groovy hand-dyed t-shirts, from their bandcamp site. In fact, you should do that ASAP, while they still have some in stock. You can also check them out live on September 12 in Asbury Park, NJ and October 12 in Cambridge, MA (although there’s no guarantee that Dinosaur Jr. might secretly show up again). Finally, keep an ear out for their next release: the poppier six song EP No Generation will be out this November (on 12″ and cassette) and will, beyond a doubt, blow your socks off.