It seems it was only months ago that a unique folk trio from the East Coast came on the scene and took the local music scene by storm. Now, Little May are set to embark on their latest tour to celebrate their slow-burning new single, ‘Seven Hours’.
Since they first debuted, Little May have garnered acclaim for their deft acoustic musicianship and their melancholic melodies, which evoke equal parts hope and heartbreak. It’s the inimitable mix that’s sure to make their debut album, For The Company, an acclaimed release when it drops on 9th October.
With four live performances scheduled for Australian audiences before embarking on a 25-date tour of the US, UK and Europe, we caught up with Little May’s Liz Drummond, who took us through the guitar gear that Little May couldn’t live without.
Back To Basics
We’re definitely not unfamiliar with having to prioritise what gear to fit in small vehicles. I guess one acoustic guitar, Annie’s Les Paul and a small amp. We used to play gigs with just two guitars and vocals so I’m sure we would manage. It would have to a very stripped back tour.
Evolution
In the very early days I played our first gigs with an acoustic guitar and a stomp box. Very typically folky. On stage now I have a Taylor, an American Telecaster and a Mexican Telecaster. Some of our songs have a few different tunings, hence the extra telecaster. I use a Fender Blues Junior, or a Princeton reverb. I have always favored small amps over larger amps. I have a pretty basic pedal setup; reverb, delay, tremolo, distortion, a POG 2 (octave pedal), which I don’t really use at the moment.
Hitting The Studio
My guitar tone is pretty consistent throughout the album we have just worked on (with Aaron Dessner). I was blessed enough to play Aaron’s rosewood telecaster from the mid seventies, along with my tele. He let us use his amps, which were so stunning and made all the difference. I didn’t use much effects as my tone is pretty clean. The amps did most of the work.
Back In The Day
My first piece of gear was my mums epiphone acoustic guitar, which I shared with my brother. My parents bought me my first guitar which was an Art and Lutherie acoustic guitar.
I want to take apart and restore both those guitars. I didn’t really know much about gear except from my brother. He had one of those Boss digital guitar effects pedals, which I remember thinking was so cool.
Gear Vs Song
The way that our band has formed has had a lot of focus on writing songs without anything but guitars or keys and our voices. When writing by myself I do find I work best using Logic and my basic home setup, where I can improvise, record stuff, make a beat, and then develop it from there. I want to get more into recording, production and analog synths, but it is a matter of time and of course, money. At this stage it is more just about building an arrangement of a song which we will use for reference in the studio. We usually have a rule that the song has to stand well on it’s own with just one voice and keys or a guitar.
Development
I feel really lucky to be living in a time where there is so much gear available. My own development as a musician has meant songwriting has come first, and gear second. It’s just always been a matter of money and using what we’ve got, and concentrating on the basics. For me and my band, having a basic recording setup has been really important. Apart from playing live, the way we started to develop our music and style was through recording and experimenting on GarageBand. Up until this point, the bells and whistles haven’t been as important for us and our sound as they might be for others bands. Every band and artist is different. I think it is important to embrace all these incredible new ways of making music. I cannot wait to get more involved with new gear.
Getting Weird
My boyfriend just gave me a Korg Volca which seems pretty cool. We bought a children’s xylophone and some shakers for babies. I don’t think I have anything that is older than me at the moment! There are a lot of vintage guitars and gear I would like to buy, but I’ll have to save up first.
Little May National Tour Dates
Friday, 18th September 2015
Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW
Tickets: Moshtix
Saturday, 19th September 2015
The Foundry, Brisbane QLD
Tickets: Oztix
Thursday, 24th September 2015
The Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Tickets: The Corner Hotel
Saturday, 26th September 2015
Jack Rabbit Slims, Perth WA
Tickets: Ticket Booth
