ARIA Award-winner (and Jebediah frontman in another life) Bob Evans has just released his fifth studio album, Car Boot Sale, recorded with Tony Buchen (The Preatures, Montaigne, Spookyland, Falls).
Releasing a fifth solo album puts him on level-pegging with Jebediah, so by this point he’s had a hell of a lot of experience with writing and recording – even in his second career presenting his amusingly-named podcast, Good Evans, It’s a Bobcast! We’ve picked his brain about some of the gear that he absolutely can’t live without, both in the studio and on the road.
For more from Bob, catch him on his Car Boot Sale national tour, supported by Melody Pool across all dates, as well as Caitlin Harnett & Jim Lawrie in Sydney and Melbourne respectively. Dates are below, and tickets are available now.
Thu 04 Aug – Grace Emily – Adelaide
Fri 05 Aug – Dunsborough Hotel – Dunsborough
Sat 06 Aug – Jack Rabbit Slims – Northbridge
Sun 07 Aug – Mojo’s – Fremantle
Thu 11 Aug – The Foundry – Brisbane
Fri Aug 12 – Newtown Social Club – Sydney
Sat Aug 13 – Howler – Melbourne
MATON ACOUSTIC GUITAR
This is obviously the most important piece of equipment in my admittedly small arsenal. I’m very lucky to have collected a few Matons over the years; I have 3 jumbos, and a little mini body 12 string, which is really cool, but my favourite is still the very first one I ever got back in about 2000.
It’s by no means the most expensive one but it just sounds and plays so great, and now that it’s 16 years old it’s starting to age nicely and look cool. Matons are great workhorses on the road, and this guitar has travelled all around the world with me and done countless shows and has never let me down.
HARMONICA
I started learning the harmonica because I hated getting to parts of songs where there was a solo or an instrumental on the record, but when I played those songs by myself live there was nothing to fill the gap. The harmonica became like my go-to lead guitar or solo instrument.
It’s a pretty easy instrument to pick up and learn quickly – I’ve even had people compliment me on my playing and I say to them, all you have to do is suck and blow in time with the music and make sure the harmonica is in the same key as the song, and you pretty much can not fuck it up. I’ve always been pretty good at sucking and blowing at the same time on stage.
TUNER
Well I gotta be in tune, right? I use a Boss, they work well. I once heard a story that Liam Gallagher would run his microphone through a tuner so he could see if his held singing notes were out of tune or not and could pitch up or down accordingly.
I don’t know if that’s actually true or not, but what else am I supposed to talk about? It’s a fucking tuner for Christ’s sake. It’s the most essential yet at the same time the most boring guitar pedal you will ever own.
YAMAHA 24 Track DIGITAL WORKSTATION
I got this about 10 years ago and I’ve demoed all my records on it ever since. It’s pretty much a glorified 4-track. I don’t have a pro tools set up at home and a lot of people find that a bit surprising – I guess I’m a bit of a luddite, but this just works for me.
I don’t get sore eyes from staring at a screen all day and I don’t waste hours of my time chasing some perfect inbuilt computer effect. I like to work fast and record ideas as they come to me, and then when I get in the studio to make the actual record I can let a producer do all the time-consuming computer shit that I don’t really have the patience for.
WINE
Sure, it may not technically be gear, but I just don’t really want to live in a world where I can’t drink wine backstage before and after I play a show – and onstage while I’m playing said show.
Some people have said it’s the worst thing to drink ’cause it dries your throat out, but I can’t drink beer or anything fizzy ’cause it makes me feel bloated and then it gives me the hiccups – and it’s pretty much impossible to sing when you’re feeling all fat and bloated and you have the hiccups.
