Heavy kID is a band that is fond of their equipment, so here, we ask the Pensacola quintet to delve into what sonic weapons they choose to wield, what gear is important to their set up, and how they get to sound the way they do.
You recently released your single “Day By Day.” What inspired the song?
Like “Day By Day,” a few of these songs on the Five-Line Farewell album were written from the vantage point of my front porch during the pandemic. Both the lyrics and the music, as well as the winding guitar solos within “Day by Day, to me are tied to the experience of isolation and uncertainty, of letting go, and finding some resilience within yourself and others. I think this song started with the music before the lyrics; we liked the idea of it opening with the same repeated and bending note within the different chords before it settles in for the first verse. Verses are kinda that thing that we all do in our heads when we are back and forth, thinking about and questioning the past, present, and wondering if things will ever return to normal. In the chorus, it’s more questioning but also an attempt to snap out of it.
How, where, and when did Heavy kID get together?
Heavy kID is made up of friends and fellow musicians from Pensacola, Florida, some of whom had been in previous bands together. Formed in 2009.
Who is in Heavy kID, and which instruments do they play?
Brian Gore: Vocals/Electric Guitar, Ben Bogan: Drums/Vocals, Clint Horton: Bass Guitar, Brian Hual: Electric Guitar, Joe Whisler: Electric Guitar/Vocals.
Does Heavy kID have a primary songwriter, or does everyone contribute?
We all bring ideas and riffs to the table, then work those out together as a band to arrange the pieces and refine the details, crafting our ideas into the songs we end up creating.
We have been good friends for a very long time, sharing an interest in exchanging songs, refining arrangements, trying new things, experimenting with different tones, etc. Setting time aside to meet up in our band room for songwriting and playing music together certainly helps to step away from all of the other things going on in the world. To us, that time spent always feels worth it.
Let’s talk gear. First things first: what’s your current setup?
Tube amps with gain, Gibsons, Jazzmaster, Humbuckers, P90s, Rickenbacker, and sometimes a Tele.
What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?
I would say that, although we might be physically connecting with the guitars and the audience might watch us play them, the most significant shaping of the sound comes from our pedals. We all use some pretty serious boards.
Hual uses a series of preamps and overdrives (both tube and solid state) into a boost. These run all the time – just cleaning up the sound with the guitar knobs. The pedals always run into vintage tube amps, which are in constant rotation: Fender, Marshall, Hiwatt, or Vox. In this case, switching between any number of Gibson and Fender guitars has less effect on the overall sound than one might think.
Joe primarily uses overdrive through a TC Electronics Spark pedal accompanied by an MXR 10 Band EQ Pedal, a slight delay through a TC Electronics Mini-Flashback, and slight reverb from a Fender Super Sonic head. The Super Sonic head is a dual-channel head that has a clean/vintage side and a distorted/overdrive side, which can be changed via the floor pedal back and forth from clean to overdrive.
Gore at different times pushes a Sarno Earth Drive, Ratt, or Timmy overdrive mixed in with a Supro Tremolo and a TC Dreamscape plugged into a 59 Bassman Reissue.
Clint runs his Fender Jazz bass through a Seymour Duncan Powerstage into an Aguilar cabinet.
Ben has used a ‘TJS Custom Drums’ ‘Maple Passion’ drum set for many years, as well as a ‘DW’ ‘Collector’s Series’ drum set more recently, with a 24” bass drum. The TJS set was crafted in Arizona, and the DW in California.
Ultimately, with HK, there is not a single piece of gear. It’s a combination of a warm bass, deep-toned drums with a nice snare pop, and three guitar tones from 3 different eras, all tube amps … 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.
How did you come to possess this piece of equipment? Vintage shop, regular shop, borrowed money, gifted? Give us the details.
We’ve been doing this for a long time. Although we all have very supportive families, we have been buying, selling, trading, & collecting everything guitar for so long that it’s just something we’re constantly doing that, at this point, takes up a lot of room.
We know you love this piece of gear, but are there any major cons? (Okay, you can also list the pros.)
It’s all great stuff, but…it could always be better!
If you could, or wanted to, what would you tweak or mod?
Hual: We’re always looking for ways to tweak and mod things. I’m not sure I have any guitars or amps that are still in stock.
What brand do you usually lean towards when looking up new options?
We keep it pretty traditional: Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Rickenbacker.
Destroying instruments on stage: yay or nay?
That would be a HARD, nay!
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done with a musical instrument?
Left guitar in a guitar stand … dog peed on it. We’ve also tripped over our guitar straps on stage, pulling the guitar off the stand and slamming it on the stage. We’ve had guitar straps give way and guitar slams on the ground, breaking the neck. Clint kicked one of his bass guitars out of frustration one time.
What setup did you spend the most time idolizing as a kid growing up?
Over the years, and even today, we are drawn to a wide range of musicians and bands that incorporate their setups, tones, and effects into their songwriting. Everyone from Randy Roads, George Lynch, and Bob Mould to bands like R.E.M., Uncle Tupelo, Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom, Pixies, and Band of Horses, to name a few.
What setup do you think serves musicians like yourself the most in the style of music you play?
A: What works for us is the foundation of a deep wooden drum kit pieced together over many years through a lot of experience, and a warm, rich, deep-toned bass with the right amount of kick and low end. From there, with three different styles of guitar playing, we work on dropping in and out as well as syncing up all three guitars together to try not to muddy up the overall sound. With the vocals, we like to weave in both singing certain lines together to double up and use vocal harmonies that stay true to our sound and vibe that we want to portray.
“Day By Day”, like many of our songs on Five-Line Farewell, was written on the acoustic guitar. So it’s always fun to take the acoustic version to the band room to rough it up a bit, electrify it, and add in bass, drums, harmonies, and fuzzy guitars to drive it.
Time for some fun. Give us your best “gear goes wrong” story.
Not sure we’ve really have a best “gear goes wrong” story, but we have all experienced getting rained on during an outside gig, breaking strings in the middle of a song with no really good way to switch guitars, drum heads breaking, cymbals cracking in half, power goes out during the middle of a gig, someone falls off the stage, you’re sick as a dog while you are up on stage, someone pours beer all over your floor pedal, etc…
Thank you so much for letting us into your world and explaining a bit about the band’s set up, sound, and tasteful influences. Best of luck with everything until next time.
