002 / Ava Mendoza on EBows, 12AX7s, and Flipping Tables
Explicit content warning
02/12/20 • 66 min
Hilary talks to Ava Mendoza about sedans, music store paranoia, and the nuances of being “you go girl”-ed.
AVA’S BIO
AVA MENDOZA is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Born in 1983, she started performing her own music, and as a sidewoman and collaborator in many different projects, as soon as she was legally allowed into clubs. As a guitarist, Mendoza has received acclaim for her technique and viscerality. Her most ongoing work is as leader of experimental rock band Unnatural Ways, and as a solo performer on guitar/voice. In any context she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Mendoza has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe and recorded/performed with musicians including Carla Bozulich, Fred Frith, Adele Bertei, Malcolm Mooney, Steve Shelley, Mike Watt, Ikue Mori, Mick Barr, William Hooker, Nels Cline, John Zorn, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Matt Mitchell, Jon Irabagon, Matana Roberts, members of Caroliner, ROVA, Negativland, the Violent Femmes, and more. Recordings are available on labels Tzadik, Astral Spirits, Weird Forest, Clean Feed, Resipiscent, and New Atlantis.
Friendly critics have quoted: “It’s... Ava Mendoza’s deconstructing of blues and punk into brutal shredfests that’s causing a ruckus in NYC’s DIY hubs” (Brad Cohan, Noisey.Vice). “A wizard on a semi-circle of effects pedals, but... equally adept with FX-less technique," (Lars Gotrich, NPR). "Mendoza plays these songs. She makes them sing. Her technique is impeccable, but her playing is astonishingly expressive. She doesn't just bend blue notes; she wads them up into a ball and throws them up against a wall... Mendoza knows what she does better than almost anyone else on the planet, which is tell stories with her guitar." (Aiding & Abetting). She was featured as one of Guitar World‘s “10 Female Guitarists You Should Know”.
BRANDS/SHOPS MENTIONED
Peavey / Fender / Radack Guitars / Seymour Duncan / Brooklyn Lutherie / Line 6 / Boss / Boomerang
BANDS/ARTISTS AVA’S PLAYED WITH or COLLABORATED WITH/MENTIONED
Devin Hoff / Trevor Dunn / Malcolm Mooney / Steve Shelley / Devin Brahja Waldman / Peter Conheim / Alex Marcelo / Unnatural Ways / Tatsuyo Yoshido / Daniel Moreno
OTHER BANDS/ARTISTS MENTIONED
Minutemen / Mike Watt / Nels Cline / Carla Bozulich / Mr. Bungle / Fantomas / CAN / Negativland / Ruins / Violent Femmes / Echo & the Bunnymen / Fred Frith / Shellshag / Jennifer Shagawat / Jessica Pavone / Jessica Ackerley / Sally Gates
OTHER MENTIONS
Astral Spirits Records / Relative Pitch Records / RIOT RI / Seizure’s Palace Studio / Gowanus Sound / Monheim Triennale
AVA’S HOT TIPS
-Make sure to test everything the repair person does before you leave the shop
-To prevent string breakage, wind your strings around the peg as much as possible
-Graphite on nut and saddles keeps your guitar in tune with heavy tremolo use
AVA’S LINKS
MID-RIFF LINKS
CREDITS
Ava’s Bumper Track: “Dogbodies" by Unnatural Ways
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri
Hilary talks to Ava Mendoza about sedans, music store paranoia, and the nuances of being “you go girl”-ed.
AVA’S BIO
AVA MENDOZA is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Born in 1983, she started performing her own music, and as a sidewoman and collaborator in many different projects, as soon as she was legally allowed into clubs. As a guitarist, Mendoza has received acclaim for her technique and viscerality. Her most ongoing work is as leader of experimental rock band Unnatural Ways, and as a solo performer on guitar/voice. In any context she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Mendoza has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe and recorded/performed with musicians including Carla Bozulich, Fred Frith, Adele Bertei, Malcolm Mooney, Steve Shelley, Mike Watt, Ikue Mori, Mick Barr, William Hooker, Nels Cline, John Zorn, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Matt Mitchell, Jon Irabagon, Matana Roberts, members of Caroliner, ROVA, Negativland, the Violent Femmes, and more. Recordings are available on labels Tzadik, Astral Spirits, Weird Forest, Clean Feed, Resipiscent, and New Atlantis.
Friendly critics have quoted: “It’s... Ava Mendoza’s deconstructing of blues and punk into brutal shredfests that’s causing a ruckus in NYC’s DIY hubs” (Brad Cohan, Noisey.Vice). “A wizard on a semi-circle of effects pedals, but... equally adept with FX-less technique," (Lars Gotrich, NPR). "Mendoza plays these songs. She makes them sing. Her technique is impeccable, but her playing is astonishingly expressive. She doesn't just bend blue notes; she wads them up into a ball and throws them up against a wall... Mendoza knows what she does better than almost anyone else on the planet, which is tell stories with her guitar." (Aiding & Abetting). She was featured as one of Guitar World‘s “10 Female Guitarists You Should Know”.
BRANDS/SHOPS MENTIONED
Peavey / Fender / Radack Guitars / Seymour Duncan / Brooklyn Lutherie / Line 6 / Boss / Boomerang
BANDS/ARTISTS AVA’S PLAYED WITH or COLLABORATED WITH/MENTIONED
Devin Hoff / Trevor Dunn / Malcolm Mooney / Steve Shelley / Devin Brahja Waldman / Peter Conheim / Alex Marcelo / Unnatural Ways / Tatsuyo Yoshido / Daniel Moreno
OTHER BANDS/ARTISTS MENTIONED
Minutemen / Mike Watt / Nels Cline / Carla Bozulich / Mr. Bungle / Fantomas / CAN / Negativland / Ruins / Violent Femmes / Echo & the Bunnymen / Fred Frith / Shellshag / Jennifer Shagawat / Jessica Pavone / Jessica Ackerley / Sally Gates
OTHER MENTIONS
Astral Spirits Records / Relative Pitch Records / RIOT RI / Seizure’s Palace Studio / Gowanus Sound / Monheim Triennale
AVA’S HOT TIPS
-Make sure to test everything the repair person does before you leave the shop
-To prevent string breakage, wind your strings around the peg as much as possible
-Graphite on nut and saddles keeps your guitar in tune with heavy tremolo use
AVA’S LINKS
MID-RIFF LINKS
CREDITS
Ava’s Bumper Track: “Dogbodies" by Unnatural Ways
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri
Previous Episode
001 / Rachel Blumberg on Drums, Armor, and Butter
Hilary talks to Rachel Blumberg about the *ahem* unique aesthetic of her first drum kit, transitioning from gear head denial to loving gear, band gender breakdowns, the woes and whoas of gear-carrying, and why buying gear should be like butter.
RACHEL'S BIO
Rachel Blumberg has been bringing her musical feel to bands and solo artists for a good part of the last two decades through her primary instrument, THE DRUMS, as well as percussion, keyboards, voice, and the occasional stringed instrument. She has recorded, toured and performed with many widely acclaimed artists such as Mirah, Tara Jane O’Neil, Laura Gibson, M.Ward, The Decemberists, Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), Michael Hurley, and Bright Eyes. Rachel also composes and performs her own music under her name and her moniker Arch Cape.
In addition to being a musician, Rachel is a prolific visual artist and animator, and has produced stop motion music videos for folks like Gillian Welch, Iron & Wine, and Nada Surf, among others. Her paintings and other work have been shown in galleries and other arts spaces around the US.
Her current projects includes an interactive audio - visual installation entitled Space Is the Place where drawings turn into sound and then into projections, which she first premiered at the RISD Museum in 2018 and the bands Death Vessel, The Huntress and Holder of Hands, and Califone. Rachel is also a well regarded teacher of percussion and the creative arts, and runs her own music school and volunteers regularly for Girls Rock! Rhode Island. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she now resides in coastal Rhode Island.
BRANDS/SHOPS MENTIONED
Revival Drum Shop / Village Drum & Music / Ludwig / Rogers / Leedy / Gretsch / Roland / Korg / Teenage Engineering / Electro-Harmonix / Line 6 / DigiTech / Boss / TC Electronic / Atelier Rosenkrantz
BANDS RACHEL HAS PLAYED WITH/MENTIONED
Califone / The Decemberists / M. Ward / Mirah / Tara Jane O’Neil / The Huntress & the Holder of Hands / Death Vessel / Iron & Wine / Bright Eyes / Arch Cape / Laura Gibson / Sissyface
OTHER BANDS MENTIONED
Magnetic Fields / The Crabs / Messthetics / Fugazi / Velvet Crush / Eyelids / Retrix / Sun Ra / Juana Molina
OTHER MENTIONS
Columbus Theater / Jodi & Ted Leo / What Cheer? Brigade / RISD Museum / New Bedford Art Museum / RIOT RI (formerly Girls Rock! RI) / Janet Weiss / Tom Tom magazine / She Shreds magazine
RACHEL'S LINKS
The Huntress & Holder of Hands
MID-RIFF LINKS
CREDITS
Rachel's Bumper Track: "Red & Gold" by Arch Cape
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri
Next Episode
003 / Talking Gender and Gear at NAMM
Mid-Riff went to NAMM and Hilary came home with about 30 interviews to show for it! Listen in for crucial conversations with companies and attendees about gender and diversity in the music gear industry. Who's doing a good job? How can we do better? Why are my feet so tired? Oh yeah, and there's new gear, too!
TIME STAMPS
/ 00:00 / Hilary's NAMM breakdown- gear and gender
/ 18:20 / Interviews: Companies’ new gear at NAMM
/ 28:11 / Interviews: Which cis women, trans, or non-binary folks would you like to see playing your gear?
/ 37:09 / Interviews: Who is doing gender and diversity well in the music gear industry?
/ 55:25 / Interviews: What changes would you recommend to improve gender and diversity in the music gear industry?
COMPANY INTERVIEWS
Mitch— Empress / Ryan— Fuzzrocious / Mike, Zack, Joel— Chase Bliss / Silvie, Randy, Andy— Red Panda / Lynsey and Ted— Surfy Industries / Mallory— Reverb / Zach— SJC Drums / Emily— Outlaw Drums artist rep / Cort— Walrus Audio / Corey— Earthquaker Devices / Mike— Alexander Pedals / Heather— Death By Audio / Dwayne and Kendra— Revelation Cables / Audrey— Ernie Ball Stingray / Penny— Reverend / Liz— D’Addario / Patrick Hunter-- Bass Demoer
ATTENDEE INTERVIEWS
Alexa and Jayda / Erika / Sunshine and Nirvana / Yohanna / Dena / Sara, John, Raj, and Shilpa
MENTIONS: CIS WOMEN, TRANS, and NON-BINARY MUSICIANS
Octo Octa / Susan Alcorn / Caterina Barbieri / Suzanne Ciani / Matmos/Bjork / Mary Halvorson / Brandi Carlisle / Valerie June / The Centellas / Huma Guma / The Surfer Jets / The Neptunas / Anika Nilles / Bonnie Raitt / St. Vincent / Lady Gaga / Lana Del Rey / Carol Kaye / Lisa Bella Donna / Kate Eldridge / Eryka Badu / Bat for Lashes / Sarah Lipstate / Casey Musgraves / Reba Meyers / Sarah Longfield / Melanie Faye / RealBeal
MENTIONS: COMPANIES and ORGS DOING A GOOD JOB
4ms / Earthquaker Devices / Old Blood Noise / Moog / Make Noise / Benson / She Shreds / Tom Tom / Soundgirls /Fender / Zildjian / Vater / Sabian / SJC Drums / Los Cabos drumsticks / Women’s Audio Mission / Taylor / Death By Audio / Bullet Cables / Chase Bliss / Levy’s / 64 Audio / Strandberg Guitars / Seymour Duncan / Darkglass Electronics / Railhammer Pickups / Spotify / Smart Women in Music (SWIM) / Pearl / Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls / Gator Cases / Hyde Music / West Music Co. / KHS Music
MID-RIFF LINKS
CREDITS
Theme Music: "Hedonism" by Towanda
Artwork by Julia Gualtieri
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