Spilly Cave is a fantastic guitarist, composer, video creator, and as it turns out... an EXCELLENT conversationalist. I met Spilly (Billy) through him becoming a Stringjoy artist, and just loving the music he makes after I discovered it. This dude spent multiple years posting videos EVERYDAY before he actually gained traction publicly, and we discuss his mindset/approach during that timeframe. He's not a serious gear head, but he has developed a VERY unique sound nonetheless. I think you are goi...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 380
My dude Ian Fowles is back on the podcast this week! If you are not familiar with The Aquabats, you need to get familiar. (Unless you are allergic to fun. If so, you are going to have a SERIOUS reaction.) Ian and I talk about balancing work life and Dad life while on tour, his signature pedal with RUDETECH, lefty guitars, and a whole lot more. Give Ian a follow on his Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/ianwfowles Check out all things Aquabats on their website HERE: https://www.theaquabats...
Nov 14, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 379
Do you really have to give up ALL of your rights to get attention in the mainstream? Is country music having a Nirvana/Grunge moment? What drives folks to head to Nashville? Is it harder to make it now vs "the good old days"? Colby Acuff is a country music artist from Northern Idaho who is currently residing in Nashville. The dude has fantastic songwriting chops, and puts on a great live show. I am super, super excited to get this episode out there, and I think you are really going to enjoy this...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 378
Mitch Stark is a guitarist and songwriter for the band Silent Planet. On this episode we take a deep dive into his backstory, the evolution of his guitar rig, some of his major influences, and how he is approaching songwriting these days. (Chester Bennington and crew have a lot to do with it! Give Mitch a follow on the ole Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/mitchastark/ Check out Silent Planet on their website HERE: https://silentplanetmerch.com/ The Text Chat is back!Hit me up at (503) 7...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 377
This week we have the comedy world's foremost guitar gear nerd on the podcast! Mr. Dave Hill has managed to pull together a rather fascinating career as a creative person. Dave is a published author, a professional stand-up comedian, a televison writer, a sketch comic, radio host, a musician and as I mentioned...obsessed with guitars. We had a great chat about his encounters with baboons in Africa, how he integrates guitar into his stand-up, his career and a whole lot more! Check out his new boo...
Oct 23, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 376
Matthew Oram is a British luthier who is making some of the most striking, yet classic, designs that I have seen in recent memory. Taking inspiration from an old, forgotten treasure you might have uncovered in your Grandparent's attic, Matt is making guitars that feel like they should have existed for years, but somehow haven't. Until now! We also dive into diving into entrepreneurship with both feet vs taking a slower approach, his approach to design, how he made the most insane ONBOARD EFFECTS...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 375
Starting a guitar store is really hard. Keeping a guitar store alive is even harder. Having a SUCCESSFUL guitar store when you are in a hyper-competitive and saturated market like Nashville is an insane task. Blair White is one of the founders of Eastside Music Supply in Nashville, TN and his team has managed to create a thriving store against all odds. I wanted to get him on the show to tell his story, and get his take on what has driven Eastside to be a destination spot for guitar enthusiasts....
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 374
Imagine your are flying to Africa on a hot tip. And that hot tip is that there is The Holy Grail of vintage Gibsons waiting for you there. Thats right. You are flying to Africa to acquire a 'Burst Les Paul for Joe Bonamassa. For John Shults, that is a part of his reality. John has a company called True Vintage Guitar and he makes his living by traveling all over the world hunting down the finest, rarest examples of vintage Fenders & Gibsons. And he did it by carefully buying and selling guit...
Oct 02, 2023•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 373
On this episode I sat down with my dude Matt Holl from Wren & Cuff to chat about... Well... Big Muffs of course! But we didn't stop there! We dove deep down the rabbit hole of all things music. Including the somewhat controversial subject of paying for expertise. Whether that be a professional Mastering Engineer, an experienced Producer, or investing your money in an obsessively developed product. I think you are going to enjoy this chat! Check out Matt's work at https://www.wrenandcuff.com/...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 372
You are in for a real treat with this episode folks! Today I'm talking with Gina Gleason from the legendary band, Baroness! We dive straight into her career and how she ended up playing in one of the most iconic bands to ever come out of Philly. But not before we dissect what life was like playing guitar for Cirque Du Soleil. Yes you read that correctly. We are talking about LITERAL guitar acrobatics on this one! Check out the band on their website HERE: https://yourbaroness.com/ Give Gina a fol...
Sep 18, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 371
"We can't be everything to all people, or we'll end up being not anything to anybody." - Jeremie Murfin If you EVER thought about starting a guitar or musical instrument store, you really need to listen to this episode. Geoff and Jeremie are two of the partners in an epic independent guitar store called Five Star Guitars here in the Portland, Oregon area. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary as a company, and they have grown tremendously over that time period. Which flys directly in the f...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 370
On today's episode I sit down with flatpicking phenom Trey Hensley to discuss his story. The dude started out extremely young and almost immediately started performing live. All of these years later, he's not only one of the most sought after pickers in the bluegrass scene, but a wide ranging music enthusiast and super rad dude. You are in for a treat with this conversation! Check out Trey's website HERE: http://treyhensley.com/ Give him a follow on Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/trey...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 369
The man, the myth, the guitar legend Ariel Posen has returned to the podcast for the third time! On this episode we dissect the idea of what makes up a "real song". Is one method of creation more valid than another? Does improvisation count as songwriting? Does more time spent on a project mean that more people will appreciate it? We dive into a all of this and a whole lot more on this episode of podcast about guitar stuff. Sometimes. Check out all things Ariel on his website HERE: https://www.a...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 368
Sometimes you have to prank your bandmates into making the right choices! Andy Marsh from Thy Art Is Murder is on the podcast this week and we are talking about AMPS. Specifically Andy & co's journey through the world of high gain amplifiers and how they landed in the digital world for live use. We also talk about Andy's "hands-on" approach to running a band/business, and the type of mindset he has had since first picking up the guitar. Check out the band on their website HERE https://www.th...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 367
"I think the road ahead is going to be a lot more difficult..." Those were the words that Derek Eastveld said to his family after Revv's very first NAMM show. On this episode Dan and Derek sat down with me to discuss the history of Revv as a company, and to dissect the challenges associated with running a guitar amplifier company in the modern era. This is a fantastic glimpse into the minds of some of the folks at the top of the guitar amplifier game. You seriously do not want to miss this one! ...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 366
Nicole Papastavrou has been a part of the hardcore/death metal/progressive metal/heavy music community since she was a teenager. She is currently playing guitar and fronting the band Kallias. She has had a pretty wild musical journey that has taken her all across the globe, found her learning how to perform harsh vocals, and writing original music all the while. We had an epic conversation about her musical journey, how her guitar rig has changed over the years, working with Jackson Guitars to d...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 365
This one has been over a year in the making! I had the opportunity to sit down with Mark and Dan Gooday of Ashdown Engineering to chat at GearFest and we had an absolutely incredible chat! Ashdown is a UK based amplifier company that is most widely known for their innovations in the bass amplification market, and the iconic VU Meter adoring their equipment. Mark starts off the discussion by diving into his history as a driving force behind Trace Elliot, and we dive into the nuances of running a ...
Jul 31, 2023•50 min•Ep. 364
Kyle Bull, the High-Gain Chugmeister of YouTube fame, is on the podcast this week! We dive headfirst into his backstory, and he explains how he got into the content creation game in the first place. We also explore what he has planned for the future, how creators often find themselves in a content "crisis", the power of self-awareness, and much more. Kyle and I also explore the somewhat contentious topic surrounding "country of origin" as it pertains to guitar gear. Does the "Made In USA" label ...
Jul 25, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 363
On this episode I sit down in person in The Shred Shed with local legend Scott Rivera of Scotties Pizza Parlor. Scott is not only a Portland pizza mainstay, but a dude straight out of the music scene that I came up in during the early 2000s. We discuss dangerously modified home ovens, how your business can end up running YOU, mental health, varying pizza styles, his experience growing up in the music scene, combining things to get something magical, and a whole lot more! Check out the details on...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 362
Has a human body ever been implemented into guitar pedal design? Does Josh Scott have an enclosure made of bones in his collection? Can volleyball save your life? Should fuzz pedals be integrated into chorus effects? When you die, will you become a tree? The answers to all of this and more on Ryans FOURTH appearance on the Tone Mob Podcast. Check out Tyrannochorus here https://fuzzrociouspedals.com/?product=tyrannochorus You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from...
Jul 14, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 361
This is a super rad, and super unique episode of the podcast! I met Gretchen Menn and Daniele Gottardo at the Breedlove booth at Gearfest. All of us being primarily electric guitar players hanging out at the booth of an acoustic guitar manufacturer prompted a question: What is it about acoustic guitars that draws us in? What makes them so special? And WHY should us as electric guitar enthusiasts pick up the acoustic more often? Plus there is MUSIC played on this episode by Gretchen and Daniele! ...
Jul 10, 2023•57 min•Ep. 360
Way back in 2016 when I was very new to podcasting and being a part of the guitar world, I attended my first Winter NAMM show. The very first thing I did was march up to the PRS Guitars booth to have an interview with none other than Paul Reed Smith himself. This was all orchestrated by my friend Ryan Burke from the now infamous YouTube channel @60CycleHumCast . What proceeded was an extremely fun conversation that the internet didn't seem to understand at all. So when Ryan and I found out that ...
Jul 07, 2023•34 min•Ep. 359
I think you can probably figure out what this episode is about. It is all right there in the title. Ben Dudley is the director of Free Guitars For Kids which is a non-profit that, you guessed it, provides free guitars for kids! On this episode we discuss how that came into existence, his musical history, why I think their mission is important, and how you could potentially help. Check them out on their website. https://fg4k.org/ You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing st...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 358
Not very many people get into international arms dealing, get busted by the Government, have a BIG Hollywood movie made about their life, and THEN start a successful effects pedal company. But that is exactly what happened to David Packouz of Singular Sound. You may have heard about David from the Todd Phillips directed film 'War Dogs' (starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller) or possibly his company's most famous product The Beat Buddy. But how did all of this happen? Thats exactly what we get int...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 357
Hello everyone! On this episode, I present to you one of the wildest stories I've ever heard on the podcast. You listeners know that there have been some crazy tales told on this show, but this one ranks up there with the scariest of them all. Eyal is a founding member of Dååth, the CEO of Unstoppable Recording Machine, and Riff Hard, an accomplished session guitarist and a whole lot more. We talk about the dedication required to forge a successful career in music, overcoming an initial lack of ...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 356
This is a pretty special episode of the podcast! Today I'm talking to my friend Daniel G. Harmann, who I actually collaborated on a song with! Daniel is a singer-songwriter out of Seattle, WA who came up in the punk scene and has honed his skills over the years in a wide variety of projects. Daniel is an immense talent, a guitar gear fanatic and a rad dude of the highest regard. You can check out his latest release and our collab track "sounds of combat grow muffled' on Spotify or wherever you s...
Jun 13, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 355
Is it possible to predict what guitars are going to explode in value? Is it possible to "time" the guitar gear market as you might the stock market? What pedals/amps/guitars are going to appreciate in value in the future? Matt Knight from the Guitar Nerds comes back on the podcast for a very, very, very gear centric episode of the show! We dive into some Boss/Roland happenings, Origin Effects pedals, the challenges of marketing non-guitar guitar products, the impracticality of guitarist's brains...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 354
On this episode I am talking to Chris Wiseman of the band's Currents and Shadow of Intent. We dive in headfirst to talk about what it is like building a band in a very "Ship Of Theseus" type of way, and how that occurred with Currents. We also talk pretty extensively about the necessities of treating a band like a business and what that can entail. There is also talk about how he approaches production work, guitars, and a whole lot more! Check out Currents on their Website HERE: https://currents...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 353
If you are anything like me, you might be a former Warped Tour kid. We grew up with emo, "screamo", and very abrasive, emotionally charged forms of hardcore tinged punk rock influenced music. What most of us didn't realize at the time was that what we were experiencing was an echo of a former movement that was spearheaded by a band called Jeromes Dream. Today I'm talking to vocalist/bassist Jeff Smith and guitarist Sean Leary (also of Loma Prieta!!). This is very, very rad episode for me that I ...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 352
Rob Nobile is one of the founding members of NYC hardcore stalwarts Incendiary. On this episode we talk about how powerful it can be to support yourself OUTSIDE of doing music, while still taking your musical project very seriously. It is a hidden superpower that a lot of musicians sometimes ignore, but should be talked about more often! We also get into his guitar preferences, musical taste, and what it was like getting into the NYC Hardcore scene prior to the internet age. It is a banging epis...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 351
