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CITAZIONE The Jesus Lizard has nothing to do with gospel or Godzilla. But the Chicago-based foursome's striking brand of musically adept post-punk, first captured on their 1989 debut, has own critical acclaim and exploding underground notoriety. On the recently released Lash EP, the Lizard continues to deliver a lascivious prog-thrash punch by way of demented vocals, Ginsu-sharp rhythms, and crafty guitar lines.
"We never felt any affinity with the sloppy, garage, grunge-type stuff," claims guitarist Duane Denison. "We like to keep things pretty tight." Even though the band revels in snaky 5/8 and 7/8 grooves, Denison suggests that his band's basic approach isn't a far cry from the simple gut-rock of the Ramones or AC/DC: "It's just raw, unprocessed guitar and drum sounds with strong vocals."
Whether explosive lead singer David Yow is drunkenly howling or simply breathing hard, Denison provides meaty backup. "I generally stay in the pocket," he notes, "and once in a while I'll lay in some unusual chords or a melodic figure that goes against the grain. You have to be careful, though;; the more complicated and calculated you get, the less rock comes through."
Denison, who spent a year studying flamenco early in his career, favors the clean, bright sound of Travis Bean guitars played through an evolving combination of Hiwatt and Marshall heads and cabinets. Through he uses a coiltap switch to play with his tone and experiments with various "prepared guitar" techniques - "there's a lot you can do with garbage bag twist ties" - Denison otherwise avoids effects: "I concentrate on getting the most out of a simple setup. "I like to keep things hands-own. When we play live, it's usually a wild free-for-all, and any extra stuff onstage tends to get trashed. I bought a digital delay unit once, and on the second song it got smashed apart by the kids onstage." Despite the trampled gear, Denison relishes his stage time: "Playing guitar loudly in front of people is just a basic, fun thing to do." Intervista di Denison ai tempi dei JL su Guitar Magazine. Interessante perchè nell'ultima parte descrive qualche tecnica di creazione del suono particolare di duane, il quale avrebbe combinato una serie di effetti, amplificatori e strumenti.  e ancora: CITAZIONE Travis Beans experienced a surge in poularity when a few prolific guitarists began using Travis Beans exclusively. Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard played a green turquoise Standard through many tours during the 1990-1994 period (the turquoise was a non-orignal color) prior to getting a sponsorship from Hamer guitars. Denison also played a white Standard with non-original pickups, but sold it in the early 1990s. Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth, after playing Duane Denison's, bought one and plays it live. At some point, two of Renaldo's Beans were stolen (#102 and #375) and recovered, but as I recall were badly damaged. Last, but not least, is Steve Albini. Denison first played a Travis Bean while recording with Albini |
