Steve Sterlacci
Westchester, New York
Jessica Lynn jessicalynnmusic.org

How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?

So I was trying to play professional baseball until I was about 23. I had played in college on a scholarship and traveled the country going to try outs, but never got an opportunity that made sense. I had already played guitar by that time in a dance/Top 40 wedding band and my now fiance was an emerging country artist. Her guitarist at the time had moved to Nashville and I was never even a thought as a replacement. So one day, between guitarist auditions, I just jammed at rehearsal and it seemed to have clicked.

Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?

Slash is THE reason I picked up a guitar in the first place. After him I got heavy into Randy Rhoads and in the last few years I have been more into country chicken pickin’ type of guitar from Brent Mason, Johnny Hiland, and Guthrie Trapp. Just a few of many!

What drew you to using pedals initially? Have you been using them throughout your playing career? How have pedals helped to shape your sound, or influence the style that you’ve created?

What drew me to pedals was trying to replicate my heroes sounds without spending thousands on amps. When I began working as a guitarist, I always tried to pick just the right combination of pedals to best suit the song I’m playing. That type of mentality calls for a lot of options!

What’s your current setup look like? Take us through your pedal rig (feel free to include amps and instruments as well if you’d like):

My pedalboard starts with my custom STALACH drive from TSW Pedals. It’s a double drive that has an amazing Plexi type of tone, with a tubescreamer on steroids on the other side. They work amazing together and I almost always have the Plexi style engaged. He calls that his Dragon Slayer and the Infinite Drive.

From there I go into my new Keeley Electronics Tone Workstation, which they just released and I am super lucky to have! It’s the famous Keeley comp, the famous Katana boost, and the Red Sands all in one tiny pedal. The Katana boost is also switchable to Keeley’s 1962 pedal, but I keep the Katana on almost all the time because I love what it does to the guitar signal.. The Tone Workstation is one of coolest pedals I’ve ever come across.

After that comes my EP booster I use for solos, Ernie Ball VPJR(mostly for swells), TC mini tuner (those are pretty straight forward.) TSW Monsoon Chorus- great chorus pedal, super usable and doesn’t color the tone as much as others.

BOSS DD3 I use as a slap back rockabilly type of tone Retro Tap Delay from TSW also. I use this delay on my rock type of solos or any time I need that big type of delay sound.

Last in my chain is another TSW Pedal (can you tell I’m a fan?) and that’s called Verbal Diarrhea and I have a demo of this on my YouTube channel… Probably the funniest name of any pedal but it is the best and easiest spring reverb type of pedal I’ve used. I can’t stand pedals that you need a degree to understand. 2 knobs, that’s it! After all, it’s just reverb!

Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):

I love compressors that have sustain knobs like the Keeley and the Pigtronix Philosophers Tone. I think they just add so much to a lead tone and make playing easier and more fun. I love easy and straight forward drive and delay pedals too. The less knobs, the better! I love having a lot of pedals and options, I just don’t want to spend 2 months figuring out how to use them!

You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?

Instruments: My signature guitar from Santo Guitar USA, my Iconic Custom Guitars, the ’52 and my 1979 Les Paul Custom Limited Edition (you need to see this guitar on page if you haven’t yet!)
Amps: Fender Deluxe Reverb. Mine is a 1973, no need for anything else!
Pedals: My STALACH Drive, the Keeley Tone Workstation and my TSW tap tempo delay.

What’s up next for you/your band(s)?

Jessica Lynn just released her studio EP and we are touring and pushing that right now. We have been on the road for 3 weeks and will be for another 2. We have hit Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and will be touring through Texas, Alabama, and Virginia. I love life on the road and wish I could do it 12 months!

The Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?

I personally have never tried a real one so it’s hard to say. But, I can’t see myself spending that much on a single pedal, although I’m sure we have all said that before!

Any last comments, promos or anything you’d like to talk about?

As I mentioned earlier, our new EP just came out so please check it out at jessicalynnmusic.org and keep up with me on instagram @stalach or search Steve Sterlacci on Facebook and Youtube. I’m always down to talk gear!

Thanks so much to Steve for taking the time to answer some questions!
Make sure to go check out his YouTube channel, as well as the Jessica Lynn website. Cheers!

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