Jason Boland
Oklahoma
Jason Boland and the Stragglers
http://www.thestragglers.com/
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I’m 41 now. I started banging around on a guitar around 7th grade, writing songs senior year, and playing out at 21. The band and I started in September of 1998 and released our first album in January of 2000. I figured if Ralph Macchio could cut heads with Steve Vai, so could I. Really, I’ve just loved music all my life.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
On a local level, being from Oklahoma: Mike McClure and the Great Divide, Bob Childers, Tom Skinner, and The Red Dirt Rangers. Nationally, everyone from Woody Guthrie to The Black Dahlia Murder.
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?
I guess the same yearning that drives fishermen to fill tackle boxes and car enthusiasts to tweak and upgrade. The clean tone should be right from the get go and they shouldn’t be a crutch, rather an inspirational enhancement. At the same time can save the day on a crappy back line rig. They help me in many ways by providing different landscapes for songs, achieving the sound I hear in my head, making me practice, and overall keeping the search fun and fresh.
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 live rig is usually a ’98 Fender American Telecaster with a Rio Grande Twangbucker in the bridge, and a Lindy Fralin 2% over in the neck, or a Les Paul Custom Lite stock.
These run into a pedal train loaded with, and in this order: TC Electronics PolyTune, Fairfield Circuitry Accountant Compressor, the guest spot currently held by a Way Huge Red Llama for a semi-clean boost, an Ibanez TS808HW, the obligatory Phase 90, a Carbon Copy Delay, Malekko Tremolo, and finally the Durham Electronics Reddverb, all into a Badcat Cub II. On acoustic, I play a Martin HD-28V through a Boss TU-3, TC Electronic BodyRez, and an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI.
Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):
Drive pedals with a soft spot for delays.
You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?
Instruments: Fender Telecaster, Stratocaster, a Martin D
Amps: A Fender Blues Jr., Vox AC30, and a Marshall half stack
What’s up next for you/your band(s)?
We are currently messing around with the tunes for our 9th studio album.
The Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
Love it! I have a silver long tail, a gold short tail, a KTR, and some klones. Does that make me a bad person?
Any last comments, promos or anything you’d like to talk about?
Go check out our stuff on iTunes! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much to Jason for taking the time to answer some questions! Make sure to go check out www.thestragglers.com/, cheers!
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