Mike Hranica
Chicago, IL
The Devil Wears Prada
God Alone
www.tdwpband.com
www.godaloneband.com
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I’ve been playing guitar for about twelve years now – whether that comes with the “musician” label, I’m not sure.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
Rowland S. Howard, Duane Denison, Steve Albini
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 was drawn to pedals to try and emulate the bands that I loved. I remember the first time I realized what was really happening with a delay pedal, and that sort of instance is what drew me in. I know that sounds somewhat foolish, but it’s those little things that got me into ODs, fuzzes, delays, reverbs, etc.
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):
I tour with very little of my collection. At home I have an Atlas 2×12, Verellen 4×10-1×18 bass cab, Silvertone 1466 6×10 and head, Verellen Coop, Verellen Meatsmoke, ’81 Marshall JCM800 (100W), ’74 Sunn Model T, Moog Sub Phatty, and a whole bunch of guitars and pedals. Out on tour with Prada, I play a Verellen Skyhammer through a vertical Science 2×12 loaded with V30s. Guitar-wise, I’ve really been drawn into aluminum instruments. I primarily play a ’98 Travis Bean full pan 500MM reissue and a custom Electrical Guitar Company Chessie. I also have to make mention of my custom Electrical Guitar Company Series One back at home. Pedal wise, I really stick to strictly what’s on my board. Not all of them are really applied during the set, but I keep them on my Pedaltrain for fun during soundcheck and moments when I get to goof around.
My board is:
–Boss VP (JHS modded)
–TC Electronic Polytune mini
–JHS Moonshine run through an MXR Noise Gate
–Fuzzrocious Steel Stache (custom Grey Stache with octave up toggle)
–Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise
-Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop V2
-JHS Panther Cub
-Fuzzrocious Anomalies
–Caroline Meteore
-JHS Emperor
-TC Ditto
Two Voodoo Lab Power supplies (each pedal has its own power, no daisy chaining) and Sinasoid Custom Cabling
I’m also waiting on my new Dunwich Nihilist to arrive out here on tour. It’s a no-toggle HM-2 that I’m very looking forward to playing with. Back home I have a Hovercraft fuzz that’s pretty rad and very versatile, too; as well as a Fuzzrocious O.C.DEMON with feedback toggle. There’s a bunch more that I’m sure I’m forgetting, too.
Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):
Ah I really don’t know. It’s always fun to mess with something different. Different voicings for different amps is always really fun for me to play around with. All the same it’s infinite. Crazy fuzzes are usually at the top of my list, though, as well as delays and reverbs. With that being said I’ve really fell in love with my Caroline Meteore and JHS Panther Cub combo. It felt like it took me a long while to find the right organic, tap analog delay – JHS Panther Cub is the answer for me. And the chaos toggle on my Meteore is also a favorite toy.
You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?
Instruments: Travis Bean ’98 Full Pan TB500MM Reissue, custom Electrical Guitar Company Chessie, custom Electrical Guitar Company Series One
Amps: Verellen Coop, Verellen Skyhammer, Sunn Model T (although I’d really love to have my solid state Silvertone 1466, too: it’s incredible with guitar)
Pedals: JHS Moonshine, JHS Panther Cub, Caroline Meteore
What’s up next for you/your band in 2017?
We just released our sixth full length a couple weeks ago, so we’ll be touring pretty relentlessly. I also play in a second band called God Alone. That’s a totally different amp and guitar configuration we can perhaps get into another time. All the same, my pedalboard stays about the same, minus adding an ABY switch. We hope to be playing more shows and become a little more active in January.
The Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
I don’t hate it. It goes without question that an original Klon sounds incredible, but I don’t pay too much mind past that. My Fairfield Barbershop takes the place of a Klon style OD in my rig and I love it. I’m all for spending tons of cash on gear, although two grand for an OD isn’t much of a priority for me.
Any last comments, promos or anything you’d like to talk about?
Thanks for having me! Always a treat to talk about gear. For those interested, check out TDWP’s new full length “Transit Blues” and my second band God Alone (post punk-ish vibe). Take care!
Thanks so much to Mike for taking the time to answer some questions! Make sure to go check out www.tdwpband.com, and check their tour page to see when they’re going to be playing in a town near you! Cheers!
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