Karina Rykman
NYC
Marco Benevento
http://marcobenevento.com
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I started playing guitar when I was 13. A friend at school put a guitar in my hands and showed me how to play Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. I started playing bass shortly thereafter. The last ten years of my life (I’m 23 now) have been consumed by all things music.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
So many! In no particular order… Geezer, Bootsy, Les Claypool, Mike Gordon, Tina Weymouth, Jaco, JPJ, Geddy Lee, etc.
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’ve been experimenting with pedals since I started playing. I love fuzz bass, and I love delay (among other things). The Eventide H9 has been a recent acquisition but an amazing one – it does EVERYTHING. I find myself getting into crazy H9 rabbit holes and discovering all these cool new sounds, and then trying them out live during more tripped out portions of the show. I like to experiment, but I also like to be in control of the sound.
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):
Pedal-wise, I’ve got a JAM Pedals Delay Llama, an H9, a RAT, MXR Phase 90, DigiTech Bass Synth Wah, 3 Leaf Audio Octabvre, and a tuner on my board currently.
How did you start playing with Marco Benevento and his trio?
I started playing with Marco because of his old bassist, Dave Dreiwitz. Dave is in Ween, and when Ween came back in 2016 after a long hiatus, he couldn’t continue touring with Marco. Dave insisted to Marco that I should be the one to fill in for him, and the rest is history!
Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):
Gotta give it up to the RAT! It’s such a classic sound, and I love it with a bass. It cuts a little of the low end, which usually makes me turn it up louder than I should…but I love it for all its imperfect glory.
You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?
Instruments: Fender P Bass
Amps: SVT
Pedals: RAT
What’s up next for you?
Just finished up a two week tour! Nothing until the end of December. New Years run!
The Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
Love!
Thanks so much to Karina for taking the time to answer some questions! Make sure to go check out marcobenevento.com to see when they’ll be coming to a town near you – Cheers!
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