Joey Lewis
Buffalo, NY
Funktional Flow
www.funktionalflow.com
facebook.com/FunktionalFlowMusic
youtube.com/user/funktionalflowmusic/videos
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
From what I can remember, a man in our neighborhood growing up gave an acoustic guitar to my older brother Justin and he quickly lost interest in it. That’s when I swooped in and nabbed it lol. But it was ok because he ended being a real good harmonicist and singer. I must have been 10 years old just continuously playing the open string, intro riff from Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters” until I realized my parents had a pretty decent record collections. For hours and hours I learned how scales work and how to find out what keys songs were in from listening and playing along to Zeppelin & Floyd.
By 13, I started learning chords, writing my own songs, and jamming with my brother and best friend’s in my basement (one of whom I still play with til this day, Mr. RJ Acanfora). Eventually we started a band and played through out high school at parties, dive bars and mini festivals our friends would put together. It was soo much fun. Til this day, I can’t imagine not doing it. Many years, bands, and gigs later, I’m still draggin’ my ass up on that stage lol. It’s just what we do.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
Just like pretty much every other guitar player, David Gilmour popped my musical cherry. His tone, his riffs, his sustain. It was super impressionable for any 12 year old learning guitar. I used to just sit under a table with sheets draped around it, lava lamp groovin, incense burning, just closing my eyes and getting lost in Dark Side of the Moon. But after obsessing and listening to all Floyd albums, Animals is by far the best!
Page also made a big impact on me. His signature riffs for Led Zeppelin 2 and 4 really helped me learn how scales worked, mostly Am scales lol. Not to mention how cool he looked with that Les Paul hanging down to his knees. Ended up being the one guitar I played the most through out my career.
Then the Grateful Dead came into my life and it was game over. I became all about Jerry. The scales, the improv, all the abstract colors he used on his canvas. He really opened my eyes to a world outside of the blues pentatonic scales Page and Gilmour provided for me. And from Jerry, brought me to the jam scene and all the proficient players. Scofield, Trey, Jimmy Herring, moe., Umphrey’s. All the best ingredients for Rock Guitar Stew lol.
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?
First you had to learn how to play the song, Then you needed to sound like that song. That’s when I realized I couldn’t just straight plug into an amp for the rest of my life (even tho Derek Trucks makes a living off of it. But no one’s that good. Whole nother animal). So the first pedal I ever used was the beautiful, DOD Grunge pedal lol. Oh what a nasty sound that was. Helped me get through my punk/grunge phase growing up. Then in high school when I needed something with plenty of options, I got the DigiTech RP200 processor pedal.
I feel like a lot of guitar players start off with a processor before they realize how good certain stand alone pedals sound. I mean, they are convenient, cheaper than the thousands you put into a fully loaded pedalboard, and then all the wiring and tap dancing. There are some really good, top of the line processors out there that a lot of professionals use. Shit, I actually have one on my current pedalboard with all my other stand alone pedals. But some pedals you just can’t recreate. You need that stompbox to get you there and I’d rather tap dance then settle for less.
So, my first chain consisted of a DigiTech Bad Monkey OD (Surprisingly really great overdive pedal. I still use it on my practice board), boss chorus ensemble, boss dd3 delay, and a cheap, no name volume pedal. I really loved chorus rhythm sounds and overdrive/delay volume swells, dating back to my built in volume pedal on my processor. I still use those techniques today. Real atmospheric, little bit of Gilmour, kinda spaciness to it. Specially when we bring it down during a jam, I can fill the space with heavy delay lathered swells and arpeggiated chorus tones. Some times it makes me feel like one of those painters just whipping his paint brush at a canvas, splattering colors everywhere he can. Like Jackson Pollock, but no where close to as talented. I can do one hell of a stick figure lol.
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):
Guitars: My main Guitar is a Michael Kelly Hybrid Special w/ a SD Alnico II Pro in the bridge and a SD Jazz in the Neck. Semi-hollow, coil tapping, and the best part, a built in piezo pickup under the bridge with a switch that allows me to switch between electric and acoustic or use both at the same time. I use a TRS Male to Dual Mono TS Male cable to help split the acoustic going to a DI to the main board and the electric signal going to my board. Most likely gonna switch out the stock bridge with a Tusq one.
My backup guitar is a G&L Tribute Ascari GTS HB3 w/ a SD 59 in the neck (I’m currently switching it out with another Jazz. Great neck pickup without all the boominess), a SD 59 in the middle, and a SD JB in the bridge. Coil tapping for all three pickups and I had the neck shaved down to feel more C shaped. The stock neck felt too squarish, almost like a skater’s half pipe. This guitar helps me achieve strat like tones if I need them.
Amp: an older version Fender Hot Rod Deville 212 w/ a WH Veteran 30 and a WH ET65 (Good bang for your buck speakers. Specially for this cheaper kind of amp). Currently using JJ 6L6s and 12AX7s & a couple of newly installed tilt legs which is a soundman’s dream and eliminates me needing my guitar in my front monitor.
Pedals: Whammy 5 > Xotic SP > Micro Qtron > Vox wah > DejáVibe CS-MDV-1 > Maxon VOP-9 > Archer Ikon > Mini Katana > JHS modded Ernie Ball volume (w/ tuner out going to a Boss TU2) > Line6 M9 > Strymon Flint (w/ tap tempo) > amp. and a Donner DI Box which I use to send out my acoustic signal to the soundboard.
Gig Rig/Fly board: Keeley Modded TS9, Soul Food (great budget Klon Clone for lead boosts), Boss Super Octave, Corona Mini Chorus (has this cool thing with it where you can send a signal to the pedal through the humbuckers on your guitar using an app on your phone. I have it set to Andy Summers’s chorus), & a Mooer Ana Echo (Mooer has great budget friendly products. I have a few of their pedals on my practice board. This analog delay is surprisingly rich and cuts well).
Pedalboard/Power: Pedal train PRO board along with a screwed in Voodoo Lab Power 2 Plus power supply underneath and a fastened power strip so I can power the whammy and the M9 separately.
The Breakdown:
Whammy: Helps me get weird for solos and I use the octave up/down harmony function a lot!
SP: I’ve had a love/hate relationship with compressors my whole career. This one is the first one that actually works for me because of the blend knob. I keep it on all the time.
Qtron: Not a terrible envelope filter, helps me get to that Jerry place. But I might switch it out soon for something better.
Dejvibe CS: The newest model from Fulltone’s signature pedal. A great uni-vibe that has plenty more volume then its predecessor. When I wanna get my Trey/Jimi/Trower freak on lol.
Vox Wah: Way better than the crybaby if you ask me. Modded with a 1/8” jack for power.
Maxon: Hands down the best Tubescreamer ever. Rob from Dopapod turned me onto it. So warm and gooey. I’ve always been a TS guy. I’ve tried getting away from it but that mid hump always brings me back.
Archer: J. Rockett did a great job with this Klon clone. They’ve got some good shit. I was rocking The Dude for a brief time when I was trying to escape from the TS’s grasp on me. I use this for low gain solos/riffs.
Katana: Just a boost for my Maxon Solos and sometimes clean solos. Does what it promises.
Modded EP Vol: JHS did a great job with this. I’ve been using the stock pedal for years and never realized how much of my tone was being drained. Specially when I use the tuner out. Now it has a buffer in it and “I can see clearly now the rain is gone…” lol.
Flint: A terrific reverb and tremelo. The tap tempo helps me dial in the trem speed and I almost keep the reverb on all the time. It’s that good! Thank god my girlfriend bought it for me because I would have never been able to afford it lol.
M9: Last but not least, my processor on my board. The swiss army knife of pedals and every session man’s weapon of choice. It does sooo much but I mostly use it for multiple delay settings (has a tap tempo and the most sought out after, dotted 8th note function that not a lot of delay pedals have. Perfect for the U2/Floyd stuff), looping, chorus, synthy sounds, a really cool harmony section where you can put in your key, scale type, and position and it’ll play that harmony over your riffs. Might get the JVH3 mod done to it soon, seems like very professional who owns this has done that.
Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):
I have this weird suspicion that a good guitarist is judged by his OD tone. Kinda brings me back to my opinions on processor pedals. Like with the m9, it does great replicas of choruses, delays and reverbs. But the gain presets are too “digitaly” (if that make sense) and don’t sound authentic. A good OD needs to be on its own in order to stand out and represent your playing. So yeah, an OD. (as long as there’s plenty of Mid Hump. LMAO).
You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?
Instruments: My Michael Kelly, my old ass nylon string Kay Acoustic, and my ukulele cuz hey, we’re on da beach!
Amps: a nice Pre-CBS, black faced, Fender Deluxe Reverb
Pedals: Maxon VOP-9, Flint, And M9. I know it sounds like a cop out with the M9. But hey, if I’m stranded, I gotta have my Swiss army knife 😉
What’s up next for you/your band(s)?
May 27th is our annual Flow Fest we throw every year on Woodlawn Beach here in Buffalo, NY. We do it every memorial day weekend so that it’s the first outdoor concert of the year and a nice “Welcome back from 5 months of Buffalo weather” for our fans. This year we have some great bands playing with us and were doing a set totally dedicated to Rage Against the Machine tunes. It’s gonna be mental! Here’s the event link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1987524494900548
The Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
Love it. I’ve learned to use the clones the right way over the last few years. Definitely not meant to have the gain all the way up, but just enough for breakup. Great for licks and low gain, cutting solos. Listen to Nels Cline’s solo in “Impossible Germany” from Wilco. His Klon in conjunction with his Boss Compressor is tonal heaven. Someday I’d really like to play a real one. But I’d never spend the 2 Gs on it. No pedal is worth that much. There are a lot of great clones out there, and I’m glad I came across the Archer.
Any last comments, promos or anything you’d like to talk about?
Only to come like us on FB, check out our albums and live highlights on our youtube page, and I can’t wait to see everybody over the summer 🙂
Thanks so much to Joey for taking the time to answer some questions! Make sure to go check out www.funktionalflow.com, and check their tour page to see when they’re headed to a town near you! Cheers!
Check out some of our other interviews here:
Neal Casal of Chris Robinson Brotherhood
GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES, CONTEST INFO, SEE OUR LATEST DEMO VIDEOS AND MORE:
