Article by: Leanne Ridgeway
The Gear Assembly interview series is especially for the music gear addicts, or simply the curious like myself.
Each article in the Gear Assembly series features a different musician answering the same questions, highlighting both their varying preference in music gear, as well as their own music that results from using that gear. Hopefully, it brings some awareness to both the artists and their gear makers. You’re reading, so we’ve got at least one more. Find new music, learn about who’s making it and what they use to create it…
GEAR ASSEMBLY Series #17:
LÁGOON’s Anthony Gaglia
Portland, Oregon’s garage-stoner rock duo LÁGOON has produced an impressive amount of releases since its start in 2017. In only three years, they’ve put out multiple singles, EPs, and full-length albums, including their debut album ‘Grim Ripper‘ (March 2018), the ‘L’affaire des Poisons‘ EP (July 2018), sophomore album ‘The Unwelcome‘ (March 2019), a live album ‘Skate Fast, Play Live Vol. 1‘ (October 2019), and a third full-length ‘Maa Kali Trip‘ in March of this year.
Their most recent and fourth album was just released in June 2020, ‘Father Of Death‘, which we were honored to premiere the advance stream of [here]. LÁGOON guitarist and vocalist Anthony Gaglia is here today as our seventeenth piece in the Gear Assembly! Rock on…
Riff Relevant /Leanne: What instrument(s) do you play?
Anthony Gaglia:
Guitar
Vocalist
Riff Relevant /Leanne: Give us a rundown of your current live gear set-up.
Anthony Gaglia:
I currently play two guitars, a Baxter (hand-built in Canada) and a Recykiller (company I started building guitars from recycled plastics).
I play with two amps. The first is a Orange CR120 going through a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. I have one pedal linked to this amp, a Deadbeat Sound ‘Thank You’ Distortion/Sustain.
The other is a bass amp to add more low end, and is a Peavey TKO 400w 1×15. This amp has a RAT pedal pushing it.
Riff Relevant: When was the exact moment you realized you wanted to play your instrument(s)? Who was your primary influence at that moment?
Anthony:
My parents put me in lessons at a young age, but it wasn’t until I was about 17 that I really started caring about playing the guitar.
Riff Relevant: Which one of your songs best exemplifies you as a musician? Why?
Anthony:
That’s tricky! I’d say our song “The Unwelcome.“
Heavy music isn’t as widely accepted in mainstream society, so I think all of us that play this music could be considered one of the unwelcome.
Riff Relevant: Is there specific gear you prefer to use in the studio that would be different from your live set-up?
Anthony:
We’re all about trying to make our albums sound as close to what we sound like live as possible, so I always use my live set up to record.
Riff Relevant: Any type of pre-show/practice warm up rituals?
Anthony:
We tend to practice the day before or early on the day of our shows. Once we get to the venue and are set up, our main concern is grabbing a few drinks.
Riff Relevant: How do you keep things interesting when able to be out on tour & playing the same set each night?
Anthony:
Brady and I are best friends, so it’s pretty easy keeping things fun on the road. We’ve found ourselves in some weird spots.
As far as playing the same set, usually we change the set up a bit from night to night. At the very least, we change the order of the songs we play.
Riff Relevant: What do you think gives your playing its signature sound?
Anthony:
I’m constantly pushing my amps to their limit to fill in the gaps because we are a two piece.
I wouldn’t say I have a signature sound, though, just like to play loud!
Riff Relevant: Any brand loyalty? Are you partial to one company over another? Any current sponsorships or your own signature gear?
Anthony:
I’m definitely partial to Orange heads, but I’m more of a Marshall cab fan.
I’m honored to currently be an artist for Baxter Electric Guitars, but also play guitars built by my company, Recykiller Electric Guitars.
Riff Relevant: What is the most important piece of equipment currently in your live set-up? Why? What is it about that one?
Anthony:
My Orange CR120. It may be solid state, but it’s the best damn solid state amp on the market. I’ve had it for 5 years now, and have taken it to hell and back with me!
Riff Relevant: What do you enjoy doing outside of music, that you feel ultimately contributes to your musicality? (For example, a hobby that you turn to in order to stimulate your creativity.)
Anthony:
Skateboarding.
Our music is riddled with skateboarding references and it’s the only thing, other than music, that I’ve been obsessed with.
Riff Relevant: Are there any newly emerging artists or bands who are currently influencing you (or you just enjoy)? If yes, how so?
Anthony:
All our homies!
Ash Eater, Wizzerd, Color Shift, Mountain Tamer, Grim Earth, & lots more!
Riff Relevant: If you could give one piece of advice to an up and coming musician, what would it be?
Anthony:
PLAY LOUD.
Riff Relevant: How has the virus pandemic impacted your music life or career? What are some ways you’ve been doing things differently? (Note: some of the answers may be from several weeks ago.)
Anthony:
We’ve had a ton of shows cancelled on us for the past few months, including our album release and our maiden voyage to Canada to play The Electric Highway festival in Calgary.
We tried to not let it slow the album release down, so we set up a live stream show on Facebook the day of the release (March 22nd). [Live set is streaming below.]
Riff Relevant: If you could have any music gear you wanted, what would be your ideal set up?
Anthony:
I’d honestly keep my CR120 and 4×12 cab, but I’d replace my Peavey bass amp with an Orange Terror head and an Orange obc410 cab.
LÁGOON
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