In a recent panel with fellow Ernie Ball Music Man artists for virtual guitar show Guitar.com Live, St. Vincent revealed she’s using time in lockdown to finish new music and work on a “new iteration” of her signature guitar.
On October 3, St. Vincent – aka Annie Clark – participated in an hour-long chat with Dream Theater founding member John Petrucci, Maroon 5 lead guitarist James Valentine, Deep Purple’s Steve Morse and Jason Richardson of All That Remains and Born Of Osiris. All artists have worked with instrument maker Ernie Ball Music Man on signature guitars, and discussed the collaboration process in the interview.
At the end of the interview, moderator Dr. Molly Miller asked the panel what had been getting them through the pandemic. Clark replied, “Working on a new iteration of this guitar has been really, really fun” – referring to her Ernie Ball Music Man signature model, which was first announced in 2015 and has received a number of updates over the years. She also added, “Finishing records has been fun.”
Clark also appeared to have been immersing herself in history: “And also, I love espionage and the Cold War. It’s too much to say I love Stalin, that’s not what I mean… Human beings have been barrelling through the world for many, many years, and we haven’t seemed to learn that much. Stasi and East Berlin – that’s where my head’s at, besides music and guitars.”
Clark later added that she’s also picked up tennis, and though she’s “not that good yet, [she is] very competitive”. Watch the interview here:
Earlier in the interview, Clark said her relationship with Ernie Ball began around 2004-2005 after they sent her a guitar. She also discussed how they arrived on the specifications of her signature guitar, and how the design of the instrument ended up very close to an early sketch she drew that was so angular it reminded her of “Klaus Nomi in a tuxedo”.
Recommended
Clark was among many musicians who participated in Guitar.com Live, a virtual guitar show organised by media brand Guitar.com from October 3 to 5. Artists who performed included Anderson .Paak’s band Free Nationals, rising indie artist Holly Humberstone, Norwegian guitarist Tora Dahle Aagård, and the roster of Third Man Records.
In his interview for Guitar.com Live, IDLES guitarist Lee Kiernan gave an update on the band’s progress on their next record, and talked about how putting a song first was the “hardest thing” the band has had to learn.
Revisit all the interviews, panels, masterclasses and performances for Guitar.com Live here.
Earlier this week, Annie Clark joined gamer Abby Russell for a game of Fortnite – which she also appeared to have picked up during the pandemic.
Clark is expected to feature on the new Gorillaz album, ‘Song Machine: Season One’, on the track ‘Chalk Tablet Towers’. The record is due out October 23.
[Editor’s note: Guitar.com is owned by BandLab Technologies, which also owns NME.]