for a guitarist—we are using picks and
bottlenecks already, and as soon as you get
beyond that, the options become endless.”
For Norway’s Stian Westerhus, it’s not nec-
essarily about “guitar,” but about feeling the
urge for a broader palette for his instrument.
“I wasn’t that into playing guitar, but more
into creating the music I was hearing in my
head,” he says. “In my early teens, I would
record stuff from the radio onto cassettes,
cutting and splicing the tape to create weird
collages of sound and music.” Westerhus
revels in the randomness that alternate modes
can introduce. “The stuff I hear back when I
take risks pushes me in directions I can’t cal-
culate, but can only try to control—extended
techniques came out of that.”
’GATOR AID
You might think the experimental nature of
these artists’ music would lead them toward
complex custom instruments. However,
they mostly use the same guitars you would
see in your local club band. Kleier plays a
Les Paul, a Telecaster, and a Stratocaster.
Frith often wields a 1959 Gibson ES-345.
Roger Kleier’s kit of implements includes alligator clips (lower left), slides, springs, mini gongs,
paintbrushes, a chopstick, a pencil, a reed, a screwdriver, and an EBow. Photo by Annie Gosfield
Westerhus likes a baritone Danelectro
or a Gibson ES-335 with a Bigsby. And
Tammen, having been through various cus-
tom contraptions now says, “I’m just happy
with my $300 Steinberger Spirit.”
When it comes to effects though, you
are as likely to find these guys at Home
Depot as Guitar Center. Picks, slides, and
pedals aside, many of the implements for
extended techniques come from hardware
