FEATURE > BROADWAY
Effects: Fractal Audio Axe-Fx Strings and Picks Matt Beck: D’Addario EXL115s (.011-.049), Elixir Nanoweb 12102s (.011-.049), Fender medium celluloid picks, Herdim medium picks (turned around so the dimples crape the strings) Ben Butler: D’Addario EXL110s (.010-.046), Elixir Nanoweb phosphor-bronze 16102s (.013-.056), Fender medium celluloid picks, Dun- lop Tortex medium picks Zane Carney: D’Addario EXL115s (.011-.049), Martin Phosphor Bronze (.012-.054), Dunlop Tortex 1mm picks, Herdim medium picks
Guitars:
Matt Beck: Epiphone Casino,
Fender Custom Shop Telecaster, custom Rickenbacker
Ben Butler: Jerry Jones Baritone, custom Rickenbacker
12-string, Taylor GS Mini
Zane Carney: Gibson Explorer, Taylor 314ce, Fender
Custom Shop Telecaster
Spider-Man:
Turn off the Dark
GEAR
Left to right: Carney, Beck, and Butler gather their sizable array of axes in
the Spider-Man lounge. Photo by Rebecca Dirks
says Beck. Because Schoo was
dialing in the sounds, Bono
and the Edge were able focus
more on playing than each
applicant’s tone.
Butler went through the same
audition process and scored the
gig despite never having played
Broadway before. “I was sent
some songs to learn, including
the U2 hit ‘Vertigo,’ but when
we got there they played us
different versions of the same
songs, which made it tricky.”
The third guitarist to join
the Spider-Man guitar army was
Zane Carney, who landed the
gig through a more traditional
route: His brother Reeve—who
fronts the originals band that
Zane plays guitar in (called
simply Carney)—had landed
the lead role, and he suggested
Zane be brought aboard, too.
Pretty soon, their whole band
got in on the action. “A few
months later while
we were on tour,
they asked us to
come to New York
to see if we could
read music and
be versatile
enough,”
says Zane.
Spider-Man’s official
opening was delayed sev-
eral times before finally
opening in June 2011, but
now that the crew has more
than 500 performances in
the can, trying to keep the
same intensity day after
day can be a struggle.
As a rule, Broadway
musicians are
allowed to
sub up to
50 percent
of their shows, and the same
applies for Spider-Man. “The
hardest thing is to play with
the same amount of vigor as
when we started,” says Beck.
“Thankfully, each player is
allowed to have subs,” Beck says,
“so we can take off if we ever
feel the need to have a break,
do another gig, or even tour.”
Carney adds, “Getting
through the 80-plus-hour
workweeks for six months while
staying professional and bring-
ing 100 percent every day with
legends like Bono and Edge
present was a really great way to
learn how to dig even deeper.”
For Butler, digging deeper
means learning how to relax,
focus on the music, and remind
himself that live art always has
its good and bad moments. “It’s
very easy to do things to keep
your mind occupied [between
numbers]—read, play chess,
check out vintage guitars on
eBay—but if you get distracted
and miss an entrance or some-
thing, that snaps you right back
to sharp focus. I try to just go
into a Zen mode and remember
that no two shows are the same
and just watch the conductor
and play.”
Despite the convenience of
the aforementioned scheduling
flexibility, it goes both ways.
“Spider-Man has been through
so many changes before finally
opening,” Beck says. “There’ve
been different musicians in the
band at different times … the
band was onstage at one point,
then not, then on again—and
finally not. The list goes on
and on, and the easier you can
roll with the punches, the less
stressed you’ll be.”
As for the music itself,
Butler says many people are
surprised by how little it
resembles what they’re used
to hearing from Bono and the
Edge. “It’s much more varied
than U2.” Beck says he plays
parts more than he does riffs,
which allows more of the sig-
nature Edge sound to come
through. “I feel like my parts
are more vibe-y and ethereal—
you might not notice them in
the mix of everything but you’d
feel something was missing if
they were gone. I do a lot of
EBow, a lot of swell-y, shim-
mering sounds. And, of course,
a nice dose of the dotted-
eighth-note delay thing.”
HEAD
ONLINE
to see Butler, Beck,
and Carney detail their
gear in our Spider-Man
Rig Rundown.
108 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2012
premierguitar.com
