Previous Episode: Exodus' Gary Holt [2022]

Amyl and the Sniffers are pragmatic. They rock fast and write and record even faster. Legend has it they knocked out their debut EP, 2016’s Giddy Up, from start to finish in just 12 hours in the band’s shared home. And their Australian Recording Industry Award-winning (Best Rock Album) self-titled full-length debut is a sweltering, swaggering, scallywag’s set of 11 songs that clock in at 30 minutes. During Australia’s Covid shelter-in mandate, the frenzied foursome locked themselves in their home once again to pen 13 rambunctious-yet-buffed jams that combine blazers with slow burns. Regardless of tempo, danger lurks in their every note and word. With the disregard of Iggy, the venom of Lemmy, and power of Angus, their live performances are tornadic events. Lead singer Amy Taylor is the charismatic lightning, while guitarist Declan Martens, bassist Gus Romer, and drummer Bryce Wilson are the locomotive thunder.

Hours before Amyl and the Sniffers’ headlining set at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, Martens invited PG’s Chris Kies stage right to chronicle his Hemi-like setup. In this episode, we meet his paired live instruments from Gibson, unwrap the story behind his “Excalibur” pedal, and understand Martens’ MO to work smarter, not harder.