Lone Star State of Mind
Guitar Player|May 2022
Spoon's Britt Daniel reveals how ZZ Top and their native Austin, Texas inspired the group's 10th long-player, Lucifer on the Sofa.
By Jim Beaugez. Photographs by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Lone Star State of Mind

AFTER RECORDING SPOON'S previous few albums on the East and West coasts, guitarist, songwriter and frontman Britt Daniel decided it was time to head home to Austin, Texas, where he started the band with drummer Jim Eno three decades ago. The results were immediate. The Hardest Cut, the first song written after the band returned to Texas, is the hardest-rocking tune in the Spoon catalog. Built on a boogie rhythm inspired by ZZ Top and a deceptively simple riff, and featuring a blistering solo from co-guitarist Gerardo Larios, The Hardest Cut set the tone for Lucifer on the Sofa (Matador).

Recorded at Eno's studio, the sessions were marked by spontaneity, as heard throughout the album. The final takes include pre-song noodling, and that's Daniel calling out section-change instructions to his bandmates in the mid

We tried to track live whenever we could; Daniel says. That was the sound we wanted. It's a real band playing. I don't know if that's en vogue, but that's what we wanted to do.

A GOOD CHUNK OF WRITING A SONG IS KNOWING WHAT THAT RHYTHM IS GOING TO BE – THAT FEEL

Daniel shares guitar duties with Larios and multi-instrumentalist Alex Fischel, who rip the dueling guitar solos on Satellite, but Daniel's right hand is the secret to the Spoon sound. Somehow both tightly wound and loose at once, Daniel sculpts the album's hard-rocking, post-punk riffs and soulful segues with precision, always in lockstep with Eno. Lucifer on the Sofa is a raw rock and roll record made by guys who grew up worshipping artists like Prince and PJ Harvey.

PJ Harvey was the sound, he admits. When we were starting out, that was it. She had just put out Rid of Me and that was the sound I was going for, for sure. Daniel joined us to talk through the influences and gear – including his signature Fender Telecaster Thinline - he used to shape Lucifer on the Sofa.

Esta historia es de la edición May 2022 de Guitar Player.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición May 2022 de Guitar Player.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE GUITAR PLAYERVer todo
How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"
Guitar Player

How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"

AI Stewart reflects on his beguiling hit, some 10 years in the making.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 2024
UAFX
Guitar Player

UAFX

Teletronix LA-2A Studio Compressor

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 2024
LINE 6
Guitar Player

LINE 6

POD Express

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 2024
MAN OF STEEL
Guitar Player

MAN OF STEEL

He brought the Dobro to centerstage with his dazzling talent. As he drops his first album in seven years, Jerry Douglas reflects on his gear, career and induction in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

time-read
8 minutos  |
December 2024
HIGH TIME
Guitar Player

HIGH TIME

The new MC5 album took more than 50 years to arrive. The band members have all passed on, but the celebration is just beginning.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
December 2024
58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER
Guitar Player

58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER

As Guitar Player moves full-time to its online home, we look back at some of its greatest stories in print.

time-read
5 minutos  |
December 2024
DRAGON TALES
Guitar Player

DRAGON TALES

In a Guitar Player exclusive, Jimmy Page sheds light on the amplifiers behind his Led Zeppelin tone and how they live again in his line of Sundragon signature amps.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
December 2024
CLOSER TO HOME
Guitar Player

CLOSER TO HOME

Rehearsal space, studio, vessel and abode Diego Garcia's boat is the home base for his new album, as well as his musical life as the seafaring Spanish guitarist Twanguero.

time-read
6 minutos  |
December 2024
Funk Noir
Guitar Player

Funk Noir

With The Black Album, Prince made his greatest-and most infamousmusical statement.

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 2024
Medium Cool
Guitar Player

Medium Cool

Striking the middle ground between its Thinline brethren, Gibson's ES-345TD remains a versatile, if underrated, gem.

time-read
4 minutos  |
December 2024