THE LORDS OF LO-FI

GA-20's stripped-down, lo-fi approach has propelled them to the top of the blues charts. As they release their latest album, Crackdown, guitarists Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty show us the gear that fuels their authentic blues-rock tone.

- MARK MCSTEA

IF YOU LIKE your blues served raw, GA-20 will satisfy your jones. The blues rockers are a stripped-down three-piece featuring the lo-figuitars of Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty, and the solid drumming of Tim Carman. They’ve made quite a noise for themselves in recent years with a pair of albums that debuted at number one on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. Their last album, 2021’s Hound Dog Taylor tribute GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It...You Might Like It! saw the group play in the traditional vein, and both Stubbs and Faherty have the requisite chops (Stubbs is Charlie Musselwhite’s longtime right hand).

Their latest album, Crackdown (Colemine/Karma Chief), is their third effort in a row to launch at the top of the Billboard Blues chart. On it, the trio takes a looser and more melodic approach, combining strains of blues, rock and roll, country and even some Ramones-inspired punk in a ramshackle mix that sounds both traditional and fresh. Cut live in the studio, the album’s nine original songs are instantly memorable and filled with gritty and expressive guitarwork soaked in authentic blues style and tone.

And they come by that tone authentically. GA-20 are huge fans of vintage gear. Consider their name, a tribute to Gibson’s 1950s guitar amp. “We didn’t really have a band name when we got our first few gigs. I think all the good band names are gone,” Stubbs says, laughing. “It was just out of necessity — we had to call the band something, and as we’re such big vintage gear nerds, it just seemed to fit.”