Radio 1 DJ and Hexes/Krokodil guitarist Daniel P Carter talks Warwick basses, one-word interviews and why he won't play your song on the radio…
I got my first real six-string…
"Well, I should come clean and say I was a bass player, initially. My first bass was a Hohner B2A, bright red cricket bat. It was horrendous, but it played really well and it sounded ace.
"The first guitar I bought for playing shows was an SG Gothic. It's a really nice guitar, I still use it at home for recording and I fitted a (Seymour Duncan) Invader. I just figured that if it's good enough for Angus and for Ian MacKaye, if you can be somewhere between AC/DC and Fugazi, you're alright!"
Sweet dreams are made of these…
Getting a lesson from Adam Jones would be amazing. I think he's incredible, it's just pure economy
"I was obsessed with Warwick basses when I was a kid, and I ended up getting a Warwick endorsement. They made me one in the custom shop, it's beautiful. But as far as guitars go, I went to a festival in the US, Slipknot headlined, and I was hanging out with Jim [Root] - he was showing me his sandblasted Jazzmasters.
"I told him that I'd had two of his signature Teles, and I'd just sold one to buy a new amp, but I wish I hadn't, and how I really like the Jazzmasters. He commented about seeing a lot of my paintings on Instagram, so I went, 'I'll swap you a painting for a guitar!' and he said yes!"
Hot for teacher…
"I'm a big fan of watching other people. Not just to see what's going on with their hands and their guitar, but to see what's going on with their pedalboards and stuff.
"Getting a lesson from Adam Jones would be amazing. I think he's incredible, it's just pure economy. Really smart and just perfect for Tool, because there's so much going on, he's finding the space to make it really minimal and tasteful. Other times it's really complicated. He's an incredible player, but he's not up the dusty end shredding. He's just being creative, I love that band."
Do I wanna know…
"The idea that because we know everyone, we're pulling all these favours. There have been a lot of bands that have been like, 'Those guys are only doing this because they know these guys.' It makes me laugh, but it's annoying.
"We've all been playing in bands, and I've been interviewing bands and touring for so long that the benefit of being a good dude and being friendly with other bands cannot ever be underestimated.
"If three bands are put in front of another band for a support slot and they go, 'Here's your choices, they're all great, who do you want?', they're gonna go, 'Oh wait, I know this guy, we toured with them before, they're bros.'
"The popular misconception is that we're buying our way onto everything. To have the money you'd need to be able to do that would be a beautiful thing!"
On my radio…
The popular misconception is that we're buying our way onto everything. To have the money to be able to do that would be a beautiful thing!
"When bands are touring and doing a lot [of interviews] or they have a new album out, they're being asked the same questions, and you just see them slip into auto-pilot. When they get bored, certain people will go out of their way to fuck with you!
"One legendary guitarist in particular, whose name I won't mention, came in to do an interview. I was asking him about his new record and I'd ask him a long question, and he'd just go 'Yyyyep'. Then I'd ask another and he'd go 'Nnnope'.
"He did it about four or five times, and I said 'Are we gonna just do this for the whole thing?' and he went 'Nope', laughed, and then it was fine! I've had some encounters with people who I idolised as a kid, and it turns out they're bonkers!"
Here comes success, over my hill, here comes success…
"I'll tell you the worst thing you can do [to get noticed], is when a band has a bunch of mates or a street team who then act like they think I don't know what's going on.
"I'll get, like, 14 or 15 texts in a row saying 'You should play the new song by blah blah, they're amazing, I saw them last week!' That just turns into punishment, and I hate it, and it'll definitely take longer to hear your band. Just be cool, don't be a punisher! No one likes a punisher!"
