Conversing with Studded Left: Warped Melodies
Studded Left, known previously as Indian Jewelry, is an American band hailing from Houston, Texas. The ensemble, led by Erika Thrasher and Tex Kerschen, merges psychedelic rock with experimental noise to create profound, captivating soundscapes. Their performances are renowned for their intense strobe lighting and immersive atmospheric qualities, offering audiences a robust auditory and visual spectacle. Their musical journey includes several albums released under both their former and current names. As Studded Left, their notable albums include “Popular Intuition” (2019) and “Doing Easy” (2015).
Which artists or bands significantly influenced your music in the early days?
Early on, we were pretty open about our influences. Now, it is tricky to say. Some obvious influences on us were the Butthole Surfers, Suicide, and the Fall. Others maybe less so. I saw Masonna in Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-90s and the way he used pure volume was life-changing to me. But going back further, Willie Nelson’s phrasing and lite touch, DEVO, Prince. Brian Eno, Roxy Music too, Depeche Mode (we once performed an unrecognizable Depeche Mode set of covers), Prince, the Gun Club, Johnny Cash’s phrasing and bare-bones passion, the Shangri-Las, Blondie, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Leonard Cohen, Wire, and anything Klaus Dinger had a hand in. In our earlier years, we were specifically attempting to unlearn all the music we had begun with. Later, we became more casual about it all.
What are some of your favorite pieces of equipment or instruments that you feel are essential to your sound?
The human voice is the only indispensable instrument to what we do, but, yeah, we have a wild and abiding love for drum machines and delay units. Eno has an essay where he talks about the importance of picking one piece of gear and taking it as far as possible. Otherwise you get caught up in novelty and learning curves. We’ve tried every kind of delay, and most of them many times. Guitars too… Strats are usually tough enough but we’re not sponsored so I only mention this out of respect. I have a Randy Rhoads Flying Vee stepdown that I love. We tend to use anything that can withstand physical abuse and less than ideal studio conditions. At home we have a few favorite guitar amps, a Lab Series guitar amp that resulted from the short-term collaboration of Moog and Gibson. The sound of a Jazz Chorus amp. Vox amps are pretty solid.
Read the full interview with Studded Left at Retrofuturista.com
