antigone rising: DUD or SUPERDUD?

PS - your marketing is teh roffle though

From the April 2006 issue of freakin' Guitar Player here people...

Antigone Rising
By Bridget Oates | April 2006

When Cathy and Kristen Henderson formed Antigone Rising in college, the sisters never dreamed they’d open for Aerosmith one day. But that is precisely what happened after Steven Tyler heard the band’s major label debut, From the Ground Up [Lava]. Though the album doesn’t reflect the searing guitar offensive the all-female quintet launched at last year’s SXSW showcase, the acoustic-driven collection landed them in the history books as the first new band to release an album exclusively at Starbucks.

As the band’s main composer, Cathy relies heavily on her Digidesign Mbox and Pro Tools 6.4 setup to get songs down while Antigone Rising is on the road.

“I hear everything at once,” she says. “And Pro Tools allows me to lay down different parts and layer things. For basic writing and sounds, this is a great system. My brain is full of a bazillion parts, and recording everything helps me assess the arrangements and streamline the songs.”

Throughout the 14 songs on the album, the combination of the sisters’ distinct musical tastes creates a unique depth. For example, on “Waiting, Watching, Wishing,” Kristen was thinking Johnny Cash, and Cathy was thinking Pink Floyd. And it works.

“I was very inspired by David Gilmour,” says Cathy. “The way he colors a song inspired me to push myself to play in a certain way. I used a Gibson Chet Atkins with a little bit of delay, and then I added a Digitech Whammy to get the sound a little bit rounder, as well as make it soar.”

“I wanted a harder country sound,” interjects Kristen. “I draw a lot from Shawn Colvin—she’s my hero—but, on this song, I went a little darker. It’s a little more Lucinda Williams.”

While Cathy composes with an electric guitar, Kristen—an avid collector—prefers to write using an acoustic.

“I buy everything I can afford,” says Kristen. “I found my first Harmony Buck Owens model on eBay and my addiction began. I now own three Buck Owens acoustics—including the original one he played on Hee Haw that’s red, white, and blue-striped with a big ‘Thank You’ etched into the back. My collection also includes a Martin M3SC Shawn Colvin, a ’64 sunburst Gibson J-45, and a ’78 Fender Custom Deluxe Telecaster, and I share a ’52 reissue Fender Telecaster, a ’59 reissue Fender Esquire, and a ’67 Fender Buck Owens Signature Telecaster with my sister.”

“A Telecaster sounds much better when we’re doing acoustic-driven stuff,” says Cathy, “so when Kristen is playing acoustic, I play a Tele through either a ’66 Fender Showman head and a Marshall cabinet or a ’66 Fender Bassman. Primarily, however, I play my ’59 reissue Gibson Les Paul, which just seems to be a part of my body. I also have a Les Paul Custom and a Les Paul Special, as well as many toys, such as a Menatone Fish Factory, a Fulltone Full Drive, a CryBaby wah, and a DigiTech Whammy pedal.”

Onstage, quick transitions from fingerpicking to strumming were problematic to both guitarists, until Kristen discovered her ingenious “pick trick.”

“I put a thin strip of Velcro along the top of my Dunlop pick, and a little round piece of Velcro on the guitar,” she says. “It’s sturdy, and it stays—unlike tape, which can come off the pick and get stuck on your fingers. Before I came up with this little trick, I would often forget my pick was in my mouth, and I was always afraid I was going to breathe in and swallow it.”

ULTRAMEGADUD OK

Antigone Rising has been mentioned twice in my Twitter feed today. WTF folks?