Back in the deep, dark recesses of my feeble brain are the lost memories of a million forgotten live bands that I've seen over the years. There's been a lot as in my younger days, we'd go out 3, maybe 4 times a week to see live music. While most have been ....... forgettable, there's always the inspiring, the exciting, the lovable and the memorable.
For those of us that live in Brisbane there are a bunch of memorable bands that we remember not only because they played a lot but because they are (or were) great. Screamfeeder are one of those great Brisbane bands who were in the right place at the right time but never really got their dues.
My fist actual memory of seeing them was when they were still the Madmen playing at a venue called the Orient. Tim had a cheap Strat copy covered in stickers and they did some covers as well as originals, and the originals sounded a bit like Husker Du, but less abrasive. What more could you want ?
I'm sure I saw them many many times in this form and then at some stage in the early nineties (I think) my friend Kelly joined on bass and they became Screamfeeder. Their first show in this form was in my lounge room ............
I lived in a share house in East Brisbane and we had a house warming party with Chopper Division, Budd and Screamfeeder playing. Needless to say, the police came and we moved the bands from the back yard to the lounge room. It didn't really help ...........
I seem to remember when Tim started playing this guitar too for some reason. I can't remember who had one first but Heinz from another local band, Not From There also started playing a similar one around the same time. Heinz actually drove to the Gold Coast to pick this one up for Tim in '93/94 and Tims used it ever since.
I also remember the first time when I saw Tim put the guitar above his head on stage and I and saw the set list written on the back. I thought "Imagine doing that to an old Fender" I think it was at the Chelsea (or whatever it was called then) As you can tell from my recollections, I have a terrible memory !!
Anyway, this guitar is a '77/78 Fender Telecaster Deluxe. It was Fenders attempt at a Gibson style guitar but in the process made something completely different and very cool. It's not a typical Fender in sound and the wide range humbuckers fitted to this (and several other Fenders from the period) have become stuff of legend, and rightly so. These pickups were designed by the same guy who designed Gibsons PAF and in an attempt to make something different, he made a spectacular pickup indeed.
These pick ups have been "re-issued" and "re-made" but as far as I'm concerned NO-ONE has nailed the tone of the originals. Not that I've heard anyway.
Add to those pickups the fact that these guitars had a 25.5"scale (as apposed to Gibsons 24.34") and that this is all "hard wood" and you get a completely different beast to any Gibson.
This particular example is HEAVY (too heavy for me) which is common on Fenders of this period. I have owned a few of these and the one I kept for ages was the opposite end of the spectrum which is also seen in this period Fender. It was so light and resonant, but it to went to make way for ........... something ?
This guitar has been used on every Screamfeeder album and most live shows since Tim got it. It's also been used on other projects, both Tims and other peoples as it seems Tim isn't that precious about it ?
It's not all original. But then, that's not the point of a guitar like this. This is a tool used for making music. The body and neck have different serial numbers suggesting that they may not be an original pair. I have seen different serials on 70's Fenders like this before, but never this far apart in sequence and age. It's a hard call as by the late seventies it's entirely possible it left the factory like this. The evidence would say that the neck is '77 and the body (and two original pots) is late '78. Like I said, it's not the point.
For those of you who don't know Screamfeeders back catalogue, I suggest you go out and find some. For those that do, put one on and remember how good they are. When they released a song called Dart I remember congratulating Tim on the single. I thought it was a classic piece of pop.
It however isn't my favorite Screamfeeder song. Back in the deep, dark recesses of time, they released a song called "Wrote you Off". To this day I think it's one of the best songs to come out of Brisbane, and Australia EVER. It hit at the height of "Grunge" and for several reasons was "lost" in the excitement that swirled around that period. While other songs have come and gone from that era, Wrote you Off stands the test of time for me. Thanks Screamfeeder for being.
