Lovesliescrushing's music is a polarizing combination of bizarre guitar noises and breathtakingly beautiful vocals. The limited boundaries of of traditional guitar sounds are pulled and stretched and often times snapped into obliteration. Atmospheric guitar textures are explored to the very edge of white noise without ever falling into the deafening pit of unlistenability. Conjuring up these otherworldly sounds and getting them on tape has kept Scott Cortez busy making music for more than a decade. Plenty of strange rumors about the band's recording methods have been circulated so we thought we'd give the elusive Scott Cortez a chance to set the record straight.

Guitar Geek: Hello Scott, can you briefly describe your studio setup?

Scott: The Lovesliescrushing setup is fairly simple. It consists of the following: Tascam 424 Portastudio, Alesis Midiverb II, Alesis Quadraverb , Lexicon Jamman, Digitech PDS 8000 8 second delay, Oberheim 12 second delay/loop, Arion octave pedal, and a Boss Pitch Shifter/Delay. For vocals I use a Radio Shack microphone that cost around 60 bucks. I did have these really big headphones for mixdown purposes. I forget what type but I really think that headphones should totally cover your ears, it looks cooler. I'm using Walkman headphones for now. I have a little Sanyo beatbox with a cd line in. I just run the 4 track into a Sony dual cassette deck and then out to the beatbox. I use those cheap boombox speakers as my monitors. I've never had a real stereo just that stupid Sanyo unit. It works pretty well. Most listeners don't have the most awesome set up anyway. I mix for the worst possible situation like simple sound systems. Anyway, once I get a mix I like, I take it for a test drive in the Toyota Tercel to see how it sounds. Most people say they listen to my music in their car so it has to pass the road test.

Guitar Geek: Do you ever find 4 tracks limiting?

Scott: Yes and no. I think the 4 track is not as intimidating to work with. It is fast and throwaway-like and very easy. It is not limiting in the most important way which is to just let things happen because it is just tape and tape is cheap. If I could afford a 24 track studio I would go crazy and make whatever. Sonically, the 4 track does have some limitations but I think I use that to my advantage. Getting rid of the drums for example is a necessity in order to conserve tracks. Lack of drums is a signature style for Lovesliescrushing.

Guitar Geek: What are the benefits and detriments of recording to cassette tapes?

Scott: Analog tape distorts beautifully. Cassette tape works great in those mid and upper mid frequencies. It is definitely suited the range of the guitar. Maybe that's why all my ping pong guitar manipulations shine. Criticisms?....It's not very thorough at catching the low end or other things but that's okay.

Guitar Geek: Why record at home?

Scott: I hate having to perform on cue. Inspiration comes at anytime and you have to take it when it comes. I think that creating should be made as easy as possible and maybe that is why I love the 4 track so much. Easy easy easy!

Guitar Geek: All of your recorded output has been done on four-track machines. Most people would never think of recording their finished product on a Portastudio. Why is that?

Scott: Most people's projects are not suited to the 4-track. The limitations hinder their musical style. But the 4-track is perfect for the sound that I have. Also, most 4-tracks are too noisy for folks, but I like it.

Guitar Geek: How would your recording process change if you went up to an 8 or 16 track?

Scott: The sound quality would improve and I wouldn't have to ping pong as much. Even with the improved fidelity of a better machine, I would probably still dirty up my sound anyway. The move to hi-fidelity might show my weakness as a sucky sound guy but I am willing to try it.

Guitar Geek: What has been your experience in "pro" studios?

Scott: Lovesliescrushing has never been in a "pro" studio. It's all lo fi 4 track bullshit.

Guitar Geek: Give us a rundown on a basic LLC recording session?

Scott: Rent some porn (just kidding), buy some pop and candy, lay down first track of guitar to get a basic chord structure, lay down more tracks of guitar, erase all of the tracks save one, rewrite the song, ping pong guitar and process it heavily, give the remaining two tracks to melissa to add vocals, watch the porn (just kidding) while she does vocals, listen to the finished song when she is done.

Guitar Geek: What kind of soda and candy brands do you recommend for would be 4-trackers out there?

Scott: IBC root beer, Calistoga, sweet tarts, bottle rockets, sprees, pretzels, chocolates, super sour gumballs, licorice, jelly bellys, Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice cream, pepperoni pizza, and to think I'm still skinny!

Guitar Geek: So how do you typically record your vocal tracks and where do you typically record them?

Scott: When the song is about done, I ping pong the voice about 5 times to get a nice natural chorus effect and leave it at that. We use a basic Radio Shack microphone that is nothing special, just your basic cardiod condenser. We record everything in a bedroom with no pop screen. I apply a little reverb to tape and that is about it.

Guitar Geek: Your records sound so rich and full. What are some recording tricks you can share with us?

Scott: I add even more treatments on top of the already treated guitar when I mix down. I run the 4 track through my rack mount processors via the effects loop. Some of the effect patches have some more elaborate eq abilities than the 4-track so I utilize that. I also change entire chains of effects with the touch of a button on the rack, sort of like stepping on ten pedals at once. I would just move to another patch and scroll between patches for different parts within the the song.

Guitar Geek: What are some common misconceptions of how you create LLC sounds?

Scott: The biggest misconception is that we use keyboards. The second biggest is that I use a computer to manipulate the guitars, like pro tools or cubase.

Guitar Geek: Since guitars and guitar treatments are a big part of your sound, how do you typically record guitars?

Scott: I go direct into the four-track through a pedal or a rack mount reverb. I liked it better for it's simplicity. Although, I think mic'ing a real big amp though 4x12 would be great!

Guitar Geek: What kind of guitars are you using?

Scott: I've have a 1965 Fender Jaguar that I got from the kids in Alison's Halo, a 1960's Mosrite 12 string, a 1960's Wurlitzer 6 string (strung with very heavy strings), and a 1960's Kent 12 string.

Guitar Geek: Your guitar sounds are very unique, what was your inspiration?

Scott: I discovered delay and reverb units back in high school and just loved what i could do with them. I'd turn the mix all the way up to 'wet' on all my units. Things like ping pong-ing, wow flutter, happy accidents, and EQ are some of the effects I use to create weird textures. I view the guitar as just a simple tone generator that drives a signal through my pedals. It is just something that I can manipulate with ease.

Guitar Geek: What are some of the effects you use within you effect processors to get some of your sounds?

Scott: I use the Quadraverb a lot for ring modulation, leslie effects, tape delays, chorus, flange, phaser, tremelo, overdrive, and distortion. I also use pitch shifting so I can dial in on different frequencies. I use the graphic eq so I push up the low end. I occasionally use the compressor as a sound tool. My Alesis Midiverb is used exclusively for reverb, I would hardly use the Quadraverb for that purpose.

Guitar Geek: What's the most vital piece of gear you have?

Scott: It would have to be the Digitech 8 second delay. There wouldn't be a Lovesliescrushing without it. I use it to create all the shimmering guitar loops by simply adjusting the pitch on the delay once I have grabbed a phrase I like.

Guitar Geek: What other devices do you use to create new sounds?

Scott: I play my guitar with vibrators, and metal objects like rulers. The vibrator generates a nice electric buzz and the ruler is use like a bow. When I use it on the strings I get a musical saw effect which I love. I also put chopsticks and forks under the strings and on top of the pickups to create a pseudo music box sound. I also sample voices on the 8 second sampler. I use a drum machine on a couple tracks but it is just to create a subliminal low end stroboscopic metronomic pulse. I think I will do that in the future if we do more live performances. I will just run a drum machine through my gear so it sounds like low end wash with no attack,just bass blur. I also use a drum machine like a xylophone. I pitch the drum pads so it sounds like a xylophone. The Alesis HR-16 has great musical/pitch qualities.

Guitar Geek: What are some of the pros & cons of using the guitar as a tone generator? Wouldn't a synth do the job just as well? Why the guitar?

Scott: I've never been asked that before, good question. If I used a synth it would leave nothing to the imagination, a synth takes the fun out of it. Noone expects a guitar to sound like this so it plays with people's preconceptions. When people see me live and hear that all this otherworldly noise coming out of a single guitar, they are blown away. There is more harmonic interest happening as well. The phenomenon of a vibrating string, more partials, more info happening with every strum. A guitar is converting physical energy into electrical energy, a synth is just electrical energy, the art is in the manipulation. A synth is like a vibrator, you really don't have to do much to get a lot out of it, and it is fun nonetheless. A synth can only give you a sterile waveform but with a guitar you have to wrestle with to get it to sound interesting. Synths are boring to see on stage, it's hard to look cool holding down a key unless you are someone like Nick Rhodes. I want a little more work. You have to keep it going when you generate space with a guitar. Just like a hula hoop, you have to keep moving. I never wanted my sounds to sound like a guitar. That was my initial goal. I wanted to get scientific on it , divorce sound from its source and retain only pulsating waves. I chose the guitar because it was easy and fairly cheap.

Guitar Geek: What about using Midi-Guitar equipment?

Scott: I don't want my guitar to sound like a tuba, or a harmonica or slap bass! That's silly.

Guitar Geek: What is your approach to the guitar chord-wise? Do you use any alternate tunings or weird structures?

Scott: Yes, I use alternate tunings on some songs. With the 12 string I usually have every string tuned to a different note so it was no longer ee aa dd gg bb ee but more like, de ag da be ec. The chord possibilities are crazy. I am always changing the tuning so much that i have no idea what the hell I have done from song to song. When I do play in standard tuning I rarely play chords that are proper. I play a lot of suspended chords with a lot of open drone notes on the b and e strings.

Guitar Geek: How does your heavily processed studio sound translate into a live setting?

Scott:I usually borrow a couple of good amps like a Fender twin for the high end and a Hartke bass head and cabinet for the rumbling low. When I do this the sound translates quite well. I used to use just one Crate amp and it sucked. It was like trying to get into orbit with a bottle rocket. It was not the proper tool for the job. Last mini-tour I did was with Andrew Prinz of Mahogany. He doubled what I played on guitar and the sound was immense and beautiful. We had the sufficient booster capacity to fully realize the music's potential. It was a huge cascading wall of shimmering guitar wash.

Guitar Geek: Do you use any compression on your mixes or instruments?

Scott: I just use compression when I'm recording. It was a patch in the quadraverb. I just used it to make things sound better, but I don't know why it works. Normally I don't use compression.

Guitar Geek: Do you do anything special eq-wise during tracking or mixdown?

Scott: I try to bring out a lot of low end, I like things to rumble. it is probably not a good idea but I like it. The EQ on the portastudio is so basic, high and low. It doesn't leave a lot of room to become the eq master but I am content with it.

Guitar Geek: Any thoughts on the whole digital revolution?

Scott: I love it. I will go digital when i can afford it or steal the technology. I just want to make music fast simple and cheap.

Guitar Geek: What inspires the whole writing or recording process in LLC?

Scott: John Cages 'Silence', Brian Eno, Glenn Branca, MBV, Cocteau Twins, Velvet Underground, JAMC to name a few.

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