Ever since his departure from Jellyfish at the peak of the band’s brief early-’90s run, Jason Falkner has relished his role as a self-made power-pop iconoclast. R. Stevie Moore’s championing of the DIY recording aesthetic stretches all the way back to the late ’60s, gaining underground momentum during the following decade’s punk explosion. Unlike Falkner, Moore has never been much for restraint, recording more than 400 albums. As one might surmise, new collaboration Make It Be casts Falkner as the editor/ringmaster of Moore’s wonky sonic circus—and the results should connect with fans of the former’s innate craftsmanship and the latter’s rampant eclecticism. Falkner and Moore will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week.
Falkner: To me, a vintage instrument (guitar in particular) is alive. It’s alive! It’s not just a few pieces of wood with strings and electronic guts. About 15 years ago, the vintage-guitar market exploded and prices soared unreasonably. I had a few pricy collectible guitars at the time, but for one reason or another (gotta pay rent, yo) had to sell most of my top shelf. This boom in prices kind of forced me to start looking at the lesser-known manufactures and models because I couldn’t afford the 335s or Les Pauls anymore. Not unlike my quest for vinyl obscurities, I became obsessed with finding ultra rare but highly playable vintage guitars. Now this is pretty much an oxymoron. Usually when you’ve never heard of or seen a particular vintage guitar it’s because the thing is an unplayable POS. Happy to report that after a couple decades of taking a chance because of a cool design or affiliation to another known manufacturer, I have amassed a small-but-ultra-personal collection of highly playable unique oddballs.
