Gear at a Glance
to folk-pop-grass… We welcome
all of those because, at the end
of the day, the best music is that
music that everyone can enjoy.”
The goal of universal appeal is
one to which The Strumbellas
have long aspired. In revisiting
the conversation about where
they’d like Rattlesnake to take
them, considering the unparal-
leled ride that Hope spurred just
three years earlier, Ward is again
refreshingly candid.
“The truth is, I have a hole
inside of me that is just never
satisfied, so when you say, ‘Where
do you want to take it next?’, the
answer is always, ‘We want to be
Imagine Dragons or Coldplay or
The Killers – a worldwide house-
hold name where your mother
knows who we are and your kids
know who we are. Not in terms
of, like, ‘Oh, we want to be super
famous,’ but more in terms of we
want our music to be throughout
the whole world for people to
enjoy. To me, that’s the ultimate
goal of any songwriter or artist –
it’s to have as many people listen
as possible.”
That was the hope from
day one – or really, years before
day one was even conceivable.
“I have these childhood dreams
I’m still trying to fulfill,” shares
Ward, though many – Lollapa-
looza, Conan, Kimmel, Colbert,
and others that were once just
question marks – have already
been crossed of the list.
“Playing the live broadcast of
the JUNOs was a huge goal for us
right off the jump. On the first al-
bum, it was, ‘How do we get to play
on that TV show?’” They answered
their own question in 2017, and
that just advanced the target, with
Ward tacking on: “Right now, it’s
the Grammys; I will not rest until
we get to be on that stage.”
If and when that call comes
through is a pretty big question
mark, and the prospect of it will
propel The Strumbellas on their
path forward.
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief
of Canadian Musician.
THE STRUMBELLAS’ GO-TO STAGE
SET-UPS FOR 2019
JEREMY DRURY
(DRUMS)
YC Custom Drums
Zildjian Cymbals
Vic Firth Sticks
Remo Drum Skins
JON HEMBREY
(GUITAR)
Fender Telecaster
Electric Guitar
Gibson SG Electric
Guitar
Gibson ES-330 Electric
Guitar
Gibson J-45 Acoustic
Guitar
Kemper Profiler Head
DARRYL JAMES
(BASS)
Gallien-Krueger MB
Fusion 500 Bass Head
Gallien-Krueger Neo 115
Cabinet
Avalon Design U5 DI
ISABEL RITCHIE
(STRINGS)
Acoustic Violin with LR
Baggs Pickup
TC Electronic Hall of
Fame Reverb Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Pitch
Fork Polyphonic Pitch
Shift Pedal
Boss RC-1 Loop Station
LR Baggs Para Acoustic
DI
Korg Minilogue Analog
Synth
DAVE RITTER
(KEYBOARDS)
Nord Stage 3 Compact
Keyboard
SIMON WARD
(VOCALS & GUITAR)
Gibson SJ-200 Acoustic
Guitar
Gibson J-45 Acoustic
Guitar
Telefunken Vocal Mic
CANADIAN MUSICIAN
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