Rigged – Griever

Here we go with some typical frontman antics. They always have to speak for the rest of the band, huh? Alex Jacobelli moves from guitar in Deathwish Inc’s hardcore speaker-shatterers Lewd Acts to a dual guitar/vocal role in Griever and he just assumes it’s cool for him to host a Rigged feature on behalf of the whole band. What’s next: are you going to order dinner for everyone as well? “I’ll have the lobster bisque, and our drummer… no that’s okay darling I’ve eaten here before trust me… he’ll have the sea bass ceviche.” It’s not like skinsman Cory Groenenberg isn’t also in Lewd Acts. Why not let him M.C. the festivities? Psssft. Vocalists.

I’m going to let it slide though, because first of all Jacobelli seems to have a intimate (one might even say sensuous) knowledge of his bandmates’ equipment, which might be due to how Alex recorded Griever’s upcoming record Our Love Is Different. I’m also going to give him a pass because said record completely rips. Give “The Endless Wall” a listen (it’s actually only a few minutes long… and also, not a wall) and you’ll likely agree. Well, assuming you like good music, and enjoying life. Otherwise you may not care for it.

After you preorder Our Love Is Different at this Internet destination, read on to Alex Jacobelli’s tour of all that is Griever.

Hey Gear Gods dudes, thanks for having us. Very excited to nerd out. I’m Alex from Griever, I’ll start off with my rig.

My basic setup is my 50w late ’70s Marshall JMP. I used to have the hundred watt version, but traded my buddy because I wanted more headroom. It’s worked out great, I can actually get some power section breakup without having totally ear shattering levels. This works out well because I normally play two heads at a time, which brings me to the Satellite Barracuda. It’s the yellow guy in the picture. It’s an amazing amplifier built by our friends and neighbors Satellite Amplifiers. KT66 goodness that I can’t describe any other way than stoner-ific. Seriously, the first time I heard it was with a 2×12 and a Telecaster going straight in and it sounded fucking huge. One of the many truly amazing amps these dudes make. The Atom is another I’ve recently started loving. More on the British side of things. Anyway, all that goes through a Mesa 4×12, which is very unexciting on a nerd level, but it’s very effective and built like a tank, as you probably know.

For guitars, I mostly use the SG standard these days. I was fortunate enough to buy it from Orly (Griever’s other guitarist) when we were drunk and he was broke. Got it for a killer deal and have been playing it most of the time for the past year. The other guitar I use a lot, and used the majority of the time in my previous band Lewd Acts, is the Reverend. I forgot the name of the model, but it’s a fucking fantastic guitar. Plays wonderfully and built well. I’ve had this guitar for close to 8 years. My favorite feature that all Reverend guitars have is the tone contour knob. On this guitar in particular, it goes from full P90 to more of a Telecaster vibe just with rolling the knob, and a ton of all other things in between. It always feels the best to write on. Last of the three is the white Les Paul studio. Has a JB in the bridge and a Gibson burst bucker in the neck. Bought this guitar for my 18th birthday and got this color because I loved Darkest Hour. Whatever. Another solid investment. Not pictured (because I’m an idiot) are my pedals. I’ve somewhat recently acquired an 80s MXR distortion plus and it’s become my main pedal. It’s like a cross between a fuzz and a distortion, which I love. I also have a Providence Stampede and a EH Memory Boy.

For Orlando’s rig, he plays an Orange Rockerverb with a 2×12 and 4×12 satellite cabs. The cabs have three different types of speakers: Greenbacks, vintage 30s, and Chinese vintage 30s. Sounds excellent. For guitars, he has a Korean copy of a Gibson Les Paul. It’s the three-pickups model with two Lace Dirty Heshers in the neck and bridge position. Funny thing is, he had a real Les Paul he paid close to $2500 for and it played and sounded like shit in comparison. Everyone’s happier now that it’s gone. He also has a bunch of pedals, but he wasn’t smart enough to take a picture of his pedal board either. Suffice to say, he has an OCD, so we’re obvi in the know.

Wes plays a V4 with an Ampeg 8×10. Bass is a Mexican P through a Sansamp. Pretty simple yet classic setup.

The last picture is of Orly and I standing in front of a few of my other amps. I work at a pawn shop near the Mexican border and have been able to pick these up for a fucking steal. I won’t talk about it too much, but the pictures speak for themselves.