Russell Lissack
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| Russell Lissack | |
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 Russell Lissack
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Russell Dean Lissack |
| Born | March 11, 1981 |
| Origin |  Chingford, England |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock Art rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Associated acts | Bloc Party Pin Me Down |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Fender Telecaster | |
Russell Dean Lissack[1] (born March 11, 1981) is the lead guitarist of London-based indie rock band Bloc Party. He is also in the band Pin Me Down; a duo of himself and Milena Mepris, who once referred to Lissack as a "Meerkat" due to how he appears and darts about on and off stage. Kele (Singer of Bloc Party) referred to him on the 2007 Reading Festival as "Silent but Deadly". Russell responded by cheering.
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[edit] Biography
Lissack grew up in Chingford, London, and went to Bancroft's School in Woodford, Essex. He then studied Sociology at London South Bank University, dropping out weeks before graduation so he could tour with Bloc Party. He does not do many interviews, (and when he does, he keeps words to a minimum) and he shies away from the camera, leading many to believe that he is quite quiet. When Bloc Party became popular mid 2004, Russell was noted for his distinctive haircut, involving a triangular fringe covering a large part of his face and head. This style has affectionately become known as a "blochead."(Edit) His hair cut is actually a haircut originated by the bass player for The Misfits, Jerry Only, the hair cut is known as a devillock. He has also been compared to Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood in terms of both looks and style of guitar playing. [1]
Although he has a wiry, sharp solo sound, derived from the use of a Fender Telecaster, he also uses his effects pedals to create ambient sounds (such as the delay effect at the beginning of "Like Eating Glass").
[edit] Personal Life
Over the 2007 Christmas period, Lissack got engaged to his girlfriend, Melanie Hunter.
He is also a committed vegetarian, and recently appeared in the Vegetarian Magazine to talk about his Christmas dinner, which he likes 'traditional, with a Quorn fillet to replace the meat'.
[edit] Influences
Lissack cites some of his major influences as Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Suede, Blur, The Smashing Pumpkins, New Order, The Smiths, Prince, Weezer, the anime series Escaflowne, and late-90s Trance music.[2]
Guitar influences include Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Prince and Graham Coxon of Blur who are users of the Fender Telecaster.
In a recent interview, Kele from Bloc Party stated that Russell used to play guitar in an Ash tribute band. [3] Kele jokingly adds that, as Russell was playing lead guitar, he filled the role of Charlotte Hatherley.
He also recently remixed Kate Nash's single 'Pumpkin Soup'.
[edit] Musical Equipment used
[edit] Guitars
- Fender Telecaster – Lissack's main guitar; used in almost all live songs. An American Honey Blonde model, more commonly known as an American Ash Telecaster that features an array of stickers, including Pokémon and Disney characters. The strap is covered with countless badges, including the one that the Spanish band TvToys gave him on Bloc Party's last concert in Madrid.
- Fender Telecaster – White, white scratchplate, maple fretboard, several Family Guy badges on strap.
- Fender Telecaster – White, mint green scratchplate, rosewood fretboard. Probably a Fender 60's Classic Series Telecaster.
- Fender Telecaster Custom – Bubble-gum pink, as seen in the video for "Little Thoughts".
- Fender Telecaster Custom – Black, maple fretboard, 1 humbucker and 1 single coil bridge pickup, flashing LED lights on scratchplate. Used on "Uniform" live, and seen in the Hunting for Witches video. Features the unusual modification of a children's toy fitted next to the guitar's pickups, which produces a series of futuristic sound effects when activated from a switch on the scratchplate. These sounds are picked up by the guitar's humbuckers and are amplified as normal.
- Gibson Les Paul – Sunburst. Used in the studio for "Uniform". Not seen live.
- Epiphone SG – White, used earlier in the band's career.
- Fender Jaguar – Blue, tortoise shell scratchplate, used earlier in the band's career.
- It has also been suggested that he has an affinity for multicoloured fake Stratocasters.
[edit] Effects pedals
Russell uses a variety of guitar effects live and in the studio, so many that it is difficult to track exactly which are used at any given point. From eye-witness accounts/interviews it has been suggested that he has used all of these following effects
- BOSS LS-2 Line Selector.
- BOSS DD-6 Delay (Four in a series rig)
- BOSS DD-5 x2 (1 set to reverse)Delay.
- BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay
- BOSS OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion
- BOSS DS-1 Distortion
- BOSS DS-2 Turbo Distortion
- BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter. x2
- BOSS PW-10 Wah
- BOSS TR-2 Tremolo.
- BOSS TU-2 Tuner.
- BOSS RV-5 Reverb.
- Electro-Harmonix Big Muff.
- Electro-HarmonixDeluxe Memory Man.
- Ernie Ball 6165 Stereo Volume/Pan Pedal.
- Electro Harmonix POG PolyPhonic Octave Pedal.
- Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Synth.
- Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
- BOSS V-Wah
- Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah
- Korg Kaoss Pad
- DigiTech XP100 Whammy
[edit] Amplifiers
[edit] Other
[edit] References
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