In Conversation with Thurston Moore | The Great Escape Festival 2019 | Fender

Watch Thurston Moore discuss his influences and his time in Sonic Youth, as well as the Jazzmaster's role in the development of new-wave and other alternative guitar styles. Hosted by Steve Lamacq.
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In Conversation with Thurston Moore | The Great Escape Festival 2019 | Fender
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[@justinwilliam4644]

Wish it went longer, I'm thurston for some Moore

[@leeannasloan526]

I like it...brilliant.

[@samreilly4360]

lol

[@helenelizabeth3472]

hahahahah this made me laugh

[@hushed4085]

we need Moore Thurston

[@danielnavajas9]

🤣

[@slackerVK]

Nothing’s better than a few pairs of strings tuned in unison.

[@alexwalton593]

great to see you here

[@tekkenchampion832]

god himself has blessed this video....

[@asparagusbear3323]

Hey dude, love your videos. Cheers.

[@pawnboy66]

More sebadoh vids man!!! Great Chanel!!

[@jonmoon4604]

@@asparagusbear3323 Same. Essential viewing for me.

[@HermanWaldorf]

When Thurston picks up the guitar, it's immediately Sonic Youth

[@sethriggenbach]

Click below to skip to each section where Thurston Moore demonstrates the insane sounds he creates with his Jazzmaster 10:55 - Thurston Explains how he explores different tunings 19:30 - Thurston uses a ballpoint pen to create insane pitch bends 28:35 - Thurston plays an excerpt from a Glenn Branca minimalist guitar composition 20:58 - Thurston plays part of his two note minimalist composition inspired by Glenn Branca 37:20 - Thurston demonstrates the chime and drone achieved by playing the strings behind the bridge 38:40 - Thurston plays some insane feedback drones while pushing his guitar into the amp and stage floor (!!!) 49:25 - Thurston closes out by playing an intense, spaced out chimey drone reminiscent of an ancient temple, ending with some shattering feedback

[@MetricMod]

Thurston is hands down one of the most underrated songwriter/guitarists EVER! Even jazz guitarists like Pat Metheny have stated that he is a genius. His last album took almost 6 months to grow on me. I couldn’t seem to find its message and overall tone, but when I did that was THAT! It is still in heavy rotation even today. There are no words for the respect I have for this man, Kim, Lee and Steve. Absolute treasures

[@marshorner1573]

Thurston is truly a musical hero of mine, because not only is he a kind and genuine person, he helped set the stage for being creatively free in music and not following common tropes for the sake of validation. He understands the freedom and subjectivity of music and refuses to abide by any one singular standard or fit neatly into a specific category. Thurston fully embodies what playing music is all about.

[@headyBC]

So kind he cheated on his wife with a 19 year old

[@justjoseph8259]

@@headyBC yeah i love him but hes a ginormous asshole for that

[@hamedyarizade8331]

this is the most important guitar interview of my life

[@missaliceoliphant]

I got halfway through watching this, felt inspired, wrote a new song that IM SO PROUD OF, finished the rest and just felt super happy :)

[@ask-ingarbhn6855]

I know, i just tuned my guitar strings to random notes and just played for an hour

[@missaliceoliphant]

@@ask-ingarbhn6855 and a BUNCH of feedback

[@ask-ingarbhn6855]

@@missaliceoliphant naturally:)

[@mikeferrellmusic]

Let’s hear it!

[@jhonnycagexrage7458]

That is so awesome, it's really hard to be inspired sometimes and when you finally find your sound and your music sounds great for your own ears is one of the best feelings ever

[@binface9]

I love how humble he is. Like in the way he plays something then immediately continues the conversation, not waiting for a round of applause from the audience

[@zobazoba69]

looking good for a 61 year old man. this man is surely the perfect example of a musician being an «artist»

[@zobazoba69]

@Walt Coyle has nothing to do with his craft.

[@humaninterface7153]

@Walt Coyle he is also a human you know ? also dont confuse private life with art

[@letsstartawarsaidmaggieoneday]

Haki Mann Have you seen Stephen Morris lately? 62 and looks pushing 52

[@drids.]

Please do one with Kevin shields fender

[@startervisions]

they didn't do a live interview, but they did a mini documentary with him about a year ago. great little piece into his world

[@movimentodoscacos]

oh god please fender do it!!!!!!!!

[@ravesonics]

Yeah!

[@ezrablake1234]

But he mainly uses Rickenbacker

[@EstuaryEstuary]

Ezra Blake no, jazzmasters

[@scatterbrainedidiot]

To save many of you the trouble, the tuning he's using is: (Low to high D# D# A# A# C# D#.)

[@barrymantz6026]

NO IT IS NOT! CGDGCD!

[@barrymantz6026]

@@scatterbrainedidiot kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3ubh4x-lN2lfcU No it's not!

[@barrymantz6026]

You lost!

[@scatterbrainedidiot]

@@barrymantz6026 He says at 11:58 the low string is a D# and they're in unison. Sorry but you lost.

[@barrymantz6026]

@@scatterbrainedidiot Dude! Really! Have you ever heard the song? He's fucking famous for his tuning! And now you're telling me that's wrong! You are wrong! Admit it and pay me my money!

[@daysofgrandeur]

I could sit and listen to Thurston for hours.

[@jonathandrake2677]

Thurston and Lee are Clapton/Hendrix for me. I'm super inspired by this. Thanks for the music and always inspiring me.

[@deathrowlemon7367]

I feel that way too. Thurston, Lee, and Kurt

[@jeremychamplin1078]

That thing with the tennis racket...we've all been there Thurston.

[@aestheticsosa9288]

seriously what a gorgeous guitar

[@phnigra111]

Thank you to whoever it was... venue owner, manager, etc.. who gave us that additional 5-10 minutes at the end

[@nicolasmrn]

The man is pure genius. When he started to play guitar at 11:11, it instantly sounded like the intro of an amazing new sonic youth song.

[@DJJSerpico]

Thurston is a God among men. I used to know him fairly well when he lived in NYC

[@theplourde]

I wish Thurston had a podcast. I’d love to hear any stories he had. I’m sure he and everybody in SY were around in NYC during the early 2000s when there was a huge boom of bands. I’ve wanted to hear from people that were living in the city during that time.

[@lucifersdiamond]

I'd love to hear from him more often. I have so much appreciation for the music and the endless inspiration SY always had, and continue to bring into the world for us. Takes me outta here

[@nicolasmrn]

37:24 omg that unique sound, I remember that sounds in the beginning of "Mote" and in some noise soundscapes by Sonic Youth.

[@agostocobain2729]

I met sonic youth n 07 they are the kindest nicest most humble people I ever met. Thurston is the complete opposite of pretentious

[@randoshus3762]

I spoke to Lee a bit, and he was really easy to talk to... especially about guitars.

[@peckermusic]

Amazing sounds at 39 mins. Sonic Youth were such an incredible live band - moving, unnerving, dramatic.

[@justanoptimist303]

Great to hear him talk about Branca and Chatham.

[@RayRift]

I'll still love Thurston Moore when he's 64!

[@alanharwood368]

I was there, spot me at 18.37 It was awesome !!

[@brunogmguerra]

I was about to write a comment saying the guy at 18:37 sure looked hooked! :D Must have been great!

[@Ballonpoire39]

Nice!!

[@lucasponce7201]

Reinvented the way to play guitar , he’s maybe the most underrated guitar player and Demolished Thoughts is the most underrated album of all time

[@blackmagnetband]

He plays the guitar the right way

[@Drexeh]

I love this style too, but this comment is a complete contradiction to TM's message.

[@slick7355]

Is this the guy who puts blood in music and his family. What a brave man run.

[@timmyg8206]

Damn that needed to be way longer. I could watch Thurston for hours.

[@expedientself]

Yes, yes, yes. The most important part of the whole discussion starts at 27:02

[@FCInternazionale1145]

Work at the guitar center in Miami and have met this gentleman on 2 occasions, definitely a humble and interesting lad. Pleasure meeting him

[@bennyfromthe72]

This is why the electric guitar is the most beautiful instrument of the 20th century.

[@NoisyGiraffe]

I wonder what tuning the tennis racket was in.

[@billyrogers4855]

Someone should try putting pickups in a tennis racket

[@dmvconartists1855]

Awesome! Glad fender recognizes how great Thurston is..

[@Ak3r0n]

38:40 the way he bends that neck like a twig to modulate feedback. true mastery of noise

[@martyschwartzhere9290]

Anybody who criticizes Thurston's musical ability has absolutely no idea what they're talking about, period. As for who he is, I genuinely don't understand why people find him pretentious.

[@indieguy81]

Agreed. He's always seemed like a pretty down-to-earth guy to me. The whole band is, actually. I think they get tagged as pretentious because of their association with the New York underground art scene and their beat poetry influenced lyrics.

[@davetbassbos]

"Ilk" at 2:01 the prosecution rests, lol! but seems like a sincere guy

[@dougthealligator]

I don’t think he’s deliberately smarmy or pretentious, but I feel like people who speak with the sort of deliberate manner that he does are often considered pretentious.

[@89eyes]

@@indieguy81 Look up Nardwuar vs. Sonic Youth and see how down-to-earth he is.

[@agusb1988]

@@89eyes think they were all messing around, either way I think nowadays they are all down to earth.

[@movimentodoscacos]

Thurston: "ah yes i love this guitar, i keep an eye on it all the time" also Thurston 10min: *abuses it, beats the neck on the floor etc*

[@fkorekore265]

Passion, baby. And he suffered several and massive gear steals.

[@binface9]

Nonsense. You can see he's actually be very careful in that section where he's manipulating feedback while gently bending the neck. He's never beating the neck.

[@jhonnycagexrage7458]

It's violent loving... Get it?

[@electromuff7870]

@@jhonnycagexrage7458 yeah, were kissing golden, we're going insane

[@Flux799]

Would be interesting to see what he could do with an 8 string and really utilize all the strings in alternate tunings especially for the super low octave drones.

[@ia5662]

Damn, I've never seen that pen trick - totally trippy, but I can see how that really fit Sonic Youth.

[@g.koch.]

Some people would need a 400$+ pedal for it 😂🙄

[@justinwilliam4644]

As soon as he did that chime thing I heard the start of bull in the Heather

[@coldacre]

he's a musical genius, straight up. thankyou Thurston for the decades of inspiration! Sonic Youth always came to Australia to tour every album and I'm so grateful for that. those Sonic Nurse shows are imprinted on my brain. Seymour Antiquity 2's are in my Jazzy... thats THE sound.

[@davetbassbos]

I wish Tom Verlaine and Television had continued on along with Sonic Youth.

[@NEALBEARD2]

Saw him play this In Portsmouth at my local record shop. Fucking amazing.

[@magnusvanttinen7855]

So Great. Thurston seems to be a nice person.

[@francescolaterza5965]

Thank you all for this! It is really precious. THANKS ! Love you Mr. Moore

[@michaelwtapp]

He's very articulate! Thank you for sharing

[@juliusebola9389]

The interviewer asks good questions.

[@Anna-nj6xx]

Something new 😂👍

[@stuartpowell255]

Total wizard of a guitar player. Love this!!!

[@LennySugiono]

no way is he turning 61 ! crazy

[@TheAirsoftGang5]

thumbail looks like dave mustaine with a haircut

[@movimentodoscacos]

lmao it really does

[@cockandballs6963]

That's what I thought lol

[@triplesevensix291]

Dave has throat cancer now. Hope he beats it!

[@davidmunoz8215]

Thurston Moore is the indie Mustaine

[@axelbergstrom3644]

Thurston is way cooler than Mustaine

[@sjd_macready]

I have been a fan for 25 years or so but seriously at 40;30 I can get a similar sound sanding my floorboards!

[@airwaydude014]

We need a revival/reunion of Sonic Youth. Bring back Thurston, Lee, Kim and Steve. Viva la noise rock gods.

[@sandiaYpescado]

dude cheated on kim with a girl they all were friends with. not gonna happen

[@jeremynothing]

My first guitar was a golf club. No joke. ..and my microphone was our vacuum.

[@pairadeau]

beast from another galaxy

[@owenwilberforce6138]

I always wondered how Lee and Thurston responded with corresponding tunings in composition. To have those tunings mesh and work together was interesting to consider. How the songs came together in this experimental milieu fascinates me. The sounds they devised broke all rules and barriers, bringing in drones, sympathetic overtones and a level of emotional honesty which I love. Similar to Hendrix, they found music in “noisy” textures that were beautiful and arresting. The fact that both Lee and Thurston were raised on classic rock but turned away from the basic format of classic rock speaks volumes. Thurston and Lee created new vocabularies and soundscapes with their unwillingness to rehash the past.

[@ravesonics]

OH YEAH!!! THURSTON MOORE!!!

[@orcabrain]

im need jazzmaster now

[@dmvconartists1855]

Damn I've always loved sonic youth but I see that even I've underestimated Thurston's genius a bit.. there really is a method to the madness here

[@MyersJMark]

Brilliant, thanks for this.

[@kidwajagstang]

love how at 40:53 you can hear someone's watch alarm go off!

[@stefan1024]

My first guitar was a keyboard.

[@iagobroxado]

Way to go Fender!

[@justinwilliam4644]

This is just great and very insightful, thank you

[@expedientself]

Could watch this guy bend guitar necks and generate ungodly feedback all day.

[@filipecoutinho5706]

I lived in Brighton, lovely place

[@dimaspradipta5445]

can you do with Graham Coxon? i'd like to hear a story about his Telecaster with Gibson pickup

[@MsStorto]

Se Joey Ramones è stato il modello che ha ispirato Thurston, beh, che Thurston sappia, che lui è stato il mio. Immenso amore per i Sonic Youth, per lui in particolare. Io ho lo stesso approccio, non mi va di studiare, mi va di suonare. Thanks for all! Gloria Eterna ai Sonic Youth

[@Murmil1o]

tennis racket guitar is so relatable, mine was made up of duplo!

[@Marc_Sola]

He should make the background music for films. Very atmospheric and dark

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Another sig model. Lets go Fender!

[@colinedmunds2238]

Em B they made one a few years back. Same with Lee Ronaldo

[@ia5662]

They already released both Sonic Youth signature models.

[@NEALBEARD2]

39 mins in... epic!

[@brich2929]

that Jazzmaster though..

[@michaelwertzy9808]

The difference between Jazzmasters & Jaguars is what? Preference is up to the musician, isn't it? Dig it! Life is good. Peace

[@sirhenners204]

michael wertzy the difference is the pickups, the wiring and the scale length

[@Caniballe]

OMG, thanks a lot for this!

[@samreilly4360]

That thing he does at the end is really cool!

[@DelScully]

king krule in his 70's interviewing

[@triplesevensix291]

I seen an interview once where someone asks him " how come you have so many Jazzmaster's?" Thurston.." I like jazz." Classic.

[@MITCHY_B_2003]

Wow, it’s hard to believe he’s in his 60s

[@richevans609]

Happy Chrimbus!

[@BringTheMachetE]

sonic youth is my inspiration or my midwest emo alt tuning stuff, this stuff is amazing

[@markschroeder5559]

His Glen Branca tribute 8 Spring Street sounds alot like a Steve Reich piece.

[@faunoram]

Really entertaining video !! Gotta love Thurston torturing his guitar ! PLEASE we need a video with Kevin Shields !!

[@matthewjdouglas6471]

Its crazy too think that Johnny thunders was only 5 years older than Thurston. I wonder if Thurston listened to the nyc heartbreakers

[@Keverton13]

Really enjoyed that. Thank you.

[@mijofeo]

"Rippin' behind the bridge " lol

[@elpetardomalo999]

genius love this

[@nic-ci_66-77]

Fantastica intervista

[@funeralmotors2994]

19:54 don't know how and why i'm seeing Mickey Rourke in his face,,,

[@luizspindola]

28:48 what's the name of this piece?

[@jacopomauri5561]

One of the best Hogwarts lesson of my life!

[@dialecticalspectacle]

Bravo.

[@watashiwanachodes]

Did they do one of these with Lee and with Kim? because that would be heaven to me.

[@Mrmre]

legend

[@ihrstinkt100]

so good💕❤️💕

[@aurora3655]

That's similar to me! My first song was Louie Louie, then Back in the NY Groove by Ace Freely, then I discovered I knew the chords to Jimi Hendrix's Wild Thing, I had bought a Profile guitar because it was affordable to me, and it had a whammy bar; suddenly I could make all kinds of crazy distorted sounds, and that was all I did for awhile, micmic Hendrix's noise lol! ....I was so jealous of his white Fender! I think I was like 11 or 12. By 13 I abandoned the paint brush for the plectrum.

[@kittysox8463]

Brilliant, you can really see how he's influenced Nels Cline in this

[@Nazzz65]

Cline can play CIRCLES around this dude and oh yeah Sonic Youth is way, way overrated.

[@kittysox8463]

@@Nazzz65 then you don't listen to Nels Cline enough, he's a self admitted Thurston Moore fan

[@Finniganmydog]

Timothy J. Horan than why did you bother wasting your time watching this? I don’t look for John Mayer videos, watch them, then troll in the comments.

[@drewa1999]

Is guitar playing a competition?

[@nimusworks5475]

38:51....yes

[@HOOKSpace]

mantap cuy

[@lovbladkarl-olof3975]

Super interesting

[@michaeltherion7459]

So what's this tuning?