Rig Rundown - Kurt Vile & the Violators

Article and photos: bit.ly/KurtVileRR
PG’s Chris Kies chilled with Kurt Vile, Rob Laakso, and Jesse Trbovich of the psychedelic folk-rock outfit before their sold-out show at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on February 25th.
Rob Laasko, like his stringed brother Jesse Trbovich on the other side of the stage, bounces between guitar and bass during shows. His current No. 1 bass is this late ’70s Fender P Bass. (It is worth noting that Laasko mentions in the video that his real No. 1-a vintage B.C. Rich Mockingbird-was “accidentally” left back in Philly.)
The band’s other multi-instrumentalist, Jesse Trbovich, spends most of his stage time with this Fender ’57 Reissue Stratocaster that is all stock aside from a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Strat Surfer Series in the middle position allowing him to have hum-canceling operation in the second and fourth position. This Strat sees a lot of action in the band’s older material because as Trbovich describes it, “that’s where the vibe was-a Strat and a whammy bar.”
The band’s namesake travels with not one, but two 1964 Fender Jaguars. During an earlier interview with PG, Vile explained his need to have dual ’64s: “I bought it in 2011 when I was on tour. I really focused on getting familiar with it, so much so that I just bought another ’64 Jaguar for the road.” One typically is tuned to standard or down a half-step while the other could be in any number of Vile’s own creative open tunings.
To continue learning about the band's gear, visit: bit.ly/KurtVileRR

[@obahrey5197]

Rest in peace Rob Laakso.

[@andrewpappas9311]

Wait, did he die?

[@alexpetronio6382]

@@andrewpappas9311 yeah :(

[@andrewpappas9311]

@@alexpetronio6382 Oh shit, how long ago was this?

[@wyattmacburnie740]

What happened to him?

[@macaroon147]

Died 4 May 2023 of cancer unfortunately. Just googled it

[@bobjob66]

They are all so socially awkward...I love it...

[@brockhopkins8408]

+Robert Mechling it's almost as if they spend all of their time playing music and not socializing

[@coleemmersonhallman5329]

+Brock Hopkins story of my life

[@Steaminlidz]

Chris gets to be the cool guy for once.

[@h.j.w2783]

Kurt Vile is literally the stereotype I think of when I think of a classic stoner rocker from the 90s or some shit, he could easily be in a Wayne's World reprise.

[@h.j.w2783]

+Dr. H or dude where's my car

[@francoe1555]

His name is Kurt.

[@andrewpappas9311]

H.J.W I always thought that he reminded me of Jason Newstead when he was in Metallica

[@Dapno_]

@@andrewpappas9311 right? It's that really chill discomfort

[@Steaminlidz]

He’s clearly the offspring of Slater from Dazed & Confused and Arlo Guthrie.

[@ErichWK]

I don't think I ever seen anyone say "Hot Dog!" so casually like that. Imma steal that

[@srvthesheep4682]

erichwk a

[@Colinshreds69]

😂

[@seesaythinkthings]

go for King Gizzard and The Lizzard Wizard please!

[@idiosyncraticmushroom3030]

seesaythinkthings YES

[@juancitolimon8743]

based

[@dootxdoot1943]

@@juancitolimon8743 based on what?

[@unplayedpiano7039]

“Pretty Pimpin” Is Something Special. What A Song.

[@jacobperleoni8549]

One of my favorite songs ever made. You miiiiiight like my music if you like that song!

[@froginthemachine]

I love kurt vile but you don't get to see a whole lot of videos like this with the other band members, that's why this is so great to me

[@adrianseifi8209]

RIP Rob Laakso 🥀

[@andrewpappas9311]

Wait, when did he die?

[@dylanturner67]

Nice. Met him a few weeks ago and sold him a 1960's Gibson J 45. Super nice guys

[@TheHangnails]

I love how none of Kurt's pedals are set to the levels that are written on them.

[@bipbong2906]

Not to be a buzz kill but that’s kinda the point of putting markers on them, so you can change them and not forget a certain setting you liked

[@jimisteel5149]

Love his music been a fan for quite a while! Thanks for this! They are so good to see live just great vibes

[@331777ify]

the guy at the start like a cross between Beck and Ozzy Osbourne

[@calebmorita]

+Phvro ha

[@andrewpappas9311]

I can see the Beck comparison

[@theWARMJET]

Lol

[@LaserRotShow]

That hardtail bass IV is killer, I've never heard of one without a vibrato.

[@Nicofromtheweb]

He sooooo doesn't want to share his tunings :D

[@MaddestMousse]

Right? Haha I love that, all we get is 1/2 down, 1/2 up and boring old DADGAD. He did divulge that they're "semi-unique" though at least! 😛

[@JasonKartz]

BEAUTIFUL ISN'T IT?

[@conman77]

SURE ISSSSSSS

[@Colinshreds69]

*uncontrolled laughter****

[@nocuh]

Jesse knows flanger rules. But that d00d obviously knows his stuff. Shoutout to winged-c toobz. His board & rig is my fav in the vid...but it's good to see all 3 musicians having well-thought out setups.

[@cmp1868]

I have no idea who these guys are-but that second dude (Jesse,) IF youre on an airplane and the pilot gets sick-I guarantee this guy could land the plane.

[@FuzzballSounds1]

Just a '66 Mustang. Kurt's a fun bloke

[@jeffdixon847]

So many of Kurt’s jokes went right over Chris’ head.

[@MrDaigoRiki]

R.I.P. Rob.

[@hollowmenrule]

forgot how fun these rig rundowns are, great to see what people use

[@madbahamut]

I'd love to see a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard rundown!

[@adrianseifi3285]

I've watched this so many times.

[@vgbclean]

A Maná rig rundown would be awesome!!!!! make it happen !! please !

[@VictorRochaGaming]

That was fun. KV was amusing AF.

[@jugipesonen]

Random fact: Laakso means valley in finnish, thanks bye.

[@MisterTee]

The bass/guitar dude is personality incarnate

[@iwillnevergetone5]

after watching this, i just wanna see the (what has to be a) truck that carries all this gear. logistics-wise this must be a tightly run ship during load out every night

[@iwillnevergetone5]

***** i sure hope so. an actual band of (real) musicians being able to bring in revenue to finance this in 2016 gives me hope

[@tysonrinker8089]

Yeah but when you do it every night you get really really good at loading up gear

[@kentborges5114]

KV AND HIS BANDMATES ARE SUPREME !

[@MyManDan]

Burrito supreme

[@kentborges5114]

@@MyManDan ME LIKE BURRITO SUPREME WITH EXTRA GREEN SAUCE AND SOUR CREAM !

[@kentborges5114]

@@MyManDan OKAY, ENOUGH ABOUT FRICKIN' BURRITOS !

[@jscurley]

You guys should do a rig rundown of Greg Edwards and Eugene Goreshter from Autolux

[@MrRyan4896]

My god they have such cool gear.

[@SocksworthRiffs]

Hop Along would be a cool Rundown

[@andresi8692]

If you live near a big metropolis, you would have seen every piece of gear in this video on Craigslist.

[@jhendricks02]

i love how kurt looks scared to touch his amps and pedals

[@mckendrick4046]

Lovin' that Fender Bassman.....

[@elephantricity]

awesome rundown

[@caste0]

YES :D

[@lucaserojas]

Rest in peace Rob long live Swirlies

[@Les537]

The wh10 is the one and only wah I've ever bought. Not that it's great, more that I got tired of the whole wah thing in about 10 minutes.

[@terriblecj]

Definitely a 70's Bassman. Not a 66' or 67'. Probably still sounds good though

[@olivercornford5304]

TRBO-Fuzz love it

[@eroglua]

I have to work 20 years to buy all these equipment's...

[@DavidOakesMusic]

Is this the same venue as the Wolf Alice rundown ?

[@premierguitar]

+David Oakes The Wolf Alice was at the Mercy Lounge and this was at Marathon Music Works.

[@DavidOakesMusic]

Looks similar to another rundown.

[@neil_estate]

+David Oakes most venues look the same unfortunately!

[@bekavsar]

+David Oakes why cant i find the wolf alice rundown, can you send a link or something?

[@DavidOakesMusic]

I can't seem to find it either

[@Gotfive5]

Love the Sturgill shirt

[@boonexy]

looks like a 70s model for the bass VI, bigger headstock, so more print. Like my large headstock 70s strat, you get the big STRATOCASTER instead of the puny script.

[@yakplateado1923]

Damn I want one of those MF Trem. I've got an MF Delay and it may be my favorite pedal.

[@DARTH-REFLUX]

J-turbo cracks me up

[@Cougar1212]

Dude's a real firecracker huh... (Rob)

[@markferguson3745]

The Moog minifoogers are great pedals, and you can get them pretty cheap ,used.These guys know their sh#t, - listen with their EARS and hear what is actually there.Commited, professional musicians. Jazzmasters are great,- just have to compensate for the wacky pickups with the right pedals.

[@hollowmenrule]

that's beautiful isn't it, lol.

[@tomcordellmusic]

thats beautiful isnt it

[@myDetailsDetails]

Party on Garth.

[@bengalvin9932]

i want a turbo vibe!

[@loggerhead837]

Please do WEEZER

[@Bodyknowledge77]

The mane in the camera..

[@bengalvin9932]

the real supa fuzz is one of the coolest looking pedals ever.

[@samward9641]

just jot the jazzmaster today i wrote a bunch of songs on it?

[@TheZooropaBaby]

I actually want Bass VI.

[@gamecocks100]

me too

[@IETCHX69]

So switched on, when an interviewer knows whatthefuckingfuck. HeBeA Fan.

[@musicunicorn4368]

was the first guy high by any chance

[@RichardCorral]

Gilligan?!

[@lucamoqi]

Chris is getting bigger and bigger haha

[@premierguitar]

+Luca Moqi Nah, he's just horrible about laundry and continually shrinks his shirts.

[@lookingforwhiteprivilege9330]

Clip on mics!

[@Andrés_Solo]

MARC RIBOT PLEASE !

[@zachballard970]

guys it's garth from waynes world

[@bengalvin9932]

hand wound straps that a new one to go with your pick up's i guess?

[@LeviBulger]

This guy talked all about how he built all these pedals and amps, and then says he had to get rid of his memory man because he broke the jack. Dude that's like the easiest thing to fix, especially for a guy who kept going out if his way to talk about all the stuff he built lmao.

[@toddhurry7674]

the VI looks like a fake ( i mean, a non Fender) it has a 2 octave neck and no tremolo. a 3 pickup switch plate instead of 4. Maybe a Warmoth with a custom made headstock?

[@Astuddedbelt]

+Todd Hurry If I can remember the earliest Bass VI's only had 3 switches, they put on the strangle switch later. But otherwise I have to agree it looks a bit iffy, i don't think ive seen a Bass VI in that colour (unless its the lights).

[@jthurry2346]

+Astuddedbelt true, 3 switches for one year, but not with those pickups. It's a tale-tell that something is amiss on this VI.

[@afauxican_american]

"Haha. Not that bad." That dudes weird.

[@robertsparling917]

Chris removed the beard.

[@dustinm5070]

this is filmed with no plan

[@jjgabbana]

beautiful isn't it?

[@jbussa]

everyone asks about the strings. honestly I can't much tell the difference. all I care about is the guage. lol. maybe if I just played on 1 guitar I would notice. But going back and forth between them I forget what I put on what guitar and after a while I just don't care. lol

[@coleemmersonhallman5329]

Play Skatebitch!

[@danielclark7196]

Would be a much more useful video if they demoed the sounds for us! Unless you already ,know what they are talking about, this is not very useful.

[@TelecasterMaster1]

This guy didn't make this an easy process... either of them.

[@stevekim4162]

Awkward...

[@RhythmGrizz]

this guys so tweaked out and paranoid looking

[@Nightshade1881]

is that kyle moony

[@dick-gs9tb]

Why on Earth does Rob daisy-chain his guitar pedals?! Is he still doing that?

[@bradreligion1]

Well, it's a good thing Kurt is so charismatic, because the other guys in his group are pretty awkward. Having said that, I pretty much drooled my way through all the gear in this rundown.

[@IETCHX69]

yip

[@tysonrinker8089]

Kurt aint that good looking why would you drool that much

[@iketyke7324]

They’re musicians, not public speakers. Can’t be great at everything.

[@gurrgurr1023]

beautiful, isn't it ? :)

[@Nabbehh]

Y'all go easy on Kurt, he's not tweaked out, he has ADD.

[@bengalvin9932]

TWO 64 JAG'S!

[@bobbyberetta4206]

Jagrawrs!

[@MrJeppeisen]

Like if you want to see Rig Rundown TAME IMPALA!

[@alexrsmith31]

+MrJeppeisen Nahhhh not at all

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

+MrJeppeisen No need, Their gear has been explained enough

[@theneovas1]

Please

[@davidrewit]

It would become a 3 hour video but YES!!!!!

[@93Rats]

Rip to Rob Laakso

[@andrewpappas9311]

Wait, when did he die?

[@desiandcody]

7:03: “Hehe, so yer… kind of in tune.” - Interviewer *cringe* How do guys like this get jobs interviewing about gear?

[@stephenkane2464]

Seriously they’re always awkward lol

I didn't know Michael Cera plays bass

[@TheSpareRIP]

+Michael Valdez scott pilgrim vs the world?

[@andrewpappas9311]

+TheSpareRIP Probably my favourite Michael Cera movie, the songs are awesome (Also, they got their Garage/Alt. Rock sound with the help of artist Beck of Loser and E-Pro fame)

[@fluffytoaster427]

+TheSpareRIP beat me to it lol

[@namebrandmason]

+TheSpareRIP Apparently he had to dumb down his bass playing to make that movie. He was too slick for the band he was supposed to be in.

[@RhythmGrizz]

you can't be serious

[@spencer6104]

i’m gonna miss rob 😢

[@andrewpappas9311]

When did he die?

[@spencer6104]

@@andrewpappas9311the day of this comment, so about a month ago we lost him. a big shock. i wish i could’ve met him..

[@andrewpappas9311]

@@spencer6104 Oh shit, I didn’t hear anything about that but that really sucks… He seems like such a chill guy judging by this interview but my deepest condolences to his family and especially Kurt and the Violators since it’s never easy losing a band member and friend

[@drualkire4224]

Trbovich seems like the best dude to have in your band.

[@TheSlumburger]

Those '64 Jag's are $5000 guitars and they are beat to shit

[@jakobhellmann824]

TheSlumburger that's how it usually goes

[@rbrme]

YES! KV is the man!

[@billyrogers4855]

It's like kurts 14 and 40 at the same time

[@smalltownnightlife]

Kurt Vile is a younger Tom Hanks.

[@pereztube2]

beautiful isn't it?

[@scampoli25]

Does this interviewer realize he dresses exactly like Mac from it’s always sunny

[@gilguajardo7808]

I wonder if Kurt has since acquired an HX Stomp to replace those 2 Line 6 pedals.

[@stephenkane2464]

"flange is a good time" --- something you'd only hear on premier guitar

[@middle_pickup]

For the doubters, the Beatles played several acoustics through their AC30's too. It's a different sound, but its a cool sound.

[@andrewpappas9311]

They did, yeah. A lot of their early stuff was just John Lennon (and occasionally George Harrison) playing through their AC30s

[@saintjabroni]

When Kurt was talking about his Line 6 pedals, I died LOL'ing... lololol

[@noisydope]

yeah i wasnt expecting that to say the least. but hey, to each their own