Rig Rundown - The Fall of Troy's Thomas Erak & Drew Pelisek

Article & photos: bit.ly/TheFallofTroyRR
The Seattle-based power trio touched down in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge where guitarist/vocalist Thomas Erak and bassist Drew Pelisek took a few minutes to go over their road-tested setups before opening for Chon.
Frontman/guitarist Thomas Erak travels with just one guitar-this 2009 Gibson SG Carved Top. He prefers this one because of its mid-focused tone and 24-fret neck for maximum shred. He strings it up with Ernie Ball Slinkys (.010-.046) and typically tunes down a half step.
Drew scored this 1982 Peavey T-40 on Reverb right before the tour and it serves as his only road bass right now. Prior to acquiring the bass, he had the seller sand down the neck so Drew could keep up with Thomas’ fast fretwork. For strings he goes with DR .045-.100 and rocks Dunlop Tortex Sharp 1.14 mm picks.
Continue learning about the band's gear: bit.ly/TheFallofTroyRR

[@patrickhunter]

Loved seeing Chris ask a question as a fan of the band at 12:17, really shows that he's invested in the interview both as the journalist and a fan

[@divinasi0n]

at 7:49 _"First thing I wanna say is; first song I'm ever hearin' is F... F.X.. or F.C.P.R.A.M.E.X"_ This guy is an even bigger fan than I am... He might even have the Doppelganger Conjoined Sisters t-shirt! ... Nah, in all seriousness, I am glad TFOT are getting asked to discuss their gear. Regardless of how I feel about their more recent musical direction, I still love them and want them to succeed.. It's good to see them get some recognition for their efforts.

[@existentbeing9678]

I have newfound appreciation for that solo.

[@capt_howdy]

Man I saw these guys in a garage, then at a college, and now ten years later i'm seeing Thomas on the Premier Guitar KZbin feed. Good shit, internet. Good shit.

[@voteZDLR]

What happened to the Fall of Troy is nothing short of a tragedy. They were one of the biggest if not the biggest post-hardcore bands there was, then the usual shit happened. Drugs. They split for a few years only to try to come back and they're still trying to come back, in a world that kinda moved on without them. Thomas Erak is a genius. As far as I am concerned he invented his own style of playing. It's not enough, though, sadly. They'll never regain the status they once had.

[@TheHumbleLOUD]

Thomas is literally one of the most technically skilled and innovative guitarists of all time. Wish I could of seen them live around when they released Manipulator, easily my favorite album of theirs.

[@thejosie]

Nothing in the Modern Age beats guitar on doppelganger

[@emberducati9237]

Debatable, but Thomas Erak influenced a lot of great players today. The guys from CHON come to mind.

[@NotCharAznable]

Tosin Abasi says hello

[@Childofbhaal]

@@NotCharAznable Tosin is wack AF compared to Thomas. Thomas actually rocks and is entertaining. Tosin is technical af but puts me to sleep with his playing

[@Slappaccino]

Doppelganger is my all time favorite album, but lets not forget the Mars Volta here. Omar is a madman.

[@norijagar]

FACTUAL.

[@elephantricity]

Never thought I would see the day that TFOT was on a rig rundown. This is the band that got me to start playing guitar in high school. Seen them probably 10 times live.. If you have never heard, or been to a fall of troy show.. check em out.. they influenced A TON of bands that are popular right now.. Especially in the math/progressive rock department.

[@blake1187]

They're so great live. I haven't seen them without Tim though. I wonder if they have a different energy now.

[@Jalliams]

Elephantricity second that! Totally unexpected & thoroughly welcomed surprise!

[@scottsommers6969]

I just saw them a few weeks ago and they still brought it man. They played some classics like whacko jacko all the way to newer ones like 401k. Drew fit in really well and its awesome to see him touring with chon. But yeah tfot is A huge inspiration and definitely one of my biggest influences in my style of playing guitar.

[@norijagar]

Preach brother 💗

[@hansjavis5854]

Thomas is a class act. Total guitar prodigy and is WAAAAAAY underrated. His work never fails to make my lazy ass pick up the axe again, just because of some stupid random thing he does.

[@ethanhennessy4912]

every day i look through a scratch in my glasses from getting hit in the pit at the fall of troy/chon audiotree fest. worth it.

[@joeseroski1095]

One of my favorite opening riffs of all time!

[@guitaoist]

Been jamming these guys since 2006 and even now im still blown away at how complicated yet melodic they are, a hard combo

[@pedrohnqtoledo]

I've seen pictures of Thomas' pedalboards, like 10 years ago. He used to play with two pedalboards alligned on an angle, his mic on the middle, loads of pedals. He's the guy that got me into the pedal stuff. He's a monster!! Nice to see him talking about gear and stuff, how he changes with his needs. He's the real deal.

[@eduardolopez7670]

I once saw them around 2005 and they actually had a guy for doing the pedals. Looked like he was a keyboardist, but with pedals on his table instead of a keyboard lol

[@Niamorg1007]

Love that Chris is getting more and more casual and confident with guests, rig rundowns keep getting more entertaining!

[@philsmith3019]

And featuring more modern bands.

[@Roodski]

"Just like mushrooms man, peaks and valleys" hahaha

[@huntermauk9601]

This band had a huge influence on my play style. They got me into noise rock and math rock. This band exposed me to different ways you can approach making sound. Where this is using feed back, technical riffs or thinking outside the box with different timings.

[@rockefeller5248]

Aaahh... I remember coming back home from school "attempting" to cover Fall of Troy songs HAHA. This band is part of my early teen years and I'm proud of it. Now they have their own Rig Rundown. So happy for them

[@philsmith3019]

Thomas "I was sponsored by Gibson at 18" Erak. "I bashed this guitar on so many ceilings". "Naaa I don't need that pedal, I just use my hands". The sheer amount of boss-like DGAF lol.

[@severlyn87]

Probably one of my favourite rundowns so far, love the lack of bullshit. Great interviews.

[@bearvsshaan]

TFOT was the most influential band in my life, so it's great to see this. Wonder where tim ward where though

[@cigarettecat3981]

Why are they opening up for chon if anything chon should be opening for them

[@nikko5786]

the real question is, why do u hate sum 41?

[@cigarettecat3981]

@@nikko5786 their from my hometown

[@nikko5786]

@@cigarettecat3981 lol, is that a reference to typical pop punk lyrics? xD

[@cateatfood6634]

Because unfortunately they haven't been relevant in years.

[@cateatfood6634]

@@cigarettecat3981 they're*, not their

[@dennisclarkofficial]

sometimes i click on random commenters and most of the time they have 0 content on their channel, yet they run their mouth, judge and put other people down. I love TFOT to death. I have all their albums and Ive seen them twice and i have a doppelganger tattoo on my arm. Also I hung out with Frank once in NYC. I was expecting to see like 30 pedals but this was awesome. Real artists constantly mess around and change their flavor aka swap new pedals in and out and change guitars and tones, like he said 'It comes in waves'. Thanks Premier for picking his brain!

[@kylehayes8602]

hell yeah! love TFOT and seen them live several times. took my wife to a TFOT concert last year, got drunk af and she said it was the best energy and most fun she's ever had at a concert. Great to see them on rig rundown too

[@DomSchu]

Drew looks so different than when he was in Chon.

[@JFlemmigan]

Holy cow! I had no idea that was him until I read your post. Do you know if he was just filling in on tour?

[@SoldierBear]

I don't know if he's an "official member" but he's been touring with TFOT for a while now.

[@JFlemmigan]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm way behind on the drama.

[@TheJederz]

Ahh yea, I think they toured with Chon and Drew went on stage with em for "Can't Wait" of course.

[@TheJederz]

Lol oops, it says in description that they opened for Chon.

[@zshwn]

Thank you for doing this rig run down!! love TFOT

[@matthewflowers1759]

A lot more simple than I expected for Thomas. Good stuff, as usual.

[@JEdwards713]

this interviewer is great at keeping the flow

[@joecinder]

Being a musician from Seattle, and knowing the same companies he does makes me honestly feel so special! Its so weird that one of my influences was in the same music scene I am in.

[@mwright80]

One of the best live bands I've seen... intense

[@thomcharmed1303]

love the etid shirt!

[@bobisadrummer]

I'm glad whoever edited this decided that what the viewers REALLY wanted to see, when Thomas was showing how the solo takes off, of ALL THINGS, is his fingers playing, and most definitely NOT, what was going on down at the pedal board, yup, awesome editing... /s

[@Dodoskangs]

I agree, that was quite annoying

[@BOMBheadDOM]

ETID...represent!! Never have I seen this t-shirt. I want it.

[@madmax18840]

Thomas is so damn talented, as well as the rest of TFOT!

[@iwillnevergetone5]

damn. the boys from washington made it to fucking Rig Rundown. noice

[@massimoamato5593]

Darrien Day I feel like i see you on every fall of troy video

[@iwillnevergetone5]

i'm out here, fam

[@ericcoombs]

Saw TFOT at an Elks lodge in Roseburg OR back in 2005 or 2004. I was in high school! LOOONNG time ago. Heard nothing like them! Crazy!

[@seagullshame]

Eric Coombs I was at that show

[@GoblinWar]

6:41 That's it, that's the sound

[@pupsic0la]

Good stuff!

[@dangerrrnick5005]

Stayed for the ETID shirt.

[@howardr3055]

Rockin' the lederhosen!

[@MisterRorschach90]

10 seconds in and an unskippable ad.

[@johnsmith-so5do]

The 21 people who gave this a thumbs down 👎 don’t have an orange amp

[@blRaZORbl]

My man Drew got fit. Looking good.

[@anarchitron8332]

It's so weird seeing Tom in this video. I met him in Cleveland back in 2012. Him and Kurt Travis. My friend's band at the time opened for them.

[@UhNaanEMoose]

Kudos on the ETID shirt!

[@handsomeasiandude1126]

We need Drew back in Chon!

[@jmelara324]

If you’re not a HUGE band, always remember: Function over form, not form over function.

[@tresixteen]

Easily the best guitarist I've ever seen perform live.

[@VELKRO20]

I want that etid shirt!!

[@bobisadrummer]

The OR100 clean EQ is a Baxandall style EQ.

[@kierenmoore3236]

These guys seem cool. :)

[@Igor_Kilin]

sweet

[@BNA_Est.1988]

“Just playin em”😂

[@el_wilder8860]

His pedal board is tiny now compared to what he used to run... his board used to be like 3 of those combined. I been following Thomas and this band since 04 and he is one of my favorite guitarist of the past almost going on 2 decades... crazy. Fav song ever is march of the ents and that crazy intro heavy untitled jam they used to play live in the beginning of the set. Im sure this bassist is rad but I wish Frank Ene would rejoin the band. That dude was awesome.

[@alfiehaigh8412]

"just played them" what an answer hahaha

[@analognoir7398]

7:50 LOL at not knowing FCPREMIX. Thomas' face is priceless

[@analognoir7398]

Thomas literally scoffs at the mention of guitar hero

[@cubeincubes]

Totally missed that. 😂

[@jeffreydemelo5968]

Can u do a rig rundown of puscifer please

[@coreyhuggins5785]

15:10 check out the input ;)

[@djabthrash]

"shout out to Incubus" haha :)

[@TheTerryTerror]

you know what song that was?

[@keso5599]

stellar :)

[@pacharaapiwatvarachai5191]

I want to know the gear of Ryan Story of the year and Taylor Paramore and Justin TheUsed

[@2010swag]

did no one notice the tape over the input at 15:07

[@betojmd]

8:40 stellar - incubus ha!

[@Les537]

Nice work. Do king gizzard and the lizard wizard if you can ever catch them.

[@premierguitar]

We tried, but they passed on the opportunity last week when they played the Cannery here in Nashville. Sorry!

[@benthies9531]

@@premierguitar :(

[@BagasMY]

Finally

[@LilaREmber]

15:11 i guess that's one way to mark your settings

[@Simto]

Thomas kicks ass!

[@silversky5554]

Dying to know the delay setting for the intro

[@bleachvisionTV]

7:50 bro

[@sebastiancoe4708]

Is Drew a permanent member of TFOT at this point?

[@Ziggerath]

thomas is really talented when it comes to improvisation.

[@TheScr4tchy]

T-40 rules

[@jtweito]

Man never actually heard anything from this band, that intro song sounds rad....anyone know the title?

[@premierguitar]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJrMm6CgatN1bKs

[@jtweito]

Nice....thank you very much!

[@luke-nokes]

yeah but. whats theyr rig

[@ryanclatterbuck319]

Lolol that Incubus cameo.

[@TheBrassLungs]

15:06 Inputs 😂😂😂

[@jaredoksanen8989]

Please do Ty Segall or John Dwyer

[@premierguitar]

We've tried both, but neither were interested. We love those cats!

[@alfiehaigh8412]

What incubus song does Thomas play? (I don't listen to incubus but that sounded cool as hell)

[@js6527]

Alfie haigh Stellar. Great song.

[@layladystay]

Now if only they didn't stop their tour short right before going to Florida w/ Chon. Wtffff

[@draincel]

I love that he uses a gibson

[@jahana81]

so Thomas considers mushrooms to be gear right? Ok

[@itsCONTROVERSY]

"shoutout to Incubus" lmaooooooo

[@mitchgruen2797]

8:42 lmfaoo

[@Zerophoenix1]

DREW FROM CHON

[@jhonnyandthesexymamas9943]

Esto lo compre de la vecina...!

[@jhonnyandthesexymamas9943]

(is 4 other kind of movie; ...)

[@kolbysdesign4009]

So this dude left Chon? And Tim is just non existent at this point,?

[@elephantricity]

Tim was kicked out of the band on their russia tour. He flipped out on stage.. he may rejoin the band in the future, but who knows.. I mean, he quit once and came back, so it can happen again...

[@Chuckwearsprada]

Tim played the Manipulator Anniversary show in Detroit in May. Seemed the taddest bit edgy but i'm sure he'll be back with the band next tour.

[@JohnnyParrotJoe]

N00bOfFortune you sure he played that show this year? Hope you are right cause Tim is the man. Last thing we knew about him was that he fucked up the tour in Russia last year and it's also here on youtube. Look for The Fall of Troy Live Minsk and you will see.

[@xxedelbrockxx]

“Shout out to Incubus”

[@rancidfx999]

no loops= wtffff

[@user-hh3ez4gz2n]

巨大な音　kyo da i na o to

[@lmarquezgiron]

From being kicked out from Chon to be in the band that inspired you ??? Drew is not the most virtuoso with the instrument in Chon but the smarter !!!

[@ifyoureinmarketing-killyou3111]

guitarist looks like pewdiepie

[@seph_]

Wow mcgregor grew his hair so fast!

[@blake1187]

These vids shouldn't be unlisted. That's a pretty lame attempt to get people to go to your website.

[@premierguitar]

It's just for a week (we just published the new KZbin Rig Rundown with the Toadies yesterday) and we gotta keep the lights on somehow! Here's the full ep: bit.ly/TheFallofTroyRR

[@capt_howdy]

You're getting this content for free man, it's not a huge deal.

[@blake1187]

I appreciate that this content is free. However, I do believe that there are far superior ways to incentivize people to visit your website.

[@blake1187]

I was unaware of that! I take back what my comment in that case :)

[@Chubypenguin]

Blake Davis rekt

[@DanielHernandez-hw3zw]

This fool's a has been! Tears me apart to say that cuz I've been a huge fan of his work for a good while. Times I've met him, he's been extremely rude and now, looking at his wack pedal board breaks my heart even more. Perfect example on why you should ride your own wave🌊🤘🎸

[@kylenoll123]

Bought a vinyl after a show from Andrew and he was rad af. Got it signed by him and Thomas and Thomas seemed annoyed as hell by me lmao

[@mrfacephone]

They make pants for men too, just saying.

[@xavierstilions]

Stop worrying about what other people wear.