May 8, 2024 • 18 mins
Catch up with folk singer-songwriter Katherine Priddy in this bonus Acoustic Guitar Sessions episode. We talk family, guitars, touring with Richard Thompson, and enjoy a performance of “Father of Two” from her latest album The Pendulum Swing.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nick Grizzle (00:00):
Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Podcast.
I'm your host, nick Grizzle,for this bonus Acoustic Guitar
Sessions mini-sode, I'm joinedby Katherine Priddy
singer-songwriter fromBirmingham, england.
Our episode begins with Priddyperforming the song Father of
Two from her new record, thePendulum Swing.
Katherine Priddy (00:34):
How fortunate to be A fruit now grown, Once
was sown From a different tree.
How you nursed me from theground.
How far we've come from thatsmall drum beat on an ultra
(00:59):
sound Arms that stay the sameEven as the seasons change.
The first to ever hold me andthe last to let me down.
(01:25):
Eyes wide open, Father, myoldest friend born of love if
(01:48):
not by blood.
A word without an end.
My beginning.
Spinning years fall like dust inmy memories.
Years fall like dust in mymemories.
(02:15):
Time has a trick of slippingthrough your fingers, lingers on
(02:49):
in moments hung suspended onthe wall.
I know there were times whentides were low.
It's good to know that eightstrong legs trod water through
it all.
Eyes that stay the same, evenas our faces change.
(03:10):
All the years you cared for meand now I'll care for you.
(03:34):
Father, my oldest friend Bornof love if not by blood.
A world without an end.
That began at my beginning.
(03:56):
Spinning years Fall like dustin my memories.
Years fall like dust in mymemories.
Years fall like dust and mymemories.
Years fall like dust and mymemories.
Years burn like gold and my andmy memories, Father of two,
(04:37):
this one's for you.
Nick Grizzle (04:45):
So you said you wrote that for your father's
birthday.
What was his reaction when hefirst heard it?
Katherine Priddy (04:51):
He was very moved.
I actually wrote it duringlockdown when we couldn't really
do anything else to celebrate.
I'd moved back in with myparents during lockdown and my
dad's not very well he hasn'tbeen well for a few years so we
were kind of properly likeshielding during that time.
So there wasn't really anythingwe could do to celebrate his
birthday.
(05:11):
So I thought a song, a songwould suffice.
So I wrote that for him.
But when I put it out on thealbum I found a little cassette
tape of me and him chatting toeach other when I was about two
and a half or three and Iincluded a little clip from that
cassette right at the start ofthe song on the record, which he
didn't know about.
So that was a little, a littleemotional easter egg for him as
(05:32):
well.
Nick Grizzle (05:34):
Yeah, there's a lot of little sound pieces on
the record.
Are they all like specialsnippets?
What was the goal withincluding those on the album?
Katherine Priddy (05:52):
I think I've always really enjoyed all those
little sounds on records.
I really like it when you canhear those little details.
Personally, and for me becausethe album there's a theme of
home and family runningthroughout it.
Not all the songs, but quite alot of the songs are kind of
there's a song about the housewhere I grew up and there's a
song about where I wanted tolive and about different family
(06:13):
members and stuff, because it'sjust been something I've been
kind of, I guess, thinking aboutquite a lot of the last few
years.
I've been trying to work outwhat home is for me and where I
want to go.
So I felt on the album it wouldbe fun to try and make the
whole thing feel a bit like anold, old house and make the
whole thing feel a bit lived inum and kind of bring in some of
that nostalgia and stuff that Ifeel when I sing the songs and
(06:35):
try and um immerse the thelistener in that sort of world
as well.
So it's just kind of creakyfloorboards and and footsteps
and and stuff like thatthroughout, because I think I
just really like those detailsin in recordings.
It makes it yeah, it just makesyou feel a bit more immersive
for me do you think um?
Nick Grizzle (06:52):
you know, moving back home during the pandemic
kind of had a hand in increating that theme throughout
the album definitely.
Katherine Priddy (07:00):
Yeah, I mean it was.
It was something that I'd beenthinking about for a while
because I'd I'd done quite a lotof moving around and sofa
surfing and trying to work outwhere I wanted to be and what
just kind of what I wanted to do, I think.
But definitely during lockdown,um, suddenly finding myself at
home with my parents again, Ithink as a as an adult, there's
(07:21):
almost a sense of shame and feellike I feel like you've gone
backwards, um, so I've spent alot of the time feeling quite
frustrated with myself but alsonot knowing how to move forward
and kind of feeling guilty foractually enjoying being at home
and spending that time with myfamily.
So that's where the title ofthe album came from as well.
The Pendulum Swing is that kindof wanting to go forwards and
(07:45):
move on but not being able toresist the pull back all the
time.
It's that constant to-ing andfro-ing.
So, yeah, I definitely thinkLockdown had a hand in that
theme.
Nick Grizzle (07:56):
You know the album is really lushly orchestrated.
What are your arrangements likewhen you play live?
Katherine Priddy (08:01):
So I tend to either.
I do sometimes play solobecause I wrote all the songs on
my own with my guitar, so I tryand use my guitar to harmonise
with my voice a lot of the time,which I think just happens
naturally when you're writingsolo.
But sometimes when I performlive, I perform with another
amazing guitarist called GeorgeBomesmer and he uses an electric
(08:23):
guitar to create some niceatmospheric stuff underneath and
he does some harmonies.
I quite like to leave space inmy live performances.
I don't like it to feel tookind of being forced onto people
.
I like it to feel quite kind ofpulled back and leave a lot of
(08:44):
space.
But yeah, using his electricguitar just gives it that little
lift.
And I'm going to be touringthis album in May and I'm going
to be using a third person.
The guy that does the stringson the album is going to be
joining me as well, so that'llbe really nice you know, Nick
Grizzle (08:55):
speaking of playing live, you toured with Richard
Thompson a couple times in 2019,2021.
Nick Grizzle (09:01):
I mean, how did that come about and what was
that tour like for you?
It was pretty magical because Igrew up listening to his music
I mean, my dad's a big fan andmy mom loves Fairport Convention
and it came about quitestrangely because I released a
little EP back in 2000, I wantto say it's 2018, called Wolf,
and it was just four songs.
(09:22):
I kind of put it out just tosee what happened.
Didn't really expect all thatmuch to come from it.
Then someone sent me a clippingfrom mojo magazine, um, because
richard thompson had listed itas his favorite thing, best
thing he'd heard all year inmojo magazine.
And I've, no, I still don'tknow, because I didn't have the
guts to ask him.
I still don't know how he gothis hands on the ep, um, but he
(09:45):
liked it.
So then, uh, contacted him and Isaid, well, if you want, put
your money where your mouth is,richard, get me on tour with you
.
Uh, but no, and he did twiceand he's lovely, you know, I
think it's a big testament tohim as a, as a person, because
he could have anyone supportinghim, because he's such a hero.
But it was really nice that hepicked a nobody like me.
And, um, yeah, the tours were.
(10:06):
Tours were great.
He's a real gent.
So did you get to um play on stage with him at all
?
Katherine Priddy (10:12):
no, I didn't.
I just sat in the wings umadoring him from afar mostly not
bad.
Nick Grizzle (10:18):
Not a bad seat, not bad not a bad seat to have?
Katherine Priddy (10:21):
um, no, but he was.
He was honestly such a nice guyand I think when you're playing
date after date with someone,but every time you watch him
it's just yeah, I never gotbored of hearing him play and
he's such a raconteur on stageas well.
He's got great stories, so,yeah, he's brilliant.
Nick Grizzle (10:39):
What got you started playing acoustic guitar,
like what drew you to thisinstrument in particular.
Katherine Priddy (10:45):
I think it was partly circumstance because my
dad had a battered old Yamahaacoustic guitar that he used to
leave kind of within reach andso I just started picking it up
and having go on it myself and Iwas quite small, it was a big
old jumbo acoustic guitar so Ijust used to lie it on my lap
and kind of play it like thatand I actually taught myself the
(11:07):
wrong way up.
I started playing itleft-handed for a little while
before I realised I was playingit upside down.
So I think it was partly justbecause it was there that I
started, because I also playedclarinet and stuff when I was
younger.
I've always liked playing music,but I think there was always
music on in the house and therewas a lot of folk guitar and
stuff um on the stereo.
(11:28):
So I think that that reallyencouraged me as well and I
taught myself from a littleIrish, irish um songbook.
So I kind of taught myself likethe finger picking from that,
which I really, really enjoyedand I think I think guitar also
is a nice one because you don't,you know, clarinet was great
and I really enjoyed being in,you know, the school orchestra
and all that sort of thing.
You don't often get clarinetslying around houses that you can
(11:50):
go and pick up and play, butthere's often often a guitar in
a corner that you can go andhave a go on.
So that's that appealed as well.
Nick Grizzle (11:57):
Had more access to guitars what's uh, what was on
the turntable growing up?
Katherine Priddy (12:02):
All sorts of things.
So there was, like I said,there was, quite a lot of folk.
There was Nick Drake, johnRenbourn, planxty, so kind of
that side of things, steeleye span, a lot of Joni Mitchell, but
also a lot of Frank Zappa andBlack Sabbath and a lot of rock
and metal as well, which Ireally enjoyed.
But I think I loved Tool andstuff.
Nick Grizzle (12:26):
I still love a lot of rock and a lot of metal the
prog metal band Tool.
Katherine Priddy (12:28):
Yeah, I'm still a big fan of them, but I
think I've just always enjoyedany music that has that tells a
bit of a story and has a bit ofsubstance to it.
And I think that's why I likethings like Frank Zappa as well,
because the music's one thing,but his lyrics are hysterical a
lot of the time and there'sthere's lots of layers to the
music.
So I don't think I'mnecessarily.
Yeah, I'm quite pleased thatthat there were so many
(12:48):
different genres um playing,because I think there's so much
more to music than just the kindof initial sound of it.
There's a there's a lot to be,to be learned from different
different styles do you um?
Nick Grizzle (12:59):
what alternate tunings do you like to use?
Katherine Priddy (13:02):
I.
I'm not a huge detuner I don'tknow if that's a phrase and
again, that partly stems from afear of mine of strings snapping
on stage when I'm playing solo,but I like Dadgad, which I know
is a classic, and there's acouple of songs that I've
written in Dadgad.
I think I do want to starttrying some more open tunings.
(13:26):
I saw a really great clip ofJoni Mitchell the other day
saying how she never understandshow people can say that they're
not feeling inspired or theydon't know what to play, because
she was like just put yourguitar in another tuning and
you've got a whole new kind ofplethora of melodies to find.
So I think I do want to start.
I need to get over my fear ofstring snapping and, um, I just
need to get more guitars maybeand put them all in different
(13:47):
tunings
Nick Grizzle (13:49):
You know, that will cure a lot of things.
Katherine Priddy (13:51):
I've heard yeah, yeah, I think that could
be the motivation I need.
Nick Grizzle (13:54):
speaking of uh getting guitars, what, uh, what
guitars do you play?
I've got.
I've got a Martin guitar um,which was actually the first one
I had, and I still really likethat guitar um, but now I mainly
play on this beautiful.
It's called a McLaren.
It's Sam McLaren.
He's a luthier based up in thenortheast of England and he made
(14:16):
this guitar for me, um,although it's part of his p16
series, which are like aperformance series of guitar um,
and they're really reallygorgeous.
They've got the nice lr baggspick up in them, um, and it just
feels like a good body size forme, um, I'm just, yeah, big,
big, big fan, but he also makesa lot of gorgeous classical
guitars and things for anyone inthat area should check out sam
(14:38):
mclaren.
He's brilliant oh yeah, I mean, how'd you get uh
connected uh with the mclarenguitar?
Guitar, that's a beautifulinstrument.
Katherine Priddy (14:46):
So I found out about him because I was up in
Yorkshire and he does livesessions from his workshop up
there and I'd admired them onsocial media for quite a long
time.
So he invited me to hisworkshop to record a song or two
on them and I played this P-16.
I just fell in love with it,completely fell in love with it.
(15:08):
So I said I would like one, andhe has made me one.
So, yeah, it was a bit of achance meeting, but I think it's
really nice to support guyslike that.
I mean, he's my age, he's ayoung guy and he makes one
guitar at a time.
They're proper labors of love.
(15:31):
Um, and he said, did I wantanything kind of fancy doing to
it?
Or I didn't really wantanything that was too showy or
too kind of it's a custom guitarsort of thing.
So I said no, but, um,unbeknownst to me, he put in
right inside the body, um, sothat only I can see it.
When I look down there's alittle mother of pearl, moon and
star just inside the body, kindof glinting away, which was
really really sweet of him,because I yeah, I didn't, I
wasn't expecting him to doanything, um, but it's that sort
(15:52):
of thing that you'll never getfrom from like those bigger I
don't know I'm a big fan ofsupporting, supporting guys like
that who've spent years andyears working on their craft.
Um, and he's yeah, he's a he's areally nice person.
So, yeah, very happy to haveone yeah, what do you like?
Nick Grizzle (16:08):
um about playing your specific guitar?
Katherine Priddy (16:12):
I think for me , like I said, I think the body
size on this one is perfect.
Um, I've always playeddreadnought guitars before and
I'm quite a small person, I'mquite short, and I find having
the slightly smaller bodiedguitar fits really well on stage
.
Which might not sound like aparticularly important thing,
but when you're playingsomething all the time, um, you
(16:33):
want it to feel comfortable andit's just it, the actual size of
the guitar.
It's got a lovely sleek neck.
I really like how narrow theheadstock is as well.
The whole thing just feelsquite petite, um, which, yeah,
which suits me.
I've always been quite temptedby a parlor guitar, actually for
the same reason, just havingthis quite a nice small, small
guitar, um, but yeah, and thenperformance wise, the pickup,
(16:55):
the LR bags, um, anthem pickupworks really well for me.
I've always been able to getquite a nice sound on stage
without it being too boomy,which which is something I
sometimes struggled with With myMartin.
It could be a little bit hardto tame in that respect, whereas
I find this one a lot easier toget a good live sound.
Nick Grizzle (17:15):
To hear more from Katherine Priddy, be sure to
check out the show notes forthis episode.
She's currently touring the UKand hopes to make it over to the
States soon.
If you're enjoying the AcousticGuitar Podcast, please head
over to our Patreon page atpatreoncom slash acoustic guitar
plus.
This is a listener funded show,and your pledge of one or five
(17:35):
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If you aren't able to make acontribution at this time, we
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Another way you can support theshow without spending any money
(17:55):
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Thanks again for listening andfor your support of the Acoustic
Guitar Podcast.
Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Podcast.
I'm your host, nick Grizzle,for this bonus Acoustic Guitar
Sessions mini-sode, I'm joinedby Katherine Priddy
singer-songwriter fromBirmingham, england.
Our episode begins with Priddyperforming the song Father of
Two from her new record, thePendulum Swing.
Katherine Priddy (00:34):
How fortunate to be A fruit now grown, Once
was sown From a different tree.
How you nursed me from theground.
How far we've come from thatsmall drum beat on an ultra
(00:59):
sound Arms that stay the sameEven as the seasons change.
The first to ever hold me andthe last to let me down.
(01:25):
Eyes wide open, Father, myoldest friend born of love if
(01:48):
not by blood.
A word without an end.
My beginning.
Spinning years fall like dust inmy memories.
Years fall like dust in mymemories.
(02:15):
Time has a trick of slippingthrough your fingers, lingers on
(02:49):
in moments hung suspended onthe wall.
I know there were times whentides were low.
It's good to know that eightstrong legs trod water through
it all.
Eyes that stay the same, evenas our faces change.
(03:10):
All the years you cared for meand now I'll care for you.
(03:34):
Father, my oldest friend Bornof love if not by blood.
A world without an end.
That began at my beginning.
(03:56):
Spinning years Fall like dustin my memories.
Years fall like dust in mymemories.
Years fall like dust and mymemories.
Years fall like dust and mymemories.
Years burn like gold and my andmy memories, Father of two,
(04:37):
this one's for you.
Nick Grizzle (04:45):
So you said you wrote that for your father's
birthday.
What was his reaction when hefirst heard it?
Katherine Priddy (04:51):
He was very moved.
I actually wrote it duringlockdown when we couldn't really
do anything else to celebrate.
I'd moved back in with myparents during lockdown and my
dad's not very well he hasn'tbeen well for a few years so we
were kind of properly likeshielding during that time.
So there wasn't really anythingwe could do to celebrate his
birthday.
(05:11):
So I thought a song, a songwould suffice.
So I wrote that for him.
But when I put it out on thealbum I found a little cassette
tape of me and him chatting toeach other when I was about two
and a half or three and Iincluded a little clip from that
cassette right at the start ofthe song on the record, which he
didn't know about.
So that was a little, a littleemotional easter egg for him as
(05:32):
well.
Nick Grizzle (05:34):
Yeah, there's a lot of little sound pieces on
the record.
Are they all like specialsnippets?
What was the goal withincluding those on the album?
Katherine Priddy (05:52):
I think I've always really enjoyed all those
little sounds on records.
I really like it when you canhear those little details.
Personally, and for me becausethe album there's a theme of
home and family runningthroughout it.
Not all the songs, but quite alot of the songs are kind of
there's a song about the housewhere I grew up and there's a
song about where I wanted tolive and about different family
(06:13):
members and stuff, because it'sjust been something I've been
kind of, I guess, thinking aboutquite a lot of the last few
years.
I've been trying to work outwhat home is for me and where I
want to go.
So I felt on the album it wouldbe fun to try and make the
whole thing feel a bit like anold, old house and make the
whole thing feel a bit lived inum and kind of bring in some of
that nostalgia and stuff that Ifeel when I sing the songs and
(06:35):
try and um immerse the thelistener in that sort of world
as well.
So it's just kind of creakyfloorboards and and footsteps
and and stuff like thatthroughout, because I think I
just really like those detailsin in recordings.
It makes it yeah, it just makesyou feel a bit more immersive
for me do you think um?
Nick Grizzle (06:52):
you know, moving back home during the pandemic
kind of had a hand in increating that theme throughout
the album definitely.
Katherine Priddy (07:00):
Yeah, I mean it was.
It was something that I'd beenthinking about for a while
because I'd I'd done quite a lotof moving around and sofa
surfing and trying to work outwhere I wanted to be and what
just kind of what I wanted to do, I think.
But definitely during lockdown,um, suddenly finding myself at
home with my parents again, Ithink as a as an adult, there's
(07:21):
almost a sense of shame and feellike I feel like you've gone
backwards, um, so I've spent alot of the time feeling quite
frustrated with myself but alsonot knowing how to move forward
and kind of feeling guilty foractually enjoying being at home
and spending that time with myfamily.
So that's where the title ofthe album came from as well.
The Pendulum Swing is that kindof wanting to go forwards and
(07:45):
move on but not being able toresist the pull back all the
time.
It's that constant to-ing andfro-ing.
So, yeah, I definitely thinkLockdown had a hand in that
theme.
Nick Grizzle (07:56):
You know the album is really lushly orchestrated.
What are your arrangements likewhen you play live?
Katherine Priddy (08:01):
So I tend to either.
I do sometimes play solobecause I wrote all the songs on
my own with my guitar, so I tryand use my guitar to harmonise
with my voice a lot of the time,which I think just happens
naturally when you're writingsolo.
But sometimes when I performlive, I perform with another
amazing guitarist called GeorgeBomesmer and he uses an electric
(08:23):
guitar to create some niceatmospheric stuff underneath and
he does some harmonies.
I quite like to leave space inmy live performances.
I don't like it to feel tookind of being forced onto people
.
I like it to feel quite kind ofpulled back and leave a lot of
(08:44):
space.
But yeah, using his electricguitar just gives it that little
lift.
And I'm going to be touringthis album in May and I'm going
to be using a third person.
The guy that does the stringson the album is going to be
joining me as well, so that'llbe really nice you know, Nick
Grizzle (08:55):
speaking of playing live, you toured with Richard
Thompson a couple times in 2019,2021.
Nick Grizzle (09:01):
I mean, how did that come about and what was
that tour like for you?
It was pretty magical because Igrew up listening to his music
I mean, my dad's a big fan andmy mom loves Fairport Convention
and it came about quitestrangely because I released a
little EP back in 2000, I wantto say it's 2018, called Wolf,
and it was just four songs.
(09:22):
I kind of put it out just tosee what happened.
Didn't really expect all thatmuch to come from it.
Then someone sent me a clippingfrom mojo magazine, um, because
richard thompson had listed itas his favorite thing, best
thing he'd heard all year inmojo magazine.
And I've, no, I still don'tknow, because I didn't have the
guts to ask him.
I still don't know how he gothis hands on the ep, um, but he
(09:45):
liked it.
So then, uh, contacted him and Isaid, well, if you want, put
your money where your mouth is,richard, get me on tour with you
.
Uh, but no, and he did twiceand he's lovely, you know, I
think it's a big testament tohim as a, as a person, because
he could have anyone supportinghim, because he's such a hero.
But it was really nice that hepicked a nobody like me.
And, um, yeah, the tours were.
(10:06):
Tours were great.
He's a real gent.
So did you get to um play on stage with him at all
?
Katherine Priddy (10:12):
no, I didn't.
I just sat in the wings umadoring him from afar mostly not
bad.
Nick Grizzle (10:18):
Not a bad seat, not bad not a bad seat to have?
Katherine Priddy (10:21):
um, no, but he was.
He was honestly such a nice guyand I think when you're playing
date after date with someone,but every time you watch him
it's just yeah, I never gotbored of hearing him play and
he's such a raconteur on stageas well.
He's got great stories, so,yeah, he's brilliant.
Nick Grizzle (10:39):
What got you started playing acoustic guitar,
like what drew you to thisinstrument in particular.
Katherine Priddy (10:45):
I think it was partly circumstance because my
dad had a battered old Yamahaacoustic guitar that he used to
leave kind of within reach andso I just started picking it up
and having go on it myself and Iwas quite small, it was a big
old jumbo acoustic guitar so Ijust used to lie it on my lap
and kind of play it like thatand I actually taught myself the
(11:07):
wrong way up.
I started playing itleft-handed for a little while
before I realised I was playingit upside down.
So I think it was partly justbecause it was there that I
started, because I also playedclarinet and stuff when I was
younger.
I've always liked playing music,but I think there was always
music on in the house and therewas a lot of folk guitar and
stuff um on the stereo.
(11:28):
So I think that that reallyencouraged me as well and I
taught myself from a littleIrish, irish um songbook.
So I kind of taught myself likethe finger picking from that,
which I really, really enjoyedand I think I think guitar also
is a nice one because you don't,you know, clarinet was great
and I really enjoyed being in,you know, the school orchestra
and all that sort of thing.
You don't often get clarinetslying around houses that you can
(11:50):
go and pick up and play, butthere's often often a guitar in
a corner that you can go andhave a go on.
So that's that appealed as well.
Nick Grizzle (11:57):
Had more access to guitars what's uh, what was on
the turntable growing up?
Katherine Priddy (12:02):
All sorts of things.
So there was, like I said,there was, quite a lot of folk.
There was Nick Drake, johnRenbourn, planxty, so kind of
that side of things, steeleye span, a lot of Joni Mitchell, but
also a lot of Frank Zappa andBlack Sabbath and a lot of rock
and metal as well, which Ireally enjoyed.
But I think I loved Tool andstuff.
Nick Grizzle (12:26):
I still love a lot of rock and a lot of metal the
prog metal band Tool.
Katherine Priddy (12:28):
Yeah, I'm still a big fan of them, but I
think I've just always enjoyedany music that has that tells a
bit of a story and has a bit ofsubstance to it.
And I think that's why I likethings like Frank Zappa as well,
because the music's one thing,but his lyrics are hysterical a
lot of the time and there'sthere's lots of layers to the
music.
So I don't think I'mnecessarily.
Yeah, I'm quite pleased thatthat there were so many
(12:48):
different genres um playing,because I think there's so much
more to music than just the kindof initial sound of it.
There's a there's a lot to be,to be learned from different
different styles do you um?
Nick Grizzle (12:59):
what alternate tunings do you like to use?
Katherine Priddy (13:02):
I.
I'm not a huge detuner I don'tknow if that's a phrase and
again, that partly stems from afear of mine of strings snapping
on stage when I'm playing solo,but I like Dadgad, which I know
is a classic, and there's acouple of songs that I've
written in Dadgad.
I think I do want to starttrying some more open tunings.
(13:26):
I saw a really great clip ofJoni Mitchell the other day
saying how she never understandshow people can say that they're
not feeling inspired or theydon't know what to play, because
she was like just put yourguitar in another tuning and
you've got a whole new kind ofplethora of melodies to find.
So I think I do want to start.
I need to get over my fear ofstring snapping and, um, I just
need to get more guitars maybeand put them all in different
(13:47):
tunings
Nick Grizzle (13:49):
You know, that will cure a lot of things.
Katherine Priddy (13:51):
I've heard yeah, yeah, I think that could
be the motivation I need.
Nick Grizzle (13:54):
speaking of uh getting guitars, what, uh, what
guitars do you play?
I've got.
I've got a Martin guitar um,which was actually the first one
I had, and I still really likethat guitar um, but now I mainly
play on this beautiful.
It's called a McLaren.
It's Sam McLaren.
He's a luthier based up in thenortheast of England and he made
(14:16):
this guitar for me, um,although it's part of his p16
series, which are like aperformance series of guitar um,
and they're really reallygorgeous.
They've got the nice lr baggspick up in them, um, and it just
feels like a good body size forme, um, I'm just, yeah, big,
big, big fan, but he also makesa lot of gorgeous classical
guitars and things for anyone inthat area should check out sam
(14:38):
mclaren.
He's brilliant oh yeah, I mean, how'd you get uh
connected uh with the mclarenguitar?
Guitar, that's a beautifulinstrument.
Katherine Priddy (14:46):
So I found out about him because I was up in
Yorkshire and he does livesessions from his workshop up
there and I'd admired them onsocial media for quite a long
time.
So he invited me to hisworkshop to record a song or two
on them and I played this P-16.
I just fell in love with it,completely fell in love with it.
(15:08):
So I said I would like one, andhe has made me one.
So, yeah, it was a bit of achance meeting, but I think it's
really nice to support guyslike that.
I mean, he's my age, he's ayoung guy and he makes one
guitar at a time.
They're proper labors of love.
(15:31):
Um, and he said, did I wantanything kind of fancy doing to
it?
Or I didn't really wantanything that was too showy or
too kind of it's a custom guitarsort of thing.
So I said no, but, um,unbeknownst to me, he put in
right inside the body, um, sothat only I can see it.
When I look down there's alittle mother of pearl, moon and
star just inside the body, kindof glinting away, which was
really really sweet of him,because I yeah, I didn't, I
wasn't expecting him to doanything, um, but it's that sort
(15:52):
of thing that you'll never getfrom from like those bigger I
don't know I'm a big fan ofsupporting, supporting guys like
that who've spent years andyears working on their craft.
Um, and he's yeah, he's a he's areally nice person.
So, yeah, very happy to haveone yeah, what do you like?
Nick Grizzle (16:08):
um about playing your specific guitar?
Katherine Priddy (16:12):
I think for me , like I said, I think the body
size on this one is perfect.
Um, I've always playeddreadnought guitars before and
I'm quite a small person, I'mquite short, and I find having
the slightly smaller bodiedguitar fits really well on stage
.
Which might not sound like aparticularly important thing,
but when you're playingsomething all the time, um, you
(16:33):
want it to feel comfortable andit's just it, the actual size of
the guitar.
It's got a lovely sleek neck.
I really like how narrow theheadstock is as well.
The whole thing just feelsquite petite, um, which, yeah,
which suits me.
I've always been quite temptedby a parlor guitar, actually for
the same reason, just havingthis quite a nice small, small
guitar, um, but yeah, and thenperformance wise, the pickup,
(16:55):
the LR bags, um, anthem pickupworks really well for me.
I've always been able to getquite a nice sound on stage
without it being too boomy,which which is something I
sometimes struggled with With myMartin.
It could be a little bit hardto tame in that respect, whereas
I find this one a lot easier toget a good live sound.
Nick Grizzle (17:15):
To hear more from Katherine Priddy, be sure to
check out the show notes forthis episode.
She's currently touring the UKand hopes to make it over to the
States soon.
If you're enjoying the AcousticGuitar Podcast, please head
over to our Patreon page atpatreoncom slash acoustic guitar
plus.
This is a listener funded show,and your pledge of one or five
(17:35):
or nine dollars a month helps uscontinue to produce new
episodes.
Plus, you'll get instant accessto a whole bunch of great perks
like exclusive live streamworkshops, song transcriptions
and guitar lessons.
If you aren't able to make acontribution at this time, we
understand.
Another way you can support theshow without spending any money
(17:55):
is to leave a five-star ratingalong with a review on Apple
Podcasts.
This really does help withdiscoverability, and the more
guitarists who tune in eachmonth, the better.
Thanks again for listening andfor your support of the Acoustic
Guitar Podcast.
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