MITCH PARRY
HAILS FROM: Melbourne, VIC
PLAYS IN: Loose End
SOUNDS LIKE: A vicious blend of metalcore and pop
LATEST DROP: 'Autopilot' (single out now independently)
What’s your current go-to guitar?
My current go-to guitar as of late has been my Fender special edition custom telecaster FMT HH. I have had this guy for the last two years and have played every show this year with it. I have played Schecter guitars for so long I wanted something different and have always loved a Tele but wanted something with humbuckers. I came across the FMT HH on the fender website and had my heart set on it, I had to get my local guitar shop to order one in because they were near impossible to find in Australia at the time and after a three-month wait I had it in my hands.
How did you initially fall in love with the instrument?
I was a very late bloomer when it comes to guitar, I didn’t start playing until I was around 15/16 years old. My friend sent me a few Bullet For My Valentine songs via Bluetooth (that’s how long ago we are talking) and I would listen to them every single day walking to and from school playing air guitar dreaming of one day being able to play. My dad took me to Cranbourne music and I got an Epiphone Special Les Paul 2 as my first guitar. My next guitar was my B-stock Schecter Damien elite avenger which I have played for the best part of ten years live, that one is still my baby and the guitar I really learnt how to play on. That guitar was shipped in from America as damaged stock for extremely cheap and it has never let me down, it’s the only guitar I will never depart with.
What inspires you as a player?
I don’t have a lot of influences so to speak, my guitar playing was built from bands like Rise Against, Alter Bridge and Metallica which I would listen to on repeat as a teenager. These days I don’t really have influences I just love music and take parts of absolutely everything I listen to from pop to death metal. It all subconsciously influences me and I never realise until I pick up my guitar.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
I was never much of a gear nerd, my set up for a long time was a Marshall JVM410h with a Boss tuner and a noise gate. I am a very keep it simple kind of guy, the less stuff I have the less can go wrong in a live setting was always my mentality and its always worked for me so I have just always kept it that way. During covid I have recently upgraded to a Kemper which I’m extremely excited to play live one day!
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
As a teenager I always dreamed one day of owning Michael Paget from Bullet For My Valentine’s custom Jackson but that has quickly vanished, I would love to own a beautiful Gretsch or PRS one day… But to be honest I love my guitars and am lucky enough to own a few now which I adore and still get excited to pick up.
What would your signature model look like?
This is such a hard question to answer, I’m a little out there in terms of my personality so id love that to come across on the guitar. I think a simple Telecaster cut but being fluorescent yellow or orange with fishman fluence modern pickups. 25.5-inch scale with a thin neck and an ebony fretboard either completely blanked out or an inlay just on the 12th fret. Lock in tuners.
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive...
I’d love to play with Mark Knopler from Dire Straits. This is the band my dad forced me to listen to as a kid and I absolutely adore them, heck I’d be happy to just sit in the same room and just watch him play. His finger picking style is something I have always aspired to mimic.
