NYC Blues Rockers The End Men
Anyone suggesting it’s easy establishing a boutique guitar pickup brand in an already very competitive space is full of shit. Since launching or pickups it’s been a wild crazy ride to say the least. Like any business, product discovery is the big issue you need to solve for. You can have the best product, but if nobody knows about it...you ain't putting any food on the table!
Several months on and I can tell you we've been very fortunate to connect with a host of extremely supportive folks that absolutely get what we’re trying to do. And being a small business we've been proactive in taking the lead to strike up compelling working relationships that further showcase our pickups in the best possible fashion...live and on the stage! That said, we’re absolutely stoked to announce our latest product endorsement arrangement with a fellow whiskey lovin’ compadre namely, Matthew Hendershot from the The End Men.
“[…]Sounds like Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart and Joe Cocker in an alley after a long night of whiskey and cigarettes, but with his own originality, create an after hours club atmosphere thick with smoke and beatniks. Jack Kerouac would be right at home reciting the lyrics with a piano accompaniment.”
- David John de Horton in his blog ‘Popa’s Tunes’
The band’s core line-up consists of Matthew on guitar and vocals, and Livia Ranalli on drums, percussion
and vocals. Listeners are always delighted to hear such a mighty sound emanating from a seemingly stripped down lineup. The raw, rasp-soaked vocals complement the complex guitar rig; split for a full sound and giving the illusion of a bass. Along with the rock solid drum pocket, peppered with dancing percussive elements, the band rides a wave of dirty blues rock and vaudevillian stomp. Heck yeah!
Matthew’s main rig consists of a custom Telecaster Deluxe we've loaded one of our single coil Fandangos in the bridge position and a coil tapped ‘59 Lustbucker in the neck to release warm full bodied organic tones that contrasts the spank of the single coil bridge. For those progressive crystalline county-blues tones Matthew switches out to his Godin hollow body we've fitted with a matched set of our dog eared P90 Sleighride Tribute Series pickups. To round it all out he relies on a custom, BurnMethod designed, Les Paul Special decked out with a lightly potted custom-wound set of our Sleighrides. This offers him much more versatility and dynamics, from clean articulate blues, to full-on greasy rock n roll all within the guitars controls and pick attack.
“For me, things always boil down to the story they tell. Anyone can go out and buy the most expensive thing, the newest or the flashiest, but what story is that telling? With Greg and Mark at Lust, I was hooked on their story from the moment I got to know the guys. These are true lovers of tone with an impressive breadth of knowledge, a passion for what they are doing and an incredible attention to detail. It is a pleasure to take what is their love and passion and incorporate it into my passion, the music we make. And it certainly
doesn't hurt at all that these pickups rip harder, bite deeper and have more depth, character, and style than anything I have ever played before!”
- Matthew Hendershot - The End Men
We’d like to take this opportunity to formally welcome Matthew and Livia to the LFT family! And categorically implore you to get your asses off the couch and down to one of their upcoming gigs in a city near you. Check out their tour dates and also keep up with all their latest news visit www.theendmen.com
Here’s a little tracked titled “The Wolves” from their album Odds & Ends.
