Seriously cute... and electric cello chops too!

[Josh]

Sarah Balliet from Murder by Death

She's seriously hypnotic or something, watching her play.

YouTube - Murder By Death 7/1/2006 That Crown...

Some of you guys might dig them... they're dark and heavy in a different way.

YouTube - Murder By Death - a Masters in Reverse...

[MF_Kitten]

that´s pretty awesome! and that´s a nice electric cello too, check out the in-line headstock!

[jacksonplayer]

I love cello, but I've never been a fan of it in the rock context, since it creates a bit of a car crash in the low mids when combined with guitar and bass.

[Kim]

nice cello, hi Morten. what are you doing here?

[Josh]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

I love cello, but I've never been a fan of it in the rock context, since it creates a bit of a car crash in the low mids when combined with guitar and bass.

If MBD's guitarist used a little less reverb, it would fit a lot better live. He plugs a Tubescreamer into a little old Fendery combo and plays a lot of bright guitars; there's very little in the low-mids to catch that.

Also, Sarah's Zeta (and to a lesser extent my Yamaha) are very upper-middy, which helps to cut in a rock mix. I've never had a problem hearing her, and I've seen them four times at three different venues.

[ohio_eric]

She's under 200 lbs. She's a little small for you isn't she?

[keithb]

Wish those videos had better sound quality :/

[Josh]

Here are the actual recordings if you're interested, although I can't find one of "A Masters' In Reverse Psychology."

YouTube - Murder By Death - That Crown Don't Make...

Holy shit! They made it into "Inglorious Basterds!"

YouTube - I'm Comin' Home - Murder by Death...

YouTube - Murder By Death - Brother

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by Josh

If MBD's guitarist used a little less reverb, it would fit a lot better live. He plugs a Tubescreamer into a little old Fendery combo and plays a lot of bright guitars; there's very little in the low-mids to catch that.

Also, Sarah's Zeta (and to a lesser extent my Yamaha) are very upper-middy, which helps to cut in a rock mix. I've never had a problem hearing her, and I've seen them four times at three different venues.

That's cool. It's hard to hear much of anything in those phone camera videos.

The last time I recall seeing a cellist in a rock band was years ago when Lili Haydn opened for Page/Plant, and she had a cellist in her band. It turned everything to mud, but then Lili also had a guitarist playing with overdrive and lots of power chords. If the guitarist can avoid typical rock guitar stuff, then I can see a cello working well. One problem is that it is such a delicate texture, that the big ol' square wave of a distorted guitar is going to overwhelm it at the same frequencies.

[Josh]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

That's cool. It's hard to hear much of anything in those phone camera videos.

The last time I recall seeing a cellist in a rock band was years ago when Lili Haydn opened for Page/Plant, and she had a cellist in her band. It turned everything to mud, but then Lili also had a guitarist playing with overdrive and lots of power chords. If the guitarist can avoid typical rock guitar stuff, then I can see a cello working well. One problem is that it is such a delicate texture, that the big ol' square wave of a distorted guitar is going to overwhelm it at the same frequencies.

Yeah, I've had the most success with it playing alongside cleaner guitars with either sparse or arpeggiated chord voicings, and obviously acoustic setups are fantastic (although they have to amplify the guitars somehow or I will drown them out, even with my acoustic cello.) We have a few songs that can really take advantage of it... but it's like fitting any 'sustainy' instrument like synth keys or seriously distorted compressed leads into a rock context, with a little sonic planning you can make it work.