Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Failure" by Oregon-based rocker Sallie Ford. The track is from her new album, Soul Sick, which will be released February 10 via Vanguard Records.
“I've always been labeled as out of control," says Ford of the song's roots. "Sometimes I felt as if I was destined to be crazy. It’s how it can feel to imagine the worst-case scenario in my head, so I prepare myself. Because ultimately the worst things probably won't happen, but it's how I cope to feel safe.
"I can still relate to the way I felt when I was a kid and a teenager. My mind will flash back to those memories, and I’ll feel the same stuff I've been dealing with all these years."
Back in 2011, Ford broke through with the retro-rocking (and simply awesome) "I Swear." Like "Failure," it relied on a simple but effective guitar part.
"The main guitar melody of 'Failure' is inspired by the Sixties songs I love," Ford says. "I love playing simple parts and focusing on the awesome tone rather than playing something complicated. I love the simple guitar parts on Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind,' Link Wray's 'Ace of Spades' and Mickey & Sylvia's 'Love Is Strange'."
In terms of the gear heard on "Failure," Ford employed a Fender Jaguar through an Orange Little Terror amp.
"I also love pedals that have a classic sound, like my Boss FRV-1 Fender Reverb pedal, which replicates the sound of a Fender '63 Tube Reverb tank. I've heard the comparison to a real one, and it's pretty darn close. I also love my Portland-made Malekko delay pedal. It turns any guitar solo into a wacky psychedelic dream."
Soul Sick was produced by Mike Coykendall (M. Ward, She & Him) and is laced with nostalgic feeling and produced to enhance that essence.
“[Mike] loves old rock and roll and always records on tape, but he’s also an experimenter, exploring new things with his music," Ford says.
For more about Ford, visit sallieford.com. You can preorder Soul Sick via Spotify, iTunes and Amazon. Be sure to check out her 2017 tour dates below.
Sallie Ford 2017 Tour Dates
2/15/17 Spokane WA The Bartlett
2/16/17 Bellingham WA Wild Buffalo
2/17/17 Seattle WA Sunset Tavern
2/18/17 Portland OR Mississippi Studios
…with more to be announced soon.
You can check out the Soul Sick cover art below, plus another new song, "Get Out."
“I thought that it was a crime that these songs were sitting there on the shelf”: In the 1970s, Hayley Williams’ grandfather made an album that nobody heard. Now it’s finally being released through her Paramore bandmate’s label
“He got a kidney infection, so he’s in hospital… That’s a bit of a drag, because he was going to be the lead guitarist”: The iconic charity rock song that missed out on its star guitarist due to illness – and why it could have sounded very different
