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Justin EmordPhoto Credits: Linda Emord Eye Shutter 4 U — Justin Emord
Photo Credits: Linda Emord Eye Shutter 4 U

I have been enjoying the new song “Just a Woman” by one of my favorite bands, Love and a .38. I know I have told you about them several times before (featured as one of our 12 Days of Rock Christmas) and I hope by now, you all have added their music to your playlists especially “Rock ‘n Lola” and “Lovely Lies”. These rockers are some of the hardest working guys in the business that are on a mission to deliver that much needed rock sound that we have all been missing and craving! They are not only working on their new album, but have been kicking ass performing shows in LA as well as heading out to SXSW later this week.

Before they head out to their next show, we were able to catch up with their incredibly talented, high energy bassist Justin Emord.

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Music Junkie Press: Thanks Justin for taking time out with us at Music Junkie Press. We love the new song, “Just a Woman” and can’t wait for more new music!! How old were you when you first started playing?

Justin Emord: I first started playing piano in 4th grade in the concert band, moved to guitar in 7th grade and bass in 11th. Throughout, I played all 3 in concert band and Jazz band which helped me build dexterity and technique.

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Music Junkie Press: Who were some of your musical influences and do you have a particular album favorite?

Justin Emord: Randy Rhoads was the first guitar player I ever got into. His blending of classical music into rock was very interesting for me being classical/concert music was where I started out in music. )His offset V and 1970’s Les Paul is also what really made me favor white finished instruments and is why my Blayzer bass is painted white.) I then got into Van Halen, AC/DC and other classic rock bands of the 70’s and 80’s because growing up, my parents always had Arrow 93 and KLOS on the radio so that indirectly set me down a music path that favored those artists. My favorite albums when I first got into playing music were Beatles Anthology 1 and Appetite for Destruction, both of which I still love to this day.

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Music Junkie Press: How and when did you join Love and a .38?

Justin Emord: This is actually an interesting story. From 2008-2011 I played in a band called Spektra but before joining them, I saw an ad on myspace that .38 was looking for a bass player. My email got lost in the mix of the other bassists trying to audition so plan B; I joined Spektra but continued to go to .38 shows in the meantime because I really liked their sound and stage show. January 2011 I went to Winter NAMM in Anaheim and I finished up a signing appearance for one of my sponsors, exited the booth and saw Danny and Krishna walk past and looked at my ex and pointed em out and told her how much I liked them. I had seen Danny around the strip plenty so he came up and we chatted. Jokingly, I asked if they were looking for a bassist and he replied, “Actually-” Before he could finish, I pulled out my business card, wrote my number down and said “call me, I want in.” He called me the following week, I did 2 auditions with them and 3 weeks after that initial phone call, I was on the road doing my first gig in Arizona with them. The rest you could say is history.

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Music Junkie Press: Rig Rundown: Can you tell us about your current gear?

Justin Emord: Currently I use my custom signature bass loaded with Active EMG pickups into my Pedal Train pedal board- Line 6 X2 Wireless, Ashdown Bass Drive Plus, Boss TU-2 Tuner, Tech 21 Sans Amp and into my Ashdown ABM Evo 500 head with my 2 Ashdown ABM 410 cabs. By far, this is the best rig I’ve used and each part is an absolute essential to my tone. My Ashdown distortion pedal is definitely the secret weapon on my board though.

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Music Junkie Press: I know you guys have been busy in the studio, what does Love and a .38 have in store for us?

Justin Emord: We just released “Just a Woman” and have another 3 songs in the works right now, hopefully have most if not all of them ready to go the next time we play in Los Angeles. Other than that, just keep active doing shows and growing the Love and a .38 to other cities and countries.

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Music Junkie Press: I heard you are heading out for SXSW, will this be your first time out to it?

Justin Emord: This will actually be our second year at SXSW. It’s nonstop bands from about 10 or 11 am till 2 in the morning so it’s really cool to be surrounded by so much music. We have 2 shows every day of SXSW this year so we’re going to be very busy out in Austin.

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Music Junkie Press: This year we were able to catch you again at NAMM. What would you say were some of your highlights of the show?

Justin Emord: Highlights this year for me were of course reconnecting with all my sponsors, watching the Yamaha All Star Jam, and seeing my friends in New Years Day play at the Schecter Party, they killed it! NAMM overall is just a great experience because you’re surrounded by so many people who share your passion for music. There’s no way for that passion to not rub off on you and feel inspired and motivated by it all.

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Music Junkie Press: Did you find any new toys or what were some of the coolest gear you found?

Justin Emord: I found this company called Stage Trix that I work with now. They make a velcro type of material to attach your pedals to your pedal board as well as a water based glow in the dark pen to mark your settings on your pedals, super cool stuff and I’m excited to work with them. Loxx also makes some cool strap locks that caught my eye. They use the weight of your instrument to lock your strap instead of the nut/washer we’re all used to seeing. I could go on for days about other cool stuff I saw there but those two companies definitely stood out.

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Music Junkie Press: How do you deal with the NAMMover that we all get?

Justin Emord: NAMM ending is always bittersweet but after saying my farewells to my sponsors, the cure for my “last day syndrome” as I call it when NAMM ends is a trip across the street to Disneyland. Usually a couple of my friends meet me there and we hang out and I tell them the stories from the weekend and then I settle back into normal life with rehearsals and band business and come back down to earth after what is usually an incredible weekend.

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Music Junkie Press: What would be your Dream Concert lineup? 3 bands/artists, living or dead.

Justin Emord: I would love to see Velvet Revolver, AC/DC and Jet do a gig. New school hard rock meets the godfathers of it. When I first heard “Slither” and “Cold Heart Bitch” I was stoked and my ears perked up. It was raw, rough around the edges hard rock with great vocals and killer guitars. It’s a real shame that VR and Jet don’t do things anymore because the first albums from both bands are still heavily played in my iPod.

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Music Junkie Press: How about a peak at your Ipod or Playlist? Can you tell us what would the next 3 songs be?

Justin Emord: “Flamenco a Go Go” from Steve Stevens, anything from the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack and “Ride” from Beautiful Creatures. Steve Stevens, while known for being this guitar hero in Billy Idol’s band, is an incredibly talented spanish acoustic guitar player and I absolutely love is acoustic work. Beautiful Creatures was a cool band in the early 2000’s that was a GNR meets AC/DC with a slightly more aggressive edge kind of band and Ride is just a cool high octane rock track from their first album. And Nightmare Before Christmas, two words: Danny Elfman. There’s really no explanation for that, Danny is just great at what he does and I love that movie.

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Music Junkie Press: I know you love Disneyland so how about if you were to create a rock and roll attraction at Disneyland, what would it be?

Justin Emord: Yeah, I’m totally a Mouseketeer at heart and they already have an Aerosmith themed coaster in Florida so I wouldn’t mess with perfection. Aerosmith and Disney, can you really go wrong with that combination??

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Music Junkie Press: If you could take any song from any genre and ROCK it up and turn it into a Love and a .38 style song, what would it be?

Justin Emord: I would love to pretty much do any song from the Beatles. They were truly the first band that I was enthralled in and Anthology 1 was the first cassette I went out and bought with my own money when I was in 3rd or 4th grade.

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Music Junkie Press: Can you share three things that we probably don’t know about you with our audience???

Justin Emord: That I started out with music on piano, I actually won rock/alternative guitarist of the year in 2007 from Music Connection Magazine and the 16 that is featured on some of my tattoos, bass picks and other gear started from the first two guitars I got from my first sponsorship because both were serial number 00016 amongst other major coincidences in my life that revolve around that number so I just adapted it as part of my identity and me as a person.

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Music Junkie Press: Lastly, if you could rid the world of one TV show , Song, or Artist, which would they be?

Justin Emord: MTV in general. When they first started, MTV was the way bands like Guns N Roses and Motley Crue broke through to the mainstream because they showed music videos. I can’t even remember the last time I heard of a band getting off the ground because of exposure of their music video on MTV. If they ever do show music videos these days, it’s just hip hop and rap artists which is unfortunate. The world would be a better place without shows about fist pumping on the east coast and making teen moms famous, don’t you agree?

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I couldn’t have said it any better and I truly agree. I miss those days of music videos. I can still remember the first time I saw MTV, it was three months after it had launched and I stayed glued to it the entire weekend. I had friends to come over to watch since were lucky enough to get it. Those were some great times. We may not have the videos to watch these days on TV but thanks to Love and a .38 we do have the incredible rock and roll music to enjoy!

Justin also told us that their website is being launched this month and will be complete with a webstore where you buy CDs, Picks, T-shirts to feed your Love and a .38 addiction. I know I will be one of the first to order! Check their upcoming tour dates and if you are lucky enough to be near where they are playing – get yourself to a show. Your faith in Rock and Roll music will be restored, I promise….

~ Enjoy, Marisol

Tour Dates for March:

3/9: Norman, OK @ Brothers

3/11 Austin, TX @ 311 Club (Audio Wall Festival SXSW)

3/13 Austin TX @ Blind Pig Rooftop Party ( RedGorilla Music Festival at SXSW)

3/14 Austin, TX @ Heart of Texas RockFest Main Stage (8PM)

3/14 Austin, TX @ Burnsides (Music Gorilla Fest at SXSW)

3/15 Austin, TX @311 club (Audio Wall Fest @ SXSW) (9:45PM)

3/15 Ausin, TX @ The Thirsty Nickel (Red Gorilla Music Fest) 10:45PM

3/16 Austin, TX @ Warhorse ( HEart Of Texas Rockfest)

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