by Alexx Calise
— Columnist —
Hardrock Haven chatted with the talented Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik of the politically charged post-grunge group, The Quarantined. Read on to learn more about Jeremy’s influences, go-to gear and how he got started building his own guitars.
HRH: How did you hook up with The Quarantined?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: I first met Sean while attending Musicians Institute, where we both studied together and for a brief moment, there were working together in a band with his brother. Years later as he started putting together The Quarantined, he asked if I would like to be a part of it and I said of course.
HRH: Your singer, Sean tells me you’re a luthier, like your bandmate, Alex. Have you guys ever collaborated on an instrument together?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: I am a luthier; it was my after high school “fall back” job. My thinking was that if I had to work some 9-5 job, then I’d better be handing guitars all day! I briefly worked for Paul Reed Smith guitars shortly after luthier school, but I began tinkering and building a few years into playing guitar, due to my love of EVH. I’ve sadly never had the pleasure of collaborating on a guitar with Alex, but I would relish the opportunity.
HRH: How long have you been building guitars? Do you build them for other people or primarily just yourself?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: I tried to fix my first guitar and failed miserably, and the result was waiting seemingly endlessly on the local repair shop to get it back to me. That was the 2nd year of playing guitar for me; I’ve not taken a guitar to a repair shop since. That was about 18 years ago. I, at this point, build some for other people but they are few and far between, I mostly build for myself these days. I’m never opposed to building something new for someone though, and I love doing repairs.
HRH: You’ve been involved in some other music projects, like the Hushdown and Wind Up Toy (Alice Cooper Tribute Band) for example. What have those experiences taught you for this particular project?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: I work for so many projects these days since I do a great deal of session work for bands, theater, and TV, and I think the diversity is a great help on any project. The Hushdown is my personal band and honestly, it allows me to do whatever I feel since I never really wanted it “gernre’d” for lack of a better word. Wind Up Toy, on the other hand, is much closer to The Quarantined sound as we stretch from ‘79 to ’97. A great deal of Alice’s later works were very heavy and Grungy.
HRH: The Quarantined definitely has the late 90s/early 2000s post-grunge feel. Would you say that you’re a fan of a lot of bands from those eras as well? Who did you grow up listening to?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: As far as those sounds, yes I am a fan of them, though I’d argue I’m a fan of most music as I like to draw from as many influences as possible to make something new and fresh. I tend to liken musical styles to flavors; they all taste different, and every once in while you can blend them together to create something that no one’s ever tasted before.
My influences are vast and range from big-band jazz, 70’s folk, modern metal, classical music, movie music and everything in between.
As for guitar specifically, I started with the Beatles, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, then moved on to rock, AC/DC and Aerosmith (being big early loves of mine). The Aerosmith cover of “Train Kept A-Rollin” was what spurned me on to learn to be a lead player.
In middle school, I found out my JV soccer coach played guitar, and we found we had a mutual interest in Blue Oyster Cult. He mentioned to me that if I liked them, I would LOVE Randy Rhoads, and I did. It changed the trajectory of my life.
I became obsessed with his music and solos and he was a teacher as well, and so I began teaching, thinking it would help me be a better player. Rock and Roll also serves as a gateway drug so to speak for all the instrumentalist guitar players like Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Vai, Malmsteen, and many others.
HRH: Sean is a big advocate for mental health, cannabis, and veteran’s rights for example. Are you also politically/socially active, and are there any causes that you’re particularly passionate about as well?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: I’d say that I am fairly politically active. I follow the news very carefully and am most certainly an advocate for veteran’s rights. Since I am still a teacher, I try to keep most of my political leanings to my friends and family. I am, however very supportive of the Beagle Freedom Project, Wounded Warriors, and musical education programs.
HRH: Which amps, strings, and pedals would you say help to give you your trademark sound?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: For the amp, I’ve used a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier for about 15 years now, I use a homemade birch framed 2×12 cab with a hand-stretched wicker speaker screen and Celestion vintage 30’s for the speakers.
Pedals vary often but here are some mainstays:
MXR Carbon copy (delay)
Fulltone OCD (overdrive)
BYOC RAMS Head muff EHX clone
(Homemade)
MXR flanger
MXR phase 95
EHX nano holy grail or TC HOF mini
Dunlop Vol pedal
Dunlop CFH wah
TC corona chorus
And a smattering of homemade drives fuzz and delays.
As for strings, I’ve been using Ernie Ball Slinky 10’s. On acoustic, I use Gore tech Elixer nano webs. For picks, I use Jazz III and any pick they offer in that style.
HRH: Aside from playing with The Quarantined, do you ever do any compositions for yourself?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: Yeah, I compose nonstop, whether it be for soundtracking, session work or writing for my own various projects. My phone and computer are overloaded with music I’ve written and ideas I captured on voice memos.
HRH: Where do you see The Quarantined in the next 5 years?
Jeremy Paul Hicks-Kachik: I see The Quarantined kicking ass and taking names in the next five years, spreading awareness and fighting the man!
