The Current's Guitar Collection: Rob Grote and Pat Cassidy of The Districts, Gibson Les Paul Recording II
by Luke Taylor
February 25, 2015
Rob Grote and Pat Cassidy of The Districts have an equal stake in their Gibson Les Paul Recording II guitar: Rob owns it, and Pat plays it. But after all their gear and their van were stolen, it's lucky they even have it at all.
On their recent visit to The Current's studio, Rob and Pat of The Districts tell us about the guitar.
What model guitar is this?
Pat: "It's a Gibson Les Paul Recording II. "
Rob: "It's a reissue of the ones Les Paul actually designed. But then it was way too heavy for my back, so Pat plays it."
Pat: "And now it's way too heavy for my back, but it's better than any other guitar that I play."
Where did you get it?
Rob: "I was playing a different guitar for a while, a Fender Mustang, but it was really old and went out of tune all the time. So our label [Fat Possum Records] helped us out getting a good deal on this Gibson."
Were you given it?
Rob: "We still purchased it, but our label helped us get it a little cheaper, which was really nice of them. And shout-out to Gibson, because when we were in St. Louis, we got our whole van stolen a week after I got it, and Gibson just happened to have an extra one in their warehouse, because we contacted them and we were like, 'Help! We got all our stuff stolen!' And they replaced it for us — so thanks, guys!
"So we paid for one, it got stolen, and we got a new one."
Do you write songs on it?
Rob: "Usually acoustic in the beginning, but sometimes on this one. Whatever's around."
What about the tone of this guitar do you like?
Rob: "It feels awesome."
Pat: "It sounds kind of like a mixture of a heavier guitar but also like a Fender."
Rob: "It's not as hard-rock sounding as most Les Pauls, so that's cool."
Pat: "It's got balls but it also has a little angel voice."
Listen to more from The Districts, including the story about their pilfered van, by checking out their complete in-studio session, hosted by Mary Lucia.
Resources
The Districts - official site
