Taylor Classical NS 32-CE And Epiphone Casino -- The Guitars Of Timmy Curran
Timmy Curran, a rising singer-songwriter from Oxnard, California, has a dirty little secret -— he used to be a champion surfer. Instead of spending his formative years driving around in a filthy van and playing filthy clubs be was setting the bar for the aerial surfers of the 1990s. His surfing, in part, is what gave him the time to work seriously on his music.
“Surfing mostly has given me extra time to write songs on the road. When you are doing events there is usually a one or two week waiting period for the waves get good,” says Curran. “If the waves are small, and you have done your usual site seeing in that town or city, you have a lot of extra down time to write or play music. Traveling with a guitar has been such a great way for me to have fun while sitting in my hotel room, waiting for the event to start.”
He describes the music he makes as mellow folk-alternative.
“Most of my songs by myself are very folky but when my friends Andy Smith, Josh Moreau, and Jesse Carmichael add there ideas and instruments it ads a bit different feel to it,” he says. “On recording the album I was hoping to achieve it sounding as close as possible to it being live, and not too overproduced. When we are all working out songs we usually try a few different ideas out until we all agree on something we like.”
He started playing on a cheap old steel string his dad gave him. There were nylon string guitars sitting around the house but he wanted nothing to do with those.
“I was so excited to have my own guitar. My dad had a few nylon classical guitars lying around the house as well, but I preferred playing my own guitar for many years until I discovered that [with] nylon strings, you could play for hours without the strings tearing your fingertips off.” says Curran.
These days he as moved on to using a Taylor classical.
Taylor currently has six different nylon models. They have a slim neck and are available in a variety of woods including: sapele, ovangkol, maple, and Indian rosewood. They come in either a Grand Concert or Grand Auditorium body style.
“I also play a Taylor steel string, and an Epiphone Casino. I have a few new songs that I like to play on the steel and electric.”
Curran says he has no particular “dream guitar” and says he is simple when it comes to guitars.
“The guitars I have now work great, and to be honest, my knowledge of guitars is well short of my knowledge of different surfboard shapes and designs, but that’s ok with me.” he says.
His record, Word of Mouth, was mostly recorded at a home studio.
“I actually recorded half the record at a house in Malibu and the other half at my friends house in the Hollywood Hills. Ian Nickus was the one who produced the whole record and who's house we used in the Hollywood Hills,” says Curran. “It was mixed and engineered by Ian Nickus and David Lerring. It was all done on Pro Tools at Ian’s house, and we rented some extra mics for recording. It was all pretty simple and low key.”
Curran will be opening for Jon Foreman of Switchfoot August 11, 12, and 13th in San Francisco, San Louis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
“Then I am off to Bali for a boat trip and movie on the 14th for two weeks for Waves Magazine in Australia.” he says.
It is tough work but someone has got to do it.
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