photo : Kim Quint
28th March, 2023
Nicknames??
Honestly, far too many to count. I’ve basically never been called Michael. The main two are probably Shortie – which originated in grade 1 when I was absolutely tiny compared to everyone else – but somehow it stuck for the following 23 years despite no longer being that short, or Petrol – which was essentially a work colleagues lazy attempt at not being assed to pronounce my actual last name correctly.
How would you personally describe your job as a guitar tech to someone?
Being a guitar tech is more or less similar to being a one-man Formula 1 pit crew for the guitarists of the band. But it also more broadly includes fixing and maintaining everything about the artists live rig and guitars while on tour – restrings, setups, repairs, soldering things, basically anything else that allows the artist to solely concentrate on playing the best show possible.
photo : Kim Quint
How long was being a tech on your radar before making the leap?
I had been working at Deluxe Guitars in Melbourne, a guitar shop and backline company, for about 3 years before I decided to pursue it seriously. I worked alongside a lot of seasoned guitar techs there, which gave me a great insight into the whole crew world, and allowed me to pick up a wealth of valuable knowledge and skills before I fully made the jump.
You looked like you loved playing guitar onstage. Was leaving Gravemind a hard decision to make?
It definitely was one of the hardest and most complicated decisions I’ve ever had to make. But ultimately it wasn’t the healthiest environment to be in, and I decided I needed to put my own wellbeing first. Besides, I had for quite some time started wanting to dabble in a bit of tech work on the side, so it allowed me to finally really dive in properly.
Do you miss the feeling of playing before an audience?
I do every now and then, but even when I was in the band, I would quite often fill in for other friends bands here and there, and certainly plan on continuing to do so. I’m happy to scratch the itch here and there, but I get to do all the things I enjoyed most about being in a band still as part of my guitar tech work, so definitely don’t feel the need to be up on stage all the time anymore.
photo : Ivan Souriyavong
Who did you first tech for professionally?
I worked a show for a band called Holy Holy while I was still in the band, but my first proper freelance tech gig off my own back was a couple of shows with Twelve Foot Ninja at the start of 2022.
How/ where did you learn about guitar setups?
As part of working at Deluxe Guitars we needed to know how to setup customers guitars when they are dropped in to be serviced. A few of the boys working there taught me everything I know.
Why heavy music? What is it about this style and sound that attracts you to it?
I like the intense ranges of energy and impact that you find in heavy music. The rhythm and groove of a good breakdown will hook me every time. It’s a very emotionally expressive style of music, and I enjoy the complexity in a lot of it.
How did you first discover and get into metal?
I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock with my Dad and uncle, who is also a guitarist, and I guess I just wanted to learn and listen to more complicated and faster guitar parts. I think initially I was a little scared of proper metal, but then a lot of the heavier songs by bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Disturbed, and Avenged Sevenfold, that were on the Need For Speed: Most Wanted soundtrack finally cracked me.
photo : Nick McLernon
Who were/ are your music heroes? Who inspired you to want to play metal?
A big one was Enter Shikari, who made me finally get into screamed vocals, and the other major heroes are Coheed & Cambria, and Biffy Clyro. It was actually one of my high school friends who inspired me to play metal. He was more a bluesy/rock guitarist who didn’t look metal at all, but could still shred like a motherfucker. He made me realise you don’t actually have to BE metal in order to play metal, and introduced me to so much of the music that formed my most formative years as a guitarist.
Was there a defining moment that made you decide to play an instrument?
I don’t really remember, I think even as a small child I just always loved music and wanted to play something. I actually started on drums for a number of years, before wanting to pick up bass as well. But I didn’t find bass very stimulating, so I only played it for about a year before switching to guitar. I kind of only stopped drumming purely because I got sick of moving the kit around the school, and so guitar became my main
instrument.
photo : Kim Quint
Who would be your bucket-list artist to tech for?
It’s kind of hard because I don’t know if I’d want to risk potentially ruining my favourite artists for myself if they end up not being very pleasant to work for. However, I would love to look after Lee Malia from Bring Me The Horizon if I got the chance, as he seems like a dude who really knows his stuff about guitars, and they are an incredible live band.
How did you learn to play your chosen instrument – formal lessons, self-taught, online?
Initially I got guitar lessons at school, but kind of hated them, so most of my guitar learning was self taught at home.
Were your parents supportive of your choice to play an instrument, and play in a band?
I was very lucky to have incredibly supportive parents who encouraged me to do absolutely anything I was passionate about. They are just as happy and supportive of my move into tech work.
photo : Kim Quint
Do you still make time to play guitar?
I definitely don’t play as much guitar as I used to back when I was in school, but since leaving the band, I have definitely made more of an effort to fall back in love with simply playing the instrument, as opposed to feeling like it was a job. As of late, I’ve actually been playing heaps.
Do you write/ record your own music at all?
I don’t, I honestly find zero enjoyment in the act of writing and recording music. I just love playing and performing it, and am so happy to leave the writing to people who love to do that side of things.
What artists, old or new, are you listening to currently?
I’ve been on the road so much this year, and been around so much live music, that I haven’t really been actively listening to a whole bunch in my downtime. But I’ve definitely been giving the new Sleep Token and Enter Shikari songs a good spin. New Paramore was great too. Some other stand-out bands I’ve come across recently are Your Misery, Exploring Birdsong and The Band CAMINO
What have been some of your most memorable shows to date, either playing or teching?
Probably the London show of the Sleep Token tour that Northlane recently supported them on. The crowd was super receptive and the boys absolutely smashed it; was a great way to bookend my first overseas run in the EU/UK.
photos : Kim Quint
What jobs do you have when you aren’t working as a tech?
Right now I’m still working at Deluxe Guitars when I’m home from tour, but I will occasionally do some pedalboard builds and guitar setups on the side when I have the time. I used to work as a barista, and also spent some time working as a bike mechanic back before teching became my main focus
Is it hard to juggle work and a touring schedule? Are your employers ok with you taking leave to tour?
Thankfully, I’m not the first, and certainly won’t be the last touring guitar tech to work at Deluxe. They were incredibly supportive of my wanting teching to take more priority. It’s a family run business, and they treat their staff like family and I’m incredibly lucky to work there. They have stated time and time again that there will always be a place for me there if I want to work there when I’m home from tour.
What gear do you play when at home?
I’ve amassed more guitars than I’ve ever owned recently with the move into teching. I have nearly fifteen now in my racks at home, mainly to practice setting up different kinds of guitars with different pickups and hardware, such as Floyd Rose bridges etc. The main ones I’ve loved picking up the most recently though have been my Squier Bass VI that has been modded to have EMG pickups in it so it sounds more like a super baritone guitar than the guitar/ bass hybrid it usually sounds like, and the other is a Jackson soloist with a Floyd Rose that I’ve been using to learn Limp Bizkit songs. I also recently bought a Roland JC120, which is easily my favourite combo amp of all time, the in-built stereo chorus is absolutely iconic.
photo : @hazydreamsmedia
Evertune bridges, underrated or overrated?
They are definitely rated. Like any piece of gear, it entirely depends on what you are using it for as to whether it will be suitable or not. It is an incredibly simple piece of engineering genius, and if you want to keep your guitars as perfectly in tune as it is basically possible to be, then they are fantastic and second to none. However, their incredibly precise tuning takes away some of the subtle imperfections of your standard guitar that can add a lot of character to the tone, so I wouldn’t say they are perfect for everyone. For what Northlane do, they are basically essential to keep
tension and stability on such thick strings, at such long scale lengths, in such low tunings.
What’s your dream guitar?
I’m a massive sucker for Gibson Explorers due to being the biggest Coheed fanboy ever. They do a pretty cool 28” baritone one that I would definitely play if were able, and I love the Lee Malia signature one as well. Honestly, Josh Smiths signature Jackson is one of the most fantastic guitars I’ve ever worked on. It feels great, is always straight as an arrow, and I rarely have to adjust the intonation on it – just a rock solid rig and it looks fantastic as well.
What do you do in your free time? Hobbies outside of music?
I definitely am lucky enough that my job involves a lot of my hobbies. I love setting up and refurbishing guitars in my free time, and last year I built an entire pedalboard of pedals that I built myself from DIY pedal kits, as well as being in the process of building a clone of a Marshall JTM45 guitar amp. But other than that I’m big into PC gaming, and building/riding fixed gear bikes. Also big into coffee.
photo : Kim Quint
Are those glasses prescription, or are you just channeling your inner Bono?
I mainly just like those yellow glasses haha, but genuinely they help filter out heaps of blue light which helps with depth perception on dark stages, plus it stops me from being completely blinded whenever I get blasted by a strobe light standing at my tech bench side of stage. They have also on numerous occasions deflected a stray guitar string from piercing my eyeball, as well as various other edges of staging and other sharp objects. Definitely not trying to channel Bono – I actually hate U2.
You and Josh Smith are both into cycling. Do you take a bike on tour?
Josh is definitely into cycling on a whole other level than I am, I mainly just use mine as a fun method of travel to get to and from work. I don’t, and probably wouldn’t, take one on tour, but Josh went as far as to buy this hectic spin trainer bike in the US to keep up his training for Triathlon while he was on the road.
Thoughts on U18 venues/gigs?
I definitely wish all ages shows were more of a thing these days like they were back when I was underage. So much of my love for live music was cultivated back in high school moshing my little heart out at local hardcore gigs, and I think it is so important for the up and coming bands in the local scene. Sadly its so logistically difficult and expensive to facilitate that you don’t see many around anymore.
Cats – lovable family members or Satan’s spawn?
Satan is definitely a cat person, but once you are able to climb the nearly insurmountable mountain that is winning a cats affection, it is the purest most genuine form of love I think it is possible for a living creature to show a human being. I am also a dog person, but anyone who says that and isn’t also a cat person definitely has something suss going on. I love my cat more than almost anything in this world.
What does the rest of 2023 have in store for you?
Definitely have a lot of tech work on the horizon, including another US tour, but hopefully I will actually have a couple of months to go on an actual holiday somewhere with my partner and not work relentlessly without some time to relax. I will most likely have teched as many shows by the end of April this year than I did in the entirety of 2022, so I’m definitely keen for some downtime. But that said, the hustle never stops.
photo : Kim Quint
Michael Petritsch : @sh0rtie_p