Silversun Pickups
PICKUP ARTIST Nikki Monninger powers Silversun Pickups’ latest album with big riffs and even bigger tones sculpted by acclaimed producer Butch Vig By Jon D’Auria |
Photo by Julia Simone Paul
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fter almost 20 years of anchoring alternative-rock powerhouse Silversun Pickups, a whole lot has changed for Nikki Monninger. In that span the band has released five critically acclaimed albums, they’ve traded intimate venues for large headlining bills, they’ve been nominated for Grammy Awards, and for Monninger personally, she now has two sixyear-old twin girls. But what hasn’t changed is her massive role in the band’s driving, anthemic music or her use of her beloved Gibson Thunderbird bass, which she’s played since day one. And like the classic muscle car that bears the same name, Nikki’s prefers to put the pedal to the metal and gun it at full speed. “It Doesn’t Matter Why,” the first sin-
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BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 3 ; bassmagazine.com