Jim Brunberg of Portland duo Wonderly told us about his love for his thrift store finds...
Jim Brunberg: I can't do without three crappy old plywood instruments, most of which I found in thrift stores. They're always on deck and get used on every Wonderly record.
Wonderly plays a ton of nice, "real" instruments, from violas to clarinets. But the three main songwriting and tracking tools are these unlikely old plywood axes, all made in the midwest sometime in the '60s. Guitar-wise there's a Sherwood (maybe made for Sears Roebuck?) that cuts through any mix and has a woody innocence and grit. On the low end is a much-abused old "school use" Engelhardt bass that we've had to glue together a few times; it sounds thumpy and throatty and full of character.
An old student Rogers drumkit nicknamed "Rusty" rounds out the basics. All together, these instruments are worth just a few hundred bucks. Best thing about all these instruments is that we NEVER put them back in their cases; they're always out being indestructible colleagues, ready to spring into action.
Wonderly's "A World So Kind" is out now.
