A titan of modern garage and psychedelic rock is performing an intimate acoustic set in Reno.
Ty Segall, a force in fuzzed-out rock, will trade the high-energy squeals of his electric-guitar mayhem for a calmer, softer acoustic show at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 1, at Cypress Reno. Segall, who has released a few acoustic songs and albums, will be exploring his singer/songwriter side, and even converting some of his loud jams into bare-bones performance versions.
During a recent phone interview, Segall explained that a majority of his raucous songs begin on an acoustic guitar.
“I definitely write a lot of songs on the acoustic,” Segall said. “I’d say it depends on the record and depends on the vibe, but there have been full albums that I’ve written on the acoustic, for sure. I guess I write more on the acoustic, and then I transfer it to the electric, rather than the other way around.”
On this acoustic tour, gems from Segall’s career are taking on a new life. For example, the creeping fuzzwall of “Finger” becomes twangy and more somber, while the psych-punk rager “You’re the Doctor” swaps moshing for foot-stomping. Segall is also enjoying the chance to perform his acoustic-only tracks live.
“Some of these songs work really well in this setting and not in the band setting, or vice versa,” Segall said. “I’ve got a lot of songs to pull from. A few of these, I don’t do with my band at all, so I don’t really play them much unless I’m doing a solo acoustic show—but I’m always trying to mix it up with my band, so it’s always changing.”
Segall is looking forward to visiting some smaller venues and different markets on this acoustic run.
“I love touring with my bands,” he said. “I did a tour with my wife where we did a solo acoustic tour, and that was really cool, because it was basically one long vacation. We were working, obviously, but we had some cool days off in different places. When I’m out playing, I want to play, so the main thing is to play, but we’re always stopping and trying to do something cool, for sure. It’s a little bit more flexible on a solo acoustic tour.”
Segall’s Reno performance will take place a few weeks before the release of his new album, Possession. Preview single “Fantastic Tomb” showcases blistering and twangy guitar vibes; electric, cosmic country sounds; and even some strings and horns. Some of these soundscapes will be explored acoustically on this tour as well.
“I love the idea that a song has endless versions,” Segall said. “I’m playing a few new songs on this trip, and my band hasn’t played any of them yet. We haven’t gotten in a room in a minute, so we’ll see how it goes. Usually, my band makes everything a little louder and a little nastier than the album, which is fun.”
This fall, Segall and his live band will be opening for funk-metal icons Primus.
“They’ve actually asked us to play with them a handful of times, and it’s never worked out,” he said. “This time, it did, so we’re psyched to warm the crowd up for them.”
Whether he’s making music acoustically, with a full band, or in one of his many off-shoot bands like Fuzz or Freckle, Segall is a recording and touring warrior. He said it’s necessary to stay busy in the modern music industry.
“The way it works nowadays is something needs to be booked more than a year in advance, maybe even a year and a half to two years,” he said. “Things have gotten better, but after COVID, it was really crazy how far in advance things were booked. I’ve got the next year and a half booked, which back in the day, was more like a year. You’ve got to be prepared. You don’t want to wake up and be like, ‘Oh, I don’t have anything going on three months from now.’ It’s just more of, like, a reliable thing to know that there’s something on the books, in case my career takes a dive in some way.”
Including Possession, Segall has produced 16 studio albums, not including the dozen or so albums he’s released through his many bands. Segall said his relationship with each release varies, meaning that his post-release involvement is different from album to album.
“I go back and forth,” he said. “Some records, I pay attention; some records, I don’t. I have, depending on the day, a varying relationship with the whole thing. Some of my records have been way more of a confrontational situation, and other ones have not. It just depends on what’s going on.”
Despite this relationship, Segall keeps a copy of everything he’s ever done—but his attitude during the earlier parts of his career prohibited him from having a complete collection.
“There are a lot of weird little things I don’t have that, when I was younger, I didn’t really care to keep,” Segall said. “I just wanted to keep making stuff. I kind of regret that there’s a handful of things I don’t have, but at the same time, it doesn’t matter. I made it to go out into the world; I didn’t make it for me to keep it in my record collection.”
Ty Segall is set to perform an all-ages show at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 1, at Cypress Reno, 761 S. Virginia St. Tickets are $30 in advance. For tickets and more information, visit hollandreno.org.