Loopocalypse Day 3 (or 17): “Just Like Heaven”

Who amongst us does not love the Cure?

I got to interview Robert Smith for a Guitar Player cover story in 1992. It was one of funnest of the 1,000+ musician interviews I’ve conducted over the last few decades. Robert is brilliant, bitchy, and hilarious. We talked most of the night over too many drinks.

Years later I was recording with sociopath Courtney Love at Chateau Miraval in Provence, where the Cure recorded their Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me album, including “Just Like Heaven.” The studio manager recalled how Robert would quote Apollinaire and Verlaine around the dinner table. En francais, bien sûr.

The guitar is a 000-sized Lowden I’ve owned since the early ’90s and have used on many sessions and tours. It’s fun playing acoustic guitar with distortion and effects, as long as you give up on the idea of generating traditional acoustic tones.

Here’s an explanation of my live looping rig.