Tina Maynard from Masca: How Three Months with IDLES Transformed My Musicianship]

On debut album Love Letters,Bristol-based alt-rockers Masca have seemingly arrived fully formed – laden with an addictive blend of satisfyingly grungy riffs, monstrous ‘heavy pop’ melodies, and math-rock textures – but guitarist and songwriter Tina Maynard has already done her 10,000 hours and then some.

Her previous band Sœur toured all over, hit the festival circuit, and won fans everywhere. They split in 2019, but not before catching the eye of UK post-punk icons and Bristolian locals IDLES, who duly recruited Maynard when they needed a fill-in for a few appearances. Her first show was the band’s nationally televised/globally-streamed Glastonbury set in 2021.

“Just a bunch of crazy stuff happened,” explains Maynard. “I did those shows and then the next year they asked me to do the US tour.”

Article continues below

At different points, she wound up subbing for both Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen, having to get to grips with both guitarists’ parts – and rigs – in the process.

Masca, meanwhile, had been born amid lockdown with partner and drummer Jack, but the window into IDLES’ world had real benefits for her main gig.

“It completely changed me from head to toe,” says Maynard. “Whether it was like, ‘Have you ever done tremolo picking? You’ve got to do it to this BPM. And, actually, we play it faster live…’ I’d never done it before. It’s not my style, but it’s amazing what a bit of practice can do. Or, like, my pedalboard, which was three pedals big. And then all of a sudden, I’ve got like 20 different pedals and a switcher.”

The curve might have been steep, but there’s nothing like a full US tour to help you improve pretty much any aspect of your musicianship.

“I learned so much in that three-month period,” says Maynard. “I never really felt like I was a guitarist, and then my world just opened up. Since then, my pedalboard is massive, I got a switcher, and the way that I play completely changed. I play a lot faster, a lot harder, I use a different plectrum.

“IDLES were bigger supporters of me than I was. I thought, ‘I’m just not capable of doing this.’ And they were always like, ‘You definitely are. You just need to commit to it.’ Which is another reason why my guitar playing changed, because if you just go for it, that’s so much better than kind of being half in.”

(Image credit: Kieran Gallop / GLK Media)

You can hear that confidence on Masca’s debut album, Love Letters – whether it’s the picking attack, the ferocious pace, or the rich tonal experimentation, there’s a lot to like for guitarists.

We note Maynard is a rarity in favoring a Tele in the alt-rock/grunge space – an underrated instrument for the genre, in this writer’s opinion.

“I just like how heavy it sounds but clean at the same time,” says Maynard. “I play with quite heavy gauge strings on. Usually they’re quite spangly, but I’ve always liked the way they sound [in heavier music].”

Maynard alternates between her long-suffering red American Standard and a blonde humbucker-loaded Telecaster Deluxe, pairing them with her Laney GH50 and an unusual choice of speaker cabinet.

“It’s a Crate cab that my friend gave me about 10 years ago, which is like a really horrible sound on its own, but it’s very suited to the Laney.”

The riffier segments are augmented with an EHX POG, but Maynard mentions the EarthQuaker Devices Organizer (tipped by Lee from IDLES) as a highlight of her board – and a key tempering force for the sometimes domineering tone of the POG.

“It just gives it that little sparkle and another note than just the octave,” says Maynard. “I use that to give it a lift. The POG, I feel, sometimes is just too obvious.”

Masca – Elevate [Small Pond Session] – YouTube
Masca - Elevate [Small Pond Session] - YouTube

Watch On

We’re not usually deep on lyrical discussions on Guitar World, but we can’t help noting that the themes of Elevate – which deal (in part) with the increasing hindrance of social media, among myriad other external challenges in musicians’ lives – will likely resonate with many readers.

“It’s really, really not fun,” responds Maynard. “I’m just stuck here watching other people’s content thinking, ‘Oh, can I do that? Can I do that? Oh, but I want to be authentic, and I want to be genuine, but that’s not me. That’s not me. That’s not me…’ You’re just paralyzed by it. I appreciate that it’s free, and maybe before you’d have been a slave to the record label, but I don’t know… I appreciate it – and I hate it!”

Amen. Ultimately, Masca is about Maynard doing things on her own terms.

“We’re going to carry on doing what we feel is reasonable, and that means we’re on top of our game. I know what I want to do – I’m just going to carry on doing that. If it works, it will be a literal dream come true.”