Lead guitarist & driving force behind the band 3’s and 7’s

Matt Nijland is the lead guitarist and the driving force behind the up-and-coming Jo’burg based band 3’s and 7’s. Yes, like the Queens of the Stone Age song. I had the pleasure of chatting with this young, very talented guitarist and musician.

Listen to the interview here

Matt Nijland 3's and 7's

“Why so serious?” Matt jamming onstage with 3’s and 7’s at Rumours Rock City. Photo credits: UR Image Photography.

A very passionate guitarist and musician

It’s easy to envision the journey that Matt is on after just one casual chat with him. He oozes passion for music and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t make it far in the music industry. The same goes for his current band – if you haven’t listened to 3’s and 7’s yet, give their two live tracks on Spotify a listen, “Stars” and “Free Entities”.

The band’s style and sound

Listening to their music is always quite nostalgic for me. You can definitely hear the strong, late 80’s – early 90’s influence, which is rare for a band of musicians in their early 20’s. I can’t help but hear strong “Crowded House” similarities when I listen to their songs, but that might just be me. It’s something about the two lead vocalists harmonising so beautifully that sparks my that memory. Yup, two lead vocalists – these guys do whatever feels right, not afraid to be unique and follow their own intuition.

I found it very interesting chatting to Matt about his music influences and how they came about, among many other things such as the gear he uses, the band’s song writing process and more. Go ahead and listen to the podcast episode and be sure to seek the band out on Youtube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and look out for up and coming gigs!

The gear rundown

Matt fell in love with Brian May’s sound at a very young age, so it’s no surprise that he’s rocking a VOX AC30 CC2. His favourite guitar Fender Modern Player Marauder with a triplebucker bridge pickup. I must admit I’ve never heard of a triplebucker. For those of you who haven’t either, it’s quite interesting – this bridge pickup features an appropriately bulky triple-coil design that taps into a highly versatile palette of explosive Fender sound, from punchy and powerful humbucking tones to a creamy complex three-coil mode.

Matt’s pedal board is very diverse and interesting to say the least. Ranging from a Dunlop Crybaby to a Boss Super Octave, an Ibanez Tube Screamer 9, a Boss Feedbacker/Booster, Ibanez Analog Delay Mini (of course) and more. You really should listen to Matt explain his pedal board though (18:10).

Lannon Harms Single Street Park
About the Author: Lannon Harms

Lannon founded SA Guitarist in 2011. He’s been playing guitar and starting bands since two decades ago. He’s always been passionate about the South African music scene and started SA Guitarist to help promote the talented guitarists and musicians we have in SA. He’s currently the vocalist and guitarist for his latest band, Single Street Park. Follow Lannon on Instagram: @lannonharms