Ninja Sex Party are one of the biggest, weirdest cover bands on the planet. Guitarist Lord Phobos reveals the secrets to a great cover song

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Talking to Total Guitar from behind a mask that falls somewhere in between the aesthetics of Daft Punk, Darth Vader and Power Rangers, with a heavily effected voice to disguise his true identity, Lord Phobos is certainly one of the more unusual characters you’ll encounter in the guitar world.

He’s responsible for the guitar work in Canadian quartet TWRP, who have made waves as the backing band behind American comedic duo Ninja Sex Party. As well as original music, the two groups have collaborated on a series of albums named Under The Covers – where they reimagine famous tracks by Pink Floyd, Van Halen, the Bee Gees and many more.

“It’s been really fun working with Ninja Sex Party,” Lord Phobos says, holding a microphone running into a vocal processor that’s presumably set to its darkest and deepest robot setting.

“Essentially, we provide the tracks and everything for their records. We linked up with them years and years ago after finding each other online. It was a mutually beneficial situation where we could provide good instrumental music and they’d bring the jokes and ideas.

“In terms of track choices, that’s all them. We show up, hear what song we’re doing and then learn it. Most of it I already knew, but I’m embarrassed to admit I hadn’t listened to as much King’s X before we started working on the cover of their song The Burning Down. That’s all part of the fun too, right? You discover artists by learning their music.”

What can you tell us about the art of delivering a great cover version?

“It’s about striking a balance between doing justice to the original but also trying to put a fresh take on it. That can also vary section to section – you could have a chorus that’s exactly the same coming after a bridge that sounds quite different. You can change the feel or imagine it in a completely different genre. You can even change the key.

“I like the idea of taking something major and turning into a minor, or vice versa. Other times, you might find songs that are too good to touch and you end up having to do them karaoke style.”

What would you say is the greatest cover of all time?

“I love Ghost’s version of Here Comes The Sun. What they did there was something really special…”

Well, that’s definitely one where an uplifting major song got rearranged into something much more foreboding and minor.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was hinting at. It’s incredible how they took such a famous piece of music and gave it a melancholic feel. I just love it. They’re really good at cover versions, actually. I remember hearing their version of Waiting For The Night by Depeche Mode when I wasn’t aware of the original.

“I went back and listened to it, but because I heard the Ghost one first, it still feels like the one I’m most used to. You can get more attached to certain things just because that’s the way you discovered them. I always thought Jimi Hendrix wrote All Along The Watchtower – but I was wrong!”

You tackled the Stevie Wonder hit I Wish for Under The Covers Volume II – adding in some distorted guitars that definitely weren’t on the original…

“It’s a very horn-heavy song that we were jamming as a four-piece band, trying to make it sound full and wide. I remember playing the riff on guitar, which is something that wasn’t heard on the original. I wanted a Gibson into a Marshall distorted, kinda crunchy sound, throughout the song. Our version needed something different.”

The same album features your version of Africa by Toto. The original demonstrates a remarkable amount of restraint from Steve Lukather, who made sure not to turn into something too guitar-centric…

“Yeah, he definitely held back there. I would say he’s a big influence on me in general. He’s a very tasteful player and I think it’s because of his session background. Playing on all these different records is probably where he must have learned how to serve the song and play what fits instead of melting everyone’s faces off for four minutes straight!

“There are a few different layers in Africa, such as the Nile Rodgers-style funky bit in the verse. Sometimes it can be hard to get that to sit in the right pocket. It’s worth thinking about playing ahead or behind the beat, because it might not sound right unless you do so. Things like that can be harder than shredding through all these insane licks.

“I started out that way, but these days I’m more into finding the right pocket and groove. You can also hear it at the end of another Toto hit, Rosanna, where they have that huge jam and really go loose. It’s one of my favourite Steve Lukather solos. There are moments where he goes nuts, but he really makes you wait for them and knows when they will be most impactful.”

You did your own version of Closer To The Heart by Rush on the third covers record. It’s amazing how much ground Alex Lifeson can cover – a man who is capable of being his own rhythm guitar player, in many ways.

“Totally! This was a fun one to record, which we made at a studio called Sonic Ranch in El Paso. They had every piece of gear you could possibly want. If you needed a 1977 Les Paul, it’s there. You want a 1959 Les Paul? It’s there, but there’s no way I was touching that. No thanks… it’s a liability!

“But it was so fun to experiment with all of these different guitars and amps. I ended up using a 335 on that one. I really love the crunchy rhythm when it comes in, because so much of the song is that 12-string building up. When those big chords come in, it’s such a great payoff because it just hits.”

What was your approach with Prince’s When You Were Mine?

“That was also done at Sonic Ranch. I was thinking to myself, ‘What does Prince use?’ So I grabbed a Telecaster. With Prince stuff, I find the parts are easy to play but difficult to play well. His sense of rhythm was incredible. On When You Were Mine there are a lot of palm-muted power chords, which basically comes from the rock approach to guitar playing. But it’s the cleanest and driest guitar sound.

“I doubt Prince even used an amp when he recorded that. It sounds like he went straight into the board. With a tone like that, you have to play really well for it to sound good. I didn’t actually go DI myself, because I prefer to have a little bit of something, whatever it might be. I think I plugged into a clean Fender twin like a Deluxe just to get some more midrange.”

And how about Def Leppard anthem Pour Some Sugar On Me – what were the main challenges there?

“It’s such a massive sound they had on that Hysteria record. I remember hearing it for the first time and my face getting melted off. The production was incredible, with the gated reverb on the drums and the guitar sounds. I tried to do it justice. We decided to make it a little more synthy, so we ended up taking a few liberties there.

“As for my input, it definitely was a challenge to try and match what the guitarists [Phil Collen and Steve Clark] were doing. I recently started listening to the early Def Leppard stuff, like High ’N’ Dry, which really inspired me in terms of guitar tone.

“It made me go out and buy a JCM800 – for me, that’s the record that defines that particular amp sound. But as for Pour Some Sugar On Me, you can tell it was so meticulously made. They were really experimenting. That’s why it sounds so huge, I guess.”

Rock With You by Michael Jackson must have been fun from a rhythm guitar standpoint…

“Definitely. It’s another track where we didn’t want to change the arrangement too much, because it felt so good as it was. A bit like with Africa, my biggest challenge was getting the clean rhythms to stay in the pocket. That whole style takes a lot of practice. What I did to work on that was get a drum loop going at home and just strumming 16th notes continually.

“It’s all about getting your arm to swing around – that’s the rhythm style that’s central to so many of these songs, whether it’s Nile Rodgers doing the Chic disco stuff or even Toto. A lot of these songs have similar playing styles. I wanted a really clean sound for this Michael Jackson cover; it was a Fender guitar going into a clean amp with my right hand going crazy.

“Nile Rodgers is a huge hero of mine. I really loved the Daft Punk album Random Access Memories, which he played on. And those old Chic records are great because he has such a funky rhythm style, but it’s still quite loose compared to other players like Prince, who had a more rigid approach. To be honest, I love pretty much anything Nile does!”

What kind of pedals do you need to cover so much tonal ground, and which ones could you not live without?

“I’ve never been a big pedal guy, funnily enough! My favourite pedal is actually a Boss SD-1. It’s such a great mid boost, even if it takes out some of the bass and low mids. And I’d actually say that flaw has become its main feature! My other favourite is the Boss CE-2W. I love it so much in front of a clean amp.

“I can’t use it in front of too much gain, because it all gets a bit too washy. But for my clean sounds, that’s one pedal I couldn’t live without. I love Boss pedals… in fact, I’d love a ’board full of all their pedals. They’re affordable, they sound great and look cool. No wonder everyone from Yngwie to Nuno swear by their stuff.”

So what’s your main electric guitar – we’re guessing something versatile, that can handle everything from funky cleans to metallic screams?

“I’d say my Suhr Superstrat would be my desert island guitar. I recently got a gold Made In Japan Strat, however, that I absolutely love. As you can probably tell from looking at me, I love my gold! After playing HSS models for a while, it’s nice to have just single-coils on this one.

“My Suhr is more of a Superstrat, with the humbucker in the bridge. I guess that configuration is like the mullet of guitars. You have business at the front and then the party at the back thanks to the humbucker. I guess that’s why it’s my desert island guitar – it can do everything. When I switch over to the bridge, it feels like I’ve changed instruments because the pickups are so different. It’s like two guitars in one.”

Finally, what’s the hardest song you’ve had to cover so far?

“Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes was quite a tough one because of all the weird changes. The switch into the bridge section is very unpredictable. That’s what I love about Yes – even when they make the most accessible pop, it’s still really complicated in strange and subtle ways. They’re a legendary band and Steve Howe is a brilliant player. That song also has a pretty epic solo.

“I remember scratching my head a bit trying to figure out the harmoniser effects he was using. I debated playing the solo twice in different positions but that was too hard. In the end we just used an Eventide rackmount thing, set to a doubling effect with the wet sound pitched up to make it sound like two guitars. Some of the licks didn’t work too well with the effect on, so I had to change how I played certain lines!”