Interview: Seth Meyers Guitarist Marnie Stern On Playing In A Pandemic And Her Love Of Sacramento Pizza

For years, Marnie Stern's hyperspeed guitar playing was lighting up clubs and festivals — she's been releasing records since 2007. The last time the guitar phenom visited Sacramento was just shy of a decade ago, during the tour for her self-titled record. Since then she’s become a mother twice over and is now the guitarist in the house band for Late Night With Seth Meyers.

Stern and CapRadio Modern Music Director Nick Brunner discussed the changes in her life over the past decade and the constants, like her love of a certain Sacramento pizza institution.

Interview Highlights

On being a band member for Late Night With Seth Meyers during a pandemic

What we do is we take songs, and then at home in our home studios, we each record our parts. Somebody mixes them together and then we at home do videos of us playing the songs. And, you know, I have my kids in a lot of the videos, which is cute, but it has been very challenging to shoot these videos with these kids running around. They're screaming. They're toddlers. They're crazy. They want to be naked all the time. They drown out any music and they lunge for the guitar to try and, you know, break the strings. It's just a lot of chaos.

The only thing is that difficult about it or great, depending on how neurotic you are, is that we have to write eight songs in an hour and then learn them and play them that night and then never play them again.Sometimes I'll come up with a riff and I'll think, oh no, that's too good since we have to throw it away. I'll keep that or record it onto my phone and use it later.

On her friendship with Death Grips drummer Zach Hill and potential future collaborations

Of course! I mentioned to him maybe a year ago, and he was like, yeah, definitely. Well, right now with COVID, forget it. But it would just be finding any sliver of time. I think when my kids can poop on the toilet by themselves, maybe that will be the benchmark from when I get back to going on tour.

On her fondness for Sacramento
I spent a bunch of months living there, making my records with Zach, and I just think it's so beautiful. I mean, the trees, the weather's nice. It's got a real cozy feel. I just really, really like it there. 

What's that pizza place? I don't even know if it's still there. They make this crazy kind of deep dish pizza. That's really delicious. Do you know what I'm talking about?

[Nick Brunner: Zelda's?]

Zelda’s! Delicious.

On Her Hopes for 2021

I'd like to not feel as nervous about the world. So I'd like to feel a little more stability in terms of leadership. Musically, it just seems the instruments are being played less and less. I miss giving guitar lessons. So I would like to listen to more music in my life over the next year. I think I'd like to be challenged musically at home a little bit more.

File Under: I Can't Believe The Internet Still Has This
Marnie Stern was an early in-studio performance guest with Nick's very first show on CapRadio called Off Air. Enable that flash player and click here for Marnie in conversation and performance from back in 2011.