“I got it on Craigslist from this avid Strat collector who needed new teeth. He was so sad to see it go. I think of him every time I pick it up”: Indie-rock’s secret weapon Jay Som on a guitar with history, boygenius –and the time Paramore had her back

Jay Som (Melina Duterte) in her home studio.

You might not be familiar with Melina Duterte, better known as Jay Som, but you’ll almost certainly know her work. She collaborated with El Kemper – Palehound – on Doomin’ Sun under the Bachelor banner, and with boygenius during their 2023 The Record cycle of studio and live duties.

“Those years with boygenius are just some of my favorite ever,” she enthuses. “I was mostly playing bass and doing some additional production work [at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studios in Malibu,CA]. There was the main studio A, and then there was the Bob Dylan tour bus which was converted into a studio that was Studio B. You could see the Pacific Ocean right there.”