Chicago Music Exchange General Manager, Alex "100 Riffs" Chadwick, brings his band Western Automatic to the CME Warehouse to perform a Plugged In Session of "Staring at the Sun", a tune off of their new EP “The Dualist”. Singer, songwriter, journeyman, and poet laureate, Alex has spent the better part of his last fifteen years playing guitar, and his last ten putting the right ones in your hands here at Chicago Music Exchange. With a habit for making any guitar sound exemplary, Alex is our man for Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters . In an EPIC twist Alex surprises us by playing his gorgeous Gretsch Broadkaster through his trusty Carstens Black Flag

We asked Alex why he chose his Gretsch for the session, he said, "I use the Broadkaster specifically because it’s a little more aggressive than my Strats but more mellow and resonant than my Gibsons, plus it makes me look about ten times cooler when I play it!"

"I picked it up in the first place because I thought the pickguard looked cool over the white finish, and after about 30 seconds of playing I knew I had to buy it. As someone who constantly shuffles between Strats and LP’s this was such a perfect fit. It sits beautifully in between those two sonic textures but has a flavor that is completely unique. It’s the first Gretsch I’ve ever owned, I absolutely love the Fulltron pickups, and even though we use a ton of distortion and fuzz it holds up beautifully and allows me to create some excellent controlled feedback."

"The tone is fatter and more aggressive but I can still dial in a lot of the “classic” Gretsch vibe. I sold my 335 because it was too muddy for what we do, the Broadkaster has a little more cut and punch even in the neck position. I didn’t buy it to be my main guitar but it has absolutely become just that!"