platform. What is your strategy for arranging the guitar parts when two( or more) guitarists are on the team?
[ Eli ] It definitely depends on the context, but for a typical Sunday morning set, I like to keep it simple and clearly define roles: one guitarist handling rhythm and the other on lead. For me, rhythm guitar is more than just strumming. It’ s about giving the band a strong foundation and giving confidence to the vocalist, especially if they’ re not playing an instrument themselves! The lead player can focus on hooks, higher voicings, or melodic lines. It also helps the frontof-house engineer keep the mix consistent from song to song, which is a huge win when time is tight.
When it’ s more of a creative environment( like writing, recording, or playing outside the church) I love building complementary parts where each guitar has its own space and character. It’ s less about assigning lead vs rhythm and more about texture, tone, and collaboration. You can hear a lot of that in some of the newer Myriad songs I’ ve been a part of. In those settings, the guitars become a conversation instead of one supporting the other.
[ WM ] Do you also play outside the church? If so, tell us about your other guitarist roles?
[ Eli ] I do! As I mentioned above, I’ ve been playing with a band called The Myriad. These guys have been good friends of mine for a long time, so when they decided to start making new music and asked if I wanted to jump in, it was a no-brainer. I’ d already worked with Jeremy Edwardson( who sings, writes and produces for the band) on a bunch of projects with Kim Walker-Smith and Jesus Culture, but this was a chance to do something creatively different.
The Myriad has a really unique sound, but there’ s definitely a thread of bands like Radiohead and Muse in there, which I love. It’ s been refreshing to explore tones and textures that don’ t usually show up in a Sunday setlist( slap back delay, dry guitars, phaser, etc). There’ s a freedom in it that’ s stretched me creatively and musically, and I think it makes me a better worship musician too. Different context, but the same heart for creating meaningful music.
[ WM ] Do you have a home studio setup? If so, what are you using to record with? ProTools? Plug-ins? Tell us about your studio.
[ Eli ] Yeah, I’ ve got a home studio setup that’ s mostly geared toward tracking guitar. It’ s been especially helpful with The Myriad since we all live in different cities— we’ ll track remotely and send sessions back and forth. I do all my recording in Ableton. I originally picked it up to run tracks for worship sets, but now it’ s become
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