Features

“Jaco said, ‘If you ever need a sub, call me!” When Chicago’s Peter Cetera met Jaco Pastorius

By Chris Jisi published 10 May 26

Peter Cetera tells the story of how he met Jaco – and got to know bass legends Willie Weeks, Carol Kaye and Duck Dunn

How Mike Dirnt honed his signature bass tone for Green Day’s Revolution Radio – and why it all starts with the wrist

By Jon D’Auria published 9 May 26

Working with Fender, Dirnt built a bass rig that allowed him to ditch distortion pedals and harness his distinctive sound

Jackson Dean on playing in Nashville alongside some of the best

By Jim Beaugez published 8 May 26

The viral star turned country hero discusses finding space as a picker surrounded by guys like Tom Bukovac, John Osborne, and the sideman who’s been with him since the beginning, Brandon Aksteter

Douglas McCombs on the long-awaited return of post-rock trailblazers Tortoise

By Adam Kovac published 8 May 26

We had to wait nigh-on a decade for new album Touch but it demonstrates that Douglas McCombs and his six-string lieutenant, Jeff Parker, have not lost theirs, nor for their taste in retro-audio engineering techniques

Everybody knows B.B. King played a Gibson guitar named Lucille – but what model was it really?

By Tony Bacon published 8 May 26

B.B. King will forever be known as the great bluesman who always played Lucille. But he had many Lucilles

Mark Collins on triumph, tragedy, and the long-awaited return of the Charlatans

By Henry Yates published 7 May 26

Collins explains why the Britrock survivors still believe in albums and real amps moving air, and discusses their return to the formative Rockfield Studios after three decades

Up close and personal with a '63 Strat and '70s Höfner Violin Bass with Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene connections

By Huw Price published 7 May 26

This 1963 Fender Stratocaster and 70s Höfner 500/1 violin bass guitar recently went under the hammer – and, as it turns out, these were Britrock unicorns for collectors

How Laura Cox threw the blues-rock rulebook out the window and found herself in the process

By Joe Bosso published 7 May 26

From the smallest screen in our pockets to the stage and studio, can anyone stop the French garage-blues prodigy from taking her rock sound to the to the masses?

The making of the Smiths’ 1986 classic The Queen Is Dead

By Henry Yates published 6 May 26

It was a square peg amid the shred scene and almost sank Johnny Marr, but the Smiths’ majestic third album ended up as the jewel in their crown

Why P-funk legend Michael Hampton is keeping an open mind in search of his solo sound

By Andrew Daly published 6 May 26

The P-Funk veteran takes us inside his latest life stage, a much more mellow place than the frenzied funk days of his past