Access Backstage Pass
Latest Features
Ernie Isley on watching Hendrix then taking his place to write hit after hit in his brothers' band
The longtime Isley Brothers guitarist was just a kid when his older brothers scored hits with Twist and Shout and Shout, but by the time he joined the band, he was able to draw on firsthand experiences with Jimi Hendrix
Pete & Vinnie Play started with a Racer X cover; now they’ve released their own shred single
After meeting at college and building up 150,000 followers online, the duo are stepping into the ‘real’ world as No Writer with help from Kiko Louriero’s producer and the master they studied under
Meet the Bad Ups, the Philadelphia punks inspired by country-and-western, reggae and Chet Atkins
The Philly punks kick down the walls of genre orthodoxy on their debut album Life of Sin, complementing their powerchord assault with new-wave vibes, acoustic guitar, and licks Chet Atkins taught 'em
“David Ellefson told me, ‘You got the gig. Oh and by the way, Dave told me to tell you that you played many of the wrong guitar parts’”: Marty Friedman tells the inside story of his auditions with Ozzy Osbourne and Madonna – and landing the Megadeth gig
In this exclusive excerpt from his new autobiography, Dreaming Japanese, the guitarist looks back at his early years, when he was broke and forced to choose between eating or auditioning
Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy spills his tone (and drop tuning) secrets – and why he doesn’t like brand-new guitars
Whatever you do, don’t lend Kennedy your brand-new 10 Top PRS, but do check out his new solo album, The Art of Letting Go, which he promises us is a “a rock ’n’ roll record – a lot of loud guitars”
Saved from ’70s obscurity by hip-hop, Cymande’s Steve Scipio explains what’s different today
Ahead of a brand-new album, Scipio reveals what he’s kept and what he’s changed over 50 years of playing bass – and why he still only needs one pedal
How Yamaha evolved its TransAcoustic tech to create an acoustic guitar with an onboard delay and looper
After experiencing the enhanced version of TransAcoustic tech with the TAG3 C, we spoke to Yamaha’s European product specialist, Dan Stock, to learn more
How Bakithi Kumalo’s swung, fretless bassline helped create one of Graceland’s defining sounds
Like much of Paul Simon’s Graceland, the 1985 session for The Boy In The Bubble took place at Ovation Studios in downtown Johannesburg
