Latest articles by Adam Kovac
The Wants’ Madison Velding-VanDam is reimagining jagged post-punk guitar over a genre-spanning sonic landscape
NYC’s the Wants return with Bastard, a sophomore album that transforms personal tragedy – and yeah, some additional bad luck – into a groundbreaking sonic landscape
Laura Lee Ochoa just got a signature Fender based on the first bass she ever bought – but it was a Jazz Bass copy
Ochoa always perceived Fender instruments as aspirational – now, her success with Khruangbin has just landed her with her own signature model
Laura Lee Ochoa reveals the little trick she’s picked up along the way to ensure a buzz-free bass tone
Ochoa has just released a Fender signature that’s modeled after her actual bass, down to the finest details
Championed by Fender and signed to Blue Note, Maya Delilah might just be the most melodic guitar soloist since John Mayer
After being named as a member of Fender’s Class of 2024 and lauded as a 2025 Spotify Artist to Watch, Maya Delilah makes good on those promises with her Blue Note debut, The Long Way Around
The oddball electric guitar that fast-rising soul-pop guitarist Maya Delilah favors over her Strats and Teles
The fingerstyle guitarist and genre-blending singer-songwriter recently released her debut record on the historic Blue Note Records
“There are so many layers of Jimi that we didn’t see portrayed” – Inside the Hendrix graphic novel
In a new graphic novel, the guitarist is reinvented as a space traveler and political figure who happens to be the biggest rock star in the galaxy
YouTube lesson guru Mr. Tabs doesn’t just play the parts – he buys the right guitar for the part… and the right outfit, too
One of YouTube's most entertaining – and snappily dressed – teachers breaks cover, shows GW his face, and tells us what it's like to teach 700,000 subscribers
Have you injured yourself playing guitar? New study reveals that musculoskeletal injuries are not related to bad technique – but sadly might be unavoidable
The research proves that shredding can make your wrists and shoulders go ouchie, but is there anything we can do to prevent injury?
“Classical guitar is often about emulating other people, especially older generations – so I just wanted to do the wildest thing possible”: Marcin Patrzalek is reinventing the nylon-string for a new generation – and going viral while he’s at it
Meet the acoustic master who probably burns about 1,500 calories with each performance of Bach’s Toccata
Weird Al Yankovic guitarist Jim “Kimo” West on his love for Hawaiian music, the serious technique behind unserious parodies, and seeing himself onscreen
There are lives less ordinary and then there is West, who for decades has helped one of pop-culture's favorite stars reimagine everyone from Nirvana to Dire Straits
Pat Finnerty: “I knew millions of people were gonna get What Makes This Song Stink ’cause millions watch Rick Beato, and maybe 10% know how ridiculous this man is”
YouTube six-string prankster Pat Finnerty on the philosophy behind his hit show and how a spoof band of his own imagination grabbed the attention of Justin Hawkins
How Standards’ Marcos Mena is making shred guitar danceable: “The important thing is writing the hook first, then working in the other techniques”
Finally, some ultra-clean tapping riffs and complex chords you can dance (and marvel) to! Welcome to Fruit Town
How Laura Cox went from bedroom YouTuber to one of today's hardest-rocking touring guitarists
With her new album Head Above Water, the Les Paul-wrangling YouTuber turned festival favorite takes her career into her own hands and her sound to surprising new places
Billy Sheehan on why, 40 years on, it was time to bring Talas back and celebrate the triumphant year of 1985
“We played together again, and we had a riot”: the bass icon reflects on a band who were heirs to the '80s hard-rock and metal guitar throne and a comeback tinged with tragedy
Candlemass’s Leif Edling and Lars Johansson on the triumphant return of a metal institution: “You can’t kill us! We’re the cockroaches of epic doom metal!”
The Swedish doom pioneers’ epicus doomicus comebackicus is complete with Sweet Evil Sun, an album that took them to the brink as they searched for the balance between light and dark
Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil and Dallas Green on breaking their rules, guitar dynamics and the triumph of screamo
After 13 long years, the Canadian rock stalwarts return with new album Otherness – a change of direction or just a fresh spin on how they approach their songwriting?
Kirk Fletcher: “These days, the attention to detail on blues songwriting has been neglected in a lot of ways – and I wanted to address that”
The Nashville-based blues master explains why he isn’t afraid to add some II’s, III’s and VI’s to the tried-and-true I-IV-V on new album Heartache by the Pound
Malina Moye: “Your mindset is the most important thing on tour, starting from the plane ride to get to the bus“
Righteous touring tips from a lifelong warrior of the road
John 5: “It doesn’t matter if I’m in front of 500 people or 50,000. As long as I have a guitar in my hand, I’m super-psyched and it’s a good day”
The Tele-wielding virtuoso unpacks the story behind his new solo album, Sinner, and explains what everyone should do if they can't sample James Brown – get Dave Mustaine instead
Seth Lee Jones on the reinvention of electric blues and why he took guitar building into his own hands
He makes 'em, he plays 'em, and with his Tulsa-based trio, the luthier and slide-guitar whiz is looking to extend the catalog of blues standards
Naia Izumi: “The most important part isn’t about the chord voicing, it’s about the melody and bassline”
Three years after winning NPR's Tiny Desk Contest, the singer/guitarist is taking his decidedly unique voice – and chord voicings – to the big time
Jonathon Long: "I like to get crazy and shred, but in the studio, it needs to be clean and understandable"
Parables of a Southern Man sees the Louisiana-bred guitarist go from child prodigy to BB King opener to ace frontman
Danko Jones talks longevity, regrets and the evolution of his hard-rocking guitar tone
The Canadian rock stalwart returns with Power Trio, an album of no-holds-barred swagger and politically charged anthems
