Andrew Daly

Andrew Daly

Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.

Articles by: Andrew Daly

Left- Carlos Alomar at club Le Bar Bat on October 1993 in New York City; Right-Rock and roll musician Chuck Berry poses for a portrait holding a Gibson hollowbody electric guitar in a scene from the movie "Go Johnny Go" which was released in June of 1959 in Los Angeles, California

“I had the audacity to say, ‘Are we gonna rehearse, Mr. Berry?’ He whipped around and yelled, ’We don’t rehearse rock ‘n’ roll!’”: Session great Carlos Alomar on his time as Chuck Berry’s rhythm guitarist

By Janelle Borg published

Alomar also recalls his tour with James Brown and the time the King of Soul yelled ‘Hit me!’ and he didn’t hit back

American rock guitarist, composer and songwriter Joe Satriani, member of the American rock band Sammy Hagar and the Circle performs during 'The Best of All World Tours' at Dos Equis Pavilion

“It must have taken two weeks of tweaking to wrestle that thing to the point where it would stay in tune”: Joe Satriani called on Eddie Van Halen’s techs to figure out how to make his Frankenstein playable

By Matt Owen published

Satch eventually put his own spin on the iconic axe, but it took him a while to wrap his head around a guitar that he initially struggled to keep in tune

A portrait of Phil Collen against a black background. Collen holds a Jackson s-style

“You could sing along to the songs – including the solos. You can really mess a song up by playing the wrong solo. You can put people off”: Phil Collen on Def Leppard x Tom Morello, his love of thick guitar necks – and why Pyromania still blows him away

By Andrew Daly published

Taking five between packing out stadiums, Collen shares his philosophy on digital amps, what Mutt Lange taught him, and how Tom Morello found himself on a Def Leppard track

Rickey Medlocke playing a Gibson Explorer guitar onstage

“When I came back into Lynyrd Skynyrd, I knew that Free Bird was going to be my lead. I was the drummer in Muscle Shoals when we cut the original. I watched Allen. I knew the licks”: Rickey Medlocke unpacks his history with Skynyrd – and that guitar solo

By Andrew Daly published

Veteran guitarist (and former drummer) reveals how essential Damon Johnson has become, the secret to sounding like the late original guitarists, and the unfinished songs co-written with Gary Rossington

Musician Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith performs on the Sunset Cliffs Stage during the 2016 KAABOO Del Mar at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on September 17, 2016 in Del Mar, California

“I find it hard to believe we'll never play again. I refuse to consider it over”: Aerosmith may have retired from touring, but bassist Tom Hamilton says it might not be the end for the band

By Matt Owen published

The US rock icons announced they'd be retiring from the road following Steven Tyler's vocal injury

Blackie Lawless

“My band and crew hadn’t worked in three years so we plowed on – eight epidurals later and 180 opium tablets, I made it through the tour”: Blackie Lawless on touring, talking solos with David Gilmour – and that time W.A.S.P. bought 52 Marshall heads

By Andrew Daly published

He recalls scavenging Marshalls from Ted Nugent, explains why he still records to tape, and reveals what he’s discovered about his band’s early days that he didn’t know at the time

Eric Avery

“If there is a Jane’s Addiction in 2025, there will be new music. But you never know if there’s going to be a band at all”: Eric Avery on overcoming JA’s “unthinkable” time without Dave Navarro and his brief stints with Metallica and Smashing Pumpkins

By Andrew Daly published

The “backbone” of Jane’s Addiction reveals what he learned from his time with rock royalty, how he sculpted his unconventional approach to bass, and why cellphones are changing the way he thinks about tone

Serena Cherry

“I learned the hard way many years ago that daisy chains are not reliable!” Serena Cherry shares her pedalboard secrets and admits she’d feel naked without “big, cavernous reverb”

By Andrew Daly published

The Svalbard shredder has learned to embrace minimalism but is damned if she will be decommissioning her RV-5 any time soon

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic's Blackbyrd McKnight perform on stage at Wilderness Festival on August 8, 2015 in Oxford, United Kingdom

“‘What are you still doing at home? You’re supposed to be on a flight going to Detroit to audition.’ That was my introduction to P-Funk”: DeWayne Blackbyrd McKnight on how he came to join George Clinton's legendary music collective

By Janelle Borg published

McKnight's journey to Parliament-Funkadelic started with him knocking on a stranger's door after hearing someone play guitar

Tony Levin

“It’s amazing to see Adrian Belew and Steve Vai playing together. My temptation is to pick up the camera! I have to remind myself to stick to my job playing bass”: For the King Crimson-channeling Beat tour, Tony Levin is a virtuoso among virtuosos

By Andrew Daly published

The bass icon on how he’s being challenged by parts he wrote, changing classic tracks – and when his Funk Fingers will make their next appearance

Left-Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush perform on stage at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, on December 3rd, 1977; Right-American rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) performs live on stage playing a black Fender Stratocaster guitar with The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 24th February 1969

“I thought it was a bunch of noise. I left. Later, it almost felt like Jimi Hendrix was saying, ‘I'll make sure you never forget my name’”: Frank Marino on the time he left a Hendrix gig early – and the truth behind the bizarre Hendrix haunting story

By Janelle Borg published

The Mahogany Rush guitarist sets the record straight on the Jimi Hendrix comparisons and a ghost rumor that dogged him for decades

Left-Bass player Eric Avery of the band's Garbage and Janes Addiction performs onstage during KROQ's Weenie Roast at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on May 14, 2016 in Irvine, California; Right-Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins performs at Lucca Summer Festival on July 06, 2024 in Lucca, Italy

“I didn’t know Corgan, but I knew he wasn’t the easiest person to work with. I thought, ‘This isn’t going to last but it’ll be interesting’”: Jane’s Addiction’s Eric Avery on his brief stint with the Smashing Pumpkins and what he learned from Billy Corgan

By Janelle Borg published

Avery briefly worked with Corgan on what would later become the Pumpkins’ seventh album, Zeitgeist

John Lennon playing a Telecaster and an image of David Bowie and Carlos Alomar (playing a Stratocaster) onstage

“When David Bowie and John Lennon came in, the whole place stopped. I stopped recording – and then it was just us”: Carlos Alomar recalls playing guitar on Fame with two rock icons – and why he turned down dinner with a Beatle

By Matt Parker published

The long-term Bowie collaborator says he had to put his guitar ideas first

Samantha Fish wears a pin-stripe suit and plays an Olympic White Fender Jaguar

“Offset guitars can be really clumsy, but that makes me approach them differently. I kept hitting the kill switch mid-solo, thinking, ‘Why is this here?!’” Samantha Fish on how Kurt Cobain turned her onto the Fender Jaguar

By Andrew Daly published

It was on the cover of Guitar World's April 2024 issue, a Fender Classic Player Jaguar Special HH, but what made blues ace Samantha Fish choose this over her SG for the cover shoot?

Alex Masi

“Allan recorded a bunch of takes. He apologized, saying they all sucked… Of course, every note he played was miraculous”: Grammy-nominated virtuoso Alex Masi on why he turned down Stevie Ray Vaughan, his Allan Holdsworth collab and time with Shawn Lane

By Andrew Daly published

The Italian virtuoso explains why he hates the term ‘shred’, what’s wrong with social media guitar heroes and looks back on his missed opportunities with Shawn Lane

Corey Feldman photoshoot and live photo with EVH guitar composite

“If we’re able to reach millions of people with this stupid solo, then obviously we’re doing something right”: Corey Feldman discusses his limits as a guitar player, copping David Gilmour’s tone and why his viral guitar solo really is a joke

By Andrew Daly published

After years of being hounded online like tour mate Fred Durst, the actor and musician is turning the tables on the trolls – with a guitar solo so fast some commentators (incorrectly) thought it was fake

Left-Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. performs at The Regency Ballroom on December 09, 2022 in San Francisco, California; Right-David Gilmour performs live on stage at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2016 in New York City

“We were at an EMI dinner, and David Gilmour was there. I said, ‘By far, you’re my favorite guitar player. How do you come up with those melodies?’” W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless on the invaluable advice he received from the Pink Floyd icon

By Janelle Borg published

Lawless has also revealed why he had to switch to bass for the band's first two albums

Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd performs onstage during the 2024 CMA Music festival at the Nissan Stadium on June 06, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee

“Gary walked in and goes, ‘Alright, today’s the day.’ At the end, he came over, shook my hand, and goes, ‘Unbelievable job. I couldn’t ask for any better’”: Rickey Medlocke on the first time he played Lynyrd Skynyrd’s iconic Free Bird guitar solo

By Matt Owen published

Medlocke rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd as their new guitar player in the early 1990s, and one of his main responsibilities ever since has been to tackle Allen Collins’ legendary lead effort

Steve Morse plays his blue signature Ernie Ball Music Man onstage with the Dixie Dregs, 2024

“My ’board is sort of a hybrid now. I’m getting closer to a single mono sound, so let’s discuss how I do that…” Steve Morse reveals what’s on his pedalboard and the secrets behind his wet/dry rig

By Andrew Daly published

With Morse, you won't find a million stompboxes on a spaceship-sized pedalboard. But you will find a lot of delay, and some clever routing for a two-amp setup

Emma Richardson of Pixies performs in concert during Noches del Botánico Music Festival at Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII on July 28, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

“I remember hearing Doolittle and Surfer Rosa and that incredible songwriting… Being in this position is quite a ‘pinch yourself’ moment”: New Pixies bassist Emma Richardson on how landing her dream gig made her switch to picks – and ditch the pedals

By Andrew Daly published

The Band of Skulls bassist had to quickly learn to pick after taking over the role previously held by Paz Lenchantin and Kim Deal

Simon McBride of Deep Purple plays his PRS singlecut onstage

“There’s no point trying to compete with Steve Morse or Ritchie Blackmore… One of the things that the guys in the band like about me as a player is I do my own thing”: How Simon McBride brought new color to Deep Purple's iconic sound

By Andrew Daly published

Stepping into a role once occupied by Ritchie Blackmore and Steve Morse could be intimidating, but when McBride joined Purple, he never thought twice. And yes, he'll play Smoke on the Water his way

Corey Feldman playing electric guitar

“Look what's happened here because I'm playing this solo. It's spreading all over the internet. Do you know what that does? It inspires people to want to play guitar”: Corey Feldman hopes his viral solos will inspire others to pick up the instrument

By Matt Owen published

Despite being targeted by TikTok trolls for his chaotic guitar solos, Feldman refuses to let the negativity of the internet get in the way – and even sees a silver lining from the whole episode

Jimmy Page brandishes a Les Paul and a black Telecaster in an archive photo from 1984

“This shadowy cut features what could be perhaps Page’s last great guitar solo”: Jimmy Page’s 10 greatest guitar solos – that weren’t in Led Zeppelin

By Andrew Daly published

Page had a wealth of fine leads in his sprawling pre- and post-Zeppelin career – and some of these are Firm favorites…

Tommy Emmanuel wears a loud shirt and poses with his Maton acoustic

“I’m always true to the melody but I try to do something unique with it. That makes it sound like me, even if it’s a Paul McCartney or John Lennon song”: Tommy Emmanuel on the art of arrangement, performance and why there’s no shortcut to virtuosity

By Andrew Daly published

Tommy Emmanuel does things with the acoustic guitar that defy belief. He does things with pop-culture's canon that blow our mind. Here he walks through his approach, sharing wisdom as he goes

Melanie Faye

“Eric Gales’ rendition of Hendrix’s Little Wing sounds like the gates of heaven opening up”: Melanie Faye names 13 guitarists who shaped her sound

By Andrew Daly published

The neo-soul prodigy’s huge social media following and signature guitar follow a passion ignited by Michael Jackson, Guitar Hero III, and the players she discovered from there