Latest articles by Andrew Daly
Garbage’s Duke Erikson and Steve Marker don't like to look back – but will make an exception for reverse guitar solos
The pair discuss experimenting without overthinking, how they know when a song is going to work, when to delete a clever guitar part, and why it’s still hard to play one of their biggest hits
![Cradle of Filth’s Marek “Ashok” Šmerda [left], looking a little like Pinhead from Hellraiser, and Donny Burbage, resplendent in corpsepaint.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z9d7Mw4qyjZNCd5YcTScBL-840-80.jpg.webp)
Cradle Of Filth’s Donny Burbage and Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda on landing their theatrical metal roles
The hands that rock the Cradle reveal the guitar tones behind their theatrical metal mayhem and find modern guitars are weak and false
![Session legend Paul Jackson Jr. [left] wears a white shirt and plays a black single-cut onstage. On the right, a young Whitney Houston performs in 1985 after her self-title debut catapulted her into the A-list.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RuJoJsQo2ZMwsUhM4HYk9X-840-80.jpg.webp)
40 years ago, session ace Paul Jackson Jr. turned up to record with a then unknown singer – her name was Whitney Houston
Jackson tells us how, armed with the Strat he played on Thriller, he turned up for a studio session that would introduce us to one of the world's biggest stars
Barry Goudreau was there from the beginning of Boston – but has regrets about how things ended with Tom Scholz
Gibson wielder, who always preferred Marshall to Scholz’s Rockman brand, recalls being edged out but not caring at first, until it led to an angry split and legal repercussions
He's the son of Jimmie Vaughan and the nephew of SRV, now he’s carrying the weight of his family playing legacy
SRV’s death left father and son struggling to continue, but they made it. Now, Strat fan Tyrone Vaughan knows he’s capable of delivering a great album – and it might be the one he’s working on now
Ryan Hedgecock on Lone Justice's brief but fierce ’80s run – and how Tom Petty and Mike Campbell ended up penning a song on their debut
The promising young band were the subject of a flurry of publicity after they were signed to Geffen, but a behind-the-scenes mismatch in vision led to the outfit's premature demise
Also owned by George Harrison, Eric Clapton's “Fool” SG was already legendary by the time it ended up in Todd Rundgren's hands – but that journey had taken its toll
An emblem of Clapton’s Cream days and the Summer of Love, it was in dire need of some TLC by the time Rundgren got his hands on it
After Deep Purple decided not to hire him after Ritchie Blackmore's departure, Clem Clempson almost formed a wild supergroup with Glenn Hughes and David Bowie
The Colosseum and Humble Pie guitarist was in with a shot at joining the band –but says Tommy Bolin got the gig for one specific reason
Yngwie Malmsteen tells the story of how he broke the mold for rock guitar – and brought the Strat in from the cold
After the one-two punch of Rising Force and Marching out, rock guitar was never the same again. Malmsteen takes us back to 1985 – a different world – to explain just what was going on
Joe Perry reflects on how Aerosmith’s ’80s misfire, Done With Mirrors, was the making of them
After a few weird years with replacement guitarists, the Bad Boys from Boston were back and ready to prove themselves. It did not quite go to plan. We’ll let Joe Perry explain the rest…
The iconic Alice Cooper Poison riff started out as John McCurry’s warm-up routine
McCurry’s legendary guitar hook had been used for another song two years earlier – but Alice Cooper was desperate for his Sweet Child O’ Mine moment
Anthony Krizan on what it took to perform Hendrix with Noel Redding – and best Alex Skolnick in an audition
The rock journeyman recalls the making of a lost song with ex-Rolling Stone, channeling Hendrix with Noel Redding and his time with The Spin Doctors
Brad Paisley will personally build 19 of his new signature Lost Telecasters – and he plans to get experimental
The guitarist is taking matters into his own hands for the extremely limited batch of Paisley-made Teles
An affordable signature version of Alex Lifeson's ‘Whitey’ Gibson ES-355 could be in the works
Alex Lifeson's iconic “Whitey” ES-355 featured on almost every Rush album – and an affordable signature version could be in the works
Kiki Wong on her life-changing audition, and what she's learned from Billy Corgan and James Iha
Wong enjoyed a high-profile on social media and maybe that would have been enough. But when Billy Corgan called an open audition, she beat 9,999 others to live out her grunge dreams as guitar player for the Smashing Pumpkins
Rockie Lynne was abandoned as an infant – years later, his birth father left him his most important legacy
Lynne didn't know his parents growing up, but when he met his biological father through a DNA test, they connected over a shared love of the guitar
Todd Rundgren reveals the real reason why he decided to produce Meat Loaf's off-kilter debut Bat Out of Hell
The Wagnerian rock record was initially rejected by many a record label – but would go on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time
Knox Chandler on the recording session that flourished into a decade-long working relationship with Cyndi Lauper
Chandler's list of collaborators includes the Psychedelic Furs, R.E.M., Siouxsie and the Banshees and Depeche Mode
Mike Campbell on writing The Boys of Summer with Don Henley – after Tom Petty passed on it
Campbell made an all-important change to the song before handing it over to Henley
Chris Holt compares his Eagles and Dirty Knobs gigs
Former Don Henley sideman has a multi-amp rig when he plays with Mike Campbell, and a stipped down in-ears-only setup for the Sphere – but he always has 12 guitars standing by
The Cars’ Elliot Easton on his John Lennon doubler, the secrets of his pedalboard – and the wizard who made it
Easton has a Dumble-in-a-box, 12-string jangle on demand and a whole bunch of wildcards on a pedalboard that's got a little bit of everything
Barry Goudreau opens up on his bitter parting with Tom Scholz
A CBS promotional campaign for Goudreau's 1980 solo album caused an irreparable rift with his Boston bandmate
Billy Corgan asked Jenna Fournier to go back to bass, and she says the timing is perfect
The guitarist-vocalist’s band Niights, solo project Kid Tigrrr, and visual arts projects are one thing, but hitting the stage as part of Corgan’s Machines of God band as a four-stringer is another
Doug Aldrich on how he found a “killer” Les Paul – that was owned by the man who co-wrote Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven
Gear regrets? Aldrich has had a few – the ’73 Goldtop, the Tele – but he's also had some victories, like when he chanced upon a ’78 Les Paul Custom previously owned by Clapton collaborator Will Jennings
