Articles by Cheri Amour

Guitar World

Cheri Amour is a writer, editor and broadcaster intent on amplifying the voices of women and non-binary artists in print, online and on air. During her twenties, she played lead guitar in a touring two-piece, sharing the stage with The Slits and John Peel-approved punks The Nightingales. Formerly Deputy Editor at TGA Magazine, Cheri headed up its Tech section pouring over pedals with everyone to indie icon Debbie Smith (Echobelly/Curve) to multi-instrumentalist Katie Harkin (Sleater Kinney/Waxahatchee/Wye Oak). She's currently working on an upcoming 33 1/3 book on the unassuming influence of South Bronx sister troupe ESG, out in Spring 2023.

Articles by: Cheri Amour

“When I look back, The Strokes were like this tentpole. They led me to learn how to accompany myself and made me want to start my own band”: Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield found her country voice via indie and riot grrrl

By Cheri Amour published 12 April 24

The Alabama-born songwriter recalls her formative punk years, graduating to a Thinline Tele, and embracing banjo and dobro on latest album Tigers Blood

“I heard Eruption by Van Halen and I was like, ‘What is that?!’ I love to push the boundaries, and I love when it sounds crazy”: Meet Emi Grace, the Trashy Tone Thursday pioneer tearing up the shred rulebook and taking on the haters

By Cheri Amour published 10 April 24

The 21-year-old LA native had over 10-million views on her Fender TikTok showcase last year. She tells us how she came up with her jaw-dropping brand of electro-shred, the joys of upgrading Stratocasters and why she fell in love with trashy guitar tones

“The first song I learned was The Beatles’ Blackbird. I’m still a pretty good fingerpicker, if nothing else!” Katy Kirby on jumping into guitar at the deep end – and why she made new album Blue Raspberry as uncool as possible

By Cheri Amour published 8 March 24

The Texas singer-songwriter is winning plaudits for her brand of wry indie-folk. She discusses an especially thrifty Teisco find, chasing a “salty” sound and how a kitsch instrumental curio changed the way she writes on guitar

“I was 100% better on guitar when I was 15. Technically, I’m a much worse guitarist now – but I’m a better songwriter”: Meet Sprints, the Irish garage rockers cranking Boss Katanas in stadiums

By Cheri Amour published 21 February 24

The rising-star Irish outfit are Telecaster diehards, but they sure appreciate a lightweight amp, even when supporting Liam Gallagher. Now endorsed by Fender, they reveal their secret-weapon pedals and how they replicated the Smiths’ most sought-after effect in studio

“When I got the Strat, I was like, ‘The bitch is back!’”: Why Palehound’s El Kempner is re-embracing solos – and the Stratocaster – on one of 2023’s essential indie-rock releases

By Cheri Amour published 30 June 23

Kempner explains what makes the Fender Strat such a versatile shape, and why ‘I love to shred!’ became their mantra once more on unmissable new record Eye on the Bat

Pool Kids on finding a fan in Paramore’s Hayley Williams, the joy of alternate tunings and making math rock accessible

By Cheri Amour published 27 April 23

Ernie Ball Music Man-toting guitarists Christine Goodwyne and Andy Anaya chime in on the digital vs analog debate and how their playing was informed by the fact that “YouTube can teach you everything you need to know”

Weyes Blood performs onstage during the 2019 Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival at Golden Gate Park on August 11, 2019 in San Francisco, California.

Weyes Blood on exploring alternate tunings, building experimental guitars and creating a “weird in-between world” of analog and digital

By Cheri Amour published 7 February 23

Hailed as an emerging voice of a generation, Sub Pop-signed songwriter Natalie Mering reflects on her six-string journey so far

The Surfrajettes on riding the wave of the surf rock revival, and adding '60s reverb twang to Britney Spears and Mariah Carey hits

By Cheri Amour published 14 December 22

Guitarists Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff wax lyrical on their retro-voiced rigs, the difficulties of learning to play on a 12-string acoustic, and why getting new Fender amps was "better than Christmas"

DYLAN on how her guitar journey was kickstarted by a DIY plywood acoustic and why her upcoming Meteora model might be Fender’s boldest-looking offset yet

By Cheri Amour published 1 November 22

With her debut mixtape out in the world, the indie-pop songwriter opens up about her Ed Sheeran stadium support slots, custom mirrorball guitars and why she just wants to jam 12-bar blues every night

Halsey guitarist Liv Slingerland emerges from the visceral heat of a pyro-laden pop show to discuss gear choices of a session ace and her debut solo LP, Hey You

By Cheri Amour published 9 August 22

The in-demand guitarist/bassist opens up about formative blues-rock jams, the pleasure of plugins, how to make it as a session player, and why she made Hey You now

Porridge Radio's Dana Margolin on how a budget offset and lashings of feedback built their mesmerizing new album

By Cheri Amour published 27 May 22

The Mercury-nominated songwriter discusses her "dad rock" teenage guitar heroes, assembling ramshackle Tom Waits-inspired drum sets and finding the overdrive pedal that was "the one"

Meet Otoboke Beaver, the Dave Grohl-approved Japanese punk-rockers influenced by everything from Manzai comedy to the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff

By Cheri Amour published 10 May 22

Accorinrin and Yoyoyoshie discuss their frenetic new studio outing, Super Champon, and crafting a guitar sound that's equal parts fury and finesse

Luna Li: “When I got the J Mascis Squier Jazzmaster, it felt like the first time I fell in love with a guitar”

By Cheri Amour published 31 March 22

The 25-year-old indie-rocker waxes lyrical about the Dinosaur Jr. player's budget Fender, and discusses how a background in violin and harp helped create her debut album, Duality

Mélissa Laveaux talks luthiers, representation and her "Pretty Woman moment" with Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s guitar

By Cheri Amour published 8 March 22

Ahead of her upcoming release, Mama Forgot Her Name Was Miracle, the Canadian indie-roots phenom reflects on her career so far, and how Stairway to Heaven inspired her to pick up the guitar again after years apart

Los Bitchos’ Serra Petale: “Eddie Van Halen could make me feel just by playing the guitar. That's what we go for”

By Cheri Amour published 27 January 22

The guitarist explains her love for ‘80s chorus and retro Italia guitars, and how the Cumbia quartet roped Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos into production duties for their debut album, Let the Festivities Begin!

LIINES' Zoe McVeigh: “I play a Fender Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang – people come up to me at gigs to take pictures with it!”

By Cheri Amour published 30 September 21

Guitarist McVeigh and drummer Leila Sullivan on Paul Tipler’s production prowess, the North’s unwavering indie scene and Kurt Cobain’s inimitable Fender Jag-Stang

Slothrust’s Leah Wellbaum: “There's a culture where women haven't been as encouraged to be loud and take up space. Guitar solos are the opposite of that”

By Cheri Amour published 14 September 21

As the alt-rockers release new record Parallel Timeline, Wellbaum talks collaborating with Lzzy Hale, her multiple pedalboards and why deconstructing gender is crucial to encouraging more diverse lead guitarists

Lunachicks' Gina Volpe: "Most bands aren't getting signed by a couple of very prominent indie-rockers within their first year. That was a huge coup for us"

By Cheri Amour published 2 August 21

In new memoir Fallopian Rhapsody, Volpe revisits her experiences of learning the guitar, recalls her instinctive affinity for the Marshall Jubilee and discusses what the future holds for the iconic punk-rock outfit

Anna Leone: "I've never seen myself as a guitarist per se. It's more like a tool that I use to write songs with"

By Cheri Amour published 28 July 21

The Stockholm-based songwriter opens up on tackling stage fright at festivals, her biggest folk influences and the forces behind her debut album, I've Felt All These Things

Aziya: “It's not that there aren't female guitarists, it's that they're not being represented enough”

By Cheri Amour published 29 June 21

Ahead of her debut EP, We Speak of Tides, the 21-year-old musician and producer details her love of Fender Mustang amps, the guitarists who inspire her and joining H.E.R. for her Girls with Guitars series

Renforshort: "I get surges of creativity at 3 in the morning – I'll be up in bed, trying different tunings and seeing if I come up with anything cool"

By Cheri Amour published 8 June 21

Following the release of sophomore EP, Off Saint Dominique, we speak to the prodigious 19-year-old about teenage angst, alternate tunings and working with Mateus Asato

How the guitar talents behind Jay Som and Palehound joined forces for one of 2021's essential indie-rock albums

By Cheri Amour published 1 June 21

Melina Duterte and Ellen Kempner detail the friendship and guitar journey that led them to create Bachelor's driving debut, Doomin' Sun

Emily Kinney: “My music is a place where I get to be the lead”

By Cheri Amour published 12 April 21

Best known for her role as The Walking Dead's Beth Greene, the actor and songwriter dives deep into the themes of her latest record, The Supporting Character

Du Blonde: “It's wonderful to be a gear nerd, but it's just as valid to make music not knowing the technical stuff”

By Cheri Amour published 24 March 21

Ahead of star-studded new album Homecoming, Beth Jeans Houghton discusses her love of dueling guitar solos, receiving a Custom Shop Strat from Jeff Garlin and why being a guitar geek is overrated

Adult Mom: "We looked at the songs as buildings and where we could put certain structures"

By Cheri Amour published 3 March 21

Stevie Knipe and Allegra Eidinger discuss driving forward with intention and welcoming their pop sensibilities – if not the EHX Worm – along for the ride