Latest articles by Cheri Amour
Meet Mei Semones, the Berklee graduate reimagining New Orleans vibes with an intricate indie flair
With her debut album out now, she explains her move from piano to classical nylon to PRS electric, her pinch-harmonic pointers, and mastering the Stairway To Heaven solo at 12 years old
“I’ve never bought a guitar and I’m quite proud of that! I always tell people when they’re learning: there’s a guitar not being played”: Meet Sacred Paws’ Ray Aggs, the dextrous Tele-wrangler inventing new chords and capturing Thurston Moore’s imagination
The self-taught songwriter on their singular six-string path, working with alt-tuning icons Glenn Branca and Thurston Moore, and the shift to big choruses on new album Jump Into Life
Bartees Strange on working with Jack Antonoff, his vintage guitar collection, and emulating Neil Young’s guitar sounds
The UK-born, Oklahoma-raised songwriter reflects on lusting after a Jimi Hendrix-style whammy bar, pre-amp pedals, and why he loves electric-acoustic guitars (and not acoustic-electrics)
Corinne Bailey Rae broke through after moving on from her punk roots. Then she went back
The Mercury Prize nominee on what she loves about her SG, obsessing in the studio, and how she harnessed the aggression of her youth for her new album, Black Rainbows
L7’s Jennifer Finch on touring with Nirvana, gigging with Courtney Love and donating her Ghost bass to the Punk Rock Museum
The athletic low-end of Sub Pop’s only Los Angeles band signing, Finch reflects on how picking up an instrument sparks disruption, that iconic Reading Festival 1992 set and loaning Krist Novoselic her storied Ghost bass
Musical polymath Luna Li on blending harps with Fender Jaguars – and making an illustrated solo tab book
Hannah Bussiere Kim is now touring with more instruments than ever before, but it’s the people she’s working with who help make the magic happen
Meet Lazy Day’s Tilly Scantlebury – the UK guitarist-producer summoning sparkling indie tones from secondhand setups
The North London songwriter-producer embraces focus on rhythm, open tuning, Tubescreamer clones and following their instincts on debut album Open The Door
Meet Venus Grrrls, the UK goth grungers tackling cancer with intense songs, wild tones and Courtney Love’s guitar
The band’s guitarists enthuse over sparkly narwhal cloud delays and the merits of the Kemper Profiler as they prepare for their first-ever headline tour following their lead singer’s cancer treatment
Meet Dehd, the indie-rockers building a wall of sound from ’80s shred machines and out-of-tune basses
Jason Balla and Emily Kempf worship Big Muffs, reverbs and Roland amps – and are making the kind of shoegaze-informed alt-rock dreams are made of
Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield found her country voice via indie and riot grrrl
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
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
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
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
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
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 on exploring alternate tunings, building experimental guitars and creating a “weird in-between world” of analog and digital
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
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
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
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
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
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”
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
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”
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!
