Gregory Adams

Gregory Adams

Gregory Adams is a Vancouver-based arts reporter. From metal legends to emerging pop icons to the best of the basement circuit, he’s interviewed musicians across countless genres for nearly two decades, most recently with Guitar World, Bass Player, Revolver, and more – as well as through his independent newsletter, Gut Feeling. This all still blows his mind. He’s a guitar player, generally bouncing hardcore riffs off his ’52 Tele reissue and a dinged-up SG.

Articles by: Gregory Adams

Jeff Ament

“John Paul Jones is one of the only musicians I’ve been around where I was starstruck. I asked him some stupid questions about Achilles Last Stand… but he was very kind!” Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament names 11 bassists who shaped his sound

By Gregory Adams published

From Dee Dee Ramone to Eric Avery, fretless to 12-string bassists, Jeff Ament believes all his influences can all be heard on the latest Pearl Jam album Dark Matter

Bradley Fry of Pissed Jeans

“I’ve always loved Fenders. I’m almost working against a design that has been around since the ‘50s – I don’t know if it’s going to cooperate with me”: Pissed Jeans’ Bradley Fry on why he loves awkward offsets and solid-state Peavey amps

By Gregory Adams published

The Pennsylvania punks play so loud, Fry gets his sound engineer to mic a tiny Peavey combo instead, so he can keep his onstage amps raging

Crystal Skins

“A collector turned up with a Cherry Red Flying V and I was like, ‘Are you sure you want to customize that?’ It was such a beautiful thing already!” Meet the English entrepreneur who covers guitars with crystals for a living

By Gregory Adams published

Crystal Skins boss Zoe Brodie-James’ work has been seen in movies and on TV, and she’s completed commissions for some very, very rich people

Mary Timony

“It didn’t sound right with just one guitar lead, so why not have two?” Mary Timony on her multiversal lead lines and why the Depression-era Gibson acoustic is the ultimate six-string survivor

By Gregory Adams published

The former Helium and Wild Flag D.C. rocker can still unleash some decidedly untame sounds and work an EBow like no-one else

Page Hamilton

“I became this musician because of jazz. I mean, I still wake up every day and work on Charlie Parker’s Hot House!” Even with a broken finger, Helmet’s Page Hamilton is one of the all-time great heavy riffsmiths – but he owes it all to jazz

By Gregory Adams published

Nothing can stop Hamilton's flow as Helmet return with a politically charged masterclass in punishing rhythms, off-kilter melodies and open-tuned acoustics

Cannibal Corpse's Erik Rutan and Rob Barrett

“This is f**king 4K s**t”: Erik Rutan and Rob Barrett on why Chaos Horrific is one of the grimmest releases from the Cannibal Corpse death metal meat grinder

By Gregory Adams published

How disgustingly low tunings and custom-built metal machines gave new rager Chaos Horrific a hellish weight and physicality as the death metal institution found joy in new extremes

J. Robbins

“I loved the sound of doubled guitars, but it just becomes a slog. I couldn’t hate the process more… it goes right against the immediacy I wanted for this record”: Why Jawbox hero J. Robbins changed his attitude to recording… and smashing guitars

By Gregory Adams published

The Jawbox leader, who regrets breaking his “dearest companion” Jazzmaster, shares his love of hand-built Hiwatt clones, how Stone Temple Pilots hooked him up with his live guitar arsenal, and what it was like to snag Naked Raygun’s “secret shredder” John Haggerty for his latest album, Basilisk

Domenic Romeo

“We joke about people that aren’t into this kind of music, and how it all sounds the same to them – it’s all ‘devil, devil, devil!’ – but heavy music brings a lot of people joy”: End Reign’s Domenic Romeo on the extreme-metal supergroup’s ripping debut

By Gregory Adams published

The Way of All Flesh Is Decay finds Romeo trading city-leveling riffs and searing leads with Exhumed/Noisem shredder Sebastian Phillips, and is a tour de force of 21st-century extremity

Dante DeCaro

“I never really loved just playing chords. They eat up so much space, sonically and rhythmically. Doing things that were sparse was more effective to me”: Dante DeCaro on firing up his Jazzmasters for his Hot Hot Heat return

By Gregory Adams published

The reissue of the Canadian pop-rock quartet’s Make Up the Breakdown led to surprise new single Shock Me, and there’s more to come, says the Wolf Parade guitarist

Cardboard Fender Strat and Dave Lee

“We had no idea it was going to perform the way it did – or if it was even going to be shown to anyone”: How Cardboard Sessions’ Dave Lee convinced Billy Gibbons, J Mascis and Keanu Reeves to slam on his Fender-approved cardboard guitars

By Gregory Adams published

Built by a Master Builder at Fender HQ, you can work the cardboard Strat hard and even whammy it – but you can also see right through it. Could this fun experiment be the future of guitar manufacturing?

Soen

“We’re always going to keep the proggy elements alive – it’s part of the essence of Soen”: Lars Åhlund and Cody Lee Ford may have scaled down the “eight-minute songs with a million riffs”, but their adventurous guitar playing remains intact

By Gregory Adams published

The Swedish prog-metal stalwarts are full of surprises on new album Memorial, but just because there are hooks aplenty doesn't mean they have lost their taste for musical expansiveness

Mike Stringer of Spiritbox with his new Jackson Surfcaster electric guitar

“My goal was to make a modern, metal take on a vintage Jazzmaster shape… I never thought the first track I would use it on would be with Megan Thee Stallion”: Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer on 2023’s most talked-about offsets – and the collab no-one saw coming

By Gregory Adams published

Recently nominated for a Grammy, Spiritbox are now one of modern metal’s biggest success stories. Their production-savvy guitarist details how he tackled their viral hip-hop crossover, why bridges are key to his unique tracking approach, and the fervor surrounding his custom Jackson Surfcasters

SSD's Al Barile performs live

“I had to stop buying records. I stopped being a fan of music – I felt that was affecting my individuality and my style”: SSD were hardcore legends, then Al Barile sold his guitar gear to buy a jet ski. Here’s how he found his way back to his Gibson SG

By Gregory Adams published

He may have been schooled on AC/DC, Van Halen and classical guitar, but Al Barile attacked his instrument with a vicious physicality inspired by his love of hockey. He looks back on his love-hate relationship with music – and the ‘80s SG he snapped after performing a jump-kick at CBGB’s

Dan Maher

“We had to perform 700 songs in the space of five weeks, but we had to learn 1,200. I didn’t sleep for seven weeks”: Being a guitarist on TV is no walk in the park. Just ask The Voice and The Masked Singer six-stringer Dan Maher

By Gregory Adams published

The seasoned session guitarist has played with Rita Ora and Adam Lambert, and tackled an impossible number of songs for Australia’s premier primetime TV shows. Maher explains what it’s like to accompany an avocado, why playing AC/DC made him more nervous than anything else, and that time he got a FaceTime call in the middle of a live show… and couldn‘t read his charts

Kyle Seely of Sheer Mag performs live

“I do this thing where I literally black out, and then the song’s over. I’m not even registering what I’m doing – it’s beyond muscle memory”: Kyle Seely has been playing the same Telecaster since he was a teen – but Sheer Mag keep evolving

By Gregory Adams published

The acclaimed Philly outfit enter their 10th year with a sound that’s more defined than ever, via their lead guitarist’s accidental journey into a side-project he could barely control

Pomegranate Tiger poses with guitars

“Selective picking, to me, is drumming on guitar. Tosin Abasi brought this technique to the world and it made me excited”: Prog-metal visionary Pomegranate Tiger was ahead of his time. Now he’s tackling cutting-edge technique and AI head-on

By Gregory Adams published

Eight years since the release of his last album, Martin Andres reveals what he learned from playing with Oni, Mark Morton and Gojira, how he discovered selective picking before it went mainstream, and why he’s creating an AI version of his musical self

Night Verses' Nick DePirro performs live

“In the beginning, I would just rip Tom Morello… Then I realized I could maneuver notes, harmonics and chords. I can do some weird stuff with the Whammy”: How Nick DePirro became one of instrumental metal’s most technically adventurous players

By Gregory Adams published

The Night Verses guitarist exploits open tunings, delays and a heck of a lot of Whammy pedal to devastating effect. He explains how he found himself in guitar solo rabbit holes, what it took to secure a guest spot from Tool’s Justin Chancellor, and why he uses harmonics as often as he possibly can

Teke::Teke

“We had a lot of adrenaline. Sometimes we didn’t remember what we did until the day after”: Inside the psych-surf sound of Teke::Teke – a riptide of antique drive pedals, improvisatory freakouts and needle nose pliers

By Gregory Adams published

It's surf rock but influenced by Japanese folk, off-the-wall pedalboard choices and Sei Nakauchi Pelletier and Hidetaka Yoneyama's widescreen vision for guitar sound

Sevendust's John Connolly and Clint Lowery

“It’s not about how complex your phrases are, it’s just about your style and stamp”: Sevendust’s John Connolly and Clint Lowery on how they “fell back in love with the art of soloing”

By Gregory Adams published

Returning with and tuning down for Truth Killer, Sevendust are confronting their demons head on with big riffs, and a newly regained appetite for lead guitar

Mutoid Man's Stephen Brodsky

“If you’ve never heard this record but you can appreciate shredder music, oh my God it’s going to f**k you up”: Mutoid Man’s Stephen Brodsky reveals 10 guitarists who shaped his sound

By Gregory Adams published

The Cave In, Converge and Mutoid Man guitarist on “sinister” fusion virtuosos, the genius of Jim Martin’s guitar tone and how Adam Jones taught him everything sounds better in drop B

Mike Spreitzer

Mike Spreitzer on why he's “letting notes actually sustain” on DevilDriver's latest, and what keeps him coming back to his custom ESP Vs – even if he can't play them sitting down

By Gregory Adams published

Dealing with Demons Vol. II marks the Californian metallers' long-awaited return with more brutal arrangements, less noodling, same dark outlook

Jesus Piece

With panic-inducing chords and down-tuned Jim Root Strats, Jesus Piece are on a mission to shake up metalcore and write riffs that disturb you

By Gregory Adams published

“We’re trying to get out of using straight-up power chords all the time, because that can get pretty boring,” say David Updike and John DiStefano of their latest album, which is a triumph over adversity

Cody Chavez

How Drain’s Cody Chavez made one of this year’s finest hardcore albums using an arsenal of Jackson Dinkys – and an LTD that got run over by a car

By Gregory Adams published

An album of wild stylistic turns and high-energy guitar, Drain's Living Proof is living proof that more is more when it comes to hardcore

Ayla Tesler-Mabé

Ayla Tesler-Mabé: “I’m not sure I want to hear a purely improvisational solo... My favorite solos are the ones that are singable”

By Gregory Adams published

The Ludic (and ex-Calpurnia) guitarist on her solo debut experiment, where “every single note is something I understand and believe in”

Mikey Way performs onstage with My Chemical Romance in 2022

Mikey Way: “I was borderline terrified a lot of the time My Chemical Romance was active. I was learning the bass in front of 20,000 people every night!”

By Gregory Adams published

The reunited emo kings’ low-end ranger reveals why he swapped out his signature Fender Mustang for a sparkling new signature Jazz Bass, learning bass in arenas, and how he overcame insecurity about his chops