Jim Beaugez

Jim Beaugez

Jim Beaugez has written about music for Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, Guitar World, Guitar Player and many other publications. He created My Life in Five Riffs, a multimedia documentary series for Guitar Player that traces contemporary artists back to their sources of inspiration, and previously spent a decade in the musical instruments industry.

Articles by: Jim Beaugez

Seth Lee Jones in his workshop with a 1969 Gibson ES-345

“I’ve done somewhere close to 30,000 fret jobs. Holding a crowning file for that many hours a day will tear you up if you’re not careful”: How fixing thousands of guitars changed the way Tulsa blues cat Seth Lee Jones plays the thing

By Jim Beaugez published

Jones is bringing a slice of everyday Tulsa into his Delta blues-inspired sound, and his new album might bring him as much renown as a player as he has a luthier

Towa Bird plays a white Kramer The 84 Illusionist onstage

“I can’t think of any current guitar heroes that I have. All of my guitar heroes are into their seventies or no longer with us”: Towa Bird is one of Gen Z’s biggest guitar stars – and she built her own brand of energetic rock from classic influences

By Jim Beaugez published

The viral star of TikTok and late-night television makes her debut with the stellar American Hero, an album steeped in rock history, but with one eye to the future

Jimmy James holding a sunburst Silvertone

“Be yourself and play what moves you. James Jamerson said it best: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it’”: Parlor Greens’ Jimmy James is putting the soul back into guitar, groove by groove

By Jim Beaugez published

With his inspired new trio, Seattle guitarist Jimmy James digs deep into Meters-style funk, rocking his Silvertone and making the world a better place

Jason Isbell and Luther Dickinson

“He was a big driver of the band… I would consider him very underrated, too”: Jason Isbell and Luther Dickinson pay tribute to Dickey Betts with an extended take on In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

By Jim Beaugez published

Isbell, Dickinson and Sadler Vaden paid homage to Betts with a three-guitar salute on the Allman Brothers classic

Sue Foley live onstage with her Paisley Telecaster

“If you don’t have good tone with just your amp and your guitar, ain’t no pedal gonna help you”: Sue Foley is dropping truth bombs and nylon-string blues in her tribute to the pioneering women of guitar

By Jim Beaugez published

One Guitar Woman finds Sue Foley getting technically adventurous as she covers Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie and Maybelle Carter

Logan Ledger

“People should really do their homework and learn about the history of music and what came before whatever style you wanna do”: Logan Ledger on paying his dues – and what he learned from Clarence White and Waylon Jennings

By Jim Beaugez published

The golden-throated Nashville-via-California singer-songwriter shares his love of the B-Bender and discusses how the greats informed his dynamic playing style

Joe Bonamassa performs onstage

“90 percent of my guitars are in mint condition – untouched and unmolested... The last 10 percent – those are the ones I play on the road”: Joe Bonamassa on his legendary collection, perseverance, and how he picks his touring guitars

By Jim Beaugez published

The blues guitar titan looks back on the 2003 album that saved his career, explains why – 20 years later – he's recorded a sequel, and reveals how his legendary guitar collection gave a new voice to slept-on blues tracks

Jimi Hendrix

“When I started falling in love with guitar-driven music, I found that all roads led back to him”: Why Jimi Hendrix is still inspiring the latest generation of guitarists – five decades after his death

By Jim Beaugez published

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Melanie Faye, Mateus Asato and an all-star cast explain why today’s generation of guitar players remain indebted to Jimi Hendrix, and what we can all learn from him, no matter what style we play

Baroness guitarists John Baizley and Gina Gleason

“Sometimes the instrument or the amp takes you where it needs you to go. Older equipment is much easier to use to tell a story”: Baroness are reshaping metal guitar with acoustics, single coils and vintage amps

By Jim Beaugez published

John Baizley and Gina Gleason explain how they tore up the metal rulebook on Stone, employing obscure amps, Strats and Teles, and a love of fingerstyle guitar

Bryan Haring, Brian Fallon, and Benny Horowitz of The Gaslight Anthem perform at PNC Bank Arts Center on October 08, 2022 in Holmdel, New Jersey.

“Springsteen taught me how to write songs, but Pearl Jam, Dinosaur Jr., Fugazi and Sonic Youth taught me how to play those songs I’d learned to write”: Brian Fallon is breaking out the guitar solos for The Gaslight Anthem’s second coming

By Jim Beaugez published

Brian Fallon and co. bring the noise – and the solos – on their first album since reforming. And they invited Bruce Springsteen along for the ride

Markus Machado

“I didn’t want to become a cover band playing Purple Haze or Hey Joe – I took the deeper cuts and put my own spin on it”: He organized Jimi Hendrix’s 80th birthday party, now Marcus Machado is taking rock, funk and soul guitar into new territory

By Jim Beaugez published

Collaborating with the likes of Pharoahe Monch, Pete Rock and Jon Batiste, Marcus Machado is taking his guitar playing out of its comfort zone in search of new sounds

Drug Church

“It’s all about what sounds cool… Not theoretically what you’re supposed to do”: How guitarists from Drug Church, Militarie Gun and Scowl are leading the melodic movement in hardcore punk

By Jim Beaugez published

Nick Cogan of Drug Church and Militarie Gun joins Malachi Greene of Scowl to share the state of play in U.S. hardcore, a formerly rules-based art form that is now a free for all creatively

Duane Betts

“Derek Trucks said my dad was one of those players that’s not afraid to stare directly into the sun – it was a no-brainer to have him on a song”: How Duane Betts combined A-list guest spots, Radiohead and Allman Brothers on his solo debut

By Jim Beaugez published

For his first solo outing, the Allman Brothers-pedigreed guitarist welcomed Derek Trucks for a guest spot and emerged with a vision all his own, working mysterious energy whenever it presents itself

Jax Hollow

“You could be one spin away from something cool. I like that chase”: Strat-toting blues-rocker Jax Hollow sees songwriting as a throw of the dice – and she lives for the thrill

By Jim Beaugez published

The Nashville-via-Massachusetts axe-slinger is having a blast on her stellar debut LP, Only the Wild Ones, gambling on new songs with a Stratocaster in her hand

Sunny War

How Sunny War went from shredding Slayer to honing her standout acoustic style: “Guitar can be a new thing forever if you let yourself be experimental all the time”

By Jim Beaugez published

The folk fingerstylist explains the Logic-al evolution of her sound and why she isn't your garden variety strummer

H.C. McEntire

How ditching pedals and embracing open tunings made H.C. McEntire love the guitar again

By Jim Beaugez published

On new album Every Acre, the indie-rock stalwart's songs tell a story, given a new depth by the addition of jazz-trained guitar foil Luke Norton

Walter Schreifels

Quicksand’s Walter Schreifels: “I use the tricks I have to the most effect that I can. And I think that’s the trick of my playing”

By Jim Beaugez published

The innovative six-stringer reflects on a life of hardcore, splitting – and then reuniting with – Quicksand, and chasing progression as a guitar player

Hermanos Gutiérrez

Hermanos Gutiérrez: “It always starts as an individual trip for us. Most of it is non-communicative; it just happens”

By Jim Beaugez published

The Gutiérrez brothers talk telepathic songwriting, working with Dan Auerbach, and how this whole project came together by accident after reconnecting across continents

John Primer

John Primer: “I tried the Cry Baby wah pedal and a phase shifter, but the blues guys said, ‘Hey, you throw that thing in the garbage’”

By Jim Beaugez published

The one-time Muddy Waters lead guitarist and living legend of the Chicago blues scene discusses good times, Hard Times, and that time Keith Richards offered him a cigarette

Doll Spirit Vessel

How Doll Spirit Vessel meld dream-pop, grunge and shoegaze into a genre-bending explorative guitar approach

By Jim Beaugez published

The Philly indie rockers combine instinct with classical schooling and are creating a sound that’s all their own

Blake Ibanez performs live

Blake Ibanez: “Fugitive has the same attack and tightness that Power Trip has, but there’s a little more room to swing around and play some groovier riffs”

By Jim Beaugez published

The Dallas riff-master on moving on after the death of Power Trip frontman Riley Gale and tuning down a step for extra darkness on those mean ol' metal grooves

Marcus King

Marcus King: “I wanted to take it back to Cream at Madison Square Garden, just really crank the amps and do a rock ’n’ roll record”

By Jim Beaugez published

Casting his bid for arena-rock glory on new album Young Blood, Marcus King cranked up the volume and stepped on the fuzz for a live and dangerous sound

Kevin Bivona

The Interrupters’ Kevin Bivona shares what he learned from Sublime – and the secret to great ska guitar tone

By Jim Beaugez published

With hooks that won't quit and rhythms that pull all to the dancefloor, the Interrupters are a force of nature. Here, Kevin Bivona explains how their infectious sound came together

Molly Miller performs onstage at the Pier 17 Rooftop on August 5, 2022 in New York City

Molly Miller talks “bringing back the instrumental” and why she prefers to play behind the beat

By Jim Beaugez published

The Jason Mraz guitarist tells GW about her country-informed hybrid picking style, and how she plans to expand her tonal palette on the Molly Miller Trio's forthcoming album

Charlie Worsham

How session ace Charlie Worsham is sending the Nashville guitar scene into overdrive

By Jim Beaugez published

For any producer or artists looking for a six-string pinch-hitter to make a record sing, Worsham's name is always top of the Rolodex, but he also has solo music that's fighting for airtime