
Joe Bosso
Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
Latest articles by Joe Bosso

Rush deliver the thrill of mastery at Madison Square Garden – live review
By Joe Bosso Published
At the first show of their four-night stand in NYC, the new trinity of Lifeson, Lee, and Nilles delivered a tour de force of classics, deep cuts, and fearless musicianship

Brian Setzer on the unlikely Gibson guitar that’s most like his iconic Gretsch
By Phil Weller Published
Setzer says the Flying V is the only guitar that has ever come close to matching the tone and feel of his Gretsch hollowbody

Robbie McIntosh on his trial by fire when he replaced the late James Honeyman-Scott
By Phil Weller Published
The guitarist had huge shoes to fill, and the press weren’t exactly on his side

Brian Setzer on what he learned playing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Stratocaster
By Matt Owen Published
Stray Cats hit the road with the blues legend back in 1989, giving Setzer the chance to learn the truth behind the SRV tone rumors

Jimmy James on taking Parlor Greens’ funky sound “to the cosmos”
By Joe Bosso Published
Jimmy James’ spartan approach and tone propel funk-instrumental powerhouse Parlor Greens into the stratosphere – minus any parlor tricks

A hair-metal hero turned nu-metal synth-guitar maverick who impressed Ozzy Osbourne – who is the real Amir Derakh?
By Joe Bosso Published
Derakh replaced Craig Goldy in Rough Cutt, was edged out by Zakk Wylde for the Ozzy gig, and has been an undercover guitar-synth master all along

Michael Angelo Batio tells the story of Nitro, hair metal’s most extreme band
By Joe Bosso Published
Michael Angelo Batio became known as shred's most OTT virtuoso. He explains why the critics were kind of right about Nitro, the magic he cooked up with Wayne Charvel, and why he's living the dream with Manowar

Steve Vai, Nita Strauss... Bella Perron? Why the former Plush guitarist could be our next Ibanez-toting guitar superstar
By Joe Bosso Published
Wildfire shredding and whiplash licks prove that this Maine-bred gun-for-hire can hold her own. Now based in L.A., she’s in extra-high demand

Tom Morello’s riff writing formula – and his 36 hour race to make a Final Fantasy song
By Joe Bosso Published
The Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave legend says people call him all the time to ask him to guest on their records – and sometimes he just can’t say no

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson on the inside story behind the Rush reunion
By Joe Bosso Published
How Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee found drummer Anika Nilles and put together the biggest reunion tour in prog rock history

Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee on Anika Nilles’ rollercoaster audition for Rush's Fifty Something tour
By Phil Weller Published
Their five-day session with Nilles wasn’t an audition, but it took until the last day for their doubts over a Rush reunion tour to be destroyed

Reb Beach on working with David Coverdale, and what comes next now Winger and Whitesnake are over
By Joe Bosso Published
With both his star bands calling it quits, the ace sideman finds himself at a career crossroads. But which path will he choose – jazz-fusion or stand-up comedy?

The guitarist who lost the coveted role to Zakk Wylde on what it was like to audition for Ozzy Osbourne
By Janelle Borg Published
Guitar-synth master Amir Derakh was already well established in the industry when he got the once-in-a-lifetime call to become Ozzy's next guitarist...

The Doobie Brothers on their many imitators, their many hits, and what keeps them going
By Joe Bosso Published
Ahead of their tour with Carlos Santana, Doobie Brothers guitarists Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and John McFee revisit their classic tracks and how they came together

Berton Averre on writing My Sharona – and why the Knack were never the next Beatles
By Joe Bosso Published
My Sharona was the perfect pop-rock anthem, and as Averre reflects on the life and times of the Knack he admits he knew he had something special back then

My Chemical Romance's struggle to follow up The Black Parade
By Joe Bosso Published
The Black Parade nearly killed the band. But My Chemical Romance found changing directions almost as fatal when it came to making Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

How Laura Cox threw the blues-rock rulebook out the window and found herself in the process
By Joe Bosso Published
From the smallest screen in our pockets to the stage and studio, can anyone stop the French garage-blues prodigy from taking her rock sound to the to the masses?

Marshall Crenshaw on his Karen Carpenter tribute, why collecting is "infantile" and how he was made in Detroit
By Joe Bosso Published
From the Hellhole collects deep cuts and EP tracks from the ’10s and it presents a unique insight into an artist who believes FM ruined radio – and who would do as many takes as it took

Michael Angelo Batio on the origin of his four-neck guitar
By Phil Weller Published
The Quad was designed to go toe-to-toe with Steve Vai's three-neck creation

Paul Gilbert on how the original POTUS's words opened new frontiers for his guitar
By Joe Bosso Published
The shred titan's new LP, WROC, combines words from George Washington with incendiary rock and super-sized melodies. Oh, and he had weird AI experiences along the way. We'll let Gilbert explain all...
![The Collect Pond’s Danny Moffat [left] and Ben Bonadies do their thing](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/L2Jpm4Y4bHkP2xSxEhcF2M-320-80.jpg)
Danny Moffat on how The Collect Pond are wearing a '90s pejorative as a badge of honor
By Joe Bosso Published
A jangle-pop-inspired Boston post-punk band that shares its name with a putrid body of water in 19th-century Lower Manhattan? What’s not to love!

How David Bowie's longest-serving guitarist became the hero in his own story with KillerStar
By Joe Bosso Published
KillerStar might be populated by Bowie alumni, but with guitarist-vocalist Rob Fleming fronting, The Afterglow is a record with its own unique flavor, says Earl Slick

They were alt-rock legends who had to follow up a classic debut – then R.E.M.’s Peter Buck offered to lend a hand
By Joe Bosso Published
Feelies guitarist Glenn Mercer says the pressure was on to come up with a killer sophomore album – but having a little help from Buck certainly helped in making one

How Billy Idol seized upon the success of Rebel Yell – and Linn Drums – to take his sound to new frontiers
By Joe Bosso Published
Steve Stevens remembers the early days of true international stardom, when he and Billy Idol utilized their creative freedom and exciting new tech to make a very different kind of record
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