Latest articles by Mark McStea
Tyler Bryant: “I get bored with guitar solos that are just about speed and technique. I like there to be something musical and memorable“
Nashville’s blues-rock sensation talks solos, pandemic recording, and explains why the Shakedown is a team effort
Jeff Bridges: “What's great about the guitar is that it's very honest. The more you put in, the better you get“
We meet the original Dude to talk songwriting and his new Breedlove signature acoustics
Tony Visconti recounts the making of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World
50 years on from its release, the former David Bowie bassist and uber-producer tells the story of one of Bowie's greatest albums, and the enduring influence of Mick Ronson
Sin Shake Sin: "People on social media are calling this album the soundtrack to the pandemic"
Released just before COVID-19 hit its initial peak, Stacy Hogan discusses his eerily relevant new album, The Mess We've Made
Death Valley High's Reyka Osburn: “It’s hard for a guitar player to be a great frontman and really work the audience“
Five questions with the Death Valley High frontman
George Lynch: “There’s so much to say without playing endless streams of notes – I’m always aware of the value of subtlety and silence”
George Lynch discusses the fate of his classic-era guitars, his never-ending Led Zeppelin love and his new album with Dino Jelusick
Joey Zampella: "Music has lost a lot of mystery now with YouTube and the internet. The value of music has to return - or else there’ll be no music business"
The Life Of Agony guitarist talks melodic solos, his unusual approach to recording and the band's latest album, The Sound of Scars
Konvent's Sara Nørregaard: "I like to keep everything raw; having too many effects detracts from the power"
From doom metal to Squier Jagmasters to realizing dreams, the guitarist unpacks the Konvent story so far...
Tiger Army's Nick 13: "'50s rock is so great - it just needs another generation to rediscover it"
The psychobilly frontman on the band's fittingly titled sixth studio record, Retrofuture, and the possibility of another country-driven solo album
Lillie Mae: "I might write a melody on the fiddle. But I've loved the guitar since day one - everything comes from that"
The Americana singer/songwriter talks image-based prejudices in Nashville, and signing with Jack White's label, Third Man Records
Olivia Jean: "I always wanted to play a Gretsch 6120, but with the amount of dirt I use, that was never going to work!"
From Garage Bats to Night Owls, this quirky rock ’n’ roller’s new album is packed with animal magnetism - not to mention some dangerously catchy riffs
Payton Smith: "It’s really important to me that people realize I’m a guitarist as much as a singer"
The up-and-coming country singer-songwriter discusses the importance of building his audience steadily and why nothing beats a Gibson into a Marshall Plexi
Jeff Schroedl: "I like to think of my style as guitar gumbo - I focus on the things that set me apart"
The bluesman serves up some of the genre's most satisfying licks on Altered Five Blues Band's new album, Ten Thousand Watts
Jäger Volant's Ronnie Day: "The key to a great guitar sound is in how you play and how you phrase"
After meeting each other on an online-collaboration site, this international foursome is out to rid the world of “dumbed-down, lowest-common-denominator music”
Alan Merrill tells the story of I Love Rock 'n' Roll in his final Guitar World interview
The Arrows frontman muses on his career in music in this never-before-published conversation
Dear Guitar Hero - DragonForce's Herman Li answers your questions: "I am a specialist in my own weird guitar sound"
The shredder on the band's latest album Extreme Power Metal, his favorite EVH solo and how he developed his mind-bending sweep-picking ability
Michael Schenker: "Rudolf doesn’t have much talent as a guitarist - I needed to pave the path for him. I’m saying that with an open heart"
Whether he’s talking about the Scorpions, UFO, his new album or the 'distortion of his image', the German guitar legend is as candid as ever
*repeat repeat's Jared Corder: "College only offered jazz or classical guitar, and the guys in classical were all metalheads, so I chose that"
The guitar playing half of the US-based duo talks Glazed, *repeat repeat’s guitar-packed (and catchy-as-hell) new album
Laura Palmer: "I was a shy kid unable to perform, now I own my own label and front Screamin' Rebel Angels"
The Brooklyn, NY-based singer, guitarist, upright bassist and businesswoman recounts how rock 'n' roll inspired her to venture out of her comfort zone
Michael Sweet on his star-studded solo album Ten, what's next for Stryper, and why he should have been a leftie
The Stryper frontman on his wife being his writing mediator and the lasting influence of Elvis on his style as a guitarist
Kenny Wayne Shepherd: those SRV clone accusations came from a jealous place
There aren’t many roads this Strat-wielding blues whiz hasn’t been down, but his new album, The Traveler, still breaks new ground
Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes: "When I switch to my ’59 Les Paul, there’s something magical there that you just can’t replicate"
Warren Haynes dishes on how he's kept Gov't Mule together for 25 years, and offers an interesting take on the regime of self-improvement as a guitarist
Matt Sweeney on his secret formula for Josh Homme's Desert Sessions: "I can fingerpick, I know how to sound good... and I smell nice"
The alt-rock collaborator talks working with a stellar cast for the QOTSA man's latest super-record
