Features archive

May 2026

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86 articles

May 30
- “Jaco made a great contribution, but what came after was all these idiots trying to sound like him. That's why bass players today are so lame”: Bill Laswell gives his unfiltered verdict on modern bassists
May 29
- “Billy has been an incredible mentor... He has such a vast knowledge of pedals”: Smashing Pumpkins’ Kiki Wong on how Billy Corgan led her down the stompbox rabbit hole
- “David wanted my solos a certain way. The record we wrote, he said to Joel Hoekstra, ‘Play whatever you want, Reb – I'm going to take you under my wing’”: Reb Beach on working with David Coverdale, and what comes next now Winger and Whitesnake are over
- “These are pieces conceived to be contemplated, not gear for a rock player to throw over his shoulder”: Meet Fabrizio Paoletti from Paoletti Guitars – the Italy-based luthier turning Renaissance art and architecture into one-of-a-kind electric guitars
- “I’ve had arguments with producers, who say, ‘We A to B’d the modeler blindly, and we couldn’t tell the difference.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I can hear it!’” Sully Erna is optimistic for Godsmack 2.0, and he can't wait for you to hear their new guitarist
May 28
- “I probably have a little more facility with my fingers than my dad – but I don’t think I’m as good a songwriter as him!” Sean Lennon on too many pedals, embracing Acoustasonics, and caring for his dad’s instruments
- “Lenny Kravitz and Prince were doing American Woman. Two of my all-time favorite artists, and there they were, jamming stuff that came out of our heads”: Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings on the Guess Who’s fight to return to the stage
- “It felt new and exciting. You don't even have to have gain on the distortion pedal. The vibrations alone make it sound distorted”: How tuning down and jamming Eagles and Skynyrd unlocked the return of Swedish doom heroes Monolord
May 27
- “I’ve been trying to prove myself constantly. When you get billed as some hotshot player, people will stand with their arms crossed as if to say, ‘Prove it’”: How Jared James Nichols took Blues Power to Dave Grohl's Studio 606 and super-sized his sound
- “It's hard to overstate how influential this album was. It’s the connecting glue between me, Misha and Periphery”: How Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood went from Sikth super-fan to playing in the band
- “I was in Norman’s Rare Guitars in LA when I spotted the Les Paul. I played it for hours in the shop”: The unlikely fate of Big Country frontman Stuart Adamson’s ‘Peace in Our Time’ Les Paul
May 26
- “In the ‘90s I changed my approach entirely. I gave all my guitars with tremolo systems away”: Tyler Bates on creating chaos with Reba Meyers in Marilyn Manson, and the gear he uses to score Hollywood blockbusters
- Some gear was designed specifically with Teles in mind – and these amps and pedals work especially well with Fender Telecasters
- “The idea of a hand-wound Patent Applied For, which you see in the market all the time… if we’re being brutally honest, it’s not a thing”: The mystery of Gibson’s first Patent Applied For humbuckers
May 25
- “You’re not going to get the perfect guitar just because it’s old and cool and original and worth money”: Eric Johnson tells us why vintage is not always best (even if he regrets selling his ’54 Strat)
- “My first show was 10 days after Dave Grohl called me… I was out-of-body pretty much the whole time”: How Jason Falkner went from St. Vincent and Beck to a last-minute tour with Foo Fighters
- “I didn’t know much about Rory until I went to music college. I fell in love with his style right away”: Meet Spencer Mackenzie, the Canadian blues-rock maestro covering Rory Gallagher and learning when to unleash his “ginormous” lead tone
- “I had a little too much Jack Daniels and went to sleep. Early the next morning, I woke up to Eric and George playing ukuleles at the foot of my bed”: The first time session pro George Terry met a Beatle
- “Gary walked in and goes, ‘Alright, today’s the day.’ At the end, he came over, shook my hand, and goes, ‘Unbelievable job. I couldn’t ask for any better’”: The first time Rickey Medlocke played Lynyrd Skynyrd’s iconic Free Bird guitar solo
May 24
- “There was no master plan apart from we didn’t want to do the Thin Lizzy/Status Quo blues bendy thing”: Bruce Watson on the birth of Big Country, Stuart Adamson’s legacy and the secret to bagpipe guitar
- “I’d be there with bass pedals, a triple-neck guitar and keyboards, and Robert Plant would ask, ‘Can you sing, as well?’” How John Paul Jones became Led Zeppelin’s ultimate wingman
- “I made a deal, paid him in cash, and he died two months later. His last text to his daughter was, ‘I buried the money in the desert’”: Joe Bonamassa tells the story of the strangest guitar deal he ever did
May 23
- “Jon offered me the gig and I turned him down. It still amazes me how close I came to not following this path”: Roger Glover’s path to bass greatness with Deep Purple
- “We were going to open for the Descendents on a huge summer tour… and our singer decides he’s going to go do graduate school”: The rise and fall of Dag Nasty – and the making of a melodic hardcore classic
- “This guy kept calling saying, ‘I’ve never been in a band before, but I’m the best guitarist ever.’ When I heard him play it was like a fire from heaven”: The life and times of Killing Joke visionary Geordie Walker – the guitar hero’s guitar hero
- “He looked at it, closed the case and said, ‘Let’s get out of here before they realize what they’ve sold you’”: How Rory Gallagher grabbed his iconic 1963 Gretsch Corvette for the princely sum of $150
May 22
- “Gene Simmons said we were his new favorite band. He wanted us to do a record – and to do things we didn’t want to”: Gary Klebe on Shoes’ near miss with the Kiss star, inspiring Butch Vig into production, and how his band got with Hamer
- “Mick came in with his Les Paul, plugged in to my amp and fiddled with the controls. All of a sudden there it was, the full Ziggy Stardust tone”: The post-Bowie career of Mick Ronson, rock ’n’ roll’s most quietly spoken guitar hero
- “A lot of people say, ‘I can drag a guitar behind my car and then sell it for that price.’ It’s like, ‘OK, go do it then!” In the court of the Master Builders – Fender’s Custom Shop gurus spill the secrets of their trade
May 21
- “You go into a forest and you're like, ‘What am I going to see? What will be out here?’ That’s the same thing I try to put into the music”: Plini answers the call of the wild in search of instrumental guitar’s new frontier
- “I’ve never even been on a yacht... I don’t even know what ‘yacht rock’ is supposed to mean. It just seems absurd to me”: The Doobie Brothers on their many imitators, their many hits, and the making of Long Train Runnin’
- “He began drinking and smoking pot and wanting to change parts. I told him he should have come to rehearsals. The next day I got the phone call – I was out”: Bob Daisley recalls his rollercoaster years with Ozzy Osbourne
May 20
- “The graphic was designed by artist John Taylor Dismukes, who did a lot of famous album-cover artwork for the Grateful Dead and other big bands”: George Lynch on his custom ESP that’s too valuable to leave the house
May 19
- “We were getting gold records from countries around the world. I had a DJ tell me that when he put it on for the first time, the phones lit up after 20 seconds”: Berton Averre on writing My Sharona – and why the Knack were never the next Beatles
- “There was graffiti all over the walls. Pleas for help saying, ‘God, save us’”: Charles Spearin on his unlikely favorite jam – and how Broken Social Scene embrace “the ridiculousness” of everyone playing guitar
- 14 ways to improve your Telecaster: tried and tested methods to get more out of Fender’s original mod platform
May 18
- “I'm not a failed guitar player turning to bass. I am a real bassist. I do a six-minute bass solo on stage – and, I might add, not an easy one!” Suzi Quatro on the spirit that’s driven her, and the moment of fate that made her a bassist
- “It’s one thing to try to plan it, but the way we play together is something you can’t really calculate”: Backed by Fugazi’s rhythm section, even guitarist Anthony Pirog can’t signpost the turns in The Messthetics’ avant-jazz sound
- “I got a Vox teardrop reissue for $500. I tore everything out and off except for the neck”: Joe Perry on the weirder guitars in his collection
May 17
- “I heard him say in some interview that if you only play electric guitar, you're half a guitar player”: Her guitar playing had already reached the ears of millions, but a key piece of advice from mentor Johnny Marr re-shaped her approach
May 16
- “Paul played a lot of terrific bass with Wings that’s still under-appreciated. I don't think he even recognizes it himself”: Paul McCartney’s greatest post-Beatles bassline
- “I thought it sounded lifeless. We really didn’t like the results, so we didn’t give permission for it to be released”: How Richard and Linda Thompson regrouped to record a folk-rock classic after Gerry Rafferty tried to turn them “pop”
May 15
- "Pimple-faced boys were giving us the finger all night. Dave Mustaine would come out, grab the mic and go, ‘I personally picked this band to be here. Listen!’” When Stone Temple Pilots supported Megadeth and Dave Mustaine defended them from his own fans
- “I figured nobody would pay any attention to me. But those kids, they jumped on me, started yankin’ my hair. They tore off my shirt”: From Pet Sounds to playing Brian on tour, Glen Campbell’s hair-raising tenure as the Beach Boys’ guitarist
- “I don’t know if I got better or worse. Sometimes I can’t believe the things I was able to play years ago. But I’m also like, ‘Wow, what was I thinking?’” Jazz guitar legend Bill Frisell on the album inspired by a dream
- “I think it’s hard for blues artists to get endorsement deals… but hey, if someone at Guild is reading this, give me a call!” Larry McCray on his Albert King-inspired Flying V, touring with Gary Moore and his life in three guitars
May 14
- “I saw a line of people wrapped way down the block. I thought maybe Bill Clinton was in town, but it was for our show”: How a young Blind Melon made it big with No Rain
- “I walked in at 2pm and George Harrison and Kim Basinger were there hanging out. I noticed this little guy wearing leather gloves and a hooded surfer's sweater”: When Bob Dylan invited Slash to record with him
- “Chaka Khan decided to fire the whole band – I don’t know why. But the week after she fired us, Prince called”: How Andrew Gouche rose from playing church halls to become the guru of gospel bass with Prince
- “I’ve sat down with other guitarists – you just end up playing blues licks all day and not writing anything. But we went to work straight away”: Richie Kotzen and Adrian Smith on absurd volume, improv and how long a solo should be
- “For the most part, people seem to really like it… others have been very vocal about hating it”: The making of the Telecasso – the Telecaster-Picasso mashup that has driven guitarists crazy
May 13
- “We were spent, burnt, totally out of it... We started to see The Black Parade as the enemy – one we wanted to kill”: My Chemical Romance's struggle to follow up their biggest success
- “You could scrape that guitar, smoke the residue and get strung out”: Walter Trout’s life in three guitars
- I saw Angine de Poitrine live – and witnessed the greatest polka-dot guitar hero since Randy Rhoads and Buddy Guy
- “My main issue with this riff rock world is that it’s derivative and boring. Let’s be honest – at this point, most riffs have been written”: How the hunt for clicks has made the lone guitar intro obsolete
May 12
- “For about 11 months, I had no guitar and no amp. It felt like having part of my nervous system removed”: How to survive setbacks when music is your identity, not just your job
- “What began as a niche guitar developed for Californian country has become a musical universal wrench: from metal to jazz, from pop to grindcore”: The evolution of the Fender Telecaster – the original solid-body electric guitar that started it all
- “We were spun out on meth at the time. I’d go to the rehearsal room, crank everything insanely loud and just jam”: Gary Holt and Lee Altus on why Exodus will never be a legacy thrash act – and the song that took 27 years
May 11
- “Slash offered me a lot of money for it, but I said, ‘I’m not selling it!’ He said, ‘If you ever do, promise me I’ll be the first you call’”: Linda Perry on living with the success of 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up?, and the Goldtop she wouldn't sell to Slash
- “It all went a bit sour and nasty. Eldritch likes a battle – he thrives on confrontation. Mind you, he told me I was the best guitarist he’d ever worked with”: The difficult birth of The Sisters of Mercy’s trailblazing goth classic
- “As it was going up in the air, I thought, ‘Wow, that looks so cool.’ On the way down, I was thinking, ‘What did I do?!’ Joe Perry on his customized ‘50s Gibson Les Paul Junior that refused to die
May 10
- “I always wanted to be thought of as a guitarist. But you have a hit and you know what happens...” A rare look inside Prince's world – record label battles, 3am sessions and wildfire guitar genius
- “Jaco said, ‘If you ever need a sub please call me! I’d kill to play for you guys”: When Chicago’s Peter Cetera met Jaco Pastorius
May 9
- “I see bass players trying to play our stuff using all downstrokes, and I think, ‘You're going to ruin your arm’”: How Mike Dirnt honed his signature bass tone for Green Day’s Revolution Radio – and why it all starts with the wrist
May 8
- “When the house burned down, I started watching people's hands on YouTube and learned how to play songs to kill time – I didn't have much else to do”: Jackson Dean on playing in Nashville alongside some of the best
- “I start with the melody, and then I start sketching what the chord structure would be underneath. That’s where the interesting things in Tortoise happen”: The long-awaited return of the post-rock trailblazers
- “Quite how many Lucilles there were is unclear”: Everybody knows B.B. King played a Gibson guitar named Lucille – but what model was it really?
May 7
- “We lost Rob in a car crash there in 1996, when he was driving back to the studio. After that, we didn’t go back. Not for a long time”: Mark Collins on triumph, tragedy, and the long-awaited return of the Charlatans
- “A lot of Oasis-related gear has come up for sale... but there can’t be that many pre-CBS Strats that were owned by Noel”: Up close and personal with a '63 Strat and '70s Höfner Violin Bass with Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene connections
- “I was a teenager, so it was just fun. Pretty soon I was getting millions of views – it was crazy”: Laura Cox was a teen guitar sensation. Now she’s throwing the blues-rock rulebook out the window – and finding herself in the process
May 6
- “We were high with it, and after just a few takes, we had one of our best ever songs – something that felt like pop music and beyond”: The making of the Smiths’ 1986 classic The Queen Is Dead
- “I like classical, gospel, Bruno Mars, the Killers and the Weeknd. And I always go back to David Gilmour! If it doesn’t suck, I probably listen to it”: Why P-Funk legend Michael Hampton is keeping an open mind in search of his solo sound
May 5
- “The guitar players barely holding onto control as they go into the corners at top speed are my favorite players”: How the Dirty Nil’s sound runs on vintage Marshall power and a healthy serving of the Rat pedal
- “I was a kid with very little experience and a huge amount to prove. Critics had written us off before it came out – no-one took me seriously”: The making of Suede’s 1996 Britpop classic Coming Up
- “The idea of singing freaks me out. I hate speaking on the microphone. For my whole life the guitar has been how I express myself”: How fast-rising blues ace Laura Chavez found her voice on guitar
May 4
- “The songs are different every night because he never sings them the same way. I don’t know anyone who knows as many songs as Bob Dylan”: 38 bassists appeared on Bob Dylan albums before Tony Garnier came onboard. In the 37 years since, no others have
- “I always wanted to have hit singles. I thought the hit single was the highest manifestation of rock as an art form”: Marshall Crenshaw on his Karen Carpenter tribute, why collecting is “infantile” and how he was made in Detroit
- “As soon as I saw the Blade Runner, I said, ‘That’s mine. I gotta have that.’ It’s the ultimate pointy guitar”: Joe Perry tells all about that “too cool” electric you saw on MTV when Walk This Way came on
- “Yngwie was replaced for becoming difficult. We auditioned Steve Vai in secret”: Gary Shea’s never-say-never approach to Alcatrazz, New England… and maybe even Vinnie Vincent
May 3
- “My boss said, ‘Paul Simon’s in town, and they’re looking for you in the studio. Here’s the money. Take the bus’”: When Bakithi Kumalo got the call to audition for Paul Simon’s 1986 multi-platinum album
- “Those parts aren’t as easy as you’d think. With his downstrokes, they’re mechanical, right, fast and have one Fender sound”: Josh Hager on the deceptive genius of the late Devo guitarist Bob Casale
May 2
- “I do the old metal trick where there’s some semblance of a Tube Screamer on all the time”: What’s cookin’ on the Skillet pedalboards? Korey Cooper and Seth Morrison reveal all
- “They were trying to figure out who to get to sing the high harmony stuff for Gene Simmons’ band. They said, ‘What about the guy who opened for us?’” Jason Walker on touring with the Kiss star – who’s a fellow Beatles freak
May 1
- “It’s never really about the gear itself. It’s just a tool for unlocking an idea”: American Football’s slow-burning debut album was originally dismissed. Four records in, they’re glad that’s how it went
- “We were falling about the studio floor laughing when I was playing. People started coming into the control room, like, ‘What is going on with these three guys? It’s an absolute racket!’” Meet High Fade, the Scottish funk-punk heroes we need right now
- “He would put a lot of treble on his amp to get the sound he wanted out of Lucille. Working and being in his presence was magical”: Jerry Jemmott on playing bass with B.B. King