At nearly 90 years old, Buddy Guy is still carrying the torch for the blues and remains a guiding force for current and future generations of blues players.

Fresh off his cameo in Ryan Coogler's highly lauded film Sinners, Guy’s legacy is continuing to be celebrated, as Blackbird Presents and Live Nation are teaming up to organize Buddy’s Got the Blues: A 90th Birthday Concert Celebration.

The event, taking place on October 1 at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in New York City, is set to be a one-night-only event with collaborations, performances, and heartfelt tributes from artists influenced by Guy’s work.

The all-star lineup includes a veritable list of legends and blues virtuosos: Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, Jon Batiste, Aloe Blacc, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Robert Cray, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, Billy F Gibbons, Ivan Neville, Robert Randolph, Bobby Rush, Isaiah Sharkey, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jimmie Vaughan, Ally Venable, Willie Weeks, and Kim Wilson.

More artists and special guests are set to be announced soon, and the man himself, Buddy Guy, will (of course) also perform, proving that he's still got the blues.

Current Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan serves as the musical director.

Speaking about the event, Guy says, “Can't wait to celebrate 90 years of living, loving, and playing the blues with all my friends. We’ll make it a night not just for me, but for the folks who taught us, the friends we’ve played with, and the ones coming up behind us.”

In a recent interview with Guitar Player, the blues icon has explained why he’s not giving up touring just yet, as he prepares to hit the road on July 15, starting at Massey Hall in Toronto.

“I thought about retiring twice,” he says. “But, y’know, I thought about all those great blues players who are no longer with us – B.B. King. Lightnin’ Hopkins, all those guys – and they used to tell me, ‘You need to keep playing and keep representing the blues,’ ’cause they don’t play it on radio or anything anymore.

“So I said to myself, ‘Well, Buddy, you better hang on a little longer. My health ain’t doing too bad, so I’m still doing what I’ve always done. Every time I get onstage, just try to play the best I can.”

Tickets go on sale to the general public on June 26 at 10 AM ET. Head to Buddy 90 to find out more.

Guy is set for a very busy rest of the year, having also been announced for this year's edition of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival.

Eric Gales is one hell of a guitar player, but he says he kept his talents hidden from his school friends – who had no idea when he signed a six-figure record deal.

Gales was still a teenager when he played with Carlos Santana in front of a staggering number of people at Woodstock ‘94, and has since more than lived up to his child-prodigy reputation throughout a prolific career. He has become one of the greats of modern blues.

But his predilection for making an electric guitar purr was his best-kept secret for a long while.

“I’m a drummer first,” he tells Rick Beato in a new interview. “The percussive aspect of my playing nods to the knowledge of me as a drummer, and in my early junior high years, I was the leader of the percussion section at school.

“I didn’t want nobody in school to know that I knew how to play guitar until I went on the Arsenio Hall Show, and the jig was up.”

Over the years, Gales became a regular on the chat show, first appearing in 1991. On that same show, Carlos Santana, his godfather, later hailed him as the next big guitar player, comparing him to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

But there’s only so much hiding one can do when, as Hall says, you “take the place apart” on national television.

“I didn’t want a lot of new friends, you know?” Gales reasons for his secret guitar skills to Beato. “I didn’t want these people trying to be my friend because of what you think you can get out of me. I’d just signed a quarter-million-dollar record deal at 15 years old.”

So he kept quiet about it until the show aired. Then his life really started to change.

Gales had signed with Elektra Records earlier that year. The Eric Gales Band put out their self-titled debut album in 1991, followed by Picture of a Thousand Faces two years later. Gales hasn’t looked back since.

In other Gales news, the blues titan recently teamed up with Kiesel for an all-new signature guitar and enlisted some of the best players in the business to pay tribute to his late brother, Little Jimmy King, with an all-star album.

An all-star cast has recreated the defining scene of Sinners on stage at the Oscars as Ryan Coogler's film went on to win four awards from a record-breaking 16 nominations.

The Mississippi Blues-meets-vampire-horror film scooped up awards, including best actor, screenplay, and score, which Ludwig Göransson spearheaded with some 1930s Dobros and a tender care for the genre's history and legacy.

The film was intended to shine a light on the blues and its influence on myriad musical styles that have followed in its wake – from rock ’n’ roll to hip-hop. Blues icon Buddy Guy features on the soundtrack and in the film itself, and was present at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for a performance of I Lied to You.

Actor and musician Miles Caton, who made his acting debut in the film and has more recently given a taste of Sinners during Buddy Guy’s Tiny Desk spot, led the way with some slide guitar playing on a Dobro – quite possibly the Dobro.

The stage was set to resemble the film’s juke joint, and it was littered with VIPs, from Guy and his polka dot Stratocaster to Brittany Howard, who wielded her Gibson SG, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram with his signature Telecaster, and newly anointed Kiesel signature artist Eric Gales.

It was teased ahead of time as a homage to the blockbuster's “singular visual style,” (via Variety), but it also stands as a celebration of acoustic and electric blues, with intergenerational stars locking fretboards in style.

Ballet star Misty Copeland and Grammy-winning Americana/hip-hop artist Shaboozey also starred, as the performance cast its celebratory net wider still, and it rightfully brought the house down.

Speaking after claiming his third Oscar win for best score, after Black Panther and Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson said: “My dad bought his first blues album in Sweden [where he's from] in 1964.

“It was a John Lee Hooker album, and even though it was from the other side of the world, in a place where my dad had never been, and could not relate to, the music was so powerful that it changed his life. He dedicated himself to music.

“When I was seven years old, he put a guitar in my arms, and it became everything to me,” he adds. “The guitar opened up a lot of doors to me; it brought me to the States and eventually led me to one of the greatest storytellers of our time, Ryan Coogler.”

Indeed, Kingfish hopes his role playing on the film's soundtrack, alongside the likes of Jerry Cantrell, Cedric Burnside, and James Blake, will introduce the blues to a new generation of players and listeners.

Guy, meanwhile, has been left to muse on how far the blues have come since the 1930s, when the film is set, and what he wants to achieve before retiring from performing.

Eric Gales is no longer the underdog threatening to take the world by storm. He’s already done it, and is now enjoying recognition with Grammy nominations and sold-out performances across the globe.

But Eric is keen to acknowledge that it might have been a different story had his older sibling not shown him the musical ropes from an early age. Eric’s latest album, A Tribute To LJK, acts as a doff of the cap to his brother.

The record starts with a familiar voice saying, “All hail, a tribute to our brother Manuel Gales, also known as Little Jimmy King,” followed by 47 minutes of the most life-affirming blues.

As the leader of the Memphis Soul Survivors, Little Jimmy King enjoyed a successful career in blues, having cut his own records with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section, performed in Albert King’s band and toured with Buddy Guy, until Manuel’s life was tragically cut short by a heart attack at the age of 37 in 2002.

A Tribute To LJK was co-produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, and is the sound of Eric reimagining his sibling’s music and celebrating his memory through the medium of electrifying noise. A fitting tribute.

What was the vibe like in the studio while you were cutting this record?

Pretty straightforward. Just me plugging my Magneto guitar into my DV Mark amp, as well as one of Joe’s Dumbles. That was the bulk of the tone. I used one of Joe’s Les Pauls for a solo or two, maybe a rhythm here or there. It was my normal pedalboard running in front, nothing had changed. There’s no sense in messing with things when they’re working fine. So that’s what we did. We just kept the tape rolling.

Was it strange plugging into a Dumble amp that didn’t even belong to you?

It worked well with my DV Mark. It was a suggestion from Joe that he first floated when we did the Crown record; it’s good to have that sonic contrast.

I can’t remember which Dumble it was exactly, but we dialled in a tone, it sounded great and we got busy. There was no extravagant story behind it. We switched it on, turned some knobs, heard a good sound and started tracking.

Why do you think Alexander Dumble’s amps are so highly revered?

To be honest, I don’t know. There’s a bit of a taboo fascination with them. Obviously, they are highly respected and deeply admired for the sound they make, but I don’t see the big draw factor. Sure, they sound great, but I’ve heard other amps that sound great.

I’m very honoured and privileged to have plugged into one a few times, but it wasn’t like a ‘heavens opened up’ sort of moment. I’m not speaking bad about them, I’m just saying there’s nothing the Dumbles did for me that other amps hadn’t done before, you know? I was just going off a suggestion and I trusted Joe enough to go with it.

He has plenty of Dumbles and runs through them pretty rigorously. I had no reason to go against it. If it was the only amp that was there and my DV Mark wasn’t around, I’m sure I would have been fine.

I have some really nice amps, like my Two-Rock, and the Dumble did nothing less than that. If it wasn’t as good, then I wouldn’t have used it on the record. I remember it had great sustain and delivered every single nuance I put through it. At the same time, my DV Mark was doing the same thing. Both amps were standing tall beside each other, doing a great job in giving me what I needed to accomplish this record. That’s all I can ask for.

Your sound lives on the funkier side of blues. You have a cleaner and more spanky tone than most of your contemporaries.

That’s what I prefer. I am known as a blues-rock player, but I am probably less rock than other people. It all depends on the style of the song and the feel or vibe that I’m going for. I’m not a typical I-IV-V slow-blues kinda guy.

There are different variants in what I do. I like a crystal-clean tone for a lot of the music I write, especially if it’s more chordal. In those situations, I’m not looking for any break-up. When I need a little more grit, I’ll use my MXR Raw Dawg pedal or whatever other drive I have lying around to get the sound I’m looking for.

You’ve been very loyal to the Mojo Hand Colossus fuzz pedal over the years.

It’s my go-to because of its warm and milky tone. There are so many boutique pedals I haven’t even had the opportunity to plug into yet. I’m not one of those guitar players who sits there testing them all out. If one thing is working well, then I’m fine with that.

Opportunities for a big shoot-out are rare, so I have to apologise to all the people who give me pedals. I will definitely try them out at some point. The Mojo Hand is just what I’ve been going with.

The last one that impressed me was the Pedal Pawn Fuzz from the UK. It sounded really, really good. They make some nice stuff. A few weeks ago I was gifted a handmade pedal and the builder told me the schematics were exactly like Eric Johnson’s fuzz.

He even wrote ‘LJK’ on it, which made it awesome and memorable. I haven’t plugged into it yet, but I’m sure it’ll sound amazing because everybody knows I’m a huge Eric Johnson fan. I hope to be blown away by how beautiful it sounds.

Your current wah pedal of choice is a Buddy Guy Cry Baby. What do you like about the sound of that one?

I was running a different wah and having some issues. Then Buddy Guy’s tech Connor [Korte] happened to have a spare one fresh out of the box, so I put it on the ’board and it never left. All of the ones I’ve used come from the Jim Dunlop company and this one just happens to be the one I stick with. If it ain’t broke, there ain’t no need to switch it out.

I didn’t use my Whammy because it didn’t call for it. I guess there could have been room, but I decided to keep things traditional – if it’s even safe for me to use that word because I don’t consider myself that traditional. This record was a homage to my brother, who was more old-school.

Buddy appears on the final track of your album, titled Somebody. That must have meant a lot to you because not only is he blues royalty, but he’s a friend and also knew your brother.

When I heard what he played on that track, I was blown away. He knocked it right out of the park. I sent a reference track over with the general direction I was going for and he gave me exactly what I was looking for.

When I pressed play, I heard the work of a legend. He made the track what it was. It would not have sounded as good without him. My brother did a miraculous job on the original version and Buddy was the perfect person to help me recreate that kind of vibe all these years later.

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram cited your brother as a big hero of his, and you invited him to play on Rockin Horse Ride.

That was intentionally done; I wanted to incorporate people who had a connection to my brother. I wanted to nod to the older generation and the younger generation, bringing it all full circle in memory of my brother.

I wanted to acknowledge the impact that he had on the blues world and try to keep some of that alive. Through Kingfish, his music still lives. Young people are taking notice of this style of music that was around way before their time. We can leave it in the hands of Kingfish and know that everything will be taken care of well.

Which Magneto guitar do you record with the most?

It’s my Magneto Sonnet RawDawg. The neck has a flat radius, so it feels great in my hands. It’s something I can play all day long and the tone is just immaculate. The owner Christian [Hatstatt] is an amazing guy who has always been in my corner, even at times when a lot of people weren’t.

I have great relationships with other companies who understand that I might play different guitars for different things. Nobody has forced their exclusivity on me. I don’t like being told what to play, especially if my heart is telling me to use something else. Magneto have always understood that and been very understanding. They’re a great company to work with.

I also have a new signature model through Kiesel that comes with all the bells and whistles in this lovely gold finish. It turned out really dope, man.

You used one of Joe’s vintage Les Pauls, a 1954 Goldtop, on the album. How different was that for you?

That guitar sounded great. I’ve never said I don’t like humbuckers or Les Pauls, SGs, Flying Vs, Explorers, Firebirds, Telecasters, Jazzmasters, Mustangs, 335s or whatever. They’re just not the normal go-to for me.

Joe said, ‘Check this out,’ and had the tone dialled in, so that’s what I used on my solo for Don’t Wanna Go Home, as did Joe. It worked great for that song. It just so happened to be a quarter-of-a-million-dollar guitar that got the job done.

Could a guitar worth 200 bucks have also been good enough? I think so. Equipment plays a part in things, but I’ve always been a die-hard advocate of ‘it’s all in the hands of the player.’ That’s what ultimately determines what you hear coming out of any instrument. So much depends on the human being.

Was it scary holding a quarter-of-a-million-dollar instrument that doesn’t belong to you?

No, not at all [laughs]. I wasn’t afraid.

How different did it make you play, though?

I find using humbuckers instead of the usual single coils can shift where I’m coming from, mentally. The approach, feel and tone can end up a little different. But at the end of the day, it’s all down to whatever comes out of my mind.

That’s what determines what comes out. I’m not uncomfortable playing anything, unless there’s an outrageous setup that prevents me from doing what I usually do – things like extremely high action or action that’s too low to get a good sound. I like my action as low as I can get it without buzz. Normally, it only takes me a few minutes to get myself acclimated to any instrument.

You, Joe and Josh Smith have such distinct voices on the guitar. It’s very easy to tell who is playing on It Takes A Whole Lotta Money – you might be more twangy, Joe might be more thick-sounding and Josh has more of a country-fusion feel.

Yeah, Josh definitely fiddles around in that world. On that track, it was all intentional. You’ve got three players who want to sound different to each other. I’ve heard that some people struggle with hearing the differences between me and Joe. There’s a lot of similarity at times, maybe in how we do runs or riff. Both of us are highly influenced by Eric Johnson, so that’s always going to seep through at points.

But I think on this record, the distinction of who’s who is made pretty clearly, especially with Josh because he chose to set himself apart purposefully. He went in a different direction to add something completely new. That guy can adjust, shift and shape into any kind of style. He always makes the right decisions.

What have you learned about the art of recording guitars since working with Joe and Josh?

Honestly, I don’t get too involved. I’m in a session right now and my engineer toys around with the mics and placements. I always have to ask him what we’re using. Right now, he’s telling me that it’s some new Roswell Cab Mic that we are trying out. I leave that whole world to the experts: I sit in the control room listening in, saying what sounds best to my ears.

I don’t really have much desire to change anything there. I don’t have the time to learn about this stuff, either. I hear things in my head and always try to get it as close as possible. That’s the goal for me. How it gets done is semantic, but working with good engineers and assistant engineers definitely makes the process a lot easier. I don’t even know what my mic preference is. If I’m by myself, I’ll just pick something up, put it in front of a speaker and take it from there.

Your guitars come with the five-way pickup selector that’s typical for an S-style design. Which positions do you use the most?

I use them all. It’s quite a subconscious choice, going back and forth between the different tones. It’s so random for me. It’s all done in the moment in real-time. If I have the gas pressed pretty hard, I might be on the back pickup because of the high energy and intensity. If I want something warm, I might be on the front. If I want a Stevie Ray sort of tone, I’ll go for the front two pickups, and if I want country and western it might be the back two pickups.

It just depends on what I hear in my head. Using your volume control is also an art form. You can go from full-on to something way cleaner without even thinking of your pedals or amp channels, you just roll that knob down and end up with a completely different kind of sound.

Do you mess with the tone knob much?

Not much, really. The only times I do, is if I’m trying to do some jazz stuff or emulate a warm, milky fuzz tone with a distortion or overdrive pedal that isn’t a fuzz.

So what do you think Manuel would say if he heard this record?

I think he’d say, “Great fucking job, little bro!” I really do. All of the songs came out really well. I love the ride-out solo in You Shouldn’t Have Left Me because it sounds really intense with this strong blues shuffle that had horns and everything. I like the flower power feel to Blues Been Too Good To Me. We had a lot of fun on that track.

I was really happy with Somebody, which I played a PRS parlour acoustic on. Baby Baby came out great. It’s hard to single out one song that I would leave off the album, to be honest. This record gave me the avenue to dive into many different areas of my brother’s career. Then I chose to give these songs a new vision through my own eyes.

• A Tribute to LJK is out now via Provogue.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

He may only be approaching his late-20s, but at this stage of his career, blues singer-guitarist Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram can no longer say he’s the new kid on the block.

He’s a Grammy-winning artist who has earned the respect of his elders and peers, with his own Kingfish Telecaster Deluxe signature through a Fender Twin, along with invites to open for artists such as The Rolling Stones, Slash and Joe Bonamassa.

Last year saw the release of his third studio album, Hard Road, which features more nuance than ever before. It’s still a blues-rock record all in all, although Ingram has broadened his horizons by moving away from heavier tones in favour of cleaner and more soulful musings.

There’s more variety to the new music than anything you’ve recorded to date.

I wanted to focus on my artistic growth; that’s all I wanted to showcase on this record. My sound hasn’t changed too much, there are still some heavy tones in places, but I did think about my sound just before we started recording.

Certain songs needed a cleaner approach, so I decided to experiment and try out some things I haven’t done in the past.

So where exactly did these songs come from?

I’ll explore new directions and navigate through whatever might be happening in my personal life. This album is like a documentation of my last four years. Some of the songs were written during the sessions for [Grammy-winning previous studio album] 662 but ended up conveying how I’ve felt in the time since, too.

I’ve also been working with a few external writers. There was one song I did all by myself [Clearly], where I was in the studio alone one night. I’m proud of how it all came out.

What gear are we hearing on this album?

I used my signature Tele a lot, as well as an ES-335 on some songs. The semi-hollow wasn’t mine; it was an early 2000s model that the studio had. The album was mainly recorded with my live rig, so you can probably hear pedals like my Marshall ShredMaster on there. The main amp was a regular Fender Twin. I even plugged straight into the board for some of the rhythms. That was about it.

The opening track, Truth, benefits from some funky single-note lines, a screaming wah solo and some of your catchiest vocals to date.

That was all done on a Strat – it was the purple Custom Shop one seen on the cover of my 662 album. Singing is definitely another area I’m trying to grow in. I’ve always felt my voice is just as good as my guitar playing, so this record was about trying to push both at the same time.

Bad Like Me has some chord shapes that move up and down chromatically, as well as some jazzy ideas at the end of the solo. It’s not a million miles away from the kind of thing Stevie Wonder would write.

Yeah! That was a fun thing to do because it was so out-of-the-box. It helped me come up with things I haven’t done before vocally. There are some cool changes in there.

I think the jazz influence comes from doing a lot of listening – and not just listening to guitar players but other instruments as well. [Pianist] Oscar Peterson is one of my favourite jazz musicians, and the same goes for [pianist] Art Tatum and [saxophonist] Charlie Parker.

Which guitar players have influenced this side of you?

People like Charlie Christian demonstrated how much you can achieve with simple bebop lines, which led to me trying to implement them into rock and blues. Josh Smith is amazing at that stuff; he’s someone who I really look up to. The way he plays is how I want to sound one day in the future because it’s a mixture of blues and fusion.

The self-penned track Clearly features some beautiful jazz voicings. It could be the jazziest song you’ve ever written.

There’s definitely some major 7s in there. I had that groove in my mind for a long time. I was struggling with it for a while, but one night in the studio, it just all came out really easily.

Nothin’ But Your Love is a ballad in Ab major. When you play on a song like that, are you thinking more in Ab major or F minor in terms of where you place your fingers?

I will be thinking more in terms of Ab major, trying to paint a picture in my mind and tell the story. I might use some swells or go for a more mellow attack. It’s the opposite to what I normally do. I’m more used to playing like that nowadays, though it wasn’t always like that because blues tends to be more minor. When you play in major, you really have to dig deep.

This music is indicative of how confident you must be feeling at this stage of your career.

It’s like riding a wave. I have three Grammy-nominated records – and one of them was a winner – as well as all these other blues awards, so I’m just trying to keep on doing what I’m doing.

You’ve been championed by Eric Gales, having played on his 2017 Middle Of The Road album, as well as his latest release, A Tribute To LJK.

Yeah, I played on the track Help Yourself on the Middle Of The Road record, and then Rockin Horse Ride on his latest one. When I was expanding my sound, I remember being influenced by Eric’s brother Manuel, who we all knew as Little Jimmy King.

Then hearing Eric is what made me want to push the blues-rock envelope. Here was this Black dude from Memphis, which isn’t too far from where I was in Mississippi, with this hip-hop persona but also playing fiery blues riffs with all the soul you’d get from people like B.B. King. That’s what did it for me.

A lot of people would say he’s the best blues guitarist alive today. What did you end up learning from him musically?

Mr Gales was my introduction to the whole Eric Johnson pentatonic approach. That’s something I took from him, looking at that scale and playing it in different positions all over the neck ascending or descending in groups of four, five or six. It’s a very melodic and rhythmic kind of sound.

That’s what got me caught up on my speed, though we all know he can play soulful as well. I’m still learning this stuff, but I was able to cheat my way in thanks to watching how Eric Gales was doing it. It doesn’t matter if you pick every note or use legato or economy picking – if it sounds good, go with it.”

Buddy Guy, who has spoken very highly of you, also appears on Eric’s latest album. He’s one of the last living original blues legends.

Yeah, of that crop of blues musicians, I would say Mr Guy is the last link. He’s the one who started this whole style of blues-rock playing that felt kinda wild and crazy. I feel like he was the one who pushed the envelope while all the other guys were playing with more restraint.

He was the one who said, ‘Hey, I’m going to knock this out the park and past the wall!’ And that’s exactly what he did. His bends never seem to end. I sound like shit when I try that, but Mr Guy always makes it sound good.

You’re very comfortable with the pentatonic scale. What helped you break out of the classic box shapes?

If you just listen to blues, it might show. I enjoy anything from MonoNeon to Ghost-Note and Snarky Puppy. If I hear something I like, I will try to implement that into my own sound. You have to keep trying to find different ways to make the blues sound interesting.

That means playing it in different positions, rather than sticking in the first couple of boxes or changing your tone for certain songs. I also think it’s important to add extra notes in places or even take certain notes away. Sometimes I double-pick certain notes to really bring out their quality. It’s all about doing stuff like that.

If you could have a lesson from any guitar player, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask?

I would choose Prince because he was a great example of shredding and being melodic at the same time. I’d ask him about his approach to the solos because he always seemed to play the right thing. I often wonder if he was thinking in terms of scales or just feeling it right there and then.

There’s that classic Purple Rain performance at the Super Bowl in 2007, but maybe the one people talk about the most is his While My Guitar Gently Weeps solo at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Induction.

Hell, yeah. He killed it big-time on that. He was an incredible lead guitar player, but he could do it all, to be honest. He could write songs, play keys and bass, as well as sing. He was such a versatile musician in that sense.

My favourite Prince songs are ones like I Wanna Be Your Lover, Erotic City and Kiss. That funky pocket playing ended up being a huge influence on me. I think it came from him being influenced by players like Catfish Collins and other people who played with James Brown.

Finally, where do you want to go next as a guitar player?

I’m really working on playing over the chord changes and bringing out more of my jazz influences. That’s my main homework right now.

• Hard Road is out now via Red Zero.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

The tube amps made and modified by the late Howard “Alexander” Dumble have become the stuff of quasi-Arthurian legend in guitar circles.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd swears by them. Joe Bonamassa regularly has them pumping up the volume in his amp shanty. That high-end superstar of all things six-strings and bougie, John Mayer, is a fan. In theory, we all are – at least, all of us who like the idea of a super-dynamic tube amp that’s probably too loud for the home and/or amateur use.

The trouble is, a Dumble could quite possibly cost you in $175,000. Crazy money, whether you are a pro or not.

Are they worth it? Well, they could be worth the money but the myths and the lore that surround them are hard to fathom, says blues-rock virtuoso Eric Gales, who just so happened to play one on his latest album.

Speaking to Guitarist, Gales agrees with the critical consensus. They are damn fine tube amps. But there are a lot of damn fine tube amps in the world, so… Well, he doesn’t understand the fuss.

“There’s a bit of a taboo fascination with them. Obviously, they are highly respected and deeply admired for the sound they make, but I don’t see the big draw factor,” says Gales. “Sure, they sound great, but I've heard other amps that sound great.”

Gales played through a Dumble on his new album, at the suggestion of its producer, Mr Joe Bonamassa. His approach was simple. Gales plugged his Magneto signature guitar into Bonamassa’s Dumble, and his signature DV Mark amp, and went at it.

Occasionally he would swap in one of Bonamassa’s Gibson Les Pauls (now there's an Excalibur for the practising musician), just for a little stunt work in a solo or a rhythm. There was nothing new in Gales’ pedalboard.

“There's no sense in messing with things when they're working fine,” explains Gales. “So that’s what we did. We just kept the tape rolling.”

How did Gales feel playing through a Dumble? Well, he felt lucky. There are not that many of them on the planet, hence the price. But he says it did nothing that a number of other amps can’t do.

“I’m very honoured and privileged to have plugged into one a few times, but it wasn't like a ‘heavens opened up’ sort of moment,” says Gales. “I’m not speaking bad about them, I’m just saying there's nothing the Dumbles did for me that other amps hadn't done before, you know? I was just going off a suggestion and I trusted Joe enough to go with it.

“He has plenty of Dumbles and runs through them pretty rigorously. I had no reason to go against it. If it was the only amp that was there and my DV Mark wasn’t around, I’m sure I would have been fine.”

Gales likened the Dumble to his Two-Rock. It had “great sustain and delivered every nuance” of his playing. But that’s just what Gales looks for in a guitar amp, holy grail, off-the-shelf or otherwise.

“My DV Mark was doing the same thing,” he says. “Both amps were standing tall beside each other, doing a great job in giving me what I needed to accomplish this record.”

In other Gales news, the bluesman recently launched his surprise signature Kiesel guitar, and explained why he initially wanted to keep his blues chops hidden.

Eric Gales arrived on the blues scene as a child prodigy, but the guitarist says he'd been keeping his talents under wraps until Carlos Santana blew his cover.

As this video footage of the southpawed virtuoso blowing the roof off a battle of the bands, aged just 14, shows, Gales has always had serious chops. Originally, however, he never intended to make himself known in guitar-playing circles.

Speaking to Rick Beato, Gales reveals he was first known as a drummer, playing in marching, symphonic, and jazz bands in school, all while hiding his secret six-string powers.

“I didn't want any of my high school friends to know that I played guitar at all,” he notes. “So I kept it as quiet as I could, until Carlos Santana was asked who the next young gun guitar player to look out for was [on Arsenio in 1992]. And Carlos said, 'This guy in Memphis, Tennessee. He’s absolutely incredible.’

“I went back to school the next day, and everybody was like ‘Dude, why you ain't saying nothing man? All this time…’

“It's because I didn’t want to hold on to new fake friends. I didn’t want everybody wanting to be my friend because of… I wanted to keep things quiet, but at that time, the lid was off the top.”

Santana is actually Gales’ godfather, and tapped the youngster to play in his band at Woodstock ‘94. There, he shared the lineup with the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Green Day, and a Paul Rodgers supergroup featuring Slash and Neal Schon.

“I was 17, and there were a million people out there, man,” he remembers of the gig. “It was one of the most exciting times in my life. We still communicate a couple of times a week. Through his gifts, I've been afforded relationships with people I admire and am influenced by. It's crazy.”

Elsewhere, Gales recently launched a surprise new signature guitar with Kiesel, and the hotly anticipated Stat-style axe looks to be a serious player. His latest album is a tribute to his late brother Little Jimmy King, the man who started him on guitar, and had a promising career before his passing.

Blues guitar sensation Eric Gales has released his first signature guitar with Kiesel after months of speculation.

The left-pawed virtuoso – who plays a right-handed guitar flipped upside-down – raised a few eyebrows when he made the switch to Kiesel last year.

He left a long-standing relationship with Magneto Guitars to join a signature artist roster that also includes the likes of Devin Townsend, Stephen Carpenter, and Paul Masvidal.

That led to the obvious question about a signature guitar, and that’s now been confirmed. In a shock to no one, the Eric Gales Signature Series EG61 takes the Stratocaster silhouette and decks it out with some tasty specs.

Founded upon a swamp ash body and bolt-on tung-oiled roasted maple neck, the 25.5" build gets a GT-Style reverse headstock, a Gotoh 510 Tremolo, and a 14" radius rosewood fingerboard.

There's also a trio of Mounted Mark single-coil pickups with master volume and tone controls, and a five-way pickup switch for plenty of versatility. See also its 22 Stainless Jumbo frets, Luminlay side dots, and signature black acrylic inlay at the 12th fret.

It is, then, for all intents and purposes, a highly souped-up Strat, with an emphasis on “bringing it forward,” according to Gales. It’s also the only current Kiesel Signature Series guitar made for a left-handed artist.

“It's kind of been a long time coming,” he says of his Kiesel collaboration. “There's nothing assembly-line-oriented about Kiesel's headquarters at all. Every guitar is made with human heart, sweat, and tears. I'm fortunate to have a broad collection of guitars, and this one sets itself apart from the others.

“Everything involving the wood and the pickups has been outrageous. I'm hard-pressed to see things I've never seen before, but in the past 48 hours, touring the Kiesel headquarters, I've seen things I've never seen before in my 51 years of living that can be done in terms of guitar builds. I’ve been like a kid in a candy store.”

Beyond the high-end hardware is a guitar that Gales can call home.

“The comfort of it is what means the most to me,” he says. “It's easily playable all day. That’s well over half the battle won.”

The Kiesel Eric Gales Signature Series EG61 is available today starting from $2,499.

See Kiesel for more.

In related news, Gales recently sat down with Guitar World to discuss his all-star tribute album to his brother, the man who started his love affair with the electric guitar.

The Eric Gales we know today is undoubtedly a product of his environment growing up. In this case, as fate would have it, we’re talking about an incredibly musical family. Older brothers Manuel and Eugene guided his journey on guitar from the age of four, giving him the kind of blues education that can’t be bought.

By the time he was 10, he was already being labeled a prodigy, landing a major record deal in his mid-teens before eventually becoming one of the modern era’s greatest blues guitarists.

Manuel also made a big impression on the circuit, from performing in Albert King’s band and touring with Buddy Guy to cutting records with Double Trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section. However, tragedy struck in 2002 when the singer/guitarist – better known to audiences as Little Jimmy King – died from a heart attack at age 37.

This year, the youngest of the Gales brothers is paying tribute to his sibling through A Tribute to LJK, an album packed with his own interpretations of Manuel’s biggest and best tracks. The record was co-produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith and features guest appearances from the producers, plus big-hitters like Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Roosevelt Collier.

“My brother was a powerhouse blues player,” says Gales, who – as we can see, because we’re on Zoom with him – has a framed poster of his Grammy-nominated 2022 album, Crown, on the wall behind him.

“Manuel was a big part of the recipe that made me who I am. I want the world to discover his music and learn things they may not have known. I’ve been thinking about doing this for quite some time. This is a homage to a badass left-handed, upside-down player who did his own thing."

Manuel got you started on guitar. What did you learn from him?

“He was all about power. He took that from Albert King, who was a strong player. There was a rigor and intensity to what Albert chose to play. It was always very intentional. Every push and bend meant something and had some pain or emotion behind it. That’s something I learned from both of them.

“It’s prominent in certain riffs and licks I do, with touches that are very purposeful. When I go in, I go all in. There’s no second-guessing with a six-note bend. Once you commit to something like that, you commit. You are going in raw with all that power. He wasn’t one to delve into a lot of effects. He would turn his amp up, maybe there was a bit of [Dunlop] Cry Baby, and that was it.”

You’re similar in that sense.

“I have a couple of devices here and there, but they aren’t a necessity. I look at effects as a comfort zone. They’re on the pedalboard, but whether I use them depends on how I’m feeling. My brother was a raw guitar-and-amp dude. In situations where your pedalboard doesn’t make the plane and all you’ve got is your guitar and amp, the show needs to go on. You should be able to plug in and go for it.”

He made a pretty big name for himself as Little Jimmy King.

“He even had Double Trouble on a couple of his records. He had a relationship with Stevie Ray Vaughan, too. People knew about Little Jimmy King. He was a touring machine who did it the hard way through grind. If he wasn’t on the road, he was at B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street every single weekend playing in the house band.

“But it didn’t come easy to him. It kinda came easy to me, with the record deal at 15, tour bus and all that stuff. It came a little harder for him, and I saw that struggle. It gave me a glimpse of the real grind it takes to make a name for yourself to beat the pavement like that. He’d be in places that were far from pristine, but every night he’d play his heart out. That stuck with me.”

Given the connection between Buddy Guy and your brother, it’s great to hear Buddy guesting on Somebody.

“It was important for him to be part of this record because of that. Buddy may be a big blues legend, but he was all in when it came to paying tribute. The same goes for Kingfish, who has often said my brother was a big inspiration to him. I was quite methodical in who I chose to involve with this record.

“We got MonoNeon to play bass. Of course, Joe Bonamassa knows about my brother. Josh Smith is a big fan too; we’d talk about Manuel all the time, referencing songs like Soldier for the Blues, Baby, Baby and Shouldn’t Have Left Me. Those conversations actually influenced the songs I picked.”

Hearing you, Joe and Josh go head-to-head on It Takes a Whole Lot of Money feels like one of the big guitar moments on this release.

“We all sat back and played our asses off. We did it for the culture and the whole blues world. That was really fun. People have been wondering if there’s another I Want My Crown [his 2021 single] on the way with more epic battles between me and Joe.

“As long as we are both playing, there’s always a chance for it, but I think we gave it a nod on that track. There’s another track with Joe called Don’t Wanna Go Home. It has a rock feel. Joe takes the middle solo and I do the outro solo. We did a tag-team one-two punch, nothing too competitive or outrageous. It came out great.”

What did you use for the sessions?

“I had my signature Magneto guitars. For a solo or two, I used the same Les Paul that Joe left in the room. I forget what year it was, but it was old as shit. It was an old-ass Goldtop, maybe a 1954 or something like that. We used my DV Mark amps and blended a little bit of Dumble in there.

“As for my pedalboard, nothing has been added or taken away for a while – it’s the same Custom Audio Electronics wah, Mojo Hand Colossus Fuzz, the MXR Raw Dawg overdrive, a Tech 21 Boost DLA and a DigiTech Whammy. I used a PRS parlor acoustic on Somebody.

“I really like how they sound because they give me that old Robert Johnson small-Gibson acoustic vibe. I really like those PRS acoustics; even though they’re small guitars, they sound nice, full and thick.”

Does a Les Paul change how you play?

“Sometimes. It puts me in more of a rock zone. There’s a guitar that was gifted to me by Nik Killa from Killa Guitars that’s a brown replica of a Gibson Explorer. He made it and brought it to a show. I’ve been playing that thing a lot and like the hell out of it. I would actually say I’ve been playing it more than my Magneto recently.

“I also have an SG that I occasionally pull out. It’s not like I said I wouldn’t play humbuckers, I’m just more prone to the spanky single-coil tones. At home, I’ll play whatever. I’ve got PRS guitars and all kinds of things I’m not seen with that often.”

You’ve also been playing guitars made by Eric Gale at Freestyle Custom Guitars.

“He’s an amazing luthier, and it’s pretty crazy we’ve almost got the same name. He made me a couple of guitars; one is called Crown and the other is Model Two. He’s a badass builder using amazing materials. I take those guitars out with me along with the Magnetos.”

You recently worked with Maricela “MJ” Juarez on launching your own set of Seymour Duncan pickups. What kind of sound were you going for?

“The sound I’ve always liked, something fat and spanky. MJ did the rest. We put my name on them and there we go. I told her what I was looking for and she totally got it. I wasn’t thinking of vintage tones or anything. I might have mentioned Texas Specials or Jason Lollars – things in that vein.”

Do you have any other signature gear coming out in the near future?

“I’m not allowed to unveil anything yet. I think it’s going to raise some eyebrows, though. I probably should keep this one to myself, but it’s a good thing. It’s a company everyone knows. I can tell you it’s not Fender and it’s not Gibson. People are going to be shocked.” [Editor's note: since Gales spoke to GW, he has signed up as a Kiesel artist.]

How do you keep improving, and what would you like to get better at?

“I’m proud of my involvement with the Sinners soundtrack. I’d like to get more involved in things like that, even orchestral stuff that’s beyond just making records and touring. It’s a different side of the industry, and the same goes for producing. I have colleagues on much bigger playing fields than me, selling out huge places.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I want that as well. I don’t know what separates them from me. I don’t think it’s skill. I’m not really doing anything too different. I just want to continue doing what I’m doing but on a much bigger scale. Fill more seats, bring more people out and let them know this is what I was born to do. When the world catches on, I’m ready.”

• A Tribute to LJK is out now via Provogue
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Blues virtuoso Eric Gales has made a surprise switch to Kiesel guitars, joining the likes of Stephen Carpenter, Sophie Lloyd and Devin Townsend in the brand's artist ranks.

That Stratocaster enthusiast has played a range of brands over the years, from Fenders – naturally – to Xotic and Magneto, with whom he released his signature guitar, the Sonnet Raw Dawg II.

Celebrated by the likes of Joe Bonamassa and Buddy Guy – who he recently tapped up for a touching tribute to his late brother – and championed for his singular blues style, Gales makes for a heavyweight addition to the Kiesel roster.

“We’re honored to officially welcome the phenomenal Eric Gales to the Kiesel Guitars artist roster,” the firm says. “His unmatched playing, tone, and passion continue to inspire players around the world.”

“Thank you Kiesel Guitars for welcoming me into the Kiesel family,” Gales adds. “Looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”

Naturally, the news has led to speculation that Gales will release a signature model in the near future. That would surely be Kiesel's most anticipated S-type in years. Only time will tell.

The announcement follows the release of Gales' Seymour Duncan Strat pickups, which have been designed with the company's in-house pickup guru, Maricela ‘MJ’ Juarez.

Last year, Gales explained how Eric Johnson had a huge impact on his pedal philosophy and how he approaches building pedalboards. Following that, footage of a 14-year-old Gales slaying a battle of the bands contest emerged online.

Meanwhile, in a recent conversation with Gibson, Joe Bonamassa said that Gales is the only player he’ll ever fully let loose with when jamming together.

Earlier this year, Kiesel unveiled an all-new, futuristic metal guitar called the Kyber. The instrument sports aggressive cutaways and a featherlight design in its bid to create “the ultimate modern axe.”

A headless guitar version has since followed, but the likelihood of Gales ripping blues standards on one seems unlikely.

Fresh from launching his namesake guitar brand, Nuno Bettencourt has announced the Six String Sanctuary guitar camp, set to take place in Las Vegas in January.

The Extreme guitarist, who recently revealed he turned down the chance to join Ozzy Osbourne’s band, has curated the four-day and four-night event to be a “celebration” of shred, and has tapped into his Rolodex of contacts to make it memorable.

Running January 16–20, 2026, at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, the event will host a handful of guest stars, including Steve Vai. He’ll be in attendance across the four days, holding masterclasses, while there’s promise of a “never-to-be-seen-again performance,” too.

Breakout workshops will be held by Rick Beato, Eric Gales, Richie Kotzen, Mateus Asato, and Taj Farrant. They’ll be organized by skill level to ensure all participants get the most out of their time with the elite musicians running the workshops.

There'll be nightly concerts by the house band. Bettencourt has drafted in drummer Marco Minnemann (the Aristocrats, Joe Satriani, Steven Wilson), keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Black Country Communion), and bass player Vincen García (Funkiwis) on bass for those performances.

Furthermore, there will be late-night jam sessions, with Kyle Brian, Doug Doppler, and Larry Mitchell among those burning the midnight oil.

Attendees will also be among the first players in the world to try out Nuno’s all-new electric guitars, which featured at Back to the Beginning.

Beyond that, attendees will shred over a new, original track penned by Bettencourt for the event.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to do this, and it’s finally happening; four days and nights of nothing but guitars, attitude, and music that hits you in the chest,” Bettencourt enthuses.

“This isn’t just about sitting back and watching us play. Everyone who comes to Six String Sanctuary will lay down a solo on a brand-new track I’ve written and recorded with the house band. You’ll walk out with your version in hand. This is gonna be raw, loud, heavy, and real. If the guitar has ever been your sanctuary, you already know you need to be there.”

Players must be over 16 to attend alone, and you’ll need to bring your own axe, guitar cable, and tuner to the party.

Head to Nuno’s Six String Sanctuary for more.

In related news, Bettencourt has unveiled a wild Mad Max-inspired Custom Shop Washburn that takes the keytar concept to ridiculous new heights.

Samantha Fish has risen to the upper echelons of the contemporary blues world. Aside from clinching the top spot on the Billboard Blues Albums chart in 2023 for Death Wish Blues, 2024 found her opening for the Rolling Stones and joining Slash's blues menagerie, the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival.

Her non-stop touring schedule has also led her to rub shoulders with a gamut of blues players – so who, in her opinion, are some of the best around right now?

“I just got off the road with [Christone] Kingfish [Ingram], and he’s pretty amazing,” she notes in a new interview with Guitar World.

“I think Derek Trucks is one of the greatest there is, not just in blues playing but any playing. He’s an alien. I like Gary Clark Jr. – he’s very tasteful, and he’s got a great tone. Eric Gales is incredible. He just blows everybody away. Luther Dickinson is one of my favorite contemporaries, too. He's awesome.”

As for her response to being ranked the 38th greatest blues player by Total Guitar, Fish says that it's “crazy and a big honor.

“I feel like being a guitar player is all about self-expression,” she enthuses, “so when you’re ranking guitar players, it’s tough for me, because I don’t think there’s one better way to do it.

“There are obviously people who are technically light years down the road from me, but I think when it comes to self-expression, it’s hard to rank them. I’m just trying to do what I can and what I know and get better at what I do.”

Speaking of keeping the blues alive, living legend Buddy Guy recently said that he's not retiring until the blues gets a higher profile – which is why his recent cameo in the Michael B. Jordan blockbuster Sinners was so pivotal.

For more from Samantha Fish, plus new interviews with Chris Buck, Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, and many more, pick up issue 597 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

Footage of a 14-year-old Eric Gales winning a battle of the bands contest in 1989 has surfaced online, and it gives a glimpse into the origins of his greatness.

According to the Instagram account Memphis Forgotten, which posted the clip, a teenage Gales had rocked up to the event in leopard print tights, a purple kimono, and “just one guitar in a plastic bag”.

Interesting fashion and gig bag choices aside, the guitarist’s natural gift for the electric guitar is as clear as glass in the clip, even if shots of his performance are frustratingly few and far between early on.

For the show – which came just two years before Guitar World crowned him as 1991’s best new talent – Gales took on Hendrix’s Spanish Castle Magic in a moment that facilitated his rise from obscurity. Gales gives it both barrels, too, dropping to his knees before soloing behind his head à la his earliest hero.

“By the time he finished, Memphis knew they were witnessing the birth of a legend,” says Memphis Forgotten. “That night sparked it all; he got signed, dropped his first album, and started a journey that’s still shredding stages today.”

The blues stalwart is spotted, as he has been since, playing a right-handed Stratocaster strung upside down. Curiously, however, Gales isn’t wholly left-handed.

Having first inherited a guitar from his older brother, Gales told Guitar World in 2022, “I play left-handed, but I write right-handed. I just picked [the guitar] up and that was what was comfortable.

“I picked the guitar up when I was about four years old, so [I wasn’t even thinking] which way to play it. That’s what felt comfortable to me and, ironically, my brothers play the same way.”

That, if anything, it makes his feat all the more impressive – if not bizarre. By ’93 he’d already released two albums with Elektra Records – The Eric Gales Band (1991), and Picture of a Thousand Faces (1993) – and was well on his way to modern blues immortality.

Now, he’s tapped Buddy Guy to honor the legacy of his late older brother, Manuel (AKA Little Jimmy King), who passed away in 2002.

“We don’t know how much time any of us has, so while you have the opportunity, you should give it a shot,” he says.

Eric Gales is an undisputed blues maverick – his child prodigy moniker back in the day has since progressed into that of a bona fide modern blues legend, with countless albums, collaborations, and accolades under his belt.

And aside from his recent work on the soundtrack of the Michael B. Jordan movie Sinners alongside Buddy Guy, it has recently been revealed that Gales was almost tapped to lend his electric guitar chops to one of last year's most anticipated albums: Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter.

“She wanted a solo. Bey wanted a solo,” Raphael Saadiq – one of the album’s producers, songwriters and musicians – divulged in an interview with NPR while discussing the record's eighth track, Bodyguard.

“And I did a solo. And she was like, ‘Can we make it longer?’ And you never hear that from an artist in 2025 – playing a guitar solo, they want it longer. But she knows her audience, and she knows that is rare.

“And she's like, ‘I think we could do that. We can have a 16-bar solo on this record.’ So that was a little bit of pressure, to go back in there and play, like, a 16-bar solo.”

While Saadiq played the solo himself, he very nearly called up Gales. “I would've called my boy. I would've called Eric Gales,” he continues.

“Eric Gales is one of the most amazing guitar players in the world today. He's from Memphis, Delta blues. He played a lot of guitar in Sinners. But I would've called him to play, but he was on tour, so I had to play it. And it came out good.”

Aside from Saadiq, a string of high-profile guitarists and session players were recruited for what many describe as Beyoncé’s magnum opus – including Gary Clark Jr., Raphael Saadiq, Jon Batiste, Nile Rodgers, and Justus West.

Eric Gales has announced a new album paying tribute to his brother, the late blues guitar maverick Little Jimmy King – and its first single finds Gales trading licks with the great Buddy Guy and Florida “sacred steel” phenom Roosevelt Collier.

Produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, both of whom play on the record, Tribute to LJK is an album that Gales admits has been a long time coming.

“I wanted it to be the ultimate tribute to my late brother, Little Jimmy King, to keep his memory alive and make sure people remember who he was and still is,” he says.

All of the tracks bar one were written by Little Jimmy King, aka Manuel Gales, who died in 2002, aged 37. Those who caught LJK live will see a lot of him in his younger brother’s playing.

He, too, was a southpaw player who played the guitar upside down, giving him a radical, unorthodox style. Manuel was born on December 4, 1964, along with his twin brother Danuel. Both were not long walking on two feet before they were presented with a guitar. When little Eric Gales came along, they encouraged him to play.

If you are wondering how Manuel Gales came to be known as Little Jimmy King, that’s all to do with left-handed guitar heroes. Manuel put his portmanteau together to honor two of his favorite players, Jimi Hendrix and Albert King.

Manuel played in King’s backing band. He played with his share of blues royalty. For his 1994 studio album, Something Inside of Me, Little Jimmy King could call upon SRV’s Double Trouble duo, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton, as his rhythm section.

That Gales’ new album’s lead single, Somebody, should feature Buddy Guy feels appropriate. Little Jimmy King and Guy shared the stage together back in the day. The idea for the collaboration came from Gales’ wife, LaDonna.

“He knew my brother, and they played together, so I think it was easy for him to agree to do this song – and the rest is history,” says Gales. “Me and Buddy actually did our parts at separate times, but you wouldn’t know it: it seems like we’re in the same room at the same time. And that was the intention, to bridge the gap between semi-old and middle-aged, if you will.”

Gales is right. They do sound like they are in the room together, all call and response, their vocal lines almost overlapping as though it was mixed like was a Bob Altman film, with Roosevelt Collier’s steel guitar part putting a great overdriven glissando bow on the jam. And, of course, there’s some ripping leads from Gales.

“That’s an anthological sort of tune, in how it starts off acoustically, blows up big, then comes back down again,” he says.

If you’ve got the “semi-old” in Buddy Guy, the “middle-aged” Eric Gales, you need a young buck to keep this generational thread going. Enter, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, with the Clarksdale, Mississippi blues prodigy sitting in on a cover of Rockin’ Horse Ride.

“I foresaw a great record,” says Gales, “but I didn’t foresee it turning out as amazing as this. My brother is there throughout this whole record – and I can’t wait for it to start turning people’s heads.”

The album was recorded at Curb Studios, Nashville and features and introduction from Danuel Gales.

Tribute to LJK is available to preorder, out digitally on August 29 with vinyl/CD following soon after.

Melody and rhythm are almost inextricably linked. I say ‘almost’ because you can have melody or harmony without a distinguishable rhythm, and rhythm itself can exist with no melodic content at all. The examples here contain elements of both, but I wanted to draw a clear distinction between the two before we start.

Many songs can be recognised by hearing the rhythm alone. Artists such as Bo Diddley can even make a rhythm their musical signature, while Steve Lukather has created memorable rhythmic parts that really push a song along using a single note!

I’ve leaned towards a funk style for these examples – this makes it easier to focus on the rhythmic element – but the kind of funk I’m referencing is ‘old-school’ R&B/Motown. Think Earth, Wind & Fire, The Spinners or even Band of Gypsys-era Jimi Hendrix.

Having made that point, let’s get back to a more traditional blues standpoint and consider players such as BB King, Albert Collins or Eric Clapton. Would you agree that their choice of rhythm is as integral to their style as the notes?

Of course, it’s one thing to acknowledge the importance of rhythm in guitar playing and another to set about methodically improving our practical skills in this area. And that’s where the examples come in.

If you divide each beat of each bar into four, then play any note or chord using alternating downstrokes and upstrokes, you’ll find yourself playing the classic funk ‘16 to the bar’ rhythm – think Nile Rodgers.

The skill is in choosing which notes to emphasise, or maybe skip entirely, while maintaining the alternate strokes (even if the pick doesn’t contact the strings). There’s no need to hit the strings hard unless you’re going for a specific effect (see Example 2). See you next time!

Example 1

There are a few things going on here. First, this is mostly palm-muted. Second, in spite of this there are shorter and longer notes, hence the staccato markings.

Third, though the underlying pattern is alternate-picked 16th notes, some are accented, some muted and some omitted completely, all while preserving the sequence of downstrokes and upstrokes.

Last but not least, keep it relaxed: if anything, pull very slightly back, rather than pulling ahead of the beat. A funk song might just use two notes, but I’ve gone a bit more bluesy and pentatonic!

Example 2

I’m attacking the strings more aggressively here, which gives a harder ‘pingier’ sound. I’m muting unwanted strings with my fretting hand, rather than the palm of my picking hand, which gives this example a different character from Example 1.

I’ve taken a few more liberties rhythmically, culminating in a more ‘lead guitar’-style doublestop phrase to finish. Hopefully, this starts to hint at how you might employ this approach in other scenarios, particularly a bluesy context.

Example 3

Moving further into blues solo territory, this example stays with the same A minor pentatonic position as Examples 1 and 2.

There is less emphasis on keeping a constant rhythm with alternating down- and upstrokes, but you should be able to see how the rudiments laid out in the first two examples are being put to use. I rolled back the guitar’s tone control a little to smooth the attack for this, though adding a touch of drive could also be nice.

Example 4

This Motown-style rhythm part is another way you might use the alternate ‘16s’ rhythm discussed earlier. This is influenced very much by the kind of playing you’ll hear on The Spinners’ It’s A Shame, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, and Earth, Wind & Fire’s That’s The Way Of The World.

It’s important to keep the strumming gentle and without too many grace notes. Don’t let it get too ‘choppy’ or aggressive, either. That can have its place, but shouldn’t be the default.

Hear it here

James Gang Rides Again – James Gang

Joe Walsh is great at combining funky rhythms with blues-rock riffs and pentatonic lines. Check out Funk #49, Asshtonpark and Thanks (though, really, this is one of those albums you should play all the way through).

Throughout, Joe manages to sound bluesy and rocky, with hardly a traditional powerchord to be heard. Note also how certain chord inversions are employed to allow a seamless transition into pentatonic lines – and back again!

Fire and Water – Free

Free’s music has always had a great rhythmic feel, with well-arranged complementary guitar bass and drum parts. Once you’ve played through the examples, take another listen to how these elements interact on the title track, Oh I Wept and Mr Big.

Admittedly, the link between the examples and these isn’t immediately obvious, but without doubt it is the awareness of rhythm and accents that sets this apart from ‘regular’ blues and rock.

A Night On The Sunset Strip (Live) – Eric Gales

Eric Gales is a great example of a modern blues player who has assimilated funk, jazz, blues and heavy rock. Have a listen to Make It There, Sea Of Bad Blood and Swamp, and you’ll hear the techniques from the examples in action.

As with any technique, you’ll develop a feel for where and how much you use it. Borrowing from great players such as Eric is a great place to start your own rhythmic journey.

Watching leftie master Eric Gales play – in all his idiosyncratic glory – is a thing of breathtaking beauty. And we got to see it firsthand when he dropped by Guitar World HQ in NYC a few months back.

He came here to share, explain and play some of the famous riffs that have informed his playing – everything from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Robin Trower. Not surprisingly, every riff he played had a goodly supply of “total Eric Gales” thrown into the mix.

“Every song I do is left up to interpretation,” he says. “There’s no reason to play something exactly like someone already has – or where you can go to the record store and buy something by someone who did it already. You should put your twist on it. That’s what evolution is all about! I’m a huge aficionado of tossing your own spice and throwing your own little ingredients into the recipe.”

With that, here are the five riffs Gales played for us that day.

1. Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix

“So, you have the man, Jimi Hendrix. I mean, he’s the man! Nothing else needs to be said. He had so many songs and riffs that are so iconic and influenced so many people, me being one of them.

“I think you’ll recognize this the moment I start playing it [Plays opening riff to Purple Haze]. That definitely was very impactful for me. It’s kinda hard to get away from Hendrix, man. You know, I’m sorry… but no, I’m not really sorry!” [Laughs]

2. Little Wing – Jimi Hendrix

“Here’s one on the more mellow side that kinda leads off into the chordal area, the chordal world that had a huge impact on me [Plays opening chords to Little Wing].

“Of course, we all know Little Wing. It’s such a beautiful piece of music – and very iconic. The chords and song structure that’s there – I’m sure I’m not by myself when I tell you that it was very influential to me [in terms of] my playing, chords and things of that nature.”

3. Testify – Stevie Ray Vaughan (via Jimi Hendrix)

“I was so honored to have met this guy before he passed away – Mr. Stevie Ray Vaughan. I was 15 when we met; I was recording demos for my first record, and he was working on 1990’s Family Style with his brother, Jimmie Vaughan.

“But one SRV song that kind of hit me – you know, ‘Man, I’ve got to learn that!’ – goes a little like this.” [Plays Testify]

4. Bridge of Sighs – Robin Trower

“Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower is just – wow… I don’t know what more to say other than it’s amazing. [Plays Bridge of Sighs]

“I’ll never forget having the opportunity to open for Robin Trower. It was amazing. We created a bond with each other. I’ve been so fortunate to meet all the influences that have been predominant in my life – the ones that hadn’t passed away before I had a chance to meet them – and Robin Trower is definitely one of those.

“Bridge of Sighs is a very powerful song to me, and it’s definitely in the arsenal. Hope y’all dig that.”

5. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Öyster Cult

“Here’s one that may be an oddball, but if you look on YouTube, there’s quite a few renditions of me doing this, especially in the last couple of years. Reaper is just a beautiful melody. Once I learned the riff, it was off to the races.

“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper – man. It’s such a morbid title for such a beautiful song! But it’s one of the songs that has stuck with me to this day. I love it. Shout out to Blue Öyster Cult, Buck [Dharma] and all the cats over there. They’re good friends of mine. Keep doing what y’all are doing. I’m listening!”

“Using the pedalboard is an extension or a way of aiding me in some sounds I can’t naturally get with the guitar and amp. It’s nothing extreme – just a few things that give me a little more comfortability. There’s nothing really that over-washes the natural sound of the guitar and amp; it’s more or less to embellish it.

“I’m going through the Shure [Digital] Wireless, the floor-mounted kind. My tuner is built into that; I’m not sure of the model number [Shure GLXD16+], but it’s there. That goes into the Buddy Guy [Cry Baby BG95] wah – and Jimmy Dunlop personally dolled it up. I have a couple of other ones I have blinged out, like the 14-karat gold one, and I swap them out from time to time.

“That goes into the DigiTech Whammy, and that goes into the Mini Tube Screamer [TSMINI Overdrive]. But I swap that sometimes with the MXR Raw Dawg [EG74 Overdrive]; it all depends on what I’m using on a particular run. But generally, almost nine times out of 10, it’s the Raw Dawg or the Mini Tube Screamer. That goes into a PRS pedal I started using within the last couple of months [Horsemeat Transparent Overdrive pedal].”

“From there, it goes into the Colossus by Mojo Hand; that’s the purple pedal. It’s more of a fuzz, which strictly flows out and goes into an envelope filter [Mojo Hand Little Wonder FX]. That’s specific to maybe some funk stuff or used when necessary. Out of that goes my Tech 21 [Boost] DLA, and out of that is another delay [Koogo Digital Delay Echo], which I have set for reverse delay. 

“The Tech 21 DLA is on all the time – that’s my normal delay. The [Koogo] was only added to the pedalboard about a week ago [April 2024]. I like to dip and dive into some ambient reverse stuff, so that’s what it’s used for.”

If I had to choose only one pedal for a full show

“It would be the Tech 21 DLA; it’s always on. I like the trickling off in a quarter-note fashion of that, which might be due to my heavy influence from Eric Johnson throughout the years.”

Slash is well and truly in his blues guitar era. Having already dropped his Orgy of the Damned blues cover album, the Les Paul loyalist is now well underway with his star-studded S.E.R.P.E.N.T “blues festival”.

Eric Gales is just one of many guitar greats who have been tapped for the tour, and now footage of the pair paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix at their recent show at Marymoor Park, Redmond, on Tuesday (8 July) has been posted online.

Having been chosen to open the show, Gales brought out Slash for his final song with the quip, “You all might know this tune, I think” – before commencing a near-seven-minute jam of Purple Haze.

Though Slash and his Gibson Firebird play their part, it’s Gales and the deliciously dialed-in tone of his Magneto signature guitar that steals the show. When he’s on it (and, naturally, he always is), Gales is near-unstoppable – an awesome force of sheer blues power.

His solo at the 4:30 mark – which delivers some of the most expressive blues soloing the S.E.R.P.E.N.T tour will undoubtedly play host to – is proof of that.

The two guitar heroes are of course very familiar with Purple Haze, and in a recent conservation with Guitar World Gales called it one of the five riffs that influenced him most as a player.

Slash, meanwhile, no doubt revelled in the opportunity to share the stage with Gales – a guitarist who left quite an impression on the GNR rocker when he first saw him play some time ago.

“He’s amazing,” Slash said of Gales during a chat with Blues Rock Review. “I saw him play a long time ago, I was doing this Jimi Hendrix festival, and I was playing with Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell.

“Eric Gales’ band played earlier that evening, I’d never heard of him before, and I was just like, ‘Wow, this guy is on fire.’ I’ve been aware of him ever since then.”

Slash, like most people who have witnessed Gales play the guitar, was particularly taken by his “unique” approach and style: “He has this natural, fluid way of playing that’s really got a lot of feel, but he’s also got an amazing technical prowess. But he doesn’t make it sound like he's trying.

“A lot of these guys that are real technical in their ability sound like that, and it doesn’t really do anything for me. Eric manages to mix it into his natural feel for the guitar. It’s sort of unique in blues, that kind of approach.”

Visit the S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival website for upcoming show dates.

Seymour Duncan has announced a new set of signature pickups for Eric Gales that look like they could solve some headaches for any Strat players who are fed up with dropping outputs in certain switching positions.

The Strat-inspired set encompasses a trio of single coil pickups and will slot in nicely to his glitzy S-style Magneto RD-3 signature guitar. They use Alnico IV magnets in their construction, which are known for offering a nicely balanced EQ and more of an even sound than their stronger Alnico V brethren.

This is important to Gales, as he explains in the accompanying Seymour Duncan clip, given his propensity for frequently switching across all five pickup positions in his playing. 

“Any one of these pickups,” says Gales. “The combination of them all can be turned to on a dime, according to the feel and vibe that I'm going for. It’s so second nature for me to just go back and forth between them all. That well-roundedness just aids in me being able to get my message across.”

In addition, Seymour Duncan says the coils have been slightly overwound, ensuring an even blend of “vintage warmth and modern clarity,” which should see them well-tailored for anything from buttery clean blues lines to overdriven rock sounds.

The pickups have been developed directly with the head of Seymour Duncan’s Custom Shop, Maricela ‘MJ’ Juarez, who is something of a legendary figure herself – having worked on pickups for everyone from Eddie Van Halen, to Slash, Angus Young, Billy Gibbons, and David Gilmour.

Elsewhere in Seymour Duncan clip, Gales talks us through how he views and uses the different switching positions. 

“For me it's all a feel thing, man,” says Gales. “And the neck pickup, I generally call it the Albert King pickup and it has a mid-range-y, meaty tone. The combination of the first and middle pickup, I call that the Stevie Ray tone. It gives this Hendrix-y, Little Wing… sort of sound as it's a very, very, very beautiful tone.

“The middle pickup I go to for nice strong rhythm stuff. The combination of the middle and the back pickup I use for funk, R&B, you know, chicken-pickin’ and it has this crystal-y, Castles Made of Sand sound. I call it the glassy tone. And then the bridge pickup I'm making a statement in a solo or something like that. I want to the gas and go wide open.”

The Seymour Duncan Eric Gales signature pickup set is priced at $375. For more information, head to Seymour Duncan.

There’s been a growing trend for signature pickup sets in recent years. Last month, Joe Bonamassa and Seymour Duncan debuted a set inspired by the P.A.F. humbuckers on one of his favorite Gibson ES-335 – all further evidence of the new golden age for pickups.

Slash unveiled his new blues album, Orgy of the Damned, last Friday and today has announced that its release will be followed by a 27-date traveling “blues festival” tour.

The dates kick off on July 5 in Bonner, MT and run until August 17 in Grand Prairie, TX. While not every artist will feature at every date, the tour is set to include a rotating cast of killer blues players, including Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Larkin Poe, Christone ‘Kingish’ Ingram, Samantha Fish, ZZ Ward, Robert Randolph, Eric Gales, and Jackie Venson. 

And then of course, Slash himself will be performing at every date, alongside his Orgy of the Damned Blues Band, which includes guitarist/vocalist Tash Neal. 

The name S.E.R.P.E.N.T. is reportedly an anagram for ‘Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance’ and a portion of the proceeds from every ticket sold will go towards supporting a host of charities, including The Equal Justice Initiative, Know Your Rights Camp, The Greenlining Institute, and War Child.

“The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. tour is a celebration of blues and rock ‘n’ roll music, and a celebration of unity and togetherness in these uncertain and divisive times,” says Slash. 

“S.E.R.P.E.N.T is a vehicle to help support and uplift people and communities suffering from the injustices of racism and equal rights violations, as well as to support children adversely affected by war and poverty across the world. 

“So, we are contributing a portion of every ticket and VIP package sold from the tour to those ends. S.E.R.P.E.N.T. will also provide an environment where folks can get together for a day of great music and hang out and have a good time.”

Slash debuted the first single from Orgy of the Damned – a romping take on Howlin' Wolf’s Killing Floor, featuring AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson and harmonica from Steven Tyler – alongside the album announcement last week.

It came accompanied by a video clip in which Slash changed up his usual Gibson Les Paul for an ES-335. The rest of the album reportedly features plenty of new company, too, with guest slots from Gary Clark Jr., Billy Gibbons, Demi Lovato, Beth Hart, and Paul Rodgers.

For more information, on the festival dates, head to the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. site.

Fender has partnered with multi-platinum artist, Grammy winner and multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq for a limited-edition Telecaster signature guitar that’s been launched with the help of blues guitar titan Eric Gales.

As well as a prolific songwriter and Tony! Toni! Toné! band member with numerous solo and group albums to his name, Saadiq is also a highly influential force in the production scene, having produced tracks for the likes of Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, John Legend, Joss Stone, and many others.

Throughout his diverse career, the R&B, soul and hip hop artist has been formally recognized with Grammy wins, as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations – and now he’s also got a Fender signature guitar to add to those accolades.

As for the guitar itself, it goes without saying that Saadiq’s uniquely styled six-string is one of the more attention-grabbing Telecaster releases of the year so far, and is a far cry from some of the more vintage-styled single-cuts the firm has put out in recent times.

In fact, with its Dark Red Metallic finish, black binding, black headstock and custom acrylic pickguard, it wouldn’t look out of place in the Fender Japan catalog, which is no stranger to modern cosmetic designs.

But in practice, the model offers a deliberate old-school-meets-modern functional flair – something that Saadiq was very careful to preserve. To that end, there’s a classic ash body, a ‘59 C-shape maple neck and a 9.5”-radius slab rosewood fingerboard.

Other appointments worth noting include Custom Raphael Saadiq single-coils, voiced to have the necessary amount of “bite” required for Saadiq’s work, which are wired to a standard Tele control layout.

It is the aesthetics of this model that really make it stand out, though, and as Saadiq explains in the in-depth demo video above – for which he’s joined by Gales – the color scheme was inspired by his debut solo album, Instant Vintage, the cover of which saw him don an especially eye-catching piece of attire.

Once the looks were locked in, it was just a case of honing the tone in order to make it a versatile workhorse that would be suitable for a wide range of potential players and songwriters. 

“I took it back and forth to make sure it had the bite I wanted,” Saadiq explained. “I really wanted this full sound that has a lot of depth, a lot of bite for soloing. I wanted it to be for players that like to write and also players that like to shred, and play live.

“It’s huge for me because I’m a songwriter and I love to write on guitar,” he went on. “So now that I have my own signature guitar, I feel like there’s a lot of magic for me to start making. I’m really excited to see other people write on this guitar.”

While running through his debut signature model, Saadiq also gave an honorable mention to the guesting Gales: “I’m glad to have him here to play my guitar. This is probably damn near bigger than having my guitar: having him playing my guitar.

“I really don't actually believe that I have a signature guitar,” Saadiq continued. “I feel like I’m dreaming a little bit, that they just gave me a guitar and Eric is actually playing one. If I walk into a store and I see some kid playing this guitar, that’s going to blow my mind.”

The guitar was dutifully demoed with the help of Gales, who was on hand to showcase its snappy single-coil bite (and his stellar blues chops) while offering his own two cents on Fender’s latest partnership.

“This is huge, man,” he observed of the move. “I wouldn’t wish to be no other place than where I am right now, with him celebrating something that’s well deserved for a highly esteemed songwriter [with] a track record that’s bigger than a phone book.

“The things that he brings to the table is a vast knowledge of so much that he's involved himself with, inserting himself [into] movie scores, and TV shows, and records, and just so much that he brings to the table.

“This guy’s phone is not consistently being rang off the hook because of what he can't do, it’s because of everything that he can do and has done. The dude, he delivers, man. He’s that dude.”

The arrival of Saadiq's signature Telecaster is the latest example of Fender looking to broaden its presence and formally champion the guitar in spaces outside conventional rock and blues genres. Previously, it partnered with Bruno Mars to release a similarly alluring signature Stratocaster.

The Raphael Saadiq Telecaster is available now for $2,399.

Head over to Fender for more information.

The most influential guitarist of all time, Hendrix was an innovator and visionary whose pure artistry was expressed with fearless experimentation

Eric Gales is no stranger to innovation. Over the past three decades he has managed to redefine the language of blues guitar with flair and finesse, drawing from all kinds of genres, styles and sounds to create a unique musical identity. 

In that regard, before you even factor in how Eric ended up using right-handed Strat-style guitars upside down, there are many comparisons to be drawn between him and Jimi Hendrix.

Eric naturally counts Hendrix as one of his biggest influences alongside Eric Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King. Here, he discusses why Jimi will never be topped in the annals of guitar greats…

When you hear the name Jimi Hendrix, what are the first things you think of?

“It’s all about innovation. Jimi Hendrix was able to find new sounds by just sitting down and experimenting on his own. He found all these different techniques that seemed to work for him, things like using his thumb for bass notes over the neck. 

“He had big hands so he was able to use his own physicality to help him accomplish whatever he was hearing in his head. And it feels like he never gave up – that guy would do whatever it took to make it happen! It’s almost impossible to comprehend just how innovative he was and how he ended up influencing me. 

“I’d actually say there’s nothing he did that didn’t influence me – from his legendary tone to the way he used chords to writing and everything else. I could sit here all day long trying to explain his contributions to the world in terms of guitar playing, songwriting and even lyrics. He could express himself beautifully.”

Hendrix could draw from deep within, but he was also a shrewd observer – and therefore able to tell the story of the world around him.

“Yeah! Even all these years later, I’m still blown away by the sheer magnitude of how Hendrix was able to communicate and talk about things that were happening in his era, in his time. He was telling us about the world around him, and it was in a terrible state. He would channel all of that frustration and anger into his guitar.”

Which probably explains why his Strat could sound like bombs going off and missiles shooting down from above…

“He was trying to emulate things that were going on during his time. It was an expression of mayhem, chaos and turmoil and what an awesome translation it was. 

“When you read up on his life, you get an understanding of his backstory and it becomes clear he was trying to recreate the destruction from all the way and the uneasy state of the world at the time. It’s still going on all these decades later, we got a whole lot of chaos going on right now. 

“Hendrix was translating the human experience through his guitar, from the eyes of all these different people across the world. But let’s not forget the beauty he saw in the world around him too – which you can hear on tracks like Little Wing and Angel. 

“He was able to channel a delicate side that focused on his love for the people in his life and everything that inspired the beautiful sounds and colors in his mind. From his mind to his instrument to the studio speakers and finally the ears of the listener, it was pure poetry and not a task for the faint of heart. He was brave, beautiful and powerful.”

Little Wing and Castles Made of Sand are great examples of how he was able to play rhythm and lead at the same time, playing licks within the chords…

“In my opinion, that kind of stuff came from his Curtis Mayfield influence and what he took from the soul and R&B genres. He would take some of those more gospel-style lines and experiment, twisting them in his own way. It led him down the road of finding songs like Little Wing and Castles Made Of Sand. 

“That’s why he was such a big part of the guitar’s evolution. He was doing things that had never been done. And we’re supposed to try and evolve this thing – anyone that’s influenced by me will automatically end up taking on the players that inspired me and turn it all into something new.”

In that respect, he was the most innovative force in the history of electric guitar…

“I don’t even think he was aware of his skills and the impact he’d end up leaving on this world. He was doing things that hadn’t been done prior to him, but of course he was also taking his own influences and molding all of them into his own unique character. 

“Inspiration is very, very powerful and can lead you into a room with the door closed for days. You will be sat there trying to emulate all these magical noises made by the people you are influenced by and it will take you in a new direction, quite often by randomly trying stuff and making a few mistakes along the way. 

“That’s how it worked for me. So I’d listen to songs like Bold as Love, Remember and If Six Was Nine, trying my best to jam along to them. I also loved a lot of the lesser-known tracks like Peace in Mississippi. 

“It’s easy to forget this guy was experimenting with serious drop-tuning way back then. A lot of these new kids think drop-tuning is this new thing that just came out and it’s like, ‘No way, Jimi Hendrix was doing that stuff a long time ago!’ 

“All these different approaches and techniques were the sound of him getting the noises out of his head and onto the fretboard and ultimately through his amp cabinet. He’d intentionally bust his speakers to create distorted sounds. He had no boundaries when it came to trying things.”

It’s interesting how similar words have been used to describe your own playing…

“I’ve often questioned myself about my own reckless abandon and a lot of that comes from Jimi. Basically, you’ll never know if you don’t try. That’s one of the most important lessons I learned from him. And who would have the guts to try all this stuff during a live show, not knowing what might happen next? 

“I try to be like that myself. If I hear it, I’ll try to strike while the iron is as hot as it can be. You’ll never know what might happen until you try. I have a habit of executing things like that on the fly just like Hendrix did. He was always off-the-cuff. Every night was different. No solo was the same. 

“That’s another thing I really learned from – make every night stand out and feel like that night! There was no stone left unturned when it came to unlocking the ideas in his head. And he made you pay attention. 

“He was the one to say, ‘Alright, I’m playing this guitar and you will all know who I am!’ It’s like he came from this whole other planet. He was so ahead of his time, even now you listen to his recordings and they sound like something new and exciting.”

There’s also another connection because you’re both left-handed players who ended up using right‑handed Strat-style guitars upside down.

“I agree. During Hendrix’s time, there weren’t a whole load of examples to go from. His technique and style was pure trial and error. He figured it all out on his own. There were no how-to books, YouTube videos, tablatures or anything like that. It was all nose-to-the-grind sitting down and conjuring up whatever he could. And boy, did he come up with some stuff! 

“So there are similarities to me, in that sense. I didn’t grow up with a whole lot of examples, either. All the people I was influenced by were right-handed players. I wasn’t even paying attention to what way they were playing. I just knew I liked what I heard and I refused to quit until I figured it out.”

Which of your songs do you think ended up drawing more from that Hendrix influence?

“Roughly 19 albums in, I can say there are plenty of conscious and nonconscious things I do directly out of the Hendrix book. I’d be the first to admit it and I’m not embarrassed to say it! I don’t care who you are, no matter what style you play, Hendrix will have influenced you somehow. 

“But off the top of my head, there are some chordal things I do in the song Stand Up from my most recent record [2022’s Crown] that you can link to his work on Axis: Bold as Love, especially songs like Castles Made of Sand. 

“There’s also a heavier kind of influence on my song Survivor which has a If Six Was Nine sort of style to it. I’m sure there are a handful of songs on every record I’ve done that will have come from Hendrix’s world.”

It says a lot that 56 years on from the release of his debut album, he’s still influencing us and considered the greatest guitar player of all time…

“It does! And I think it’s because he was hearing all these things in his head and would do whatever it took to make it come out of his fingers. There were no limitations – that’s what led to a lot of innovative things that still has the world with a huge question mark hanging over our heads, asking ourselves how and where the hell did this all come from? 

“Until the end of time, we’re going to be wondering how this guy came up with this stuff. Why did he play like that? What was he thinking? I don’t have the answers… I just know I enjoy listening to his genius.”

• Eric Gales’ latest album Crown is out now.

Eric Gales has worked his way to the top of the crop of current blues players, having started out as something of a prodigy, playing a Hendrix-infused style of modern blues. Eric seamlessly fuses classic blues language and a more modern style that owes some of its character to the influence of Eric Johnson. Gales often covers rock classic in his live sets from Don’t Fear The Reaper to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir.

His virtuoso take on the blues has won him mainstream acclaim in addition to the respect of the blues community. His albums reflect his wide-ranging taste and experience in many genres, taking in soul-inspired chords and metal-style riffs. 

There are quite a few elements that stand out in Eric’s playing. His technique is impressive to say the least, playing both left-handed and his guitar strung upside-down. The Eric Johnson influence can be seen in the position shifting of the minor pentatonic scale and in the economy-picked lines. 

Hendrix-like wide bends and lyrical free-flowing improvisation are also a big part of his playing. He loves to target more unusual notes, often embellishing minor pentatonic patterns by filling in the gaps between the five notes. The major 2nd/9th interval is important in his playing, as it adds a more open, modern sound. Eric also seems to have an ear for jazz influenced lines and often incorporates chromatic notes into familiar blues licks and patterns.

In our examples I’ve added some of the types of pentatonic and blues lines that are common in Eric’s playing. The ability to flow between the positions of the pentatonic scales are key to this style. This presupposes a command of the shapes that span the entire fretboard. It’s worth brushing up on your pentatonic shapes, and also practising moving from one scale position to another.

I’ve also mixed legato and non-legato approaches. By legato I mean lines that use hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides and bends. In the non-legato passages, I’d encourage you to consider exploring economy picking. 

This is where we follow the guitar pick through in the same direction when moving from one string to another. So, rather than moving from an upstroke to a downstroke or vice versa, try playing both notes with the same pick stroke. It works with downstrokes and upstrokes.

One thing to be mindful of with this approach is that you’ll have to pre-plan your picking patterns until you have a few economy picking licks up your sleeve. After this it should become second nature. 

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 4, Treble 6, Reverb 4

To approximate Gales’ sound you’ll need a high-gain smooth American-style amp tone. Reverb is essential, and some delay will help too. You’ll also need a decent overdrive pedal. Eric’s sound is inspired by classic and modern guitar tones from Albert King to Eric Johnson. While I didn’t use one here, Eric is also a master of the wah-wah, so try that too if you like.

Example 1. Hendrix-inspired riff

Our first example is a classic Hendrix-inspired riff which uses the open sixth string E note to give a sense of the underlying chord – look where it’s placed each time.

Example 2. Shifting minor pentatonic positions 

This example uses economy picking to cross the strings. Find your own way to execute this line, but don’t let the pick change angle or position in your hand.

Example 3. Adding the 9th to the blues scale

Here’s a classic line that adds the 9th (F#) to the E blues scale (E-F#-G-A-Bb-B-D). Again, we’re position shifting. I started on an upstroke – see if this works for you.

Example 4. Pentatonic blues line with 9th and bends

Here we see a more traditional minor pentatonic/blues line, and again we’re leaning on the 9th degree. This line incorporates a few more bends, too.

Example 5. Eric Gales-style solo

Our sample solo mixes up many of the above ideas, but we’ve added a few more complicated rhythms. If you have problems figuring them out from the tab, check the audio. Inject as much EG-style intensity as you can, while endeavouring to stay in time and with accurate bends and clean legato.

Crossroads 2023 took place at the weekend and saw a huge array of big name guitar collaborations grace the stage of LA’s Crypto.com Arena, including John Mayer jamming with H.E.R. and Joe Bonamassa trading licks with John McLaughlin on Jeff Beck standard, Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers. 

One of our favorites of the clips to emerge so far is another Jeff Beck-inspired jam, this time a take on Going Down (aka I’m Going Down) featuring contemporary blues guitar gurus Eric Gales, Samantha Fish and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram.

As the veteran player, self-proclaimed contender for Joe Bonamassa’s blues rock crown and host of the set, Gales – armed with his Magneto U-One RD3 signature guitar – is the leader of the pack here.

However, Going Down proves the ideal foil for the trio of guitarist/singers, with the three of them able to trade the vocal spotlight and alternate solos at will. 

Fan footage shows Fish gets much of the initial limelight – unleashing some fizzing, rock ‘n’ roll laced licks from her go-to white SG –  but when it comes time to hand over to Ingram, the latter is seen struggling to get a sound from his Tele Deluxe.

Any guitarist watching the clip will have felt that ‘heart in the throat’ moment of an onstage malfunction and Ingram is momentarily left prodding his pedalboard as Fish and Gales briefly vamp. 

Fortunately, Ingram figures out the issue before thundering back in with a solo that seems initially powered by a little manic energy but then flows beautifully into some buttery bends.

Gales then punctuates proceedings with his own run, before passing the baton back to each of his guests for a few final bars.

While Going Down was not penned by Beck, it was written by one of his collaborators, Don Nix – who also played with Steve Cropper, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn and other Stax session regulars in The Mar-Keys.

The song was first popularized by Freddie King, but Beck recorded the track a year later, in 1972, and performed it regularly in his shows. Poignantly, it was chosen as one of the three tracks performed at Beck’s funeral.

If you’ve not checked out the weekend’s other big Beck tribute – Joe Bonamassa and John McLaughlin’s performance of Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers, we suggest you get right on that…

Joe Bonamassa is a household name for guitar fans. Known for his impeccable guitar skills, great songwriting and vocals in a career that saw him opening for B.B. King at the age of only 12, he has risen to the level of blues superstar. 

Selling out venues around the world with his amazing live concerts, his bandmates have included legendary musicians such as keyboard and Hammond organ player, Reese Wynans and the late, great Michael Rhodes on bass guitar.

Having an impressive recorded catalogue too, Bonamassa’s influences are numerous, including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck as well as original blues guitar heroes like BB King. 

These influences come together in a unique and masterful style which can hear Joe play anything from beautifully constructed classic blues solos to hard riffing, driving rock infused tunes containing trademark rapid pentatonic lines and Eric Johnson-inspired cascades of notes.

This lesson article not only features the playing style of Bonamassa himself, but also six other great blues guitarists with whom he has been associated. These are artists he has toured, played or recorded with, or produced or mentored. 

There are seven mini pieces to learn in the style of each player (including Joe) which feature some of their kind of approaches to blues-rock guitar soloing.

Player 1: Joe Bonamassa

Player 2: Josh Smith 

Virtuoso guitarist Josh Smith’s style incorporates elements of jazz and country as well as blues. He has recorded and played with Bonamassa many times and is currently in his touring band.

Player 3: Kirk Fletcher

Fletcher is another virtuoso exponent of blues guitar. His soulful and ever tasteful playing is always a masterclass in how to play the blues. Again, he has played with Joe and has also toured in his road band.

Player 4: Eric Gales

Gales’ unique, virtuosic style is a tour de force of energy. Like one of his influences, the legendary Albert King, Gales plays a right-handed guitar, but left-handed and upside down, with the first string uppermost. Gales and Bonamassa have played live together and along with Josh Smith, Joe produced Gales’ stunning 2022 album, Crown.

Player 5: Joanna Connor

Another virtuoso player with a high-energy intensity, guitarist and singer Joanna Connor is a veteran of the Chicago blues scene. Aware of her as an artist, Bonamassa and she connected and he (along with Josh Smith) produced her stunning album 4801 South Indiana Avenue.

Player 6: Larry McCray

Legendary blues scene veteran, Larry McCray is a blues singer and guitar player par excellence. ‘Rediscovered’ by Bonamassa, he and Josh Smith produced McCray’s 2022 album on JB’s Keeping The Blues Alive record label.

Player 7. Joanne Shaw Taylor 

Another wonderful player and vocalist, Joanne had been playing on the UK scene since her teens when she was discovered by Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics fame). She has written and recorded with Bonamassa, and her albums, The Blues Album and Nobody’s Fool, were produced by Joe and Josh Smith.

There’s an array of different styles and techniques here and much to learn from these seven great guitarists. Enjoy! 

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 7, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 5, Reverb 4

Single coils or humbuckers will be suitable for the examples, with the latter being more suited to high-gain sounds. If you’re not in a position to crank up a tube amp, an overdrive pedal will be useful for varying degrees of simulated amp ‘breakup’ or overdrive, along with a boost pedal running into it to give more saturation to soloing tones if desired.  Just add reverb.  

Example 1. Joe Bonamassa

This is an uptempo 12-bar blues in the key of D. Bar 3: Make sure these one-and-a-half tone interval bends are accurate; if you’re not used to these wider interval bends, go easy and gradually work up to developing the technique. 

Bar 8: This bar contains one of JB’s trademark style rapid-fire descending pentatonic runs using the notes of a D minor pentatonic scale (D-F-G-A-C). Practise this slowly
and with precision (use the picking suggested) as it is technically demanding.

Example 2. Josh Smith

This is a 12-bar jazz-style blues in the key of C with a three beat pick-up lick before the tune kicks in. 

It mainly uses licks derived from C minor pentatonic (C-Eb-F-G-Bb), but also incorporates in places the major 2nd (D), major 3rd (E) and major 6th (A) which are borrowed from C major pentatonic (C-D-E-G-A) to give it its distinct jazzy Minor mixed with major tonality. 

The b5 interval (Gb note) in bar 7 along with a quirky chromatic line in bar 8, add to the jazzy vibe.

Example 3. Kirk Fletcher

This one’s a 12-bar slow blues in the key of G. Again mainly using notes from
the G minor pentatonic scale (G-Bb-C-D-F), Kirk’s solo also borrows the major 2nd (A), major 3rd (B) and major 6th (E) from the G major pentatonic scale (G-A-B-D-E) and this helps to create a sophisticated Mixolydian-type sound. 

Note too, how the overall space between the phrases and its softer dynamic approach help make the vibe of this piece.

Example 4. Eric Gales

This high-energy 16-bar blues is in the key of E, uses mostly E minor pentatonic scale (E-G-A-B-D) ideas and features several trademark Eric Gales style approaches. 

As Gales’ playing derives from his obvious raw talent combined with his unauthodox approach, his whole style sounds massive and unique. 

Some of the fast passages (as in bars 7 and 8) require some fast fretting-hand legato and the piece overall needs to be played with a sense of passion.

Example 5. Joanna Connor

This is an uptempo 12-bar blues in the key of A, using mainly notes from A minor pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G). This is quite a rocky style piece with quite a high-gain distortion sound. 

Bar 5-6: This lick uses an open first-string pedal tone idea, where we pull off to the open string from the first five successive notes of the A Aeolian mode (A-B-C-D-E-F-G). 

Bar 7: Note how the high B note (first string, 19th fret) gives a different, melodic colour – it’s the 9th interval against the A7 chord.

Example 6. Larry McCray

This 12-bar in B uses some great classic blues approaches. Another example of how the major and minor pentatonic combine to create that classic blues sound, here we’re using notes from both the B minor pentatonic (B-D-E-F#-A) and B major pentatonic (B-C#-D#-F#-G#) scales. 

Bar 8: For this tricky ascending bend lick, in beat 3 bend up the 9th-fret, third-string E note, let it down, then quickly slide it up to the 12th-fret G note, quickly bending that up to the 14th-fret, A.

Example 7. Joanne Shaw Taylor

This is a 12-bar blues in the key of Bb, using predominantly Bb minor pentatonic (Bb-Db-Eb-F-Ab). It’s quite an uptempo tune, so make sure the licks are executed accurately and pay attention to bending accuracy. 

Note the occasional addition of the major 6th (G note) borrowed from Bb major pentatonic (Bb-C-D-F-G).

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s spirit lives on through the power of his music, and even outside of the blues genre, it doesn’t require much effort to find musicians who will name-check SRV as a primary influence. 

If you’ve ever listened to any recordings by John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Dan Patlansky or Philip Sayce, you will have definitely heard a line or two, or perhaps even 100, copped straight out of the SRV lick book. It’s something any of those players would happily admit to and have done time and time again.

But if there’s one musician who seems to capture the great man’s essence and courageous flair for gutsy improvisation, as well as continually delivering the kind of impeccable tones that leave other players red-faced in envy, it’s Magneto Guitars and DV Mark endorsee Eric Gales. 

As it turns out, Eric had crossed paths with SRV early on in his career while working on demos for his debut album with The Eric Gales Band, having just inked a deal with Warner subsidiary Elektra Records after being touted as the next big thing in blues…

“I was lucky enough to meet Stevie back when I was recording demos for my first record,” Eric tells Total Guitar. 

“I remember he was clean at the time. I told him my name was Eric Gales and he said, ‘I’m very aware of who you are because the industry has been buzzing about you!’ So we sat down and jammed, and he said to me, ‘Dude, you are an awesome guitar player!’ I was only 15 years old at the time. It was really intense, man! There were two acoustic guitars and we just had fun playing Riviera Paradise together.” 

It was a life-changing moment for Eric, but as he remembers it, he never asked Stevie for any advice in terms of technique or theory. Even as a teenager, Eric had already done his homework and become a force to be reckoned with in his own right…

“Honestly, I had been studying the dude note-for-note way before that meeting,” he explains. “So it all came full-circle that day. It wasn’t about asking a whole lot of questions. I was just in awe of one of my heroes as we played together and he was nice enough to say ‘Man, you got it!’ when we finished.”

Back in the days before camera phones, when young musicians met their heroes it would be only natural for them to ask for an autograph to commemorate the experience. What Eric wasn’t expecting, however, was for SRV to ask for one in return…

As Eric now recalls with a smile and an expression of disbelief: “Right at the end I asked him to sign an autograph for me and he said, ‘Only if you sign one for me first!’ Through the years, I lost it. And though I don’t know where that piece of paper is, I will never ever forget it. That was such an intense meeting. 

“I’ve always counted him, Robin Trower and Eric Johnson as my biggest influences. So whenever I’ve run across these people, it’s always blown my mind. And I have to say, all three of those players are known for their killer tones, but Stevie’s could be the greatest of all time. I will never forget that day we met!”

• Crown is out now via Provogue.

Earlier this month, blues guitar ace Eric Gales took the stage in Byron Bay, Australia for a set at the 2023 Bluesfest festival.

As a final exclamation mark to his performance, Gales brought not one, not two, but three of his fellow electric guitar virtuosos – Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Joe Bonamassa and Marcus King – to the stage for a positively jaw-dropping jam on Jimi Hendrix's classic slow burn, Red House, that stretched on for well over 10 minutes.

You can check out fan-filmed footage of the performance below.

Ingram – armed with his signature Mississippi Night-finished Tele Deluxe – takes a solo first, and sets the bar terrifyingly high, all but setting the fretboard ablaze with nimble but tasteful runs that impress while never losing sight of the song they're supporting.

Rather than his own signature Gibson 1962 ES-345, King, in turn, opts for a Buddy Guy signature polka dot Stratocaster, specifically – it seems – a limited-edition, Midnight Blue-finished version of the guitar. 

In any case, King opts for a less fiery, and more soulful, approach with his solo, focusing more on smooth, lyrical (but still fleet-fingered, of course) phrases. 

Bonamassa – playing one of his beloved Les Pauls – tastefully decides to not engage in one-upsmanship, and instead brilliantly uses his pinky finger to incorporate volume swells into his licks, giving them a haunting, mysterious air.

Gales – using one of his own Magneto signature guitars – puts on an absolute clinic to close things out, demonstrating his incredible vibrato, attack, and speed. 

It's also worth noting that Gales, Bonamassa, King and Ingram are all set to perform at the 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival this September. 

Might we be in for a repeat? With even more big-name special guests? On a different Hendrix tune perhaps? One can only dream...

Eric Gales is fast developing a reputation as something of a spotlight stealer. In other words, such is the ferocity of his live improvisational prowess, whenever he links up with one of his guitar-playing peers on stage, he usually ends up leaving said stage having absolutely blown everyone away.

There is evidence to back this up. At Joe Satriani’s G4 V6.0 Experience last month, Gales teamed up with Satch, Steve Lukather and Mateus Asato and helped contribute to one of the best jams of the year so far. Rewind the clock even further, and Gales turned in 2021’s most astonishing live solos while cameoing for Gary Clark Jr.

Now, Gales is back to his usual tricks, having recently been recruited by funk maestro Cory Wong for a live jam of the latter’s Cory and The Wongnotes track, Meditation.

Wong – who is having a notably quiet year by his own insane standards on the album release front – brought out Gales during a Power Station tour show last Sunday (February 19) at The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina, who immediately undersold what his contribution to the track would be.

“So, I’m going to try my best to play one or two notes, and I’m going to get out the way,” the blues titan told the crowd, before immediately reneging on his declaration and playing far more than just the “one or two notes” he promised.

In fact, what he did end up playing was perhaps one the finest live blues solos of his career. Sitting at just around the five-minute mark, Gales’ death-defying fretboard throwdown has all the hallmarks of a video that will stand the test of time as being a sonic manifesto on how to really shred the blues.

Indeed, we anticipate listeners will return to the video to watch on in awe at the sheer magnificence of Gales’ effort, which turned Meditation from a soulful bop into a vicious solo masterclass of the highest order.

From the early wah pedal pentatonic licks to the finale’s Whammy-charged bends, the solo navigates just about every technical trick up Gales’ sleeve, with the Magneto signature artist – opting for an upside down Fender Stratocaster for this outing – blitzing through dizzying licks, lightning-quick scale runs and tasteful blues motifs.

Part of what makes Gales’ playing such a force to be reckoned with is his ability to marry fretboard pyrotechnics with elite phrasing and note selection, with the guitarist never once wasting a note, or putting in one too many where they don’t belong, in his latest electrifying outing.

Words don't really do Gales’ effort here any justice, but Wong himself offered a nice closing summation in the video's description by nicely articulating the question we imagine was on everybody's mind: “Can someone please teach me how to play guitar like Eric Gales?”

Last month, Joe Satriani hosted his G4 V6.0 Experience – a star-studded guitar camp for which he recruited Steve Lukather, Eric Gales, Mateus Asato and many more A-list electric guitar heroes for five days of tuition workshops and jams.

Now, further footage from the event has emerged online, capturing the four guitar heavyweights locking fretboards over a Miles Davis classic for one of the best jams of the year so far.

Backed by Satch’s house band – featuring drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Bryan Beller and keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte – the quartet deliver perhaps the finest 15 minutes of live guitar playing 2023 has had to offer as of February, serving up a range of mouth-watering exchanges that highlight their individual playing strengths.

Lukather, wielding his Ernie Ball Music Man Luke, calls his compadres to the stage, and after a brief line check and left-hand limbering warm-up, the quartet get cooking on their own individual efforts.

As the event’s host, Satch takes the spotlight first, using his Muscle Car Red-finished Ibanez JS2480 signature guitar to set the jam’s high six-string standards, which are duly followed up by Asato’s own stellar solo effort.

With his Classic S Suhr signature model in tow, the neo-soul virtuoso harnesses an edge-of-breakup clean tone to accommodate his own fingerboard pyrotechnics, which are characterized by dizzying chromatic runs and full-blown blues licks.

Lukather, seated up until this point, is next in line, standing for a million-miles-per-hour fretboard exploration that flexes the Toto maestro’s evergreen six-string stamina for what is without a doubt the fastest solo contribution from the whole jam.

Gales is a player whose jam reputation precedes him – he turned in one of 2021’s most astonishing live solos with Gary Clark Jr., after all – and his fine form continues here, with the blues titan bringing the rondo to a close in blistering fashion with the help of his Magneto U-One RD3 signature guitar.

The best part? The fact they do the whole round all over again for a second time, before converging into a show-stopping finale.

Elsewhere throughout the G4 V6.0 weekend, Satch called upon the likes of Cory Wong, Nili Brosh, Peter Frampton and Steve Morse to lead activities, with Alex Skolnick and John 5 – the latter of whom is busy rehearsing with Motley Crue – also joining the fray.

It’s the second jam from the G4 we’ve seen so far, after footage emerged of Satriani and Gales joining forces with Steve Morse for an extended rendition of Going Down.

Earlier this month, electric guitar icon Joe Satriani hosted the latest edition of his G4 Experience. 

Held from January 3-7 at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa, the experience featured an eye-watering lineup of guest instructors, among them Peter Frampton, Steve Lukather, Mateus Asato, Cory Wong, Nili Brosh, Steve Morse, Alex Skolnick, Eric Gales, Andy James, John 5, and, of course, Satch himself.

Typically – for those of us who can't attend them in person – the highlights of these camps tend to be the late-night, all-star jams, typically featuring lineups you're unlikely to see elsewhere.

Such was the case at this year's edition of G4, when Satriani took the stage with Steve Morse and blues guitar titan Eric Gales for an electrifying rendition of the blues classic, Going Down.

Thankfully, G4 host Dreamcatcher Events caught the jam on camera, and uploaded video of it to YouTube earlier this week. You can check it out below. 

Going Down is very much in Gales's wheelhouse, but it's cool to see Satriani and Morse get their jam on.

Gales takes lead vocals, and the first solo, a hard-driving outburst packed with blazing runs. Morse goes next, focusing more on bite-sized phrases that he executes with laser-like precision.

Satriani, for one, definitely wins the guitar face competition amongst the three, hitting some whopping bends that delight both the crowd and his fellow virtuosos.

Gales, after two rounds of swapping solos, says to the crowd, "I don't know about y'all, but this is some of the funnest shit I've done in my life."

The trio – all of whom are armed with one of their signature guitars – were backed by Satriani's live band – Kenny Aronoff on drums, Bryan Beller on bass guitar and Rai Thistlethwayte on keyboards.

Satch will be taking that very group on the road with him this spring for an extensive European tour, the itinerary for which you can check out at Satriani's website.

Throughout his career, blues virtuoso Eric Gales has collaborated with a huge range of electric guitar heroes. Just two years ago, for example, he partnered with Joe Bonamassa for I Want My Crown – one of 2021’s standout blues tracks.

Aside from that, Gales’ collaborative credits include Gary Clark Jr., Eric Johnson, Santana and many others, but now the blues guitar titan has publicly called out the musician he wants to perform with next: John Mayer.

Taking to social media, Gales issued an open invitation to Mayer to join his long list of collaborators, saying he would “love” the opportunity to take to the stage with him “soon”.

“I have played with a lot of my friends and idols over the years and very lucky to do so,” Gales wrote. “I’ve shared the stage with Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, Gary Clark Jr. and many others.”

“But one doode I have never played with is John Mayer,” he added. “I would love to do that soon. Where you at, John Mayer? Let’s do this. I’ll come to you.”

Mayer, of course, is no stranger to Gales-esque blues himself, having rebranded himself from a out-and-out pop singer-songwriter into a bluesman of notable skill when he tapped Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan for his 2005 blues trio live album, Try!

Since then, the blues has been the beating heart of Mayer’s playing, so the prospect of him sharing the stage with Gales – quite possibly the most accomplished and soulful blues guitar player of his time – is bound to get guitar fans excited.

Having said that, Mayer’s calendar is currently quite full, and so any potential link-up between him and Gales might be a ways off. At the time of writing, Mayer is busy with Dead & Company’s final tour, after it was announced the supergroup would disband in 2023.

The tour kicked off on January 14 – which saw Mayer wield a limited prototype replica of Jerry Garcia’s Wolf guitar – and is set to continue through to July 16. Between now and then, Mayer’s availability looks highly limited.

Likewise, Gales himself is also navigating a hectic schedule, and has live dates planned throughout February, March, April and August. 

However, judging by his post, Gales is pretty desperate to get this off the ground, and we imagine Mayer would be equally keen to trade licks with the Magneto signature guitarist, so never say never.

Keep your eyes glued to Gales’ Instagram account for any potential announcements concerning what would undoubtedly be one of the best blues link-ups of 2023.

Other high-profile collaborations from Gales' career include a stint on stage with Carlos Santana at the 1994 Woodstock Festival, a guitar duel with Bonamassa during the release party of his latest album, Crown, and a guest cameo with Gary Clark Jr., during which he turned in one of 2021’s most astonishing live solos.

Magneto guitars first appeared back in late 2008, the brainchild of Christian Hatstatt, a guitar designer and maker who has worked with various European brands, most notably Gary Levinson’s Blade Guitars. 

Christian’s initial designs centred on two models: the Sonnet and T-Wave inspired by Fender’s Strat and Telecaster. Later in 2012, the Velvet was added, a more Les Paul-inspired style. Yet unlike many modern makers who might simply change a headstock outline, Magneto subtly reevaluates those originals. 

Initially, they were only made in Japan via a collaboration with Kei Yatsuzuka, but more recently the Chinese-made U-One range, introduced into Europe in 2019, provides Magneto style at a much lower price point.

Eric Gales joined the party in 2011. “We were introduced to Eric by a friend from NYC who put us in touch with his manager at the time,” reports Christian. “We got him one of our guitars to try out and he has been playing them ever since. After a discussion with Eric in early 2020, we came up with the idea to build a guitar that would be more affordable but would feature what Eric likes the most: size, weight, pickups, hardware and some cool design features.” 

And the RD3 you see here – based on Eric’s Japanese-made Raw Dawg II Custom – was born.

Although the inspiration is obvious, there are plenty of aspects here that change both the look and the function. The upper horn sits slightly lower into the body and the treble horn appears more out-flowing, not to mention the three cut-outs in the gold-backed plastic mirror scratchplate (the same material is used for the vibrato’s spring coverplate).

Meanwhile, the body heel area, for example, has a dished relief, while the heel itself is thinner and slightly tapered. Then there are the classy control knobs from smooth grained ivoroid with black rubber ribbed grips. Being an artist model, the guitar has Eric’s signature on the headstock and a larger version that surrounds the 12th fret.

Eric’s ‘Raw Dawg’ nickname is displayed on the gold-plated neckplate, too, plus we get an additional strap button on the tip of the body heel. Eric, of course, plays his guitar upside down left-handed style, simply because that’s how his elder brothers played (and not because he’s left-handed).

While the Lollar Sixty-Four single coils Eric uses on his custom guitar were impossible to use on a guitar at this price point, “the Metro-Poles EG1 set was modelled after our 62 single coils”, says Christian, “and we found out that Eric liked my idea of using flat poles. It always bugged me to have less volume on some strings when the guitar is played clean! An important part of the plan was to develop pickups that would have the dynamics and great midrange response, which play an important role in Eric’s guitar tone.”

Feel & Sounds

Under the very classy, lightly metallic finish we have a two-piece basswood body that results in a nice weight of 3.49kg (7.7lb). Of course, it feels very Strat-like strapped on, but while that slightly wider cutaway and tapered heel do give a little more ‘air’ for higher playing positions, that extra strap button might be a signature feature too far.

The satin-finished neck feels very good, too, and it’s pretty mainstream in size – 42.2mm wide at the nut, just over 21mm deep at the 1st fret and 23.5mm by the 12th with a pretty classic full-ish C-meets-D profile (that’s actually very close to Gibson’s SlimTaper, albeit slightly narrower in width) and has slightly incurving and comfortable sides to the fingerboard; the top edges are lightly rolled.

The fret size suits the style at 2.38mm wide by 1.25mm high, very slightly wider and taller than those used on PRS’s similarly priced SE Silver Sky, which is an obvious reference, although here they sit on a flatter Gibson-like 305mm (12-inch) radiused fingerboard. Fretwork and setup certainly match the price point, and the oiled bone nut is very nicely cut. It’s good craft.

As set, the vibrato is decked, but the six-screw unit should be easy to set to floating if you’d prefer, and with the saddle screws sitting someway above the saddles themselves, well, the first job we’d undertake is to add a neck shim. That aside, we appear to have steel saddles and a top plate with a full-size steel block. Not least with that excellent nut work, tuning stability is really good.

Obviously, what we hear is very Strat-like and with both volume and tone full up there’s no shortage of high-end sizzle, which produces a quite modern voicing on the (hum-cancelling) mixes, but might be a bit too much for some on the solo pickup selections. However, just pull back the volume, which barely reduces the output, and those highs round really nicely.

The tone control is pretty wide-ranging, too, with smooth graduation to further tame the high-end. Turned lower, it almost hints at a humbucking voice, particularly with a level boost or overdrive; full off it’s a very usable ‘woman’ tone. You’ll be missing a lot if you just keep these controls full up – they really are the key to what is an expansive and expressive guitar.

Verdict

Anything that shines a light on Eric Gales is very welcome in our book and there’s little to disappoint here, aside from some minor, simple-to-fix setup issues. 

This is a very cool-looking rerun of a classic that has just enough original style – not least its custom colour and gold mirror scratchplate – to add a little bling and elevate it above a tidal wave of ‘really can’t be bothered’ lookalikes. 

Conversely, it is a signature guitar with no colour options and many players might prefer a more classic appearance. But above all, it’s the sounds and slick playability that are rather impressive here. Time to add Magneto to your ‘to-try’ list, we’d say.  

Specs

• PRICE: $1,299/£849 (inc gigbag)
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Double-cutaway, solidbody electric
• BODY: 2-piece basswood
• NECK: Slab-sawn roasted maple, ‘medium C’ profile, bolt-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Oiled bone/42.2mm
• FINGERBOARD: East Indian rosewood, pearloid dot w/ inlaid signature at 12th fret, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, narrow jumbo
• HARDWARE: Gotoh Custom vintage-style vibrato w/ steel plate saddles and steel block, Gotoh SG-360-07 enclosed tuners – gold‑plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm 
• ELECTRICS: Magneto Metro-Poles Custom EG1 single coil set, 5-way lever pickup selector switch, master volume and master tone
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.49/7.7
• OPTIONS: None
• RANGE OPTIONS: In the U-One series the Sonnet, on which the RD3 is based, is available in various styles from £349
• LEFT-HANDERS: Sonnet Classic US-1300 (£399)
• FINISHES: Sunset Gold (as reviewed) – high gloss polyurethane to body; vintage tinted satin to neck
• CONTACT: Magneto Guitars

It’s that time of year again when the nominees for the forthcoming Grammy Awards ceremony are announced, and it’s no surprise to see that the guitar and guitar-toting artists are heavily represented across the board.

Naturally, some of the guitar world’s biggest hitters have made the cut, with the likes of Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys and many more all receiving nominations in various categories.

Indeed, Osbourne – who finally released his long-awaited guitar tour-de-force Patient Number 9 this year – received four nominations for his effort, including nods in Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song (Patient Number 9, featuring Jeff Beck), Best Metal Performance (Degradation Rules, featuring Tony Iommi) and Best Rock Performance.

By extension, production aficionado and session guitarist Andrew Watt is also included in all the above categories as a result of the production work he contributed on Osbourne’s album.

Bryan Adams, Beck, The Black Keys, Idles, Turnstile and Brandi Carlile capped off the Best Rock Performance round-up, while the Best Rock Album category also featured divisive rapper-turned-guitar star Machine Gun Kelly, who delved deeper into the world of guitar music with Mainstream Sellout.

While on the topic of heavier music, Muse – who have won Best Rock Album on two previous occasions – received a surprising nomination in the Best Metal Performance category for their track, Kill Or Be Killed. It’s a nod that’s bound to raise a few eyebrows, but there’s no denying their 2022 album Will of The People was their heaviest LP for quite some time.

Muse shares the category with more conventional metal legends Megadeth – whose We’ll Be Back is up for selection – and Ghost, who have received a nod for their single Call Me Little Sunshine. When paired with Osbourne’s nomination and final nominee, Turnstile, Muse’s presence in the category is made all the more impressive.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ highly anticipated reunion with guitar legend John Frusciante has also been rewarded by the Grammys, with their Hendrixian-esque single Black Summer – their first of the year – receiving a nomination for Best Rock Song.

One of the most impressive performances from the whole round-up comes from Bonnie Raitt. The blues-rock veteran was selected for four separate categories, with her track Just Like That making the Song Of The Year list alongside the likes of Adele’s Easy On Me, Beyoncé’s Break My Soul, Steve Lacy’s Bad Habit and Kendrick Lamar’s The Heart Part 5.

To see a slow, soulful acoustic guitar number share the spotlight with today’s biggest TikTok hits and chart-smashing pop romps is a very impressive outcome indeed.

Other high-profile guitar acts to receive nominations include Brothers Osborne, whose Midnight Rider’s Prayer is up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Moving into the realm of the blues, stalwarts Eric Gales and Buddy Guy are up for Best Contemporary Blues Album and Best Traditional Blues Album, respectively, with the latter category also featuring Gov’t Mule’s Heavy Load Blues and John Mayall’s The Sun Is Shining Down.

As for the Contemporary Blues Album collection, Gales’ Crown – which was produced by Josh Smith and Joe Bonamassa – lines up alongside Edgar Winter’s Brother Johnny: a tribute album for the late Johnny Winter that featured a number of high-profile guest guitarists.

And, as further evidence that the future of the guitar is as bright as it has been for quite some time, it’s also been a successful year for emerging guitar-driven bands and artists – an observation made particularly clear by viral breakout act, Wet Leg.

The indie rock band – who went viral thanks to their infectious hit Chaise Longue – received three direct nominations, having been selected for Best New Artist, Best Alternative Music Performance – a new category for 2022 – and Best Alternative Music Album. Their self-titled debut is also up for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

Wet Leg share the two Best Alternative Music lists with Arctic Monkeys, Big Thief, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Björk, Arcade Fire and Florence + The Machine, with jam favorites Snarky Puppy headlining the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category.

A handful of other brea-through artists from 2022 have enjoyed similar successes. Madison Cunningham received a nomination for Best Folk Album off the back of her sophomore studio LP, Revealer, while names such as Molly Tuttle and Eurovision 2021 winners Måneskin are both up for Best New Artist.

Head over to the Grammys website to see the full list of nominations.

Buddy Guy has announced his retirement from extensive touring, with the legendary blues guitar veteran set to embark on a Damn Right Farewell tour early next year.

Guy has had one of the most prolific live careers of anyone in the blues world, which started back in the mid-'50s when he first began performing with bands in Baton Rouge. Now, after seven decades of performing, the 86-year-old has called time on his touring days.

For the event, Guy will be joined by a series of special six-string guests, including Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Eric Gales – players at the forefront of this generation’s blues scene who were no doubt influenced by Guy’s own style.

Similarly influential players such as Ally Venable, Tom Hambridge and King Solomon Hicks complete the guest list, with each player set to cameo on a handful of separate nights.

The Damn Right Farewell tour will kick off on February 17 in Rockford, Illinois, and will see Guy make his way across Indiana and Michigan throughout the rest of the month.

After six February dates, Guy will venture to Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and more throughout the whole of March, which comprises almost a full-month of near-consecutive dates.

The final stretch will see Guy perform three dates in April, all of which will take place in Australia.  At the time of writing, the Damn Right Farewell tour is scheduled to concluded on April 12 in Newtown, though more dates are to be added shortly.

See below for a full list of current dates, and to find out when each guest guitarist will crop up for a cameo.

Tickets are set to go on sale this Friday (October 21) at 10am local time. Head over to Buddy Guy’s website for more details.

Guy recently released his latest studio album, The Blues Don’t Lie, which became the bluesman’s seventh number one album. For the first single, Gunsmoke Blues, Guy teamed up with Jason Isbell.

Joe Satriani has announced the lineup for the star-studded 2023 G4 V6.0 Experience, which will take place early next year at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Las Vegas.

Satch has enlisted a wealth of electric guitar A-listers, encompassing a huge range of heritage names and more contemporary players.

Chief among them are Peter Frampton, Steve Lukather and Steve Morse, who will be on hand to offer instruction, share their knowledge with attendees, and provide intimate advice in a series of classes and workshops.

Joining them will be players of all styles, including Alex Skolnick, Eric Gales, John 5, Mateus Asato, Cory Wong and Nili Brosh, all of whom will partake in a variety of clinics, jams and intimate breakout sessions.

Satch will also be hosting nightly live performances with his longtime backing band – comprising drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Bryan Beller and keyboardist/vocalist Rai Thistlethwayte – for which he will be joined by his guests.

The four-day event takes place on January 3-7 2023, and will see guest tutors address a range of topics, from songwriting and soloing to gigging, gear and more.

Of the G4’s inception, Satch said, “When I first put together the G3 concerts, it was to create a camaraderie that is often missing in the general day-to-day competition of the music industry.

“From there we came up with the concept of the G4 Experience,” he added. “I didn’t want to do a traditional clinic, just getting up in front of people and giving impersonal lessons to a room full of people – I thought, what can we do that will truly reflect my values as a teacher? 

“With the G4 Experience, we create an interactive community where I’m joined by these other stars that have been making amazing music and pushing the art form of guitar forward for decades. From all stylistic approaches and musical walks of life.”

He continued, “We bring together this eclectic mix to show all the different sides of playing guitar. They’re all brilliant musicians with styles that are all over the map. They all have such different jobs, they’ve made millions of people happy with their playing, and yet they do it so differently.”

According to the website, all backline gear is provided, meaning attendees just need to bring their guitars. They will also have access to accommodation, food, and meet and greet sessions with their guitar heroes.

“The G4 Experience is all about the community,” Satriani went on to say. “I can’t state that enough. Everyone is not only there to enjoy the music, they’re trying to learn everything they can. 

“There’s a lot of information stored up in this head that I want to give to the fans and I’m very much looking forward to sharing it with everyone who attends.”

To find out more, head over to G4 Experience.

The objective of this article is to give you an insight into the style, sound and techniques of the great Eric Gales. 

To do this we’ll be looking at extended chords, flowing pentatonic lines and some very specific picking techniques. But before we get into those details, perhaps we should deal with what many would agree separates Eric from the vast majority of his contemporaries.

Eric plays a right-handed electric guitar flipped over, but, as he explained in his recent interview, he is actually right- handed, learning ‘upside down and backwards’ like this because it felt comfortable. Having the strings reversed like this gives a different perspective on chords and lead lines. 

We’ll be paying particular attention to how it can also give an unusual twist to his fast and fluid economy picked lines – and have a shot at emulating this without having to buy a left-handed guitar and flip it over! 

Eric builds his tone on the foundation of a clean guitar amp with a selection of carefully chosen overdrive and fuzz pedals, enabling him to cover the wide-ranging tonal bases he relies on for chords, crunchy rhythm parts and solos.

Of course, it’s not possible to cover every single aspect of a style as wide ranging as Eric’s in this space; his chordal approach could likely take up a whole article, then there is his use of Phrygian mode for unexpected exotic melodic lines... 

Hopefully, these examples will give you a good overview of the way Eric approaches many key areas, which can be expanded upon at leisure. There is also a 16-bar solo, in which I aim to put some of these into a more ‘real world’ context.

Example 1

Taking the first of the two chords in our example track, A minor, we have both the minor 11th (a particular favourite of Eric’s) and the minor 9th, which is similar but less ‘open’-sounding. 

These are arranged so that the top notes give a variety of melodic options, if you fancy some Wes Montgomery or Eric Johnson-style chord melodies – both of whom have been a big influence on Mr Gales.

Example 2

The other chord in the demo track is E minor. I have given this the same treatment as the Am9/11 chords in Example 1. Though these are played in a sequence, it doesn’t have to be that way. 

A well-chosen extended chord goes a long way, especially mixed into a melodic line or two. This goes some way to explaining how Eric manages to fill so much musical space with one guitar!

Example 3

This ascending pentatonic line is broken up into two halves to walk you through what happens with Eric’s picking hand as he crosses the strings. 

Though alternate picking certainly plays a part in his style, many of Eric’s distinctive pentatonic lines are generated by raking across two strings with a single up- or downstroke. 

In this example, notice how this forms a pattern of three downstrokes followed by a single upstroke.

Example 4

Taking things up a gear, this example uses a similar picking approach, raking across the strings rather than adopting a strict alternate approach. This allows you to cross the strings far more quickly, though it can feel counterintuitive at first – a bit like sweep picking. 

We move through various triplet based groupings, finishing up with nine on each crotchet beat! This is advanced stuff, so don’t feel that you should be able to master it quickly.

Example 5

This solo takes a few of Eric’s favourite ideas and combines them with the hope of emulating his style. Some clean extended chords are followed by a switch to a fuzz-type tone, mixing pentatonics with bluesy melodic lines and some fast runs using both alternate and economy picking. 

I’ve included detailed instructions of where to use up- and downstrokes, but it’s an interesting exercise to try reversing these sometimes. Remember, Eric sees the strings – and his picking patterns – the other way up!

Eric Gales’ new album Crown is the work of an artist at his apex. The chops are staggering, but it’s the songwriting – which delves deep into his painful experiences of prejudice, demons of self-doubt and addiction – that hits you in the gut. Is there anyone to better him right now? We joined him to find out...

Anyone who has witnessed Eric Gales live will agree that he fully deserves his newfound status as blues-rock royalty. 

But his guitar vocabulary extends way beyond just those domains as it incorporates elements of jazz, funk, soul and gospel within its compass, all channelled into what he describes as his “upside-down and backwards” playing style.

Touring to promote his new album, Crown, he recently wowed audiences across the UK with the unstoppable force of his live performance, a canny blend of showmanship and unbelievable chops. 

“Everybody is actually blown away, man,” he tells us as we settle down in the studio. “And the response and the emotion that has been displayed by the audience receiving the material live has been awesome. Everybody’s been really enjoying it.”

Lyrically, the album explores areas that are at once both old and familiar and shockingly contemporary. 

“It’s inspirational to watch actually, to see the tears come in people’s eyes when I’m playing and singing these lyrics,” he continues. “Predominantly, a lot of people come to the shows to see the guitar playing, but at the end of it they are moved by the things that I have to say. It’s a one-two punch, doing everything that I can to try to help change the world.”

To say that Crown’s release was eagerly awaited would be an understatement. As with many recent projects it was stalled by the onset of the pandemic.

“We made wise use of our time and we even delayed the record coming out for a year because I didn’t want it to be released and not being able to fully promote it and tour and everything,” Eric remembers. “So we held off until this year. It’s been anticipated for quite some time and I hope it was worth the wait.”

Unleashed to the world at the beginning of the year, the album has proven to be not only worth the wait but something of a game-changer for Gales with the prize finally in sight and a coronation imminent...

Would you say that Crown is very autobiographical in a lot of ways?

“It’s very autobiographical. The writing was taken from the state the world is in and it’s been in for quite some time as it relates to race and equality and things like that. We felt like it was important to get that message across on this record.”

What is the central message of the new album?

“That we’re all here for a purpose. No-one is less than nobody – we’re all equal, we’ve all got parts to contribute. When the whole world can view it like that, then you can begin to be a better place.”

What got you into playing guitar in the first place?

“Man, music was inevitable. My brothers were already playing and I got to be turned on to Albert King and Muddy Waters and Hendrix and Stevie Ray and just a whole cast of different players. 

“I was going to church every week because my mum and dad were heavily religious, and so I was in the church and I began to play in the church. I was listening to blues and rock and everything. So that was basically what my household was like coming up: traditional gospel, blues, rock, funk...everything.”

Are you actually left-handed?

“I play left-handed, but I write right-handed. I just picked [the guitar] up and that was what was comfortable. I picked the guitar up when I was about four years old, so [I wasn’t even thinking] which way to play it. That’s what felt comfortable to me and, ironically, my brothers play the same way.”

Did you inherit a guitar from your brothers?

“Yeah, it was passed down. I’m the youngest of five brothers and it was passed down from my uncles to them. Cousins and aunts and uncles and everybody was playing, you know, my mom and dad and all of them. They had a gospel group, so it was like everywhere, it was all over me. 

“That’s why I say music was inevitable, seeping into all of us in some kind of way. First thing I learnt to play was some Albert King stuff, you know, topped with gospel music, just basic church, praise and worship type of music and things like that. That was where the egg was hatched.”

Early Eric...

When was the first Eric Gales Band formed?

“Oh my, the first Eric Gales Band happened when I was 14 years old. But I did a battle of the bands around the town when I was like 11 in my brother’s band. So it started there. And then, when I was 14, my brother said, ‘Let’s turn this into The Eric Gales Band... and you’re going to be the frontman.’”

What sort of material were you playing back then?

“It was all original. The first two Eric Gales Band CDs were all originals, except we did a rendition of I Want You (She’s So Heavy) on the Picture Of A Thousand Faces record in ’93.”

When did you first come across Hendrix?

“Day one. I mean, my brother was hugely influenced by Hendrix, so he was definitely one of the ones I was introduced to. But I began to be more influenced by people that were influenced by Hendrix more than him. You know, you can’t get around him being the top of the tree, but there’s people ahead of him, such as Buddy Guy, Curtis Mayfield, Albert King, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Robert Johnson. 

“It’s who you are influenced by that automatically makes you acquire who they were influenced by. It’s just evolution. So, Hendrix, you know, there’ll never be another him. I just do my best not to be the next him, and I just do my best to be the first me. And that is honoring him, by showing how his legacy made me be who I am.

“Hendrix is a huge part of everybody’s style and they’re lying if they say that he ain’t, but the object is – how does it help mould you into being the best in you? Because, at the end of the day, what’s going to stay and stick is your DNA. No-one has a DNA like yours. So what type of imprint are you leaving? Is it an imitation of an imprint of somebody you like, or is it your own? And that’s what matters.”

As you progressed, these other influences started to come through. There’s a lot of jazz in your playing, particularly in your chord voicings. Who were you listening to at the time?

“Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, Grant Green, Jonathan Butler... All of those guys, man, were people that my brother was hipping me on to. And I just took it in, it was amazing. There are plenty that I’m probably leaving out that contributed as well. But there are a lot of known and unknown musicians out there who contributed to the whole pot of inspiration. 

“I was basically just at home and listening to their records. YouTube wasn’t even around back then, so it was just dropping the needle on the record and trying to pick it out.”

So all of these different guitar styles poured into your guitar playing, but blues was basically the core?

“Yeah, it’s the main ingredient that is common in all of it. Everything else is just spices that’s thrown in sporadically with no rhyme or reason, no motive, no process. That’s totally a feeling thing. It’s very hard to dictate that.”

You once said that there are a lot of similarities between gospel and the blues.

“Absolutely, yeah. Music-wise, it’s the same sensation, the same emotion that you get. Just two different types of words, you know, blues and gospel, but musically, the effect emotionally, it’s exactly the same. Gospel is the religious man’s blues. That’s what it is. I’ve never thought about that before, but that’s exactly what it is. 

“Gospel is a religious person’s blues because it’s pain, it’s suffering, it’s all kinds of things they spoke about in gospel, but it’s the same. Because pain, suffering and all kinds of things are talked about in blues. So blues is the world man’s [music] and gospel is a religious person’s blues.”

Signature sounds

What gear did you use when you were recording Crown?

“In the studio I used my signature DV Mark Raw Dawg [guitar amp] blended with a little bit of Dumble that was provided by Joe Bonamassa. I used the RawDawg Magneto [guitar] predominantly for the record and I used my pedalboard that has a Cry Baby wah, a DigiTech Whammy pedal, a Colossus fuzz made by Mojo Hand, a [EWS] Brute Drive made by Xotic Pedals, a Tech 21 [Boost] DLA, the Raw Dawg Boost Drive made by MXR and an Octavio MXR fuzz.”

When did you first discover Magneto guitars?

“I would say it was about 13 or 14 years ago, and I’ve been liking them ever since. They kind of discovered me, man. I had a conversation with Chris [Hatstatt], president of Magneto Guitars, and he said, ‘Man, I got something I think you’ll like,’ and I tried it out. 

“At that time, I was going through some things and other companies really didn’t want to deal with me – but he did and I never forgot that. We just continued to build our relationship, and I never will forget the fact that he was always in my corner.”

What sort of features were you looking for on your signature guitar?

“Oh, there’s the bells and whistles, being draped in gold and all this, but nothing different to the original one that I was playing: ‘Give me that, but let’s engrave my name in the neck...’ and stuff like that and putting my nickname, Raw Dawg, on the back of it. But I like the tone of the Jason Lollar pickups that were in them, they sounded great and we just dressed it up a little bit more to look flashy, like I like to be. 

“I would have played it like it was, but he was like, ‘Let’s do a signature. What would you want to see?’ I told him and boom, boom, boom. Basically, we doctored up the Eric Gales model.”

Just two controls – master volume and tone?

“Yeah, a master tone with one tone knob that works on all three pickups in all positions. It’s just a little more convenient, to be honest with you. I mean, one tone knob working all three pickups is a little more convenient than mixing and blending two tone knobs on the traditional Strat. I’m not unaccustomed to working with that, it’s what I worked with for years.”

Were you playing Strat-style guitars from the outset?

“Oh yeah, I’ve always been more connected to a Strat style. I mean, I’ve had Les Pauls and I even have a Flying V and SGs, Paul Reed Smiths. But my particular preference is more of a Strat style.”

How did you go about developing your signature DV Mark Raw Dawg amp?

“Just basically had a conversation with Marco [De Virgiliis, DV Mark owner and amp designer] and told him I wanted something crystal clean and loud. I wanted it to be not too heavy and he made it all happen with the signature model. Treble, bass, midrange, volume and reverb, which I rarely use, but it’s there. 

“As to the cabinet, I chose a cabinet with two neo [neodymium] 12-inch speakers in, I think they’re 60 watts. I used two generally, but I often like to run four cabinets as well. It’s not about the volume, it’s just about the dirt that it gives, you know? That’s a pretty well oiled machine for me with that combination of the pedalboard and the guitar, and I can take that anywhere and take care of business.”

What does the immediate future hold for you?

“A whole lot more touring, supporting this record, getting this message of I Want My Crown out to everybody. Meanwhile, riding forward is getting some material together and just keep going forward, man, and trying to shape the world [with] every gig, every note that I can.”

Eric Gales’ new album, Crown, is out now via Provogue

Blues guitar legend Eric Gales recently sat down for a chat with Guitarist, during which he kindly gave viewers a tour of his current live and studio setup.

Wielding the Magneto Sonnet electric guitar that later inspired his own line of Magneto Sonnet Raw Dawg signature guitars, Gales runs through his pedalboard perennials, and when and how he typically uses each of them.

First up is what looks like a customized Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal, followed by a DigiTech Whammy. Then comes a Gales signature E.W.S. Brute Drive distortion pedal, a stompbox that the bluesman likes to use in conjunction with another of his signature pedals, the MXR Raw Dawg overdrive pedal.

The Raw Dawg, Gales points out in the video, was modeled off of a Tube Screamer, but has a bit more mid-boost and gain. That prefaces another MXR pedal, the Jimi Hendrix signature Octavio fuzz pedal. 

Gales particularly enjoys using the Octavio with big power chords, which – with a knob-driven volume surge – gives a kind of "Darth Vader sound," as he puts it.

Gales then leads viewers to his Tech 21 Boost D.L.A., which he says he always leaves on at a quarter-note setting. On a very different end of the spectrum though, is Gales's Mojo Hand FX Colossus, which, the guitarist says, is the "heaviest" effect on his board.

Housed in what looks like another custom enclosure, this pedal gives the blues guitar ace a "milky," "Clapton-ish" tone.

The TC Electronic Ditto looper pedal makes a mildly surprising appearance as well. Though he rarely uses it while onstage with his band, Gales says that the Ditto is perfect for storing ideas, like the very John Mayer-esque funk riff he's housed in it at the time of the interview.  

A Shure guitar wireless system, meanwhile, rounds out the pedalboard. 

Gales then touches on the Strat-style (with just a single tone knob, mind you) Magneto, revealing that he calls the guitar's neck pickup the "Albert King pickup" and the neck and middle single-coils position the "Stevie Ray" setting. That goes into his DV Mark guitar amp and his own DV Mark Raw Dawg signature head.

"It's not rocket science," Gales says of his rig, but it's still a treat to see how one of the best blues guitarists in the world today gets just about every aspect of his live and studio sound. 

To read Guitarist's full interview with Gales – which covers everything you need to know about the guitarist's phenomenal, Joe Bonamassa-produced new album, Crown – pick up a copy of the magazine's July issue at Magazines Direct.

Blues trio Supersonic Blues Machine – which comprises bassist Fabrizio Grossi, drummer Kenny Aronoff and new guitarist Kris Barras – have announced their new album Voodoo Nation, for which they’ve assembled a gallery of blues guitar heavyweights.

Due June 24 via Provogue/Mascot Label Group, Voodoo Nation will see the trio line up alongside Eric Gales, Kirk Fletcher, Josh Smith and Ana Popovic, as well as King Solomon Hicks, Joe Louis Walker, Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr and slide legend Sonny Landreth, over the course of 12 new tracks.

To whet the whistle for what’s in store, Supersonic Blues Machine – who are no strangers when it comes to recruiting guitar A-listers – have dropped the record’s lead effort, 8 Ball Lucy, which is treated to Landreth’s silky slide playing.

Said to be the story of how it’s “easy to fall into temptation when you're broken down”, 8 Ball Lucy introduces a swashbuckling, swampy progression by way of some rumbling bass activity and immediately identifiable slide action.

Throughout the track, Landreth decorates proceedings with some quasi-improvised chordal and lead line embellishments – which weave between Barras’ own snappy six-string soundbites – before letting loose on an extended gain-laden solo at the 2:40 mark.

You can hear 8 Ball Lucy in the video above.

“The general discontent in the world at the moment is so widespread, we get told to embrace it because that's life," said Grossi in a statement accompanying the Voodoo Nation news. "No, that's not life. It's how we're forced to live nowadays.

“Voodoo Nation refers to the times we're living in,” he continued, “at least here in the States, but I guess the whole world can relate. We're getting to the point where we're living out life almost as zombies. We're little machines."

Of the involvement of Barras, a British player who was drafted to replace Lance Lopez, Grossi noted that the personnel shake-up prompted the trio to explore “Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Gary Moore” influences in favor of the “West Coast Funkadelic ‘60s and overall jam vibe” of their previous offerings.

“Kind of a Union Jack imprint over a Star-Spangled Banner,” he offered.

When it arrives, Voodoo Nation will be Supersonic Blues Machine’s third studio album and first since 2017’s Californisoul, which itself featured a bounty of high-profile players, including Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Billy Gibbons and Walter Trout.

Californisoul followed the band’s 2016 debut, West of Flushing, South of Frisco, which tapped Warren Haynes, Billy Gibbons, Chris Duarte, Walter Trout, Eric Gales and Robben Ford.

"I'm not saying, 'Fuck flower power,' because that's always the message," Grossi added. "But there are very introspective things and a lot of the theatrics that we are dealing with on this record, which I would say are fairly common in the blues but are dealt with a twist. There is a lot of Devil's stuff in this record."

You can find the Voodoo Nation tracklist below.

1. Money    
2. Too Late
3. Coming thru
4. You And Me (feat. King Solomon Hicks)
5. Get It Done (feat. Josh Smith)
6. 8 Ball Lucy (feat. Sonny Landreth)
7. Devil At The Doorstep (feat. Eric Gales)
8. Is It All (feat. Joe Louis Walker)
9. Do It Again (feat. Ana Popovic)
10. I Will Let Go (feat. Kirk Fletcher)
11. Voodoo Nation
12. All Our Love (feat. Charlie Starr)    

• Voodoo Nation is available to preorder now via Provogue/Mascot Label Group ahead of its June 24 release.

For Eric Gales, one of his most profound and formative experiences as a young blues guitarist was having the chance to play with Stevie Ray Vaughan when he was just 15 years old.

While Gales was cutting demos for his first record, The Eric Gales Band, at Memphis, Tennessee's Ardent Studios in the early '90s, Vaughan was recording tracks for the Vaughan Brothers' Family Style album at the same facility. 

The two were bound to collide, but Gales was unaware that he was in fact already known – and admired – by the legendary bluesman.

“I told him my name was Eric Gales and he said, ‘I'm very aware of who you are because the industry has been buzzing about you!’” Gales recalls in a new interview with MusicRadar.

“So we sat down and played, and he said to me, ‘Dude, you are an awesome player!’ I was 15 years old at the time. It was really intense, man. There were two acoustic guitars and we just had fun playing Riviera Paradise [from Vaughan's 1989 album, In Step] together.”

As Gales explains, he didn't take the opportunity to ask Vaughan any technical questions. Such questioning would have been wasted time, as he says he'd been “studying the dude note-for-note way before that meeting”, adding that “it all came full circle that day”.

“It wasn’t about asking a whole lot of questions,” Gales says. “I was just in awe of one of my heroes as we played together and he was nice enough to say ‘Yo, you got it!’ when we finished.”

But perhaps the most unforgettable moment of the meeting came when Gales asked Vaughan for an autograph, only for Vaughan to ask for one right back.

“Right at the end I asked him to sign an autograph for me and he said, ‘Only if you sign one for me first!’” Gales continues. “Through the years, I lost it. I don't know where that piece of paper is but I will never forget it.

“That was such a surreal meeting. I've always counted him, Robin Trower and Eric Johnson as my biggest influences. So whenever I run across these people, it blows my mind.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Gales speaks of his admiration of anyone who picks up an electric guitar to play blues.

“It takes guts and fortitude to even attempt the blues,” he says. “That's worth a trophy before you even get any further in my eyes. I salute everyone who is not shy – whether they're on a stage or performing online – they're putting their foot forward and trying to create something. My advice is just go for it. You won't know what might happen until you try!”

Eric Gales released his latest album, Crown, earlier this year. Produced by fellow blues wizard Joe Bonamassa, the record plays host to an abundance of knockout six-string licks, most notably in a searing duel between Gales and JoBo titled I Want My Crown.

There’s a pop-psychology theory that left-handed people are more creative. Supposedly, the right hemisphere of the brain is more associated with creative activities and controlling the left side of the body.

The argument goes that people with dominant left hands are likely to have more developed right brain hemispheres, and be better at creative tasks. As with everything in neuroscience, the truth is probably that it’s more complicated than that. Still, looking at famous wielders of upside-down guitars, it’s a tempting idea. 

Arguably, the GOATs of rock, blues, surf and metal have all been left-handed guitarists, while Paul McCartney and David Bowie – not the worst songwriters ever – are both lefties, too (even if Bowie plays guitar right-handed).

Perhaps it’s that left-handers are forced to be more creative, because the world is full of things that weren’t designed for them. Left-handed guitar players have never had as wide a range of quality instruments available, so they’ve often had to overcome substandard gear to make great sounds.

A surprising number of left-handed guitarists simply learned on upside-down right-handed guitars, again having to discover their own approach to the instrument because conventional techniques were impossible.

Whatever the reason, we salute the determination and inventiveness of these 30 greats of left-handed guitar, who are presented in no particular order.

1. Jimi Hendrix

When the greatest electric guitarist of all time happens to be a lefty, choosing the greatest left-handed guitarist is simple. Have you thought about how Hendrix’s left-handedness influenced his technique, though? His upside-down tremolo arm put him off palm muting, facilitating his combined rhythm and lead style with the strings ringing freely.

Meanwhile, the reverse headstock made the treble strings feel looser, encouraging his outrageous string bends, and his reverse-angled bridge pickup helped him avoid the piercing treble that plagues some Strat users.

2. Kurt Cobain

It’s serendipitous that in 1991 the only decent left-handed guitar Kurt could find for sale was a Fender Jaguar. Its short scale undoubtedly influenced his playing style, and visually and sonically the guitar underlined the fact Nirvana’s music was a clean break from the 1980s mainstream. 

Offset guitars’ cult following might never have kicked off without Kurt’s Jaguar, just as grunge might never have happened without his intelligent blend of power chords, melody, and dissonance.

3. Tony Iommi

Iommi’s left-handedness is less significant to his unique sound than the loss of his fingertips in a work accident, but his awesome catalog of riffs certainly adds weight to the hypothesis that lefties are more creative.

From power chords to diminished fifths, distorted tones to down-tuning, Iommi wrote the metal guitar rulebook and then stuck around to show the young upstarts how it’s really done.

4. Albert King

Few would have suspected that the Flying V was capable of such subtlety before King got his hands on one. His reversed strings meant King had to pull down rather than push up to bend the high E and B strings, and this enabled his immense control.

Influencing every electric blueser since – most notably Stevie Ray Vaughan – King might be the greatest string bender of all time.

5. Dick Dale

You may only recognize Dick Dale from the Pulp Fiction theme, Misirlou, but that’s enough to know he’s one of the most ferocious pickers to ever let rip on an electric guitar string.

“I rip my guts out when I play,” he told Guitar Player in 2017. “My fingers hurt so bad when I’m pulling on the strings, but I do it because that’s where the sound comes from.” No-one who heard his monster attack would doubt it.

6. Elliot Easton

With Rick Ocasek’s killer songwriting, the Cars seemed destined for greatness, but Elliot Easton’s lead style was the ace up their sleeve. His epic chord-melody break in My Best Friend’s Girl pre-empted Brian Setzer and the rockabilly revival, and Easton’s tight palm-muted power chords have become the default choice for every hit pop-rock single since.

7. Elizabeth Cotten

Elizabeth Cotten wrote Freight Train around 1904, but when it became a hit in the ’50s, two English songwriters took credit for it. It’s fortunate this injustice was eventually corrected, because Cotten’s self-taught style (now known as ‘Cotten picking’) was an important development in fingerstyle.

Reversed strings meant she plucked the bass strings with her fingers and played the melody with her thumb. She won her first Grammy in 1984, aged 91.

8. Paul McCartney

McCartney’s position as one of the great left-handed musicians is unquestioned, but his guitar contribution may actually be underrated. His approach to fingerstyle, epitomised on Blackbird, using both sides of his index finger to pluck, gives a sound you would get from conventional travis picking. His solos on Taxman, Good Morning Good Morning, and The End, meanwhile, rival George Harrison’s best.

9. Al McKay

Earth, Wind & Fire aren’t primarily known as a guitar band, but Al McKay’s interplay with second guitarist Johnny Graham was essential to the groove of the band’s 1970s hits.

McKay’s masterful combination of single-note lines, jazz chords, and funky triad voicings puts him up there with Nile Rodgers as a disco guitar master.

10. Otis Rush

The Chicago blues pioneer was a primary influence on Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, and Peter Green, making his licks some of the most imitated in blues history. He also recorded the first version of I Can’t Quit You Baby 13 years before Led Zeppelin. On his death, Joe Bonamassa called him “one of the last of the true masters”.

11. Babyface

Better known as one of the most successful R&B songwriters and producers of all time, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds’ jaw-dropping resumé includes hits with Whitney Houston, TLC, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and pretty much every other artist of note in the genre.

It’s unsurprising, then, that he knows his way around a guitar, as he’s showcased in stripped-down solo performances of his hits. He produced Clapton’s Change Your World, too.

12. Jimmy Cliff

Recipient of Jamaica’s highest honour, the Order of Merit (also held by fellow reggae greats Peter Tosh and Bob Marley), Jimmy Cliff is a reggae pioneer and songwriting great.

His hits I Can See Clearly Now and You Can Get It If You Really Want are reggae standards, he’s been covered by everyone from Springsteen to New Order, and his 2012 comeback album was produced by fellow southpaw, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong.

13. Bobby Womack

Starting out as backing guitarist to soul legend Sam Cooke was the best possible apprenticeship for Womack, who quickly became a star in his own right. His melodic double-stops and hammer-ons are a clear touchstone for Hendrix’s approach, and he wrote the Rolling Stones’ first number one, too.

14. Omar Rodríguez-López

For someone who has described the guitar as “this thing I hate”, Rodríguez-López is quite good at it. Unafraid to use effects to sound entirely un-guitar-like, and drawing influences from jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter and minimalist composer Steve Reich, Omar has been a key figure in expanding the guitar’s palette with At the Drive-In, Mars Volta and his solo work.

15. Barbara Lynn

A comparative rarity among soul stars as a guitarist and vocalist, Lynn was also a prolific songwriter. Her use of a thumbpick meant she got a range of sounds just by switching between pick and fingers, and she had all the groove you’d expect from someone who’s toured with James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight. Still, Lynn didn’t play second fiddle to anyone, as the 1966 footage above shows.

16. Mdou Moctar

Even the most jaded observers of guitar are excited by Mdou Moctar, who provides something genuinely new to rock audiences. His Tuareg and assouf (desert blues) influences bring fresh rhythms and note choices to the guitar hero vocabulary, while his fiery improvisation shows him to be a worthy heir to Hendrix.

17. Eric Gales 

A right-handed interloper on this list, Gales learned to play this way by learning from his left-handed brother. His use of upside-down Strats draws inevitable Hendrix comparisons, but Gales has the feel, tone, and chops to weather those comparisons. His live versions of Beethoven’s Für Elise also show that classical influences aren’t just for Yngwie Malmsteen.

18. Tim Armstrong

Armstrong understands better than most the importance of a great song, and he’s written more than a few both for his own bands – Rancid, Operation Ivy, and Transplants among them – and on his collaborations with P!nk and Joe Walsh.

With his Gretsch slung around his knees, Armstrong’s playing has the epic precision needed for punk and ska.

19. Malina Moye

Her dad’s a pro bassist, her mom sang backup for Tina Turner, so Malina Moye’s stardom seemed inevitable. Her trademark surf green Strat has graced stages with Hubert Sumlin and Chaka Khan, and in 2012, she became the only woman on the Experience Hendrix tour.

Her blues-inflected brand of funk rock grooves extremely hard, exemplified by her single K-yotic, featuring Bootsy Collins.

20. Doctor Isaiah Ross

Born in the Mississippi Delta in 1925, Ross drew comparisons to John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson, but he had the novelty of performing as a one-man band. He never achieved major stardom, perhaps because he kept his job at General Motors even after he got signed, but this also spared him the poverty many blues pioneers suffered. His single Cat Squirrel was covered by Cream and Jethro Tull.

21. Doyle Bramhall II

The blues seems an unlikely genre for the creation of dynasties, but Bramhall’s dad, Doyle Sr, played drums for Freddie King and was a lifelong friend of the Vaughan brothers. Accordingly, Bramhall II toured with the Fabulous Thunderbirds at 18 before joining Roger Waters’ touring band and then playing with Clapton and BB on Riding with the King.

22. Ernie C

Left-handed guitarist with Ice-T’s pioneering rap-metal crossover Body Count, Ernie C’s brutal riffing has been the bedrock for incendiary moments like Cop Killer, No Lives Matter, and KKK Bitch. As if that’s not enough, Ernie C also produced an early Rage Against the Machine demo, which makes him both a legend and ultimately to blame for nu-metal.

23. Shamir

Because his first guitar was an acoustic with a symmetrical body, the young (right-handed) Shamir did not realise he was playing it upside down. He's since turned this into a strength though.

“Since I play upside down, I can’t use the cutaway,” he commented, “I can’t do ‘guitar hero’ solos, but I think it’s made me a pretty damn good rhythm guitarist… It’s forced me to write with really intricate chords and riffs that also feel big.”

24. Courtney Barnett

Rolling Stone called her “one of the world’s sharpest songwriters”, and Barnett has a knack for producing guitar parts that serve those songs without being anonymous.

Her fingerstyle approach to electric guitar gives her a big dynamic range and she creates unaccompanied guitar breaks that are both melodic and rhythmic at the same time.

25. Hayley Kiyoko 

Her pop hits, with streams running to the hundreds of millions, make little use of her guitar talents, but Kiyoko started out performing self-penned guitar songs on social media. She shows guitar is still an effective tool for crafting great songs, even when those songs are later produced with electronic arrangements.

We hope she’ll return to guitar though, because the sliding major 7ths on Bittersweet are just cool.

26. Ben Howard

With his unusual pick-and-go technique, extreme altered tunings, and inventive use of a partial capo, Howard is rightly acclaimed as a modern acoustic trailblazer. On Only Love, for example, his guitar is tuned A#-F-C-G-G-C, a tuning more likely to show up with Meshuggah than John Martyn. 

27. Toronzo Cannon

It’s generally accepted that the list of Chicago blues greats is complete, with no names to be added, but Cannon shows the Windy City is not done teaching us about electric blues.

Sometimes toting a dual-humbucker Strat, Cannon is a real-deal blueser, combining social commentary in his songs with heartfelt guitar playing topped off with killer vibrato.

28. Maria Taylor

Taylor’s guitar parts have a vulnerability and intimacy that complements her songwriting perfectly. Like Keith Richards, she only uses five strings (although Taylor prefers to ditch the high E).

She’s collaborated with Phoebe Bridgers, Michael Stipe, and Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz, but her work stands on its own two feet.

29. Zacky Vengeance

The less heralded of Avenged Sevenfold’s guitar partnership, Vengeance keeps pace with Synyster Gates on their shredding harmonised passages and lays down some of the most intense riffing of the 21st century.

Modern metal players need to be improbably tight and wildly aggressive, and this left-handed guitarist can bring both effortlessly.

30. Michael Angelo Batio 

While some may see his double-guitar playing as something of a gimmick, there's no doubting Michael Angelo Batio's ambidextrous chops. We can't find footage of him playing a purely left-handed guitar, but his wizardry on those double-guitars leaves no doubt he's got chops enough for two guitarists. A truly ridiculous shredder.

Eric Gales and Devon Allman have partnered with Gibson Gives for a two-night Albert King tribute concert, which will take place at the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 7 and 8.

The event will also serve as a benefit concert for the museum, with 100% of the proceeds going towards supporting its mission, music and education programs.

For both dates, Gales and Allman will hang up their electric guitars and dust off their acoustic guitars to perform a number of Albert King tracks, for what’s been described as “a pair of acoustic duo concerts in tribute to the late, great blues master”.

No doubt this setup will please Gales, who recently revealed that, despite establishing himself as one of the greatest electric guitar players on the planet, he actually prefers playing acoustic.

Accompanying the news is the announcement that Gales has also been appointed to the National Blues Museum board of directors, with the blues guitar icon saying he’s “honored and excited” by the move.

“I am so honored and excited to be brought on as a board member of the National Blues Museum,” he said. “This is going to be a great event to honor the legendary Albert King.”

Allman, who himself is a longstanding member of the museum’s board, commented, “I’m excited to have another active musician on the board and I know Eric will bring a lot to the table.

“We’ve been friends for years,” Allman added, “and I look forward to working with him side by side.”

Of Gales’ appointment, National Blues Museum Deputy Director Erin Simon said, “The National Blues Museum board members are a dedicated team of blues enthusiasts and community leaders committed to racial equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

"We are pleased to welcome the talent, expertise, and energy of Eric Gales into furthering our mission. The benefit concert is only the beginning of Devon Allman and Eric Gales' ambitions for the museum!"

Tickets for Eric Gales and Devon Allman’s Gibson Gives Albert King tribute concert will start from $139. VIP packages will be available to purchase from March 25.

For more information, head over to the National Blues Museum.

Eric Gales and Carlos Santana are two of the guitar world's standout electric guitar stars. While Santana has cemented his legacy through sultry melodies and infectious Latin guitar work, Gales has constructed his own reputation with a fiery brand of blues that has positioned him as one of the finest guitarists currently around.

However, the two have more than just a celebrated style of six-string playing in common. Santana is, in fact, Gales’ godfather, and way back in 1994, the Smooth hitmaker was joined onstage by an up-and-coming Gales at the prestigious Woodstock Festival.

Footage from that seldom-discussed team-up can be found below, courtesy of Gales himself, who posted it to his YouTube channel in July 2020.

While Gales gets comfortable on stage with his Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, Santana takes up the mantle of “master”, using his fabled PRS for some seasoned pentatonic runs and wah-tinged licks.

Gales then finds his feet and, without showing any sign of his relative six-string infancy, belts out one of the most technically challenging blues solos that any 16-year-old could ever hope to play. It’s got all the hallmarks of what would later become his trademark style, too – lightning quick flourishes and searing two-string bends – as well as some suitably SRV-style scale runs.

The pair then take the spotlight together, and for about three whole minutes absolutely take their guitars to town. Throughout the following years, Gales’ playing style would later blossom to become far more selective, with an almost untouchable grasp on phrasing.

Two years prior to the team-up, Santana made an appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show, during which he dubbed the 16-year-old Gales a “Hendrix-caliber” guitarist, who also possessed the powers of fellow blues legend Steve Ray Vaughan.

“There’s a young brother from Memphis, Tennessee, his name is Eric Gales,” Santana said. “Still in high school, and he’s absolutely incredible. There’s nothing cute about this 16-year old, you know?

“[In him] we also have another brother who carries on that legacy of what one note [can do],” he continued. “The way they hit one note just penetrates. Yeah, Eric Gales has a bright future.”

Santana was, of course, correct. Gales' influence on the blues scene has been huge throughout his career, and his impact on the genre was most recently evident in his latest record, the Joe Bonamassa-produced Crown.

However, despite being one of the greatest guitarists on the face of the earth, Gales recently revealed that actually prefers playing the acoustic. In fact, he loves it so much, he's got a whole acoustic double album in the pipeline.

Eric Gales, heralded as one of the greatest blues and rock guitarists of his generation, has lived a life of soaring heights alongside deep, dark lows.
His brilliant, spectacular playing has garnered the respect of generations of guitar fans as well as peers like Eric Johnson, Joe Bonamassa, Dave Navarro, Gary Clark Jr. and Zakk Wylde, as well as his own heroes, such as Carlos Santana who says, “Eric is absolutely incredible.”

Since 1991, the Memphis-born Gales has redefined the language of blues guitar with stunning virtuosity and on-the-edge musical daring, combining the influences of Albert King and Jimi Hendrix with an infusion of the harmonically complex sounds of jazz and classical music, all delivered with a combination of emotional intensity and masterful precision. 

When he was just 16, Gales released his Elektra Records debut, The Eric Gales Band [1991], instantly earning high praise as a guitarists’ guitarist. Over the course of 30 years and 18 albums, his passion for the guitar and his boundless desire to keep his music vital has never waned. 

But like so many before him, the track of his career was derailed numerous times due to substance abuse. “I put myself in the backseat through my drug addiction,” Gales says candidly. In 2009, he hit bottom and served jail time at Shelby County Correctional Center outside of Memphis for possession of drugs and a weapon. 

Now five years sober, a rejuvenated Gales has released Crown [via Provogue/Mascot Label Group], the strongest album of his career in terms of songwriting, singing and his signature explosive guitar playing. 

Produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, Crown showcases Gales sharing his feelings of positivity and dedication as well as his reflections on the fraught state of the world today. The album was recorded in Nashville at Ocean Way and Sound Emporium studios. 

What led up to making this new record with Joe Bonamassa as producer?

“Back in 2019, Joe had invited me to join him on a blues cruise, where we did an impromptu jam during his song The Battle of John Henry. A video of the performance hit social media and within 10 days, it was up to 3 million views! The world took to that very, very well.”

You and Joe became friends way back at the start of your careers, yes?

“Yes. Our history as friends and musical compatriots goes back over 27 years. At that time, he was playing in a group called Bloodline, with the sons of Robbie Krieger, Miles Davis and Berry Oakley [Waylon, Berry Jr. and Erin, respectively], and I met Joe when they opened up for me. 

“On the blues cruise, Joe and I did an interview together. Beforehand, I had said to my wife, ‘Babe, I’m just going to throw this at Joe: Will you produce my next record?’ The worst thing that could happen is that he’s going to tell me ‘no’ – but he’s going to have to say ‘no’ in front of a thousand people! I sort of backed him into a corner, but the truth is I couldn’t have gotten him to do something he didn’t already want to do.” 

“He said to me, ‘You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting and watching. You are a badass guitarist; it would be more than an honor for me to help you get your rightfully deserved seat at the table.’ And we cried when we talked about it. He said, ‘I am going to do my part to lift you up where you’re supposed to be. I think your head is in the right position for the crown to properly fit.’

“It was a great day. I asked, ‘What would it cost me to get you to produce my record?’ he said, ‘First of all, I’m not cheap.’ I said, ‘OK, name the price.’ He said, ‘All I require is two Diet Cokes.’ I went back to my suite and said, ‘Babe, let’s get two Diet Cokes right fast!’ I took them back to him and said, ‘Deal!’ We shook hands and that was it.”

Something that comes through on many of the tracks on the new album is autobiographical material about your personal struggles as well as the nature of the world today. Songs like The Storm, Stand Up, Survivor, My Own Best Friend and You Don’t Know the Blues represent you revealing different aspects of your life, along with your feelings about the world.

“My brother Eugene, who was with me in the original Eric Gales Band, was my mentor. He taught me that the best thing I can do is to write about what I know about. I could make up something, but there’s no better material than personal experience. 

“There’s a world out there that’s being heavily consumed by addiction, of many types and many forms. I think it is a large enough subject for the world to relate to – if not directly through one’s own struggles, then indirectly through the struggles of those around us. Many of us have close family members or best friends that are going through the stuff I am talking about. 

“Now, there’s that stuff. But there is also a heavy cloud that’s been hanging over the United States for quite some time in regards to race relations and the politics of race relations. I was overly compelled to touch on things of that nature because the day before we started writing for this record was the day George Floyd died. 

“That event, as we all know, caused a cataclysmic, epic circumstance of events that not only affected Minnesota, it affected the USA. And let’s go bigger than that: it affected the entire world. To look on CNN and see people across the globe saying, ‘I’ve had enough of this,’ I think George Floyd’s death brought attention to other countries that have been dealing with the same issues forever. 

“To see Canada, France, England, Germany – everywhere – I have never in my life known of something to affect the entire world in this way. This was an event that unified the world in saying, ‘I’m tired of this, and something has got to be done about it.’

“I would say that 40 to 50 percent of the material on this record came from things that have happened to me, but I was too high in my own mind to even realize that I had been confronted with things of that nature. Now is the time to talk about it. These things need to be addressed, and I need to let people know that I have a platform to get a message to people that I think they should hear.”

The opening lyrics to the song The Storm are, “How can you love what I do but hate who I am?”

“There are people watching and listening to my music and my social media posts that may sincerely not be aware of what the current state is in this world because of their skin color. They don’t know what it is to wake up in black skin. Take the guitar away from me, take away that people know what it is that I do… take me as a regular human being, as a black person living in America. 

“If I can’t stand there on the merit of how I present myself in front of you, then I don’t want to get to know you. It’s not cool if you need to like me for what it is that I do, but not for who I am.

“I will say to my audience, “I want you to understand something: this road goes both ways.” And what I mean is, give me the opportunity to make you hate me, instead of you deciding to hate me to begin with. Does that make sense? Don’t dislike me because of my skin color or what I look like; give me a reason for you to not like me.” 

This is a message that many artists choose not to address because subjects like racism are so incendiary, especially right now. There are artists who avoid politics because they don’t want to lose fans. 

“I think this is something that needs to be put out there, and I am someone that doesn’t choose to be passive about this aspect of our lives.”

Have you found that sobriety has helped you to focus and be aware of your feelings more clearly?

“Absolutely. Before, as long as I got some dope, you could call me the N-word, and I might get furious about it, but at different points in time, I allowed myself to get engulfed in things that demeaned me. But, truthfully, I was immersed in a place where everything demeaned me, because I was demeaning myself. It’s something I struggled with for almost 30 years. So the racial stuff was just another piece of wood in the fire to burn. 

“But now that the heat has cleared, I am much more present about what is and isn’t cool. You have to go knock next door, because right now, I am firmly standing in my sobriety and I am aware of everything that is coming in front of me, so much so that I can see it even before it’s coming.” 

“This comes from the evolution of me getting older as well as my sobriety, amongst several other things that have been perks of me getting my shit together, and it’s all part of the gambit that I am stepping into. I am 100 percent prepared and standing firm to go forward with everything that comes my way. You might like me for what I do, but if you don’t like me for who I am, then it means nothing. 

“I get riled up about it, but these are things that our forefathers fought dearly for. The musicians in the '40s, the '50s and the '60s went through horrific sacrifices, like not being able to have a meal, or even stay in the same places where they were hired to play. I look at the road that was paved for this black African-American by the black African-Americans that came before me, that went through torture and had to smile in the face of it. 

“If I can, I’d like to change that paradigm going forward for the next generation, and hopefully not have these things happen to them. History is supposed to be the best teacher, or else nothing is learned and we will continue to go through the same cycles. I will go to my grave hoping and praying that this cycle does not keep getting repeated.”

One of the greatest blessings of being a musician is that you can use music to communicate with an audience in a language that everyone understands, and you can touch people if they’re open to it. There’s no color, no race, no age. Music has the power to touch everyone if they’re willing to listen. What are you thinking about when you first walk out to play, in the moments before you embark on delivering your musical message to the audience?

“Truth be told, I don’t think about it beforehand at all. It comes to me the moment I step up to the mic. I believe my role is to transmit this energy that’s coming through me from a higher being, and to do my best for it to be accepted the way I am giving it. There’s no preparation for that. 

“I have no intention to try to force something down someone’s throat; no matter how much I might take a stand on how I feel things are dissatisfactory for minorities, it doesn’t deserve to be pushed down someone’s throat, and I try to be aware of that. By the time I’m done playing, my only goal is for the audience to understand very well what it is I am saying, who it is meant for, and my reasons for saying it in the first place.”

“The people that come to my shows, they don’t come to hear me talk about that, and I understand that; they come to hear me play. But I have manifested a way to integrate my conversation about my platform without it turning into something overly political. That is a dog-and-pony show in and of itself. I would rather speak from my own experiences and shed some enlightenment if I can. 

“I met someone after a show the other day that said to me, ‘I’m so glad that my friend brought me to this show, because it opened my eyes to a whole style of music that I had no idea about.’ 

“As great as it is to touch the people who may have never heard me but come with an open mind, I honestly want the people who come with a closed mind. If the energy that drives me connects with that person with the closed mind, then their mind will really be blown, because they showed up with their arms crossed in front of them but left with their arms wide open.” 

You are saying that music has the power to change the way people understand and feel about life and about society overall. 

“Yes, absolutely. I believe there is a synergy that provides me with the gift that I have been blessed with, and there could be people in my audience that are atheists or agnostic that have never experienced what it feels like to be in a black Baptist church, which is the power that happens from music and the emotions it taps into. That is the kind of spiritual power I want to communicate in my show. 

“I was raised in the church, and while there are people in my audience that are feeling the same feeling that I got in church, so am I! I am playing two roles: I am not only playing this show for them, I am also playing this show for me, for my own enlightenment and connection to a spiritual feeling. I am feeling the same thing that I am sending out to the audience, just as if I am out there with them. The power is coming through me and I can feel it, too.” 

“When people see me yelling while I’m playing, I’m having a conversation with somebody, and it’s not myself – I’m getting hit with it just like everyone else. And I don’t mean that in any kind of braggadocio way; the feeling overwhelms me. I’m just a vessel, and when the feeling comes through, I just get out of the way and let what happens happen. I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity to communicate these feelings, especially to those in the audience that may have never felt these things before.

“The truth is, my addiction almost killed me at least five or six times, and the fact that I am standing here today is a miracle. I take it as a great blessing that I am here today to share my story and strive to pass along a positive message to anyone that will listen. 

“All of the people I have known through my life that died from drug addiction are standing on my shoulders today, helping me try to get through to the one person that may be going through what I went through, or they know someone that is going through it, and I want to show them that there is hope. That’s what my whole mission is.”

Playing blues is all about expressing your emotions. Has becoming sober changed the way you play and the way you feel about blues?

“I thought in my high-getting days that I was playing some of the most dopest shit ever. But when I decided to put everything I could into sobriety, I was very afraid as to whether I’d still be able to tap into what I thought was ‘it,’ only to find out that I’ve been shutting myself off for 30-something years! The connection I feel now is as raw and authentic as it could ever be and supersedes by a million miles anything I could do while I was high. 

“It’s incredible the barometer for emotional intertwinement that I feel now, and that’s true whether I’m in front of a crowd or just sitting at home playing acoustic guitar. I can go to crying, and I live for that now. I could just look at a guitar and almost start crying! [Laughs] I have never been more in touch with myself than I am now. The 5 percent that I used to tap into is nothing compared to the 10,000 percent that I can tap into now that the fog has lifted. 

One of the most powerful tracks on the record is Too Close to the Fire.

“Joe and I had spoken a lot about the things I wanted to address in the songs, and that song is all about letting yourself get burned, or allowing yourself to be in a dangerous place for yourself. Joe had a riff and I had the privilege of having Keb Mo’, Tom Hambridge and James House as co-writers, and the majority of the songs on the record came together with everyone’s input. 

Songs like Stand Up, My Own Best Friend and Survivor have a gospel vibe to them, and that uplifting spiritual feeling is so strong that most listeners cannot help but to be touched by it.

“Growing up in the Baptist Church and being immersed in gospel music has made it a heavy part of my genetic makeup. I’m so glad we were able to present that style of music, along with all of the other ‘roads’ we traveled through the entire record.” 

You’ve also got heavy in-the-pocket funk tunes, like Put That Back and Let Me Start with This, combined with a Jimi Hendrix/Stevie Ray Vaughan feeling. 

“On Let Me Start with This, I was playing through a Leslie, which really gives it that ‘Jimi’ vibe. Joe and I were putting the song together and I said, ‘Let me start with this,’ and I started playing, and it was the perfect title. 

“Those are both heavy pocket tunes, and when you combine these with the blues songs and the R&B/soul ballad-type tunes, we tried to cover the whole pie. This is what gratifies me the most about the record: it’s not just blues, or just gospel, or just funk; we got everything on there that I love the most.” 

Tell me about the acoustic track, I Found Her.

“My intention is for 70- and 80-year-old couples to play that song on their anniversary day. Joe said, ‘Let’s put an accordion on it,’ and it gives it that Italian, romantic vibe. The song is about how I feel about my wife, LaDonna.” 

Of course, there’s the title track, I Want My Crown, for which you and Joe made a great video of going at each other in a boxing ring.

“We’ve been playing that song live and it is smashing the audience. The video concept came out of a dream I had, which originally stems from that video of Joe and me on the ship playing The Ballad of John Henry. So we just made it a real ‘battle,’ in the ring. And even though we present it as a guitar duel, in our eyes it’s a conversation.” 

LaDonna is singing on Take Me Just As I Am, yes?

“Yes she is. It was a flip-around in that the whole idea was for me to back her up, after all of these years of her backing me up. She killed it.” 

You also have a new Eric Gales signature guitar from Magneto Guitars, the RD3. 

“A few years ago, Magneto came out with the RawDawg guitar, but it was in the range of $4,500. This time, we decided to make it more consumer-friendly without sacrificing any of the quality or the materials, and it’ll be around $1,250. The new one feels exactly the same as the one I’ve been playing. 

“It’s an incredible guitar. The first 20 will be sold exclusively through ericgales.com. I plan to do a bundle package with the album, the guitar, my MXR Raw Dawg pedal and my DV Mark signature amplifier, which is a hybrid tube/transistor and runs at 250 watts. I run two or four at a time and it sounds incredible!” 

• Crown is out now via Provogue.

Last Friday (January 28), blues guitar master Eric Gales released his highly-anticipated new album, Crown. 

To celebrate, that same evening, Gales hosted a release party at Railgarten in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, wowing the crowd with a searing, 12-song set packed with Crown highlights, and choice cuts from Gales's extensive back catalog. 

To close the proceedings, Gales invited his friend, Crown co-producer and fellow electric guitar master Joe Bonamassa to the stage for a 13-minute, dueling solo-charged rendition of I Want My Crown. You can check it out above.

Before we get to the good stuff, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that – before the six-string fun – Gales says, "hey, wait a minute. Don't this look like the cover of Guitar World magazine?" before striking a heroic pose with Bonamassa. 

The latter plays a Les Paul onstage, rather than the Firebird he holds on the cover, but otherwise, we're inclined to agree!

To start things off, Gales and Bonamassa embark on a three-minute funk vamp, trading sending slinky lead lines back and forth over a wah-drenched backdrop before Bonamassa, playfully, says "start the fucking song, Eric!"

Start the song Gales does though, racing through the verses before inviting the crowd to watch as he and Bonamassa "step into the ring."

What ensues, of course, is some top-tier call-and-response blues duelin'. The duo are having a blast, and stretch out a bit more than they do on the equally fiery studio version of the song.

Bass guitar star MonoNeon is even on hand as well, contributing a furiously funky solo of his own to the proceedings. 

Crown is available now via Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group, and on all streaming services. Keep an eye out for our forthcoming interview with Gales and Bonamassa, and – if you can't wait – pick up a copy of the Gales/Bonamassa-fronted, February 2022 issue of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.

Today (January 28), guitar great Eric Gales released his long-awaited, Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith-produced album, Crown.

To mark the occasion, he's released a powerful music video for the song Stand Up, which you can watch below.

Stand Up is a beautiful, heartfelt ballad that frankly examines the struggles Gales has faced in his life, and his broader experiences as a Black man in America. He opens its video with a dedication to "anyone who has ever felt discriminated against." 

"We should all learn to co-exist," he says directly to the camera, "for the common good of the human race."

The concept behind Crown, and Gales's collaboration with Bonamassa, was first hatched all the way back in 2019, on the Keeping the Blues Alive cruise.

“On the blues cruise,” Gales told Guitar World in a recent interview, “Joe and I did an interview together. Beforehand, I had said to my wife, ‘Babe, I’m just going to throw this at Joe: Will you produce my next record?’ The worst thing that could happen is that he’s going to tell me ‘no’ – but he’s going to have to say 'no' in front of a thousand people! 

“I sort of backed him into a corner,” Gales continued, “but the truth is I couldn’t have gotten him to do something he didn’t already want to do. He said to me, ‘You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting and watching. You are a badass guitarist; it would be more than an honor for me to help you get your rightfully deserved seat at the table.’”

Bonamassa joked that he wouldn't be a cheap hire, but agreed to do the album after Gales gave him his required fee – two Diet Cokes.

"I went back to my suite," Gales told Guitar World, "and said, ‘Babe, let’s get two Diet Cokes right fast!’ I took them back to him and said, ‘Deal!’ We shook hands and that was it.”

Crown is available now via Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group, and on all streaming services.

When you hear the name Eric Gales, you probably think of searing blues guitar lines and scorching scale runs, and for good reason: Gales undoubtedly has one of today’s most bountiful electric guitar vocabularies.

However, despite usually slaying from behind the fretboard of a Fender Stratocaster or his Magneto signature guitar, Gales is equally adept with an acoustic guitar in his hands. And, according to the man himself, he actually prefers playing the acoustic.

In fact, he loves the acoustic guitar so much, he’s got a whole double acoustic album in reserve that will “take the world by storm”, having written a huge number of unplugged tracks over lockdown.

Speaking to Guitar magazine, Gales admitted, “I actually prefer the acoustic. During the pandemic, I did about 40 songs on the acoustic. So I have a whole double acoustic album basically done. 

“Of course,” he continued, “I don’t want to release it all at the same time, so I’m going to let the life of Crown do what it does and then follow up with what I worked on during the pandemic. But, man, I got a heavy acoustic record that I think is going to take the world by storm.”

Gales went on to explain what it is about the acoustic he likes so much, commenting on their intimacy, emotion and the fact they are unforgiving beasts.

“They’re very unforgiving,” Gales observed. “But, at the same time, there’s an emotion and intimacy when it’s just you with the guitar. It’s the same way with the electric but it’s a different atmosphere with an acoustic. 

“I’m a stickler for beautiful arrangements and chords and, when they’re done on an acoustic, it’s unmatched.”

The bluesman has been keeping himself equally busy with an electric guitar in recent times. His upcoming Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith-produced album, Crown, is due tomorrow (January 28) and, if the first two singles are anything to go by, it’s going to be a treat for guitar fans.

I Want My Crown featured some top-notch guitar dueling with Bonamassa, while You Don’t Know The Blues saw Gales light a fire under the conventional shuffle form. 

And, while most of us would assume getting JoBo onboard behind the desk would’ve been a costly endeavor, it turns out his production rates are actually very affordable. Speaking to Guitar World, Gales recently recalled how he recruited Bonamassa by buying him two cans of Diet Coke.

Crown is available to preorder now ahead of its release tomorrow.

As two of the most prolific blues guitar players of the modern era, Joe Bonamassa and Eric Gales caused quite a stir when it was initially revealed that JoBo would be responsible for production duties for Gales’ new album, Crown.

Two singles have been released so far, proving – not that it was ever in doubt – that the buzz surrounding the project was wholly justified. But just how did this collaboration come about?

Bonamassa is becoming something of an in-demand producer these days – he also helmed the desk with Josh Smith for Joanne Shaw Taylor’s most recent album, The Blues Album – so what exactly did it cost Gales to get Bonamassa on board for his own record? A 50% cut of the profits? A new electric guitar? A five-figure sum?

Well, as it turns out, it was something far simpler – and far, far cheaper – than any of the above. All it took, apparently, was a can of Diet Coke. Well, two cans, actually. But still, pretty inexpensive.

Speaking in the latest issue of Guitar World, Gales took a deep-dive into the project’s conception, and detailed the remarkably easy lengths he had to go to in order to convince Bonamassa to join the credit list.

“On the blues cruise [Keeping the Blues Alive],” he began, “Joe and I did an interview together. Beforehand, I had said to my wife, ‘Babe, I’m just going to throw this at Joe: Will you produce my next record?’ The worst thing that could happen is that he’s going to tell me ‘no’ – but he’s going to have to say “no” in front of a thousand people! 

“I sort of backed him into a corner,” Gales continued, “but the truth is I couldn’t have gotten him to do something he didn’t already want to do. He said to me, ‘You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting and watching. You are a badass guitarist; it would be more than an honor for me to help you get your rightfully deserved seat at the table.’”

It turned out to be an emotional prospect for the pair, who first met when they were both at the start of their careers. After shedding some tears over Bonamassa’s proclamation that “I am going to do my part to lift you up where you’re supposed to be”, the pair got right down to the nitty gritty.

Gales continued, “I asked, ‘What would it cost me to get you to produce my record?’ He said, ‘First of all, I’m not cheap.’ I said, ‘Okay, name the price.’ 

“He said, ‘All I require is two Diet Cokes.’ I went back to my suite and said, ‘Babe, let’s get two Diet Cokes right fast!’ I took them back to him and said, ‘Deal!’ We shook hands and that was it.”

The easiest, most amicable negotiation process in the history of modern blues? Quite possibly.

As well as producing the album, Bonamassa also ended up with a guest spot on Gales’ I Want My Crown – a dueling masterclass that saw the two slug it out over a bounty of blues licks.

Of the track, which was included as an editor’s pick in our list of the 10 best guitar solos of 2021, Bonamassa told Guitar World, “We pull no punches. That kind of battle just makes everyone better. I know going in that Eric has this “fifth gear,” so I have to live in the fifth gear, too! 

“When Eric plays,” he added, “it’s on and there’s no halfpower switch; he is coming right at you.”

Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World, which features two in-depth interviews with Joe Bonamassa and Eric Gales, as well as a mammoth run-down of 2021’s standout solos, riffs and albums.

Back in October, Eric Gales announced his new album, Crown, with a bang, duking it out with Joe Bonamassa on the dual blues guitar workout lead single, I Want My Crown.

Now, the second single from Crown – a long-awaited effort produced by Bonamassa and Josh Smith – has been unveiled in the form of the equally incendiary You Don't Know The Blues.

Gales is a master at taking well-trodden musical territory (the most oft-covered blues-rock standards of the '60s and '70s, for instance) and taking it to another plane entirely with his playing, and You Don't Know The Blues – structurally a simple blues shuffle – is no different.

Beginning with a dramatic slide, Gales takes flight after the second chorus, unleashing a minute-plus solo that's got just about everything. It dazzles with its speed, and stings with its vibrato and the painful experiences it vividly shares, before landing right back home for the third verse without missing a beat.

It's masterful stuff, and you can check it out for yourself below.

The lyrics of You Don't Know The Blues find Gales examining his past struggles with unflinching honesty, an approach he utilizes throughout Crown.

“They’re about my life, and what’s happening in the world right now," Gales said of the songs on Crown. "When it came time to sing, I had to take breaks between vocals to cry and let it out. I was sharing my experiences as a Black man, and my private struggles. This is me letting the world know what I’ve been through.”

Crown is set for a January 28 release via Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group.

To preorder the album, stop by Gales's website.

Eric Gales – Crown:

1. Death of Me
2. The Storm
3. Had to Dip
4. I Want My Crown (ft. Joe Bonamassa)
5. Stand Up
6. Survivor
7. You Don't Know The Blues
8. Rattlin' Change
9. Too Close To The Fire
10. Put That Back
11. Take Me Just As I Am (ft. LaDonna Gales)
12. Cupcakin'
13. Let Me Start With This
14. I Found Her
15. My Own Best Friend
16. I Gotta Go