Latest about Richie Kotzen
Richie Kotzen came close to joining Nine Inch Nails – but one detail stopped him getting the gig
The former Poison guitarist aced his surprise audition but never got a call back
![Adrian Smith [left] and Richie Kotzen pose with an HSS S-style and Telecaster respectively.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DqivbKgc2aXLoykDT3h5mN-840-80.jpg.webp)
Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen come from different worlds, but it all comes back to the blues
Returning with one of the hard-rock records of the year, the dynamic duo talk tone, collaboration, and the limits of technique and gear
Richie Kotzen on his worst-ever show, that time wildfires came for his guitar collection, and upsetting his mom by getting Purple Haze wrong
Kotzen checks in to talk first guitars, first songs, and to give his younger self a little friendly advice. Plus, why didn't he take any guitars as the fire got close?
When Richie Kotzen learned a Hendrix classic wrong, his mom called him out
The guitar virtuoso says he had to face down criticism at the very outset of his playing career – albeit from his own mother
Richie Kotzen explains why he ditched a regular pedalboard for an all-in-one pedal from the creator of the SansAmp
Once upon a time, Kotzen went into Home Depot and made this bespoke ’board for his effects, but with a little help from Andrew Barta, it is now a very pro all-enclosed unit, and it's pretty much everything he needs
Richie Kotzen was once a Shrapnel shredder – now he’s moving away from “stun guitar”
Cheap Shots is the first single from an album tentatively titled Nomad. It finds Kotzen playing cleaner than ever, seeking out melodies, and retiring the "stun guitar" approach
”A jaw-droppingly Shredrageous performance”: Joe Satriani, Richie Kotzen and Nuno Bettencourt showcase their most outrageous licks for a standout rendition of Jeff Beck favorite, Going Down
The three virtuosos were onboard this year's Monsters of Rock Cruise, which played host to the all-star jam
The Winery Dogs’ Richie Kotzen and Billy Sheehan talk improv, adrenaline, and the importance of balancing godly chops with songs
Yeah, they know they're good. But Sheehan and Kotzen's new Dogs album, III, makes the case for knowing where and when to unleash the fretboard pyro, and when to reference Motown
![[L-R] Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ST5SRduhXrvtXJbP4Wxbxb-840-80.jpg.webp)
