“Distortion, distortion, gain and more gain were my digs before I joined the Smashing Pumpkins. But they’ve introduced me to a whole new world of pedals”: Kiki Wong on her life-changing audition, and what she’s learned from Billy Corgan and James Iha
Wong enjoyed a high-profile on social media and maybe that would have been enough. But when Billy Corgan called an open audition, she beat 9,999 others to live out her grunge dreams as guitar player for the Smashing Pumpkins
Read more » “I got a call: ‘Can you be on a plane tomorrow to go to New Orleans to play one song with Paul McCartney?’” Brian Ray’s audition to join Paul McCartney’s band was a last-minute live performance – at the Super Bowl
The multi-instrumentalist didn’t have long to prepare for one of the most public auditions in the history of rock and roll
Read more » “When we did the final Slayer show for 60,000 people, Scott Ian used it as his primary tone”: Gary Holt’s favorite budget pedal emulates Eddie Van Halen’s iconic “Brown Sound” – and it retails for less than a $100
Holt reveals his new go-to budget-friendly brand – and offers some of his mini-pedal recommendations
Read more » “He gave the CD to George. The next thing I know he calls to ask if we’d play at their Christmas party”: How Robin Nolan went from busking on the streets of Amsterdam to collaborating with George Harrison – and hanging out with Paul McCartney
The gypsy jazz virtuoso would later go on to complete a long-lost Harrison song that had been scribbled on an envelope
Read more » Their job titles are ‘Wrangling Hellcat’ and ‘Waste Management’ – meet the multi-talented minds behind Jack White’s fast-rising pedal brand, Third Man Hardware
Dan Mancini shares the stories behind the collaborations that have helped White and Third Man Hardware to demand attention from players of all, er… ‘stripes’
Read more » “This gentleman was someone we looked up to. He was right up there”: Peter Frampton joins Pearl Jam and trades solos with Mike McCready over Black during Nashville performance
Frampton – who has had to adapt his playing technique as he battles a degenerative disease – traded licks with McCready during the surprise guest spot
Read more » “We’re an African band who make hard rock. Before Songhoy Blues, you’d never hear anyone do this. It’s like a little Rolling Stones from Mali”: Songhoy Blues’ Garba Touré created his own crossover guitar style – now he’s changing it up again
From “African rock, African roll” to a new exploration of traditional instruments, techniques and tunings – the exiled artist continues to build bridges with new album Héritage
Read more » “His prized possession was a 1972 D-35 that he played for all those years. Shortly before he passed away, he gave it to me”: Rockie Lynne was abandoned as an infant – years later, his birth father left him his most important legacy
Lynne didn’t know his parents growing up, but when he met his biological father through a DNA test, they connected over a shared love of the guitar
Read more » “My friend found me a replica of John Frusciante’s Strat for €28,000. Spending that kind of money is ridiculous. It doesn’t do anything for me”: Richard Z. Kruspe on why guitars are like kisses, reverse kill-switches – and the riff that launched Rammstein
Fresh from launching his new RZK-III signature model, the German fire-raiser discusses the Custom Shop guitar that changed his thinking on collecting –and how he manages to live and let live with colleague Paul Landers
Read more » “I didn’t care if it succeeded or not. I just wanted to make fun of Bruce Springsteen”: Todd Rundgren reveals the real reason why he decided to produce Meat Loaf’s off-kilter debut Bat Out of Hell
The Wagnerian rock record was initially rejected by many a record label – but would go on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time
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