Guitar World - Holiday 2020 UK

&
N I TI
CLUTCH
“A QUICK DEATH IN TEXAS”
CREEDENCE
CLEARWATER
REVIVAL
“FORTUNATE SON”
ORL
D
F
GUIT
ORTY
BROTHERS
OSBORNE
BIGGER, BADDER,
LOUDER!
GA-20’S
AMPED UP BLUES!
AMPED-UP
TONE HUNTING WITH
& THE BLACK
DAHLIA MURDER
DEEP LIFE & TIMES OF ELLIOT HAVOK
PURPLE JOHN CIPOLLINA EASTON & MORE!
CON T EN TS
VOL. 41 | NO. 13 | HOLIDAY 2020
FEATURING
Power up! AC/DC's
Angus Young
performs in the
U.K. in 2009
30 ELLIOT EASTON
The Cars' six-string legend talks gear and the Empty Hearts
34 JOHN PETRUCCI
Find out what happens when the lord of the strings teams up
with his former Dream Theater bandmate, Mike Portnoy
42 AC/DC
Angus Young discusses the iconic band's long-awaited
new album and life after Malcolm Young
42
52 40 BLUES INTROS AND OUTROS
A 40th-anniversary lesson that's packed with incredibly
handy blues intros and outros — with audio!
64 BROTHERS OSBORNE
Hell is raised on this guitar-playing duo's biggest, loudest
album; John and TJ Osborne tell all
72 JOHN CIPOLLINA
Ode to the late Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist
TRANSCRIBED DEPARTMENTS
“A Quick Death in Texas”
by Clutch
14 WOODSHED / MASTHEAD 83. Orange Crest Edition Wireless
Headphones
16 SOUNDING BOARD
84. RedSeven Leviathan amp
PAGE
96 Letters, reader art, Defenders of the Faith
86 COLUMNS
86. String Theory
19 TUNE-UPS by Jimmy Brown
The Black Dahlia Murder, Havok, Rookie, 88. In Deep
Steve Morse (and Deep Purple), GA-20, by Andy Aledort
Elbow's Mark Potter, a new book dedicat- 90. Moore Power
ed to instrumental surf-rock guitar and by Vinnie Moore
a playlist by Saul guitarist Zach Bedsaul 92. Acoustic Journey
by Molly Tuttle
“Fortunate Son”
79 SOUNDCHECK
by Creedence Clearwater Revival 79. Gretsch Electromatic G5222 110 TONAL RECALL
and G5410T models GW reveals the secrets behind
PAGE 81. Fender Limited Edition HM Strat Pete Anderson's Tele-toasted tone
ROB MONK/FUTURE
102 82. New EQ What's new and exciting on Dwight Yoakam's 1986 crossover
in the wonderful world of gear hit, "Guitars, Cadillacs"
COVER PHOTO: JO SH CHE USE
12 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

WOODSHED
VOL. 41 | NO. 13 | HOLIDAY 2020 EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Damian Fanelli
[email protected]
ANGUS YOUNG — AND SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jimmy Brown

TECH EDITOR Paul Riario
SOME OLD-SCHOOL BLUES VIDEO EDITOR Alan Chaput

PRODUCTION EDITOR Jem Roberts
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andy Aledort, Chris Gill
MUSIC TRANSCRIPTIONISTS/ENGRAVERS Jeff Perrin,
I’M SO PROUD and thankful to present this issue’s worldwide-exclusive inter- Matt Scharfglass
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Richard Barrett, Richard Bienstock,
view with the great Angus Young. Guitar World and AC/DC have always had a Joe Bosso, Alan di Perna, Vinnie Moore, Matthew Parker,
tight relationship, but it feels particularly satisfying to snag an Angus Young exclu- Amit Sharma, Molly Tuttle, David Von Bader, Jon Wiederhorn
sive in late 2020; maybe that’s because the band’s much-anticipated new album, ART
Power Up, is something of a milestone in their overall timeline, as explained in the SENIOR DESIGN DIRECTOR Mixie von Bormann
intro to Richard Bienstock’s Angus interview on page 42. Hope you enjoy it! PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTRIBUTORS Future, Getty Images and other individually
credited photographers, PR firms and agencies. All copyrights
THE NEW BLUES: Since we’re not on the topic, I’m gonna tell you about three and trademarks are recognized and respected.
recent blues releases that’ve caught my ear the past few weeks, starting with...
ONLINE
DIGITAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Astley-Brown
GA-20, Live Vol. 1 (2020): Although Jimmie Vaughan never achieved the ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Jackson Maxwell
“legendary” or “iconic” status of his little brother, it seems I’m hearing more and CIRCULATION
more young blues guitarists who’ve fallen under Jimmie’s spell — as opposed to HEAD OF NEWSTRADE Tim Mathers
SRV’s. Among them is Matthew Stubbs of GA-20. Read more about these guys on PRODUCTION
page 19, and check out “No Teasin’ Around” from this hot-off-the-presses EP. HEAD OF PRODUCTION Mark Constance
PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGER Clare Scott
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER Joanne Crosby
Mike Flanigin, West Texas Blues (2020): Lots of Vaughan connections here... DIGITAL EDITIONS CONTROLLER Jason Hudson
PRODUCTION MANAGER Vivienne Turner
The frontman is Jimmie Vaughan Trio organist Mike Flanigin; the drummer is
Chris “Whipper” Layton of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. On guitar, we ADVERTISING
DIRECTOR OF U.S. MUSIC SALES Jonathan Brudner
have Jimmie Vaughan devotee Sue Foley, BMA’s 2020 “Best Traditional Blues Fe- 845-678-3064, [email protected]
male Artist ” winner. Once I heard the title track, I was hooked. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Mari Deetz
650-238-0344, [email protected]
Kid Ramos, Old School (2018): I loved Kid Ramos’ angular guitar work with ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jason Perl
646-723-5419, [email protected]
the Fabulous Thunderbirds (a band co-founded by Jimmie Vaughan) and Los Fabu-
locos — but I didn’t know about this 2018 album until last week! It’s packed with the CONSUMER MARKETING
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Sheri Taubes
sort of fun I-IV-V stuff Freddie King recorded in the early Sixties — and it reunites
MANAGEMENT
Ramos with Kim Wilson, his former Fab T-Birds boss, on “High Society.” CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Aaron Asadi
BRAND DIRECTOR, MUSIC Stuart Williams
GROUP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Scott Rowley
CORRECTION: My apologies to DevilDriver guitarist Neal Tiema n wh e COMMERCIAL FINANCE DIRECTOR Dan Jotcham
renamed “Neil Tiemann” in our December 2020 issue.
Please don’t feel too bad, Neal; about six years o, SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Guitar World Magazine Customer Care, P.O. Box 2029,
the GW editors misspelled “Damian” in my byl Langhorne, PA 19047-9957, 1-800-456-6441
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[email protected] (renewals)
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Everyone else, be sure to check out the band’s Damian Fanelli
kickass new album, Dealing with Demons (Vol. 1)! Editor-in-Chief PRINTER Fr y Communications
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SOUNDI NG BOARD
Got something you want to say? EMAIL US AT: [email protected]
of magazines about hair care and cross-country “Guitar Safaris”

guns, decides to launch a guitar with Peden and hang out in Hous-
publication.” He then hired a new ton as the guest of Billy Gibbons;
editor-in-chief, Noë Goldwasser, to visit with FZ in his North Hol-
described in Tolinski’s article as a lywood home and do the inter-
“hippie quasi-rock writer dude... view that was to become not only
Noë might’ve been a hippie, but a great cover story but a collect-
he had his ear to the metal under- ible record known as “The Gui-
ground, publishing the first of tar World According to Frank
many cover stories with Edward Zappa”; to be the studio assis-
Van Halen… huge stars like Alex tant for the glorious Keith Rich-
Lifeson, Sting and Frank Zappa, ards cover of March 1986 [pictured
and the landmark Randy Rhoads below]; to stumble shitface drunk
cover of May 1982, the “Hendrix on a riverboat in New Orleans
Lives” fifth-anniversary issue of while John Entwistle and Eddie
Missing Those September 1985 and the July 1986, Van Halen looked bemusedly in, but boy was John Hathorn cor-
tribute to Jimmy Page featuring a on; to labor intensely for months rect in the November 2020 Sound-
Centerfold Posters 15-page interview with the reclu- gathering photographic pieces of ing Board. Steve Howe deserves
sive legend.” the Jimi cross with ur-researcher a cover and a feature as he is an
Longtime subscriber here, with I want to thank Tolinski for Bill Nitopi, who bragged in the amazing musician and gear guru.
all my issues going back to the recognizing my input in slogging it issue’s foreword about how we And while you’re at it don’t for-
late Eighties. I just read with out with Stanley Harris over cover spent $10,000 on photographs get the most under-appreciated
great interest the 40th-anniver- lines and content, and for the con- alone for the tome. player out there — John McFee of
sary edition [November 2020]. siderable talent I brought to the But mostly, I am gratified to the Doobie Brothers. He can play
As always, stellar job by one and table in the persons of John Swen- get letters like this one from Jose the strings off anything and seems
all! However, you slipped up in son, Steven Rosen, Joe Bosso, Luna of Ontario, CA, who asked the most humble regular guy on
the “40 Greatest Moments” sec- Bud Scoppa and other contribu- me about the Randy Rhoads shoot top of it all. Give these two legends
tion. There’s no mention of what tors who got their start at Guitar with photographer John Livzey: some love.
was, for the longest time, the first World, including photographers “Hello Noë, hope all is well... It’s — Chris Dorman
thing I’d look at regardless of who John Peden, Jonnie Miles and a privilege to know you, I grew
graced the cover — the mighty Glen LaFerman and writer Joe up and spent hours reading Gui- I recently read a post in Sounding
centerfold! How many jaw-drop- Lalaina, who was the magazine’s tar World, I may still have some Board requesting a cover/feature
ping axes and artists are now on unsung hero during the Eight- issues laying around. It would be story about Steve Howe. What a
my man-cave wall [as a result]? ies and provided a lot of input and an honor to tell your story and I great idea. I believe Guitar World
Well, lots! Rory Gallagher’s ’61 writing on the burgeoning metal think you should as well on all did a story about him in October
Strat, SRV and his #1, Clapton’s guitarists of that era. your social media. As I’ve said 2014, which was a great article.
Blackie, Rush. I could go on and It was truly bizarre to think of before, I believe you have great Steve Howe would have to be one
on. And from a marketing point of how our little magazine was one stories to tell.” Thanks for keeping of the most influential guitar play-
view, I tip my hat — printing dif- of a hundred or so incubators in the flame. ers of all time, having used guitar
ferent shots on either side. Many Harris’ newsstand factory. Each — Noë “The G” Gold equipment spanning more than
times I had to go out and buy a of those cubicles had an editor and five decades and playing more
second edition just for that alone. an “artist” — not an art director. I styles of music than any other
But hey, I’m all about keeping produced the magazine at first out guitar player I know of. A cover
the economy going! Happy 40th, of one of those cubicles with art on him would make a great trib-
and here’s to 40 more! Now, how director Lonnie Heller. And grad- ute to him for the musical contri-
about slipping in a centerfold here ually, it grew. butions he has blessed the world
and there? I am proud of the achieve- with. I don’t know of anyone who
— Darrin White ment that most of the depart- deserves it more.
ment heads I devised — Tune- — Brett Mort
Noë Is Golden Ups, Sounding Board, Axology
and Woodshed — are still in use You Can Call Him Al
Brad Tolinski writes in his “How today. It was so cool to visit the
Do You Sum Up the World’s Plaza Hotel room where Jimmy Thank you for featuring Al Joseph
Greatest Guitar Magazine in Page sat in the shadows, illumi- [October 2020]. I hadn’t heard of
Roughly 3,000 Words?” essay nated by his little shrine to Les him at all and checked him out
[November 2020] that the maga- Paul by the bed; to greet Stevie based on your writeup. He’s an
zine you hold in your hands began Ray Vaughan on his tour bus as amazing player with a very use-
in a Midtown warren of cubicles we sat in the parking lot at Colgate Howe About It? ful YouTube channel. The best of
that constituted Harris Publica- University before the gig; to chat what GW has to offer is featuring
tions. “In 1980, Stanley Harris, a in Yiddish with Geddy Lee dur- I’m a longtime subscriber and these great players.
successful and canny publisher ing a break; to make the two grand player and don’t normally write — GR

SOUNDI NG BOARD R R
L
D
F
R
Chicago Alt-Rock probably something that’s sent virus has basical E
to your magazine all the time shut Marcky down. In
Memories but hey, I’m a proud dad. My son fact, it has completely dev-
Marcky began playing guitar astated the working musician.
September 2020 is a great issue! when he was 10 on a family trip None of that compares to one
Three awesome features in a row to visit our in-laws in Florida. His night in September 2018 when
about Testament, Guns N’ Roses first lesson was with his grand- Marcky, his grandfather Vin and
and the brief spotlight on Chica- father, Vin (whose band opened I went to see Buddy Guy at the
go’s indie scene in the early Nine- for the Warlocks back in the day). Ridgefield Playhouse in Con-
ties. That one brought back mem- After a couple of minutes of mas- necticut. As Buddy approached
ories for me, since I was going to tering a quick riff, we all knew Marcky, working the aisles
college in downtown Chicago in what was needed next, private toward the end of the show,
the late Eighties/early Nineties, lessons. When we returned to Marcky pointed to Buddy’s guitar
and you could see any of those Meet the JetSlide! NY, we found Marcky’s first gui- and said, “I can play that!” Buddy
bands mentioned playing around tar teacher and after six months smiled, handed Marcky a pick and
the city. Looking back, Smashing I’ve been a subscriber for quite a of lessons, his teacher was honest walked back on stage. Two songs
Pumpkins were ahead of every- few years, and I can’t quite put my and told us to find a more expe- later, Buddy called up Marcky and
one in song quality and ambition, finger on why the last few issues rienced player. We found the they jammed for 10 minutes to a
and nobody had a drummer like have been so great, but the mag- School of Rock, and it has had an standing ovation.
Jimmy Chamberlain to propel azine is getting better! As for this amazing impact on Marcky’s play- So why am I writing your mag-
those songs. Still, it was an excit- issue [September 2020], Scott ing. Plus, we added in private les- azine? Well, Marcky’s story has
ing time as a Chicagoan to have Holiday of Rival Sons (they really sons with Connecticut’s premier inspired so many kids and adults
a relevant rock scene when we need a cover story) uses the Jet- guitar teacher, Matt Rae. in our local community to pick up
were known as the land of Styx, Slide [pictured], a slide that needs When Marcky was 14, he won the guitar. His story is truly a won-
Survivor, Chicago and Cheap to be in this issue! (It’s awesome, a singing competition to play derful human-interest piece for
Trick — all great bands but past and so are my Duncan YJM Fury the National Anthem for Syra- any music magazine. I wanted to
their prime in the early Nineties. pickups!) The interview with Eric cuse University. He doesn’t sing, come to the best first. Thanks for
After Siamese Dream, my favorite Gales was great, with the para- and won for his guitar skills after reading this, and I hope you and
album from that time is Local H’s graphs headed by epic song lines. a vote-in! On February 10, 2018, yours are safe and healthy during
As Good as Dead. I still listen to it That’s what I mean: Great read- Marcky played the National these trying times.
today. Keep up the great work! ing leads to fun playing. In closing, Anthem for Syracuse Univer- — Marc DiGiacomo
— Michael Costa the slide issue should have been sity Men’s Basketball in front of
the Doors’ “Moonlight Drive,” 35,000 screaming Orange fans. Ink Spot
A Question for no? (Perhaps it was in an earlier He nailed it. Since that experi-
issue...) All the best! ence, he’s played our National Check out my Queensryche tattoo,
Tool’s Adam Jones — Eric F. from California Anthem for the Houston Astros, done by my friend Kevin at Iconic
New York Mets, Duke Basketball, Ink in Grafton, Massachusetts!
I’ve noticed that Adam Jones has Burgeoning Burgess Notre Dame Basketball, Harvard — Chris Caron
what appears to be a mirror on the Hockey, Cornell Hockey, Yale
headstock of his guitar. I always You guys have to be nuts if you basketball and college hockey
noticed it but did not know what don’t recognize Greg Burgess as tournaments, to name a few. This
this was until I saw Jimmy Page’s the next up-and-comer in the gui-
Tele with mirrors in GW. I also tar circles. I haven’t felt this pas-
wonder why anyone would mod- sionate about unrecognized talent
ify the headstock of a Les Paul Cus- since Blizzard of Oz was released;
tom? I’ve never seen an interview hardly anyone proclaimed St.
with Jones where he’s asked about Rhoads as “the next big thing”
this. Also noteworthy is that the until it was too late. Everyone, do
neck pickup appears to be upside your homework and prepare to
down, similar to Peter Green’s Les have your mind blown!
Paul. Another feature I wouldn’t — Micha
have noticed if not for a GW article.
I don’t see Jones doing anything by Marcky’s Making HAVE YOU GOT an impressive
accident. Perhaps these features of tattoo of your favorite axe, band or
Jones’ guitar can be asked about in His Mark! guitarist? Or are you a keen artist?
the next interview? Send a pic of your ink to GW
— CR1976 The story I’m about to share is [email protected]!
SEND LETTERS TO: Sounding Board, Guitar World/Future, 347 W. 36th St., Suite 1700, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected].
All subscription queries must be emailed to [email protected]. Please do not email the Sounding Board with subscription matters.
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READER ART
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If you’ve created a drawing,

painting or sketch of your
favorite guitarist and would
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Also, please let us know

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“Linda Manzer with her legendary
Pikasso guitar, the first of which was made
for jazz great Pat Metheny” — Dick Boak
GARY CLARK JR. BY MICHAEL TAFT LINDA MA NZ E R BY DICK BOA K
DEFENDERS of the Faith
Oliver Sean Mike Wise

Ian Mitchell AGE: 62
HOMETOWN: Leicester, UK
GUITARS: Yamaha SA2200, Martin D42, AGE: 26 HOMETOWN: Chandler, AZ
Gibson Les Paul Standard, Gibson ES-335 HOMETOWN: Winston, GA GUITARS: All Gibson (Les Paul Joe
Goldtop Ltd., Taylor T5z classic, Fender GUITARS: Fender American Stratocaster, Bonamassa “Tomato Soup,” Les Paul
Stratocaster American Standard, Godin Squier Telecaster Affinity Series, Epiphone Goldtop, Les Paul Standard Cherry Heritage,
Multiac Spectrum, Ovation D-Scale, PRS SE ES-335 and Ltd. Edition Custom Shop SG, Grace Potter model Flying V, Antique Amber
Singlecut Trem, Ibanez AFJ91-JLF Archtop, Sterling Music Man JP100D, Samick acoustic Flying V’s, Midtown Standards), Fender USA
Alvarez Parlor and more Greg Bennett design, Fender acoustic, Har- Standard Stratocaster and two koa/mahog-
SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Originals from monia nylon-string acoustic any LP-style guitars I handcrafted.
my album, Devil in Blue Jeans, plus “Hard to SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: Originals, SONGS I’VE BEEN PLAYING: The Black
Handle,” “Sultans of Swing,” “My Sharona,” “Fingerdance” by Billy McLaughlin and Keys “Lo/Hi,” Tom Petty “Runnin’ Down a
“Black Magic Woman” and more fingerstyle guitar in general Dream,” Joe Bonamassa “Drive”
GEAR I MOST WANT: Custom shop Tele GEAR I MOST WANT: Tony Iommi Signature GEAR I MOST WANT: Gibson Custom black
built to my specs, and a Gretsch Blue Falcon Epiphone and gold Flying V
Are you a Defender of the Faith? Send a photo, along with your answers to the questions above,
to [email protected]. And pray!

TUNE-UPS ZACH
BEDSAUL
THE BLACK
DAHLIA MURDER 24
HAVOK
25
STEVE MORSE
26
28
ELBOW'S
MARK POTTER
20 22 ROOKIE SURF'S UP! 29

GA-20's
Pat Faherty [left]
and Matthew Stubbs
Amped-Up Blues
MATTHEW STUBBS OF BOSTON-BASED RETRO BLUES-WAILERS GA-20 DETAILS THE BAND’S
SWAMPY INFLUENCES, IMPRESSIVE PEDIGREE AND NEW SMASH ALBUM, LONELY SOUL
By Andy Aledort
“JOHN LEE HOOKER and Eddie Taylor, tures himself, guitarist Pat Faherty and drum- gig has been as guitarist for legendary blues
the Myers Brothers, Muddy Waters mer Tim Carman. Formed in 2018, the project singer, guitarist and harmonica player Charlie
and Jimmy Rogers — that lowdown, funky was born out of Stubbs’ and Faherty’s mutual Musselwhite. “I’ve been playing with Charlie
two-guitar thing that you hear on so many love of late-Fifties/early Sixties blues and for about 12 years now and still tour with
classic blues records of the late Fifties is what rock ‘n’ roll such as Lazy Lester, J.B. Lenoir, him,” Stubbs says. “About two years ago, Char-
we were most inspired by in putting this band Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Ju- lie was going out on tour with Ben Harper,
together.” nior Wells. Stubbs has backed and toured with so for the first time in years, I was looking
Guitarist Matthew Stubbs is talking about blues giants such as John Hammond, James at a long period of downtime off the road.
the Boston-based retro/blues band GA-20 Cotton, Junior Watson and James Harman, Pat [Faherty] had begun coming to my local
ROSIE COCHE
(named after the highly collectable Gibson while also leading his own original instru- gigs for years, and we decided to work on a
GA-20 amplifier introduced in 1950 and heard mental psych-rock band, the Antiguas. stripped-down blues format, just two guitars
on many classic blues recordings) that fea- Prior to forming GA-20, Stubbs’ main and harmonica, playing very low volume,
guitarworld.com 19
NEWS + NOTES
WHAT'S ON MY
PLAYLIST
ZACH BEDSAUL
OF SAUL
Stubbs [left] and Faherty, 1
along with Live Vol. 1, the
band's latest EP, which “One Hand Killing,”
came out September 18 Twelve Foot Ninja
I was in a rut as a guitarist/songwriter for
a bit, and then I discovered this song. It
Fifties Chicago blues along the “My dad was a guitar player took everything I loved as a guitarist and
lines of Hound Dog Taylor and and began bringing me out to see put it into one composition. The gnarly
Little Walter. In time, we brought local club blues acts like Roomful intro riff is everything I love about djent,
but in such a brilliant way.
in some drums and, over time, of Blues, Duke Robillard and
the sound shifted organically into Luther ‘Guitar Junior’ Johnson. 2
what you hear in GA-20. Seeing blues live in those situa- “Parasite Eve,”
“We got a little wine-bar gig tions is what really hooked me — Bring Me the Horizon
on Wednesday nights in I’d get goose bumps from all I was late to the game diving into this
Boston, and within a few the great players and great band. There’s a reason they’re one of the
months we’d written a bands. I knew I wanted to biggest bands out right now. I love the lyr-
bunch of songs. We went
“Seeing [Duke zero in on playing Chicago ical content of this song as it hits the nail
on the head about this pandemic. They
into the studio and I pro- Robillard and and West Coast-style blues.”
also have an original sound and interest-
duced it, initially planning Another aspect of GA-
just an EP that we’d put out Luther ‘Guitar 20’s sound is the swamp
ing ways to arrange compositions.
ourselves. But it came out

Junior’ Johnson] blues greasiness of Lazy 3
so well, I decided to send Lester, Slim Harpo and “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd
it to a bunch of labels, and live is really what Lonesome Sundown. “I was I grew up a huge Michael Jackson fan and
Colemine Records in Ohio definitely influenced by the the Weeknd instantly brings me to that
got back to us right away hooked me; I’d first few Fabulous Thun- happy place. I especially enjoy this song
as musically it has an awesome vintage
and were super into it, but derbirds records, featuring
they wanted a full-length
get goose bumps Jimmie Vaughan, where
throwback to the Eighties with the big
synth sounds.
album. So we went back in from all the great they covered a bunch of the
and cut enough tracks to tunes originally recorded 4
round it out.” players... I knew I by all of those guys I love,” “The Patient,” Tool
The trio’s first album, Stubbs says. “Jimmie Adam Jones is, and always will be, my big-
Lonely Soul [Karma Chief/
wanted to zero in Vaughan is one of my fa- gest inspiration as a guitarist. He single-
Colemine Records], de- on playing Chicago vorite living guitar players, handedly sculpted my style and how I
P L AY L I S T: D E V I A N T R E B E L M E D I A
think of rhythm and melodies. I absolutely

buted at Number 2 on the and right before COVID
Billboard blues charts and and West Coast- hit, I was out on tour with
love this song as Adam accents Maynard’s
vocals so brilliantly and at one point they
is exemplified by raw, pow- Charlie, Jimmie and Buddy
erful tracks such as “My
style blues ” Guy. I got to hang out with
soar as call and echo harmonies.
Soul,” “One Night Man” and — M AT T H E W S T U B B S Jimmie every night, and he’s 5
“Naggin’ on My Mind.” the greatest.” “Resentment,”
“I started on guitar at That Jimmie Vaughan A Day to Remember
age 13 loving Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and influence is clear in Stubbs’ overall playing They did such a great job on this tune.
other Sixties bands, but I very quickly got style; he favors tight, melodic solos delivered Spectacular hooks, tasty riffs, and then
into traditional Chicago and Texas blues,” with an aggressive edge that’s deep down in it drops into one of the most epic, brutal
bridges I’ve heard in some time.
G A- 2 0 : J O H N O ' D O N N E L L
Stubbs says. “By 16, I was only listening to the groove. The album’s title track, “Lonely
Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson and Earl Hooker, Soul,” is a perfect example of how Stubbs has
SAUL’S NEW ALBUM, RISE AS EQUALS,
and I really had the blinders on for that early taken from the influence of all of these great
IS OUT NOW.
electric blues sound, like Albert, Freddie and players and woven together a sound that’s all
B.B. King. his own.

NEWS + NOTES
The Black Dahlia

Murder's Brandon Ellis...
This Wretched Underworld

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER’S BRANDON ELLIS AND BRIAN ESCHBACH TALK TONE HUNTING,
SONGCRAFT AND OPERATING ON THE ODDER END OF THE SPECTRUM
By David Von Bader
AFTER NEARLY 20 years in the game, make the album a fresh and streamlined take on the guitar; hopefully an idea shows up that
the Black Dahlia Murder are an undeni- on the Black Dahlia Murder’s sound. I can build on. My process is ignorant; if a riff
able institution of death metal. Their pummel- GW caught up with Ellis and founding ends up being in a weird time signature or
ing fusion of American death metal’s rhythmic member and rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach something, I find that out from someone else
churn, European death metal’s melodic sensi- to discuss crafting the band’s new record, after writing it.
bilities, prog’s technicality and the vicious their bromance as co-guitarists and Ellis’
riffing of classic thrash has developed over the background as a student of Eighties guitar How is writing divided between you
years into a truly unique sound; this is a band heroics. guys?
with a distinct musical personality that strikes ELLIS: Brian and I will write our own songs
a remarkable balance between innovation and The Black Dahlia Murder have never dras- and we bring them in as complete ideas and
familiarity. Throughout their discography, the tically changed their sound and have then work as a full band to get everybody’s
Black Dahlia Murder have shirked metal’s always evolved within their own idiom. style in there. Verminous is right about 50/50
ever-shifting trends, electing instead to hone How do you approach developing as a between us. Brian’s songs on Verminous have
and elaborate upon their own sound. With band without repeating yourselves or a lot of slower, really emotional and dynamic
their latest LP, Verminous, the Michigan-bred going too far out? parts that rein things in and jerk the tears out
crew have spawned their most cohesive and BRANDON ELLIS: The goal is never really to of you. Those songs have solo sections that are
focused collection of songs yet. change our sound, but to add new elements really fun, where I can just yank these super-
Verminous is a 10-track maelstrom of that make the music more dynamic. I’m famil- emotional notes out in my solos. Because of
stank-face-inducing riffs and searing lead gui- iar with our live staple songs and the shows how emotional Brian’s songs were this time
tar vignettes that recall the melodic intrigue, are a really good way to gauge how our music around, I tried to contribute more aggressive,
whammy bar abuse and wide vibrato drama works with people. I pay attention to that and cut-throat old-school metal — sheer violence
of your favorite Eighties guitar heroes. The always try to contribute music that’s going [and] knuckleheaded stuff.
man behind Verminous’ stunning lead guitar to add something new to our live set. Brian
work (as well as the album’s production and is always going to deliver that super-classic You two have been playing together
much of its songwriting) is the band’s newest Black Dahlia Murder stuff, so I try to write since 2016. How has your relationship
member, Brandon Ellis. While Ellis was on things that reach toward the odder end of the as co-guitarists developed since 2017’s
hand for the band’s last record, 2017’s Night- spectrum, but within our sound and in a way Nightbringers?
bringers, he was fresh to the group at the time that’ll blend well with our classics. ELLIS: I was really fresh coming into Night-
and admittedly still finding his sea legs. On BRIAN ESCHBACH: We’ve never specifically bringers, and the guys didn’t know how we’d
V I N C E E D WA R D S
Verminous, his contributions as a songwriter, tried to grow. When I write, it’s a really organ- gel in a recording situation or that I was going
producer and soloist provide the X-factor that ic thing that just comes from playing around to write much. Now we’re in a different place

ELLIS: I’ve got a home studio in New Jersey, ELLIS: That Kelly was a guitar I was playing
...and Brian Eschbach and it’s a much more comfortable way to when I made most of my demos and writing
record than how we did the last album, so these songs, and I got really used to the way
I lobbied the guys to go that route and they its mids were much more forward. That green
trusted me, so we did guitars, bass and vocals Kelly’s mids are like a fist! I really wanted
at my house. We know each other so well at the guitars and the bass to occupy their own
this point that there was nothing uncomfort- spaces, so having tons of low-end coming
able. The guys in my band are so good at what from the guitars wasn’t super important, but
they do, so it was pretty easy. having the notes pop hard was. That Jackson’s
ESCHBACH: Brandon sees songs from an el- midrange punch worked perfectly for that.
emental level, so there was no apprehension.
Brandon knows what he’s doing in the studio What’s your attraction to vintage Jack-
and is a very serious person, so we knew he’d sons and ESPs?
take it seriously. When you’re responsible for ELLIS: My first guitars included a Charvel
Verminous recording your own band, you’re emotionally 650xl that I got on eBay for, like, $200. I really
is a 10-track invested in the project in a way that someone wanted some cool old guitar that had a story
maelstrom of on the outside might not be, so it was cool to behind it and wasn’t something my friends
stank-face-inducing give someone with that kind of passion a shot would have; it had this awesome pearlescent
riffs and searing lead at it. Just being able to track at his house was blue paint job that looked kind of like bubble-
guitar vignettes that recall chill as fuck, and Brandon being the ultra- gum, and it was this super-Eighties ax. It
the melodic intrigue, experienced player that he is meant if we got turned out to be a better guitar than the much
whammy bar abuse and wide hung up on a riff, he and I could maximize more expensive guitars I’d buy over the next
vibrato drama of your favorite making a part sound its best. few years. Nothing quite stacked up to that
Eighties guitar heroes Charvel, and it came down to quality for your
Tone hunting in death metal is a bit of money. I was always after guitars that were
a dying art, especially considering how undesirable at the time because they were too
where we’ll cross the stage and play off each good the plugins geared toward extreme “hair metal.” Nowadays those guitars are in
other and rub shoulder blades and harmonize metal have gotten. Tell us about the amps demand and not so cheap, but I always loved
a riff. I’m more comfortable contributing and tools you used to craft the sounds on hair metal guitars.
things. I know where I can push it and I feel Verminous.
trusted and respected. ELLIS: I tracked my parts before I brought the A lot of death-metal bands just mash a
ESCHBACH: The biggest thing about working other guys in, so I had a lot of time to hone in bunch of heavy riffs together, but there’s
with Brandon is how inspiring he is to be the tones and taste-test different amps and real songcraft on Verminous. What’s the
around. When we started this band, I was hear how different tones shaped the demos. key to that side of writing?
playing power chords; I don’t have any educa- With this style of metal, you’re stuck between ELLIS: I have a huge appreciation for classical
tion or technical training with the guitar, so wanting to make a unique sound no one else music, and my melodic sense comes from that.
to have a guy like Brandon, who seems like has, but also wanting a tried-and-true thing I approach songwriting like a composer and
he can do anything on the instrument, was that works for the style. Making sure the gui- the transitions between themes and melodies
intimidating. Now it’s fun to try and keep up tars fit in the mix the way they’re supposed to is one of the most important parts of music to
with him and it’s made me a better player. He can be tricky, so I had to do interesting things me. I want our songs to be cinematic and flow
takes guitar seriously to a scientific level, so to get the tones there. like a film score, so those big changeups are
it’s inspiring to be around him. The core rhythm guitar sounds are my really important to the energy and excitement
green crackle custom shop Jackson Kelly with of the songs and can’t be an afterthought.
Brandon, your contributions as a soloist a Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis II Distortion ESCHBACH: I look at the structure of our
bridge the gap between Eighties guitar humbucker. Brian and I played that guitar songs like pop songs. You need an opener that
heroics and contemporary metal. How do for rhythm parts. I used a Maxon OD808 gets ’em interested and you should immedi-
you approach contextualizing those ideas into my Peavey 6505mh 20-watt mini head; I ately be moving along with something catchy
within modern metal? could have used that for the whole album. At that grabs you, and it should all flow in a way
ELLIS: When Brian gives me a solo section to the last second, I decided I was going to try that feels like changes, but works together.
work with, I listen closely to his chords and slaving the preamp from that Peavey into the For the entire time we’ve been involved in
what notes are in there rather than just taking poweramp of another one of my amps to see metal, the progression of new bands coming
off and ripping something. I listen to them how it sounded with a full 100 watts behind it, out seems to be a focus on more riffs, more
over and over again before I even try to play so I slaved it into a Baron K2 KT88 head and changeups and this full-on assault kind of
over them to really get into my head where that rig had a little bit of extra boldness and thing — which is awesome — but I’ve always
the power notes in a progression are. It all a little less sag and compression. It became been into a more traditional songwriting
started with Eddie Van Halen for me; his solos its own beast at that point but retained that style closer to Chuck Berry or AC/DC. I look
always had the most perfect structuring and 6505 thing. That was my way of making my back at some stuff like off [2005’s] Miasma
phrasing. Yngwie Malmsteen is my Number own unique guitar tone, but still having a foot or [2007’s] Nocturnal and I think, “That song
1 guitar hero after Eddie — and for the same firmly in the world of the classic Black Dahlia doesn’t need that many parts” and acknowl-
reasons I like Eddie. Murder 6505 thing. edge that we over-complicated things oc-
casionally in the past. That might just be the
Brandon, you produced most of the Brandon, you have a wild guitar collec- old man rocker in me, but that is where I’m
album. What challenges were presented tion. What made that Jackson the winner at now.
by producing your own band? for most of Verminous’ guitar parts?
guitarworld.com 23
NEWS + NOTES
Dressed for success! Rookie's guitarists include Christopher

Devlin [second from left], Max Loebman [third from left] and Dimitri
Panoutsos [second from right]; that's Devlin with the Les Paul [inset]
Rookie
PUT ON YOUR JUMPSUITS, HOP IN THE ’79 EL CAMINO AND LET
THIS CHICAGO SIX-PIECE WHISK YOU AWAY TO A LAND RULED
BY BIG STAR, THE EAGLES, CHEAP TRICK AND TOM PETTY
By David Von Bader
IT’S SAFE TO say these are some crazy to forge a remarkably fresh vision of a bygone
times — the kinda times that might even era. Standout tracks include the lazy pedal
make you cry out for some carefree rock ‘n’ steel river of “Sunglasses,” the incendiary
roll. Enter Rookie, a Chicago-bred six-piece solo on album opener “Hold On Tight” and
whose eponymous debut album might just be the Allman Brothers-meets-Badfinger romp “Sometimes you just
the salve that chases away your quarantine of “Introduction II.” The guitar tones on the need to let the song
blues. Rookie’s album is 42 minutes of late- album are absolutely spot on to boot.
Seventies summer, a cocktail of rock ‘n’ roll “A lot of volume helps in the studio,” says
breathe, and your part
and power pop that’d be perfectly at home Dimitri Panoutsos, one of Rookie’s trio of will be all the more
blasting out of the open windows of an idling killer axmen. “Those rocking tones aren’t powerful through the
El Camino, bubbling out of the jukebox at your always so much distortion, and when we push
favorite wood-paneled dive bar or blaring from an amp to its limit, the true tonal character-
negative space”
a boombox docked by your parents’ backyard istic of the amp is revealed. Chris [Devlin]’s — CHRISTOPHER DEVLIN
pool. Rookie splice together the laid-back roots slide tone on ‘Fake Grass’ is a 1977 Fender
I N S E T: C A I L E Y D AV E R N
rock of early Tom Petty, the melodic sensibility Deluxe Reverb cranked to 10. Another great
of Midwest power-pop heroes like Big Star and example is my tone on ‘E Jam,’ which was a and [Don] Felder, we realized they never use
Cheap Trick (with whom Rookie were touring Mesa/Boogie Mark I with an Altec Lansing the same pickups during a song,” Loebman
in support just before the world stopped spin- speaker dimed! We love when the speaker says. “One guy would use humbuckers and
ning) and laced up with a truly badass triple- compresses in a way that really can’t be recre- the other always used single coils. We applied
guitar assault. ated with a pedal.” that to Rookie. We also realize that less is
Rookie’s album is a love letter to a more With three deft players in the fold, Rookie’s often more.”
carefree time when rock need not be compli- Devlin, Panoutsos and Max Loebman keep the “Sometimes you just need to let the song
ROOKIE: ALEC BASSE
cated or convey some grand vision to be great; sound full without getting cluttered through a breathe, and your part will be all the more
it’s a record crafted with care by a group that’s trick learned from the Eagles. powerful through the negative space,” Devlin
obviously studied the classics deeply enough “After watching live videos of [Joe] Walsh adds.

NEWS + NOTES
Havok
ON THE MULTIFACETED V,
IT’S OBVIOUS THESE
COLORADO THRASHERS HAVE
BRUSHED UP ON MORE THAN
JUST THE FUNDAMENTALS
OF THE BIG FOUR
By Gregory Adams
HAVOK VOCALIST/RHYTHM shredder

David Sanchez forewarns of a rise of the
machines on “Betrayed by Technology,” a
meaty thrash rebuke to the oncoming
technocracy, but the guitarist concedes that
certain advancements have their advantages.
For instance, with Sanchez in Denver and lead
guitarist Reece Scruggs in Winchester,
Virginia, song ideas and studio sessions for
new album V were tracked remotely and
uploaded to the cloud. Still, while many metal
bands have resorted to livestream concerts as
a way to cope and connect through the
pandemic, he hints that Havok have no plans
of bringing their stage show online.
“We could spend the time to do some sort
of a Zoom thing, or film ourselves individu-
ally and stack them on top of each other to Havok's Reece Scruggs
make a livestream, but if we’re going to spend [left] and David Sanchez; “It
“With my playing, would be a disservice to play
that much time and effort doing something
creative, I’d much rather come up with new you’ll hear country, [these] songs live without a
huge PA system that shakes
material,” he says, though he’s hopeful for a bluegrass, blues, rock your skeleton,” Sanchez says
return to venues further down the line. “If

and roll, the Shrapnel
you want to hear the best version of whatever
new song, just listen to the record. It just guys, Dimebag grass, blues, rock and roll, the Shrapnel guys,
came out! It would be a disservice to play Darrell, all that stuff. Dimebag Darrell, all that stuff. You’re getting
those songs live without a huge PA system a metal experience, for sure, but you’re getting
You’re getting a metal
that shakes your skeleton.” a whole lot more.”
Sanchez’s point is understandable — experience, for sure,
but you’re getting a
Havok’s fifth and latest album is demonstra-
bly destructive. Take early single “Phantom
whole lot more”
AXOLOGY
Force,” a 115-bpm blitzkrieg of vicious
low-end trilling and warp-drive sweeps, or — REECE SCRUGGS • GUITARS (Sanchez) ESP EX Standard
with Floyd Rose, ESP LTD Shadow;
the wah-powered slash and burn of “Mer- (Scruggs) Roehrs Guitars Apex Reece
chants of Death.” Scruggs goes supernova on Scruggs signature
“Fear Campaign,” channelling both Megadeth picking chops for V, double-handed tapping is • AMP (Sanchez) Peavey Triple XXXii,
and Brad Paisley — with a fiery, chicken- second nature for him. Havok often pushes a Peavey 6534+, Kemper Power Rack,
picked chorus melody — before ripping out frenzied tempo, but V adds dynamism via the Peavey 4x12 with Peavey 2x12 on top
(Celestion speakers); (Scruggs) Peavey
a virtuosic tapping clinic on his signature Black Album-worthy groove of “Ritual of the
6534, 6505+, Peavey Triple X II, Positive
Roehrs Apex. Mind” or the percussion-forward tone poem Grid powered head w/ Peavey 4x12 and
“There’s this gigantic second section of “Dab Tsog.” Havok still brazenly tout their 2x12 on top, SKB racks
that solo that’s just moving up and down an vintage thrash influence, but they’ve brushed • EFFECTS (Sanchez) ISP Decimator
E pentatonic lick, then taking the G string up on more than just the fundamentals. G-String II, Peterson Stomp Classic
and coming all the way back up, then doing “If you listen hard enough, you’ll hear strobe tuner, Electro-Harmonix Soul
Food overdrive; (Scruggs) Dunlop Cry
this E minor arpeggio and following it all up every one of our influences come out on [V]
M A R K M A RYA N O V I C H
Baby from Hell, MXR overdrives, ISP

with a slide on the high E. It’s pretty damn — and it’s not all metal-related. You’re gonna Decimator 2, Peterson StroboStomp
ridiculous,” Scruggs says with a laugh, adding hear punk, classic rock, classical movements. tuner
that while he strived to better his alternate- With my playing, you’ll hear country, blue-
guitarworld.com 25
Steve Morse in
Cardiff, Wales,
NEWS + NOTES with his Ernie Ball
Music Man Steve
Morse model
Gettin’
Deep
with Steve
Morse
THE DEEP PURPLE GUITARIST
— NOW IN HIS 26TH YEAR
WITH THE LEGENDARY U.K.
BAND — TALKS SCREAMING
PRODUCERS, HIS UNUSUALLY
BUSY DOWNTIME AND
PURPLE’S SMOKING NEW
ALBUM, WHOOSH!
By Joe Bosso
NOBODY QUITE KNEW what to expect
when Steve Morse joined Deep Purple
in 1994. The Dixie Dregs/Kansas kingpin was
stepping into a situation that didn’t bode well
for longevity. First there was founding
guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who came and
went over the years; his initial replacement,
Tommy Bolin, lasted only two years before
the group’s first breakup in 1976. Joe Satriani
stepped in for a tour in 1993 but was unable to
join full-time because of his solo commit-
ments. Would Morse, hailed as one of the
most gifted and versatile guitarists of his day,
manage to stick around?
As it turns out, he was a natural fit for Gillan, bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian “We’re a good group of different personali-
Deep Purple; in fact, his 26-year tenure with Paice). In concert, he’s put his own stamp on ties, and everybody knows their strengths,” he
the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers makes him the group’s rich cavalcade of hits, and in the says. “Something we have that I think is im-
the band’s longest-standing axman. “Yeah, I studio he’s proved to be a dominant and in- portant is how somebody usually notices what
passed that mark a long time ago,” Morse says vigorating force, dishing out robust guitar riffs nobody else does. In the songwriting process
with a laugh. Detailing the group’s protocol, and lyrical solos while becoming a central that can be very helpful, but it can also create
he likens the fold to a dog pack. “There’s a figure in their songwriting process. friction. So we kind of use Bob Ezrin to be the
natural inclination for people to hold posi- The guitarist weaves blistering six-string police or judge. He comes in and acts as the
tions based on seniority. For a while, I was at runs throughout the band’s latest album, final vote. At the end of the day, it works.”
the bottom, but when [keyboardist] Jon Lord Whoosh!, an almost absurdly enjoyable — and
BAND: BEN WOLF
retired, Don Airey joined, so I moved from the surprisingly youthful-sounding — set full Were it not for the pandemic, the plan
number five to the four spot.” of spunky prog rock (“Throw My Bones”), was for Deep Purple to be on tour right
However, Morse notes that being the sole quasi-rockabilly/boogie (“What the What”), now, correct?
American in a group of Brits has its disad- lush power balladry (“Nothing at All”) and That was what we were thinking, yeah, but as
vantages. “Once Don started talking soccer fist-pumping stompers (“The Long Way of now we won’t be out again till 2021. We only
— English football — with the other guys, that Round,” “No Need to Shout”). It’s the outfit’s got to play one show in 2020 — that was it.
M O R S E : O L LY C U R T I S/ F U T U R E
was it,” he says. “I went back to being number third consecutive release they’ve made with
five, and I’ve been there ever since.” But his veteran producer Bob Ezrin, best known for Clear something up, though: Wasn’t the
lack of U.K. football knowledge notwith- his work with Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd. band’s The Long Goodbye Tour supposed
standing, Morse has made his mark on Deep According to Morse, Ezrin serves a key role to be a farewell to the road?
Purple (which also includes three members when he’s sometimes called upon to mediate That’s what I thought, but it turns out there’s
from the classic Mark II lineup — vocalist Ian songwriting disputes. evidence of UFO sightings and everything.

Deep Purple [from left]: Steve Morse,
Don Airey, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover [Laughs] I can get a take in eight or nine
and Ian Paice
passes. Sometimes I’ll need 20 takes, by which
“[Deep Purple] have a time Bob runs out of the room screaming. I
lifetime span of 250 years, think he’s heard too many guitar solos during
his life. There have been times I’ve played
apparently, and they don’t something and I thought it was really smooth,
realize I’m just a normal but Bob will say, “Nope. It’s too smooth. I
want to hear you do something that you’re not
human. Everybody has comfortable doing.”
been in the hospital for
What did he say about your solo on
various surgeries and “We’re All the Same in the Dark”? You
what have you, but they throw some country twang into a funky
rock song.
keep coming back with Well, I think there’s a limited amount of
this upbeat attitude. natural me that can be played before Bob gets
into his producer role: “Yeah, Morse, that’s
I think music just keeps great. Save it for your solo album. Now give
me something that fits the song.” Yeah, I don’t
you young”
know how that got past him. Sometimes he
comps solos from the simplest parts of each
take, making me sound like I’m on Quaaludes
The guys say they’re from the U.K., but band’s songwriting? Do you initiate or something. I think he’s just sick of high-
they’re actually from outer space — they’re songs with riffs? energy solos.
from Krypton or somewhere. [Laughs] They There’s four ways it happens: One, I’ll bring
have a lifetime span of 250 years, apparently, in a lot of ideas and demos, but I won’t try to I assume you used your signature Ernie
and they don’t realize I’m just a normal hu- influence anybody; I just present the ideas and Ball Music Man guitars on the album?
man. Everybody has been in the hospital for see which ones catch fire. The second way is, That’s right, the SM-1 Music Man and the
various surgeries and what have you, but they Roger will bring in ideas, but he’ll sometimes Y2D. They work for pretty much everything.
keep coming back with this upbeat attitude. I say, “I really want to do it just like this.” That’s But on “Dancing in My Sleep” I played a bari-
think music just keeps you young. hard, because if you bring an idea to a band, tone guitar that was strung with guide wires
you’ve got to be prepared for it to be taken from a radio antenna.
Was this album cut with everybody apart and put back together differently than
together in the studio, or did you finish you imagined. The third way is we’ll just jam Are you serious?
any of it remotely? and see what happens, and the fourth way is No, I’m joking! [Laughs] But it felt like it.
No, we did it old school, before COVID. We Paicey will simply play a drum beat. He’ll set
were in this gigantic room at RCA Studios up a feel for something he wants in a song. What about amps and effects?
in Nashville. It had the traditional kind of The amps were ENGLs that were made for
room echo like we used to see in every other What happens if you think a song is bad? me. That was basically it. For effects, I used
studio. It’s awesome to have that physical Can you make it come alive? Can a bad the Keeley C2 Compressor, along with the
cubic feet for the drums to decay in and not song become a good one, or is it just des- TC Hall of Fame Reverb and the Flashback
reflect around. We had everybody facing each tined to be bad? Delay. The effects on the delay are the Tone
other in a circle. The speaker cabinets were I guess it depends on what you call “bad.” For Print that I did for TC Electronics. So I use a
remotely situated. We each have those little instance, if you have a song that just isn’t in- wet and dry delay, and I blend them. I’m very
mixers — or actually pretty big mixers — that spiring, maybe there’s a few things you can do happy with those little pedals; they’ve helped
we can fine tune our headphones or earbuds. to improve it. As for myself, I don’t even bring reduce the size of my rig.
an idea in unless there’s something that grabs
Aside from recording the best batch of me. I have to be able to say, “I don’t know if While waiting till you can tour again, what
tunes possible, does the band have a par- you’ll like this, but I do.” I’m that guy who can have you been doing with your time?
ticular agenda going into the studio? come up with 10 variations on a song: “Why I’ve actually been busy. I’m not getting paid
To me, it’s funny and very true when Bob says, don’t we try this?” “Let’s try this!” I’m always for a lot, but I’m staying active. I still keep the
“Let’s just make the kind of record we want trying to see what we’re missing in songs. A same schedule I always have, which is during
to make. No one is going to buy it. Nobody’s lot of times, it’s the other way around: The the day I work on the farm and do whatever
going to play it on the radio.” [Laughs] Bob has guys think it’s a good song, and I don’t yet. needs to be done. At night, generally when ev-
got this sour kind of Don Rickles personality So I’m pushing for these little incremental eryone is asleep, I work on music without any
that he can switch on and off. If you didn’t changes. When you add it all up, we finally interruption. I have my own studio, which is
know him, you’d think he’s being negative, but achieve a good balance. great. A lot of my friends are doing recordings,
what he’s saying is, “Make it for yourselves and I’ve helped them out, added guitar parts
and the fans. Don’t worry about whether Your guitar solo on “Throw My Bones” is remotely. I’m also working on a project with
anything’s going to fit into any kind of niche one of the best on the album. It sounds Greg Bissonette, Billy Sheehan and Mark Ri-
or be suitable for radio airplay.” I love that very expressive, but there’s an impro- vera. We’re doing kind of a virtual online camp
starting point. vised quality to it. thing. I did a master class for Rock and Roll
It’s good that you think that. I do have the Fantasy Camp. So there’s still a lot going on
Is there a particular process to the ability to take a good solo and screw it up. even though things aren’t, you know, “normal.”
guitarworld.com 27
NEWS + NOTES Razorblades guitarist
Martin Schmidt, author
of The Surf Guitar Book
Surf
Guitar’s
Next
Chapter
SURF-ROCKER MARTIN SCHMIDT
TALKS GW THROUGH THE SURF
GUITAR BOOK, AN IN-DEPTH LOOK
AT THE TONES AND TEXTURES
BEHIND THE REVERB-DRENCHED
GENRE’S MOST FAMOUS
RECORDINGS, GEAR AND
GUITAR HEROES
By Amit Sharma
THOUGH DEEPLY ROOTED in the
evolution of the six-string, it would be
fair to say surf guitar may very well be one of
the more neglected styles among modern
players. Thankfully, that could very well
change with the arrival of what author Martin
Schmidt describes as “the first specialist book
on the genre,” packing everything you need to
know about the techniques and gear to nail
the sound into its 132 pages.
“I love those sparkling, reverberated
tones,” says Schmidt — also the guitarist in
German surf trio the Razorblades, who are
currently promoting their latest release,
Howlin’ at the Copycats. “They’re almost clean
yet seem to have as much power as distorted
sounds — aggressive and very beautiful at the
same time.”
Most of all, the author cites his love for
the instrumental concepts behind its more “Another Dick
famous spangle-jangles, “where you can carry Dale trick is to
the whole song through your guitar” and play Phrygian
effectively “replace the voice” — contrary dominant — the
to other genres, which he feels are, to some harmonic minor
extent, less guitar-driven. The spiral-bound
paperback examines the tremolo and muted
scale from its
picking styles employed by original surf hero
fifth note — over
Dick Dale — repopularized in the Nineties, a major chord to
thanks to its inclusion in Quentin Tarantino’s add a Spanish or
masterpiece, Pulp Fiction — as well as those Eastern feel”
inimitable and often extreme whammy bar
techniques. There’s plenty of insight into the
scales most associated with these sounds,
predominantly minor/major pentatonics Jaguars are very typical for this kind of with tabs,” says Schmidt — clearly someone
and modes such as Dorian and Mixolydian rock, usually plugged into Sixties amps like as passionate as it gets when it comes to those
C O U R T E S Y O F M A R T I N S C H M I DT
(“another Dick Dale trick is to play Phrygian the Showman, Bandmaster and Bassman,” choppy, seaweed-drenched melodies. “It often
dominant — the harmonic minor scale from Schmidt says. He also recommends the gets a bit mystified, so I wanted to break it
its fifth note — over a major chord to add a Catalinbread Topanga and Surfy Industries all down like you would learn a basic 12-bar
Spanish or Eastern feel,” Schmidt says). And Spring Reverb pedals for just the right kind blues. There’s no reason you can’t approach
as for his gear recommendations, expect a lot of ambience. surf guitar the same way.” For more informa-
of classic Fender designs. “I hope to get more people into surf mu- tion, check out thesurfguitarbook.com and
“Fender Stratocasters, Jazzmasters and sic by explaining all the details of the style the-incredible-mr-smith.com.

Elbow's Mark Potter
— "We actually met
Brian [May] at the 2012
NEWS + NOTES Olympics. He knew who
we were and it totally
blew my mind"
INQUIRER
MARK POTTER
THE ELBOW GUITARIST
DISCUSSES HIS WEIRDEST GIG, A
BRIAN MAY MELTDOWN AND WHY
THEY’RE OFTEN PICKING A PIGNOSE
Got my first real six-string

My first guitar didn’t have a name on the
headstock. It was a natural-wood, Les
Paul-shaped guitar, which I absolutely
loved, as you do with your first guitar.
My first “proper” guitar was when I was
lucky enough to save up and buy a Gibson
SG, because my heroes at the time were
Angus Young and Carlos Santana. I was
always a worker, I always had a job and
saved my money, so I was about 15 when
I got my SG. Pretty spoiled, really, at that
age.
Break on through to the other side

I loved Nick Drake’s guitar style, early on.
At that age I wasn’t a fingerpicker, but it
made me regularly pickup the acoustic
guitar. One day, I did realize I could fin-
gerpick to a decent standard. It felt like,
“Oh right, I’m getting somewhere here!”
But I’ve got a lazy little finger on my right
hand that I wish I’d incorporated more.
It’s not quite as “involved” as the others.
Just a castaway, an island lost at sea

One guitar, one pedal, one amp? It’s got to
be the SG, the pedal would be an EHX Big
Muff and the amp would be a 1959 Fender
Bassman. That’s a no-brainer.
I’ve recently switched over to
the Kemper Profiler. We just “The band
got back from a few weeks
in California and, like a lucky
before us were
bugger, it was waiting for six women,
me when I got home. I can’t naked and
believe how great it sounds. green, playing
I’ll definitely be going back to instruments my brother [Craig, keys/ survived in the Motown studio. They’d be
the studio with it.
made of trees” producer]. We actually met
Brian at the 2012 Olympics.
like, “We’re not getting him in, he takes
five hours to start playing!”
Pigs on the wing He knew who we were and
We use the little Pignose gui- it totally blew my mind. Our One day like this
tars with the built-in speak- Stage Manager Rich House is In the early 2000s, we played a Greek
ers a lot and at the end of every tour, Guy also a huge Queen fan, and he, brilliantly, festival on what was, apparently, a con-
[Garvey, Elbow vocalist/guitarist] will introduced himself as Brian! It was like taminated beach. There had been some
give it to the support band. They’re great putting your hand up and calling your leak or something and there were signs
writing tools. That guitar is on every teacher “Mum.” He gets a lot of shit for up everywhere saying, “Don’t dip your
Elbow record we’ve made. The problem is that… feet in the water.” The crosswind was
we have to keep buying them! It’s always so ridiculous that the town, eight miles
like, “Where’s the Pignose? Ah shit, we Working on a dream away, heard the gig, whereas everyone
gave it away again…” You should see Guy My greatest strength is probably that who stood on the beach heard nothing.
playing one, though: they’re so small and I’m always working on my tone. I’ll be in The band on before us was six women,
he’s such a looming figure. I’ve not yet rehearsal an hour before everyone else, naked, but green, playing instruments
convinced him to play one onstage. still tweaking my “Grounds for Divorce” they’d made out of various pieces of trees.
sound. Guy will be like, “You’re not still It was an odd one!
J O BY S E S S I O N S/ F U T U R E
A kind of magic working on that fucking guitar sound, are — Matt Parker
If I could have a lesson from anyone I you?” Then we’ll play the song and he’ll
think it would have to be Brian May. be like, “Ooh, that sounds good!” Maybe Elbow’s latest album, Live at the Ritz, is
Queen were such an influence on me and that’s a weakness as well. I wouldn’t have available now.
guitarworld.com 29
30
"We're at a certain age

where we've fought all
our battles and seen
the top of the moun-
tain," says the Empty
Hearts' Elliot Easton
HOLIDAY
GW
2020
heartbeat
CARS SIX-STRING INNOVATOR ELLIOT EASTON TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO
THE GEAR AND GUITAR SOLOS THAT DRIVE THE EMPTY HEARTS’ PERSONALITY-
PACKED SECOND ALBUM. BY CHRIS GILL. PHOTOS BY ROB SHANAHAN.
U
SUALLY WHEN FAMOUS MUSICIANS JOIN TOGETHER TO FORM lains, and even Framus Star basses like Bill
a supergroup, the objective is to create a band that hopefully Wyman used to play — things you never see
will become more than the sum of its parts from both creative much at all. It’s a great clubhouse with all
sorts of esoteric stuff that makes it a really
and commercial perspectives. But in the case of the Empty fun atmosphere for geeking out and explor-
Hearts — comprised of lead guitarist Elliot Easton (the Cars), vocalist/ ing your creative options.”
rhythm guitarist Wally Palmar (the Romantics), drummer Clem Burke Although Babiuk also owns the Fab Gear
(Blondie) and bassist Andy Babiuk (the Chesterfield Kings) — the main music store, which could provide just about
idea was four like-minded musicians getting together to have fun. anything the musicians needed, Easton
brought his own guitars to the sessions
due to his personal needs as a left-handed
player. Easton still owns a very impres-
“Andy called each of us individually had to become a band, and that takes time. sive collection of vintage and custom left-
back in 2013 to ask what we thought about Between the first album and this one we handed guitars, but for the album’s sessions
forming a band together,” recalls Easton. did a lot of hanging and traveling together. he played only four instruments.
“We’re all old friends. The plan was to play We were already friends before, but we “Because I had to travel from Los Ange-
the kind of music that was the reason we became better friends. That’s part of the les to Rochester, I was limited by how
all played music in the first place, inspired chemistry. We’re less inhibited and show- much stuff I could bring,” he says. “I
by the bands from the Sixties who inspired ing more of ourselves. The more we’ve got- brought a Gibson Custom Shop 1960 Les
us.” ten to know each other, the more of our Paul Standard reissue with a cherry red fin-
It’s pretty easy to determine which bands personality has come out.” ish. I’ve always liked red Les Pauls — I’ve
influenced the Empty Hearts when listen- The Second Album delivers an even had one since the beginning of the Cars.
ing to the group’s eponymous debut album more diverse collection of styles, includ- I also brought a butterscotch blackguard
released in 2014. Various songs bear distinct ing hard rockers like “Death by Insom- Tele, a rare Rickenbacker 12-string that is
hallmarks of the sounds of the Beatles, the nia” and “The World’s Gone Insane,” the the Roger McGuinn limited edition — they
Byrds, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and the Memphis-meets-Muscle Shoals South- made only three lefties with Mapleglo fin-
Who combined with the attitude of garage ern soul of “Well Look at You” featuring ishes — and a Gibson Hummingbird acous-
rock bands like Paul Revere and the Raid- the Uptown Horns, the power pop of “The tic. Those four guitars covered most of the
ers, the Pretty Things and the Standells, and Best That I Can” and “Come On and Try It” ground I needed. I didn’t need to bring
guitar riffs that edge into the early Seven- and the wistful balladry of “The World as any amps, fortunately, but I brought my
ties a la Led Zeppelin and T. Rex. Perhaps We Know It, Moves On” and “Indigo Dusk main pedalboard. All of my pedalboards
the most surprising feature of the album of the Night.” Ringo Starr also makes a spe- are done by Nick Conti at this company in
was how close it sounded to the musicians’ cial guest appearance, playing drums on Ohio called Tonetronix. Anything else that
influences and how little it sounded like the “Remember Days Like These.” I needed, Andy already had it in his studio
music that each individual was previously Easton recorded all of his guitar tracks at or music store.”
best known for. Babiuk’s Fab Gear Studios in Fairport, New For amps, Easton relied on the holy trin-
On the Empty Hearts’ follow-up effort York, near Rochester. “Recording at Andy’s ity of Fender, Marshall and Vox. “Andy
released this year, appropriately called studio is such a blast,” Easton says. “With- has a beautifully tweaked 50-watt Mar-
The Second Album, numerous influences out exaggeration, he has almost every- shall plexi that I used a lot,” Easton says.
are still apparent, but a distinct person- thing, from sitars and tambouras to any vin- “He also had a Vox Super Beatle that was
ality unique to the band has emerged as tage amp you’d want to play through, all a natural pairing with the Rickenbacker
well. “This album definitely shows growth with new tubes and good speakers. There 12-string. I used the rocker switches to dial
from the first record,” Easton says. “We are claviolines, Mellotrons and chamber- in that really hard, snotty midrange like you
guitarworld.com 31
hear on the Beatles’ Revolver on songs like The Second Album shows Easton’s
‘She Said, She Said.’ That always sounded breadth as a guitarist perhaps more than
to me like they were using the MRB middle anything he has previously recorded. On
boost switch on those Vox amps. I also used “Well Look At You” he plays slinky slid-
a really nice Fender Twin Reverb.” ing double stops in the style of Steve
Easton’s Tonetronix pedalboard included Cropper, Cornell Dupree and Reggie
the following pedals: an MI Audio Crunch Young but with his own distinctive voice.
Box and Hermida Audio Zendrive distor- For “The World as We Know It, Moves
tion/overdrive, JangleBox compressor, On” he played seductive bends that evoke
Tech 21 Roto Choir rotating speaker emu- Amos Garrett.
lator, Dunlop TS-1 Stereo Tremolo, MXR “That was the Les Paul though the
Echoplex Delay, MXR M300 Digital Reverb, Twin dialed in to a clean tone with the
Keeley 30ms Double Tracker, TC Electronic 30ms Double Tracker on the arpeggiated
PolyTune 2 Mini tuner, Dunlop Cry Baby chords,” he says. “It’s clean, but it’s still
Mini Wah, Dunlop Volume(X) Mini and ISP fat and sweet. The Les Paul has a pair of
Technologies Decimator II noise gate. Lindy Fralin’s True 60’s PAF humbuck-
“I use the Crunch Box for my high- ers. That’s the finest pickup I’ve found.
gain stuff,” Easton says, “and I use the It’s touch-sensitive and it does everything
Zendrive for overdrive. Tonetronix added you want it to do on a record. It’s not over-
a loop switcher to my board so I can switch wound — it’s just good.”
between those two pedals or switch them One of Easton’s favorite performances
both out with just one click. The Crunch on the new record is “Death by Insomnia.”
Box is a wonderful pedal. There’s not a bad “I originally wrote that as an instrumental [from left] The Empty Hearts' Elliot Easton,
Wally Palmar, Andy Babiuk and Clem Burke
setting on it. You could plug it into a Fender track for a film that was shown at Sundance
Twin with JBLs and it will sound like a Mar- years ago,” he tells us. “I wanted to make a
shall. In fact, it sounds better than just plug- song out of it, so I showed it to the guys and
ging into a Marshall. I use the first version — they went to work on it. I did Roy Buchanan- turn the lights down, take a puff of some-
they’ve released several different versions style lead stuff on it, which was challenging thing and listen all the way through with-
of the Crunch Box over the years. I went because it was very different from the other out talking to each other. One of my buga-
on Reverb and grabbed as many of them as songs we were working on. The solo is sup- boos about the way people listen to music
I could find because I like it so much. If it posed to sound kind of crazy and out there.” these days is that they do it in isolation. To
broke I wouldn’t want to be without one. It While Easton and his bandmates felt that me there’s nothing like listening to some-
makes life easier. I can plug it into any amp they had written a strong collection of songs thing like the Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore
and make it sound cool.” for their debut album, this time around they East with someone else and enjoying all the
Easton expresses similar enthusiasm aspired to deliver a true classic album expe- little details together. That was a great thing
for the Keeley 30ms Double Tracker pedal. rience with two distinct parts like the sides to do, to just share the joy. Music shouldn’t
“Most people think I have to have a chorus of a vinyl record and a flow that evolves exist in a vacuum. You need to vibe off of
pedal somewhere on my board because of throughout from the beginning until the other people. Hopefully people will do that
the sounds I recorded with the Cars. That’s end. Easton says that producer Ed Stasium with this record.”
actually the last thing I’d want on my pedal- played a significant role in helping the band While the Empty Hearts started out as a
board. The 30ms Double Tracker does the achieve that goal. way for four like-minded musicians to have
chorus effects I need, but it sounds really “Ed Stasium is like the fifth member of fun together between tours and projects that
cool and doesn’t sound so Eighties. the band when we’re recording,” Easton paid their bills, Easton says the band has
“When I recorded the Cars’ first album, I explains. “He had a lot of input into the become a more fulfilling pursuit over time.
only had two pedals: a Morley EVO-1 Echo sequencing as well as the mastering. Clem “We’re at a certain age where we’ve fought
Volume with the spinning magnetic disc and I both thought of Ed when we were all our battles and seen the top of the moun-
for delay and a Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensem- looking for a producer for our first album. tain. Now we’re just trying to have a good
ble. [Producer] Roy Thomas Baker told me We knew he would be a really good guy for time playing music and making people
that I didn’t need to use the chorus pedal, producing this band, that he’d have fun with happy. I’m very grateful. I don’t take any-
and he showed me how to get chorus effects it and would enjoy it. He’s one of us. We’re thing that’s happened for granted. It’s
in the studio. He had me play a riff, then he not working under pressure from some always been music for me. My mom was
adjusted the recorder’s varispeed a couple label. We’re just all kicking around ideas a Julliard-trained singer, and she had her
of cents slower or faster and had me record together and having a good time making own radio show in New York sponsored
a second track that was identical to the first. music. Imagine that! by Hershey’s Chocolate. I have a cousin
When he played it back, the two tracks cre- “We all agreed that we wanted the album who has taught choir in high school for 40
ated a natural, organic-sounding chorus to take listeners on a journey. It’s presump- years. There are a lot of good musicians
effect because the pitch of both tracks was tuous for us to say that this record does and talented people on my side of the fam-
slightly different and the wow and flutter that, but that was one of our main goals. ily. I started playing guitar when I was only
from the tape machine created little phas- We wanted the songs to be fun, but we also 2 years old. There are pictures of me play-
ing inconsistencies. That’s the chorus sound wanted to make a good album with a begin- ing all the way back then, so obviously I
you hear on ‘Bye Bye Love.’ The 30ms pedal ning, middle and end. We wanted a record didn’t get into music just to meet girls. I just
is a version of that studio effect that I can that was like the days when you’d invite love to play music. That’s what makes me
use live.” your friends over to listen to a new album, happy. Mission accomplished.”

Signature sound: John
Petrucci in the studio with
a few Ernie Ball Music Man
Majesty guitars, his Mesa/
Boogie JP-2C head, Dunlop
JP95 John Petrucci Cry
Baby wah and more
G
20 20
W
JOHN
Dream Theater’s resident lord of the strings
PETRUCCI
uses the lockdown as an opportunity to record
REACHES
some sick instrumentals — with a little help from
TERMINALformer bandmate Mike Portnoy
VELOCITY
By JON WIEDERHORN Photo by MATTHEW SCHIEFERSTEIN
guitarworld.com 35
IN
G
20 20
W
EARLY 2020, WHEN DREAM THEATER WERE TOURING EUROPE TO CELEBRATE BOTH THEIR
latest album, Distance Over Time, and the 20th anniversary of 2000’s
Scenes from a Memory, John Petrucci had no immediate plans to
finish writing his second solo album, which he has worked on spo-
radically between Dream Theater activity over the past few years.
At the time, there was hardly time to think, let alone put together a
schedule for anything that didn’t involve his main gig. The band was
scheduled to remain on the road through at least the end of April
and then begin discussing the follow-up to Distance Over Time. But
then, like every other touring group, Dream Theater were forced to
ground operations in late February due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only were the musicians unable to exciting instead of aggressive and it’s really
play shows, they couldn’t practice together positive for the most part. The last thing
or work on new material since Petrucci is in I wanted to do was to have my first solo
Long Island, New York, which, in March, album in 15 years be this negative, doom-
was near ground zero for the Coronavi- and-gloom bummer of a record.”
rus and all the band members were adher- Ensconced in his studio with all of his
ing to CDC guidelines, wearing masks and gear, Petrucci nonetheless kept his setup
socially distancing. It didn’t help that vocal- simple. He played the entire album using
ist James LaBrie was at home in Toronto. his signature Ernie Ball Music Man gui-
And the band didn’t want to work together tars, including the 2019 Emerald Green
digitally. Enchanted Forest and the Majesty Purple
Effectively isolated and practically Nebula equipped with his DiMarzio Rain-
quarantined, Petrucci took the hiatus as maker Neck and Dreamcatcher Bridge
an opportunity to return to his home stu- pickups. As much as Petrucci likes seven-
dio and finish Terminal Velocity, his first strings, he wrote and played just one song,
solo album since 2005’s Suspended Anima- “Temple of Circadia,” on a signature seven-
tion. Like the former, the new release is a string. Regardless of which guitar he used,
melodic and deftly played showcase of vir- he plugged into a JP Mesa/Boogie and a
tuosic instrumental songwriting and tech- 4x12 Boogie cabinet and Neve preamps.
nical guitar excursions. The album easily When it came to songwriting, Petrucci
could have reflected Petrucci’s frustration wanted the guitar parts to feature memora-
with the infectiousness and danger of the ble melodic motifs and atmospheric exper-
Coronavirus, yet Petrucci treated his time imentation between the abundant leads.
in the studio as an escape from the out- While he was intent on writing songs that
side world, a panacea for the disorientation would wow crowds at clinics and G3 tours,
he felt when he stepped back upstairs and melody was always at the forefront of his
turned on the news, and an opportunity to mind. “I love songs, and songs usually have
write spirited, exciting songs that offer lis- vocals,” Petrucci says. “So, when I write an
“MIKE [PORTNOY] BANGED OUT ALL HIS PARTS IN SIX DAYS, WHICH IS AMAZING SINCE
THERE ARE A LOT OF WEIRD TEMPO CHANGES AND CRAZY ARPEGGIOS ... AS WELL AS
teners a diversion from the daily chaos. instrumental, the guitar melody takes the While Petrucci is proud of Termi-
“I think the turmoil that was going on place of the vocals. They become the cohe- nal Velocity, which ranges from the blues
is buried in the energy of the music, but sive structures that separate the verses, swagger of “Out of the Blue” to the fran-
when I was in the headspace of creating, I choruses and bridges and soloing. If the tic guitar sprint of the title track, he’s aware
just flipped a switch and entered this zone songs didn’t have that melodic focus and that Dream Theater fans — even those who
where everything was all about the music,” structure, and it was just all soloing and all enjoy the music — will likely view it as a
JOHN PETRUCCI
Petrucci says. “So I think the songs are noodling, it would get really boring.” placeholder until the next Dream Theater

Dream team: Mike
Portnoy [left] and
John Petrucci during
the Terminal Velocity
recording sessions
album. And that’s fine with him. With no “People ask me why it took 15 years for I’m glad I did it.”
hesitation he explains that he’d rather have me to make another solo album,” he says. Petrucci’s 2005 solo album also
remained on the road with Dream Theater “The answer is because I never had the stemmed more from pragmatism than
and kept Terminal Velocity on hold until time to devote to fully getting it done. To divine inspiration. In 2001, the guitarist
he had small windows between band tours be honest, it wasn’t necessarily a pressing was invited to join Joe Satriani’s G3 tour.
and writing sessions to get to work on the thing for me, so I worked on it gradually Petrucci was thrilled with the offer, but he
project. over time. But I’m really happy with it and lacked original instrumental material to
guitarworld.com 37
Petrucci in action with his
signature Ernie Ball Music
Man Majesty
“I THINK THE SONGS ARE EXCITING INSTEAD OF AGGRESSIVE AND IT’S REALLY POSITIVE
FOR THE MOST PART. THE LAST THING I WANTED TO DO WAS TO HAVE MY FIRST SOLO ALBUM
IN 15 YEARS BE THIS NEGATIVE, DOOM-AND-GLOOM BUMMER OF A RECORD”
play onstage. So he quickly wrote a batch tar Universe Camp, which he launched found a fully demoed version of it and I
of songs and debuted them on the tour. “I in 2018. The oldest track on the new solo thought it was really cool. I don’t know why
played the songs I wrote and did a Dream album, “Gemini,” is from a nearly forgotten I never played it before now.”
Theater instrumental, and that gave me demo of a song he first played at clinics in To record the older songs, Petrucci
enough for a 45-minute set,” he says. “It the early Nineties. “I also used a little bit of replayed them along with a newly pro-
was only after I did that when I decided to ‘Gemini’ on my [2002] instructional video grammed drum track. Then he added bass.
complete an album’s worth of solo mate- Rock Discipline,” he says. “And I played it Instead of retracking guitars for the final
rial and get that out — but that was really an live for a while so people might recognize it tracks, Petrucci pasted his guide parts
afterthought.” from a YouTube homemade video.” directly into the songs without any over-
He took a similar approach for Termi- “Glassy Eyed Zombie” and “Happy dubs. For the remaining five songs on Ter-
nal Velocity. Four out of the nine songs — Song” also can be tracked down on social minal Velocity, Petrucci took a deep dive
“Gemini,” “Happy Song,” “Glassy-Eyed media in rough form. “The Way Things into his invaluable riff bank, which con-
Zombies” and “The Way Things Fall” — Fall,” however, was composed for G3 but tains rhythms, arpeggios and lead frag-
were originally written for 2007 G3 with didn’t make the cut and has never been ments he has recorded over the decades on
Satriani and Paul Gilbert. Petrucci also played live. “I forgot about that song for a audio and digital home recorders, answer-
D A R KO B O E H R I N G E R
played the material at guitar clinics over while,” Petrucci says. “Then when I was ing machines and cellphone voice boxes. In
the years and at the John Petrucci Gui- gathering my thoughts for this record, I the past, he has raided the bank for Dream

Theater, yet he found it especially useful for Ter-
minal Velocity. Using what he calls “song seeds”
to start the songs, Petrucci worked with his TERMINAL
VELOCITY
engineer, James “Jimmy T” Meslin, who pro-
grammed beats that further inspired the guitar-
ist’s creativity.
“We did a passage at a time and then moved
onto the next one,” Petrucci says. “Doing it that
way is a lot of fun because you’re working with all
these parts, but you don’t really know where the
song is going. So everything just develops along Track by Track
the way.”
F
The icing on the cake came when ex-Dream ROM THE GALACTIC-sounding
Theater drummer Mike Portnoy — who hadn’t
been on a record with Petrucci since 2010 —
guitar effects and insistent, pro-
pulsive riffing and ear-nagging
“TERMINAL VELOCITY”
came in and recorded directly over Petrucci’s hooks of the title track to the Out of the five new songs, that
final complex guitar parts. That flipped the script majestic journey of the album- was the first one I wrote. It was
on standard band operating procedure, in which closer “Temple of Cicadia” — which one of those seeds that I had in
the drummer records either to a click or over weaves spindly six-string passages my files that jumped out at me
scratch tracks before the guitarist lays down his between arhyhthmically chug- as soon I went back and heard
final rhythms. Portnoy was certainly more than ging riffs and incorporates a clean it. I started playing the main lick
up for the task. midsection colored with harmony- and it developed right away into
“It was an interesting way to work,” Petrucci laden licks — Terminal Velocity something cool. It’s done back-
is a masterful presentation. It’s a wards with filtering so it gives
says. “I had never done anything like that before,
diverse, invigorating illustration of you this really textured sound.
but with the pandemic going on, we had to be
how guitar pyrotechnics can be ar- A lot of the guitar on the record
resourceful. Mike banged out all his parts in six
ranged to create what Frank Zappa is manipulated to create these
days, which is amazing since there are a lot of
called “impossible guitar parts” that memorable soundscapes. That
weird tempo changes and crazy arpeggios on riff just sounded like an album
neither come across as self-indul-
there as well as a lot of different musical styles. opener to me, and it remained
gent excursions or detract from
And his playing is so lively and spirited and he the album opener because there
the enjoyability of the songs. The
played with so much energy. The whole experi- was something about it that
rest of the album demonstrates Pe-
ence was great.” caught my attention right away.
trucci’s acumen and agility, whether
Dream Theater fans hopeful that Petrucci and playing music rooted in blues, Latin
Portnoy’s collaboration could lay the ground- music, Eighties metal or thrash. And
work for the drummer’s return to the band will
likely be disappointed. As much as Petrucci
through it all, Petrucci offers the
listener melodic threads to cling to
“THE ODDFATHER”
enjoyed working with Portnoy on Terminal throughout the wild ride. It starts with these interval-
Velocity, the drummer will not return to Dream “With most guitar instrumental lic chords that come from
Theater; Mike Mangini remains the man behind music, you can only listen to soloing early Queensryche or even
the kit. “I know people tend to speculate, but it’s for so long before you need some- Judas Priest. They’re really just
something we never even discussed,” Petrucci thing else,” Petrucci says. “I felt that two-note chords, and I love them
says. “I wanted to have Mike [Portnoy] on there these songs had to go somewhere. because you can very easily
just to have a great drummer on my solo album, They have to speak and have a make them diminished chords or
so why not?” he says, emphasizing that he and purpose. They have to have a mes- inverted chords or minor chords.
Portnoy have maintained a good relationship sage. And the best way to do that is In this case, when you do that
over the years. “Even though Mike left the band, through melody.” kind of thing over a pedal tone it
we’ve always kept in touch and our families have The guitarist also sought to creates a lot of drama. I do that
been friends forever. Our wives played in a band maintain interest by presenting a with Dream Theater a lot as well.
wide variety of sonic techniques As the title “The Oddfather”
together and our kids grew up together so we’ll
and compositions filled with unex- suggests, I wanted to keep an
always be family — just not bandmates.”
pected twists and turns. “On most Italian or Sicilian theme going on
Ironically, while the COVID-19 pandemic
of the songs on this record there that the song hints at, so there's a
enabled Petrucci to create the long-awaited fol-
will be a part that will sound like a lot of super-fast tremolo picking
lowup to Suspended Animation, the virus has vir- certain type of song, but it’ll go into as if the electric guitar were a
tually ensured he won’t be able to promote the a section that you’re sort of not mandolin — but done with high
album on the road even after musicians start expecting stylistically. That always facility and with lines that run
touring again. keeps listeners guessing and keeps throughout the song.
“I’m really glad these songs are out there,” he things interesting.”
says. “For now, that’s gotta be enough because Rather than delve into the minu-
the way things are right now, Dream Theater are tiae of every track, we let Petrucci
pushing up our plans to enter the studio. We’ll describe what he was striving for “HAPPY SONG”
start on a new record later in the fall. And then, with each individual part of Termi- That’s one I wrote a few years
the first opportunity we get, we’ll be back on tour nal Velocity — and what happened ago and played on G3, and it came
again.” along the way… from this idea I had at home. The
guitarworld.com 39
into a more melodic part that’s loaded the multis of that in and I
opening pattern prompted the
like my take on Steve Morse’s recorded everything. My favorite
whole song and it almost sounds
playing in Dixie Dregs. It’s very part of the song is the acoustic
like a theme for a TV show — or a
thematic and dramatic and then strumming during the verses. I
little bit like a Nineties pop-punk
it shifts right back into the blues. originally had distorted electric
band. But the thing about it is that
So you’re going from a relaxed guitars left and right, but when I
I wanted it to sound positive. The
swing feel to a straighter part, recorded I said, “Why don’t we try
original title was “Cloud 10,” and
and that demonstrates how you muting the electric rhythm gui-
I just thought “Happy Song” was
can get so many tones out of tars and play the electric melody
more direct. It’s one I hope people
the JP Mesa/Boogie amp, not against a strumming acoustic?”
will smile at.
just prog metal. The opening There was nothing else on the al-
guitar is channel one with a Tube bum like that, so it was just some-
Screamer to break things up, and thing different where the heavy
“GEMINI” then I switched to channel two guitars drop out and the acoustic
on the amp for the whole blues rhythms and acoustic lead comes
I wrote that song for clinics
sound without a lot of gain. You in. It’s like a really long and cool
around 1993. It’s the oldest song
can really hear the sweetness of jamming session. I always like to
on there, and it was interesting
the notes. That was fun for me get these cool Robin Trower-ish
because I had no version to base
because you don’t hear that side sections in because they’re so
it off of. I used to bring along a
of me a lot in Dream Theater, but much fun. You can rip over them
little Yahama sequencer and play
I like playing in that style because or do something bluesy and more
these clinics so I never had an of-
it’s expressive and relaxed in a raw or you can make it melodic.
ficial demo. I scoured the Internet
different way. You have a lot of flexibility.
to find the best-sounding quality
of a video recording where a guy’s
holding a camera in a clinic where
people are talking. It was interest-
ing to try to remember what I
“GLASSY-EYED ZOMBIES” “SNAKE IN MY BOOT”
intended to play and build it into a That’s one of the heavier songs I had an idea to do something
complete song. There’s a moment on the album. I tuned the guitars like this for a long time and I’m
in "Gemini," too where I was play- down to D, and it has more so glad I did it. The original idea
ing some acoustic rhythm for the shredding in it than a lot of the was to have a single guitar and a
solo section breakdown, and I just other songs, so it really shows the kick drum going the whole time
started soloing on the acoustic metal side of my style. I like that so it would almost be like an au-
while I was playing the rhythm. I the main melody is sort of quirky dience-participation part of the
idea as the way I started the
thought, “You know what? This in that song and we wanted it to show. I pictured it playing live and
record with effects. It came out
sounds pretty cool!” It was a long stand out so we took up a bunch like having the audience stomp
cool but it’s not like I wanted to
solo, so I started improvising and of time to get the right sound along or clap, and just having
avoid having any keyboards on the
soloing on acoustic and I decided for that. When I played it, Jimmy that single guitar drive the whole
record. Keyboards are awesome
to make half the solo acoustic — T and I would settle on certain song. On the album, I developed
and I would be thrilled if I could
and then follow it with electric delay effects on the guitar and it a little further from there, but
play them. But in the couple of
and have it build, almost like an share that information with Andy for the most part, there’s just the
instances I was hearing organ
Al Di Meola type of piece with a Sneap [who mixed and mas- one guitar.
or strings in a song it was a fun
Latin-y groove to it. And that was tered], so it was a collaborative
challenge to figure out how to get
very different than the original process all around. By the time
those sounds with just guitar. As
clinic version, so that was fun. I Andy was done with it and I heard
recorded the acoustic solo on a it back it was literally, exactly the “TEMPLE OF CIRCADIA” far as playing it on a seven-string,
I’m kind of surprised that it’s the
gypsy jazz guitar that I bought in way I was hearing it in my head
I wrote the song on a six-string only seven-string song because
Germany from Joscho Stephan, and the way I wanted it to sound
but then I played it on a seven I love the extended range of a
who is this German gypsy jazz on the album. And we did that
because I thought it would seven-string guitar. Even when
player and builder. all remotely, so I’ve gotta give
sound heavier, especially when I you’re playing things that are
Andy a lot of credit for getting
developed the middle breakdown in a key that fits naturally on a
everything exactly right. That guy
section, which goes into clean six-string, just the idea that you
is amazing.
“OUT OF THE BLUE” and acoustic guitars and sounds
almost like a Metallica-ish, melodic
can go below where you normally
would to create riffs and licks and
On a record like this, that’s spir- solo section. That just made the lines is something I really like. I
ited and energetic and technical
and is filled with metal parts, it’s
“THE WAY THINGS FALL” song more powerful for me and
it screamed “album closer” in the
love anything that gives me the
ability to paint outside the lines.
always cool to try a melodic idea I wrote it during the same period same way that “Terminal Veloc- With an instrumental album, the
that stands out and provides a I did “Happy Song” and “Glassy- ity” shouted out “album opener.” guitar melody has to guide the
break from the other stuff. This Eyed Zombies,” but I didn’t do Listeners might think there are melody almost the way a vocalist
is essentially a blues piece, but anything with it. I remember strings or keyboards during the would do it. So I always try to
there’s a stylistic part in there rehearsing it for the G3 tour, but verses because that’s what it shape the way it goes so it doesn’t
that breaks it up. It’s a bridge that it wasn’t working out so I put it sounds like, but it’s actually a sound like a monotone, boring
I played twice and it takes the aside. I forgot about it for years clean guitar part with a crystals melody. I’m really conscious of
D A R KO B O E H R I N G E R
song out of the blues world and but it was fully demoed. We [harmony] effect. It’s the same making sure it’s not boring.

September 11, 2016:
Angus Young performs
with AC/DC on their Rock
or Bust Tour at First Niagara
Center in Buffalo, New York
— "I’ve always said if I do any-
thing music-wise, I can only
do it the AC/DC way. Even if
I wasn’t in AC/DC, I think it
would probably still sound like
AC/DC"
Regardless of what
fate throws at ’em,
you just can’t keep
a great band down.
In this worldwide-
exclusive interview,
intrepid AC/DC
icon Angus Young
discusses life
after Malcolm and
the band’s posi-
tively charged new
album, POWER UP
BY RICHARD BIENSTOCK
BRETT CARLSEN/GETTY IMAGES
AC/DC's Power Up lineup
[from left]: Cliff Williams on
bass, Phil Rudd on drums,
Angus Young on lead guitar,
Brian Johnson on vocals and
Stevie Young on rhythm guitar
— "It was a case of seeing who
wanted to be on board.
Everyone was happy and
wished to participate"
LIKE
ALL OF
us, ANGUS YOUNG has been spending a lot of time at
home lately. “It’s a bit different,” the 65-year-old AC/DC
guitarist admits about life in the time of quarantining and
social distancing. Although in some ways, he adds, not so
much. “I guess I’m used to being tucked away somewhere
in a room and just putting together ideas and songs,” he
says with a laugh.
As it turns out, Young has indeed spent bers, coffee cups in hand, trolling alleyways crowd of more than 100,000 at, of all places,
a fair amount of time these last few years around Vancouver’s Warehouse Studio, Coachella, and then over the next year-and-
“tucked away somewhere in a room and where they’ve recorded their last few efforts a-half proceeded to sell out arenas and sta-
putting together ideas and songs.” Which is — things have been radio silent in the AC/ diums from Brisbane to Buffalo, racking up
how we’ve wound up, rather unexpectedly DC camp for several years. ticket sales of more than $200 million in the
but certainly quite happily, with Power Up, More significantly, of course, there’s the process.
AC/DC’s 16th (or, if we’re counting in Aus- fact that since the end of the Rock or Bust Internally, however, things weren’t run-
tralian, 17th) full-length effort. world tour there has been the looming ques- ning so smoothly. AC/DC is not a band
As for what makes it unexpected? tion of just who, or even what, AC/DC is immune to trial and tragedy — the death of
For starters, the band recorded it under anymore. inimitable front man Bon Scott in 1980, and
a complete media blackout — traditional, The tour itself was, like every AC/DC the band’s subsequent resurrection with
social or otherwise. Aside from a few jaunt for decades now, a massive success — Back in Black, is a permanent part of rock
rumors — kicked off by surreptitious photos and maybe their most massive yet. It kicked lore — but even by their standards the Rock
that surfaced in 2018 of various band mem- off with a headlining stint in front of a or Bust era was exceedingly challenging.
JOSH CHEUSE

Power Up
just sounded
very powerful.
Simple. Direct.
Or you could
go the other
"
way and say
it’s very
Frankenstein,
you know.
Almost like
creating a
monster”
It began with the pronouncement that the co-produced several of their albums from ing loss, with his slot assumed, in a move no
band’s co-founder, stalwart rhythm guitar their 1975 debut, High Voltage, to 2000’s one could have seen coming, by Axl Rose.
player and, in many ways, musical and ide- Stiff Upper Lip, died at age 70. To put a final punctuation mark on events,
ological rock (not to mention Angus’ older Experiencing this sort of deep loss by the time the tour wrapped in September
brother), Malcolm Young, was battling would be difficult enough on its own. In 2016, bassist Cliff Williams announced his
severe dementia and stepping away from AC/DC land, it was compounded by the retirement from AC/DC after four decades
the group. Malcolm co-wrote the songs on fact that, just prior to the release of Rock or with the band. Which meant that, just
Rock or Bust, but his parts on the record- Bust, longtime drummer Phil Rudd, who two years after the release of Rock or Bust,
ing, as well as his spot on the stage, were had played with the band on and off since only two members — Angus and Stevie —
assumed by his and Angus’ nephew, Stevie 1975, became mired in legal troubles and remained from the lineup that had recorded
Young. Malcolm passed away in November was replaced by a former drummer, Chris the album.
2017 at age 64; just three weeks earlier, he Slade. Toward the end of the Rock or Bust So what did Angus do?
and Angus’ older brother, George, who had tour, meanwhile, singer Brian Johnson was What Angus always does — he wrote.
helped guide AC/DC to success, as well as forced to exit the band as a result of hear- And while he didn’t have his brother
guitarworld.com 45
next to him physically during this time, he thought, well, maybe now’s the time to go The result is an album that is 100 percent
did still have his riffs. According to Angus, through and pick out all those ideas.” pure and unrefined AC/DC (and with this
the majority of the material on Power Up, When it came to getting them down on band, is it ever not?). From the power-chord
as with Rock or Bust, was constructed from tape, Angus called up a few friends. In fact, slam and “Thunderstruck”-like Angus sin-
songs and ideas he and Malcolm had logged amazingly, Power Up finds the Rock or Bust- gle-note figure that kicks off the opening
over the years. “They were things that we era lineup — Angus, Stevie, Phil Rudd, Cliff track, “Realize,” to the mid-tempo stomp
knew were good, and so we put them aside Williams and, in a welcome return, Brian of “Wild Reputation” and “Rejection,” the
AC/DC (PROVIDED)
and said, ‘We should get them down on Johnson — back together and ready, to bor- “Shake a Leg”-style boogie of “Demon Fire”
record at some point,’ ” Angus says. “And I row a Rock or Bust song title, to play ball. and the deep-in-the-pocket grooves and

They we ings sive solos — while
throwing in a subtle
that [ olm
Angus Young in the
spotlight, supported curveball or two here
(as he usually is) by
and there.
and I] kn ere Gibson and Marshall;
the Marshall amps Witness, for
heard on Power
good, and so we Up "are all older,
going back to the
example, the twangy
guitar lick that punc-
put them aside Seventies," Young
says. "And the
tuates the verses in ANGUS LOOKS
and said, ‘We
cabinets have older-
style Celestions"
“Kick You When
You’re Down” or,
BACK (IN BLACK)
more conspicuously,
should get them the honeyed Angus guitar line and ultra-
BACK IN BLACK, the home of
rock ‘n’ roll staples like “You
melodic major-key chorus that highlights
down on record the (gasp!) almost ballad-like “Through the
Shook Me All Night Long,”
B
“Hells Bells” and the title track,
at some point.’ Mists of Time”… turned 40 in July 2020, and
the landmark album received
And I thought, ut as far as Angus is con-
cerned, at the end of
a fitting birthday celebration,
with artists like Slash and
well, maybe the day it’s all just AC/
DC. “I treat everything
members of Alice in Chains
and Lamb of God testifying
now’s the time as a song and I hear it to its greatness and influence,
as a song,” he says. “I’m Gibson giving away a very
to go through not on some sort of mis- Angus Young-like rig headlined
and pick out all sion.” Angus laughs.

“That might not be the
by a Custom Shop 1961 Les
Paul SG “Red Devil” and the
those ideas” right word. But I just look at everything

on the musical side and then I say, ‘Does it
internet awash in plenty of
think-pieces and retrospec-
attract me?’ ” tives. As for how Angus felt
about the anniversary?
“It’s a strange thing when
You mentioned that many of the songs
you think of it,” he says. “We
on Power Up have their origins in riffs you
didn’t know what our future
and Malcolm came up with together. Do
really would be when we made
you have a stockpile that you can just tap
that album, because we had
into whenever you’re writing music? lost Bon Scott. We had a trag-
I have lots of ideas the two of us worked on edy. And we found somebody,
pretty much through the years. Even when Brian, who we thought might
we were in studios and recording rooms work, but we didn’t know re-
there were always ideas that we would put ally if it was going to work or if
down. It’s just something where, the two of anyone would accept another
us together, we always seemed to be play- person performing in Bon’s
ing back and forth and coming up with stuff. role. But everyone said, ‘Well,
From the beginning that was always a part this is what we’re gonna do,’
of us. and we were going to do it
the best we could do it at the
Do you also write on your own? Or do you time.”
prefer having someone to bounce ideas Clearly, AC/DC did it rather
off of? well — Back in Black, 25 times
I’ve done it both ways. You get an idea and platinum and counting, now
if you have a tape recorder you try to put it stands as one of the best-
selling albums of all time. That
down. And if you haven’t got a tape recorder
said, Angus isn’t one for living
you do your best to try and remember it.
in the past. “I do try to think
But then when Malcolm and myself would
on what I’m doing now,” he
big chorus hooks of first single “Shot in the get together it would be a case of roll-
says. “Because if I have to go
Dark,” Power Up finds the venerable lads in ing through the ideas and seeing what we back in time, I’ve gotta rerun
very fine, if not absolutely top, form. believed was material for AC/DC. And the that video.” He laughs. “And
Elsewhere, the new album is littered material you’re hearing is stuff that we did then it’s like, ‘What happened
with all of the original band’s beloved call- that was always for AC/DC. We would try here?’ ”
ing cards — Brian Johnson’s gravel-soaked to separate what we had. You know, we — Richard Bienstock
shrieks and growls, Phil Rudd’s impossi- could have 100 things, and out of that hun-
bly solid and swinging drum wallop and, of dred here are 20 good, strong AC/DC ideas.
course, Angus’ monolithic riffs and explo- And we’d put them to the side.
guitarworld.com 47
[from left] Stevie
One hundred things? How many ideas do Young's Gretsch than Rock or Bust. “I REMEMBER A COVER ME AND
you think you have? CS "Salute" Jet, A lot of it’s down to the MY BROTHER DID TOGETHER…”
Angus Young's
If I had to estimate? [Laughs] That’d be Gibson SG songs and what you’re
hard. But all I can say is I’ve got boxes full of ["Everybody working on. But when ...going way back [November 1995].
always asks me That was nice because there was
stuff the two of us have done over the days. what year it is!"] we’re doing a song, I
and Cliff Williams' always think… I never always a tendency for people to
For Power Up you guys worked with Ernie Ball Music go negative. I always go only look at solo guitarists, while
Man StingRay Malcolm was an out-and-out rhythm
Brendan O’Brien, who also produced your positive with song ideas.
last two records. What does he bring to And with AC/DC, we never get too serious player. A lot of people forget that
there's some great rhythm players
your sound as opposed to other produc- about what we’re doing. We don’t try to put
out there. And the two of us were
ers you’ve had, like Harry Vanda and your in, you know, a real “statement” that means
doing it together. But what a lot of
brother George, or “Mutt” Lange? something. It’s just, that’s the mood when
people never knew was that Mal-
Well, Brendan… I always say the role of you wrote the song and then you bring it to
colm could
your producer is pretty much that he’s your the track. do a solo
audience. He’s the man that’s sitting there probably
hearing the whole picture, the outside ear If there’s any song on the record that even better
that’s listening to everything. And he’ll tell sticks out as a slight departure from the than me.
you, “I think this is AC/DC,” or, “That bit standard AC/DC approach it’s “Through He’d come
there, I don’t know...” That’s the role he the Mists of Time.” It has more of a major- up with
plays in order to get the best performance key sound, and you also weave an incredi- some great
from you. And Brendan’s very talented. He bly melodic guitar line through it. licks. When-
knows his music. So if we get stuck some- Yeah. ever I heard
where, maybe if we say, “Oh, do we do a his things
break here?,” he’ll sit down and we can have Did that one feel a bit different to you? I’d always
it out together and he’ll help us come up Um… no. [Laughs] As I said earlier, I treat it say, ‘How's
with a good idea to try. as a song and I hear it as a song. You know, he doing
R
my older brother George used to always tell that?’ ”
R
AC/DC (PROVIDED)
LD
G
On first listen, my early impression of me that chances are when you come up with
Power Up is that it’s a bit darker in tone
FOR
an idea, you come up with an image. And he GUITAR WORLD AT 40: UNDER THE COVE S
T

said, “You might even come up with a sin- just you and Stevie remaining from the through our touring side at a difficult spot.
gin’ line, and it might not fit the track at that lineup that recorded the album, was there He had contacted us and said he could help
time but it sets the mood in what you do. So ever a moment where you felt, “This could if it didn’t interfere with his own commit-
jot that down. If there’s birds twittering in be it”? ments of what he was doing. He wanted to
the background, just write, ‘birds twitter- At that point you’re at the great unknown. come in and try songs that he himself liked,
ing.’ Call it that, even just to get you started.” We didn’t know what would happen. You’re and he was suggesting songs I hadn’t played
[Laughs] Obviously, you’re not going to in a bit of a case of limbo. But at the time you in a long time. I’m definitely grateful that he
write a song called “Birds Twittering,” but just go, “I’m committed to getting through volunteered and that he helped us finish off
you just want to get something that’s going this, and then after that I’ll concentrate on our commitment. But he has his own life.
to fit in that melody line, if that makes sense. what comes.”
On the guitar side of things, how did you
Did that happen with any of these new Could you ever envision a life without and Stevie work together on this record?
tracks? Was there one where you wrote AC/DC? Stevie is a bit like… even when he was start-
down a phrase like “birds twittering” and Well, I’ve been doing this most of my life, ing off with us he picked up on what Mal-
it turned into a song? since I was in my teens. So it’s very hard to colm did rhythm-wise. I mean, Stevie can
Well, I came up with a lot of titles. Mal- think of something other than that when it do solos and stuff like that too, but he went
colm would call them “hook titles.” And comes to making music. I’ve always said if I the route a bit like Malcolm. It’s the rhythm
I’ve always done that. The two of us from do anything music-wise, I can only do it the that he enjoyed doing best and that’s how
the beginning always did that. So espe- AC/DC way. Even if I wasn’t in AC/DC, I he applied himself. And you know, Ste-
cially with titles and things, I’ve written think it would probably still sound like vie had filled in for Malcolm in the past, in
down a lot over the years and I would just AC/DC. [Laughs] the Eighties [when Malcolm left the Blow
go through some of the books and mark out Up Your Video tour in 1988 to battle alcohol
ones I liked and then sometimes bring sin- After Brian Johnson exited so abruptly I dependency]. So for me it was, I’m looking
gin’ lines. Or sometimes I might see a title think a lot of fans questioned whether he at somebody I know is dependable and who
and go, “That’s a great title.” And then I say, would ever return to the band. How did he can also do that role. And I mean, nothing
“Ah, I’ve got some great riffs here that’ll come back into the picture for Power Up? could ever replace Malcolm, because Mal-
work with that.” He was getting a lot of help with his hear- colm is the founder and he set the whole
ing. And he kept up with it and kept trying style. But Stevie certainly can do the role.
A good example of that might be some- various things to see how he could improve. He knows how it should be. So it’s just a
thing like “Hells Bells,” where the title is Then he wanted to do something to test it case of the two of us sitting down and mak-
so evocative and the music really sounds out, so I think he did a few prep runs to see ing sure we’re in sync.
like the name of the song. how it would go. And the people who look
Yeah. And that’s what you aim for. Or some- after us, our management, they were all What gear were you using this time out?
thing like “Highway to Hell” — you hear wanting to know, “When are you going to Well, the guitar that I use and that I con-
those opening chords and you go, “Uh oh… do an album?” So it was a case of seeing who sistently use has always been the same gui-
what’s coming?” wanted to be on board. And everyone was tar, the Gibson SG. And everyone always
happy and wished to participate. So it was asks me what year it is. You know, I’ve
“We’re on our way…” good. And Brian felt, yeah, he would come in heard somebody say, “Oh, it’s a 1970s Gib-
It’s something a little ominous. [Laughs] and try and see how he would do. son.” And then other people say, “No, it’s
a bit earlier than that.” I don’t really know
As far as titles are concerned, I want to Was it in Vancouver that the five mem- what year it is but all I know is it couldn’t
ask about the name Power Up. It’s not too bers — you, Stevie, Brian, Phil and Cliff — have been past 1970, because that’s when I
often that an AC/DC record isn’t titled first got back together and played? got it! [Laughs] So I used that a lot, and then
after one of the songs in the track list. Is Yeah. And if you’re in a recording studio I’ve got a few other guitars. One is a black
there any special significance here? you’ve got a different environment to, say, if SG, I think there’s a photo of it from Back
Well, the significant side of it was I just you’re playing live. You’ve got more control in Black. And then I have another SG that’s
wanted something that meant something on the hearing side of things. You can isolate maybe a ’68 or ’69, that I used on Highway
to the band, and especially to my brother. to very good listening levels. to Hell.
I always thought his whole thing with AC/
DC was it had to be powerful as a band. So What was the first thing you played So there are three guitars on the record,
I wanted something that called up what we together as a band? and they’re all SGs.
do and that sums up what AC/DC is. And Well, if you’re in a studio you always try out Yeah. But the main, most consistent one is
also, being guitarists, whenever I would some things even just to get your sounds the one I’ve always had. It’s got, like, light-
plug in the guitar I always felt I was plugged together. So you play a little “Back in Black” ning bolts on the fretboard that, I don’t
into the “big electrical grid.” [Laughs] So or something. know, it was getting repaired and some guy
Power Up just sounded very powerful. Sim- put them in. I said, “What the hell is that?”
ple. Direct. Or you could go the other way Following the end of the Rock or Bust And I didn’t have time to go, “Can you put it
and say it’s very Frankenstein, you know? tour there had been rumors that you were back the way it was?” [Laughs]
Almost like creating a monster. going to continue on with Axl in the singer
slot. Was there any consideration about How about amps?
AC/DC has obviously experienced a lot of doing a record together? Marshall. They’re 100 watts. But they’re all
turmoil over the past few years. After you That never really came up. Axl was really older, going back to the Seventies. And the
came off the Rock or Bust tour and it was very generous and he helped us out to get cabinets have the older-style Celestions.
guitarworld.com 49
the song, after a little breakdown piece, that
the guitar — what you would call lead lines
and phrases — picks up more. So what I’m
trying to say is, it’s really down to the song
itself and how you hear it. Because one note
can be a hell of a lot better than 50 notes,
you know?
You clearly have this guitar thing fig-

ured out. Even so, does Angus Young
ever sit at home and just practice?
Oh yeah! All the time.
What do you practice?

Sometimes I just sit and doodle. I’ll maybe
play a bit of blues or I’ll try and get my fin-
gers moving and see if I can come up with
any different phrases. Experiment a lit-
tle bit. So yeah, I do practice. But I mean, I
How do you approach your solos? Do you piece here or a rhythmic piece?” So it’s don’t sit there… even when I was younger, I
work them out in advance or are you just always track by track what you do. Like on didn’t sort of say, “It’s two o’clock — I’d bet-
going for it on the spot? Back in Black, the track “Shoot to Thrill”? ter practice now!” I played when I felt good
AC/DC (PROVIDED)
Well, if you go to a song that’s dependent If you listen to where you would say, “Here about playing. I’d pick up the guitar and
on following a lead line, you’d best get your comes the guitar solo…,” it’s actually more start playing and then, you know, you end
lead lines sorted out. And it also depends rhythmic playing. It’s got a little bit of a up going, “Oh geez, I’ve been sitting here
on how prominent it is and how long you’re guitar bite to it but it’s more of a rhythmic now for hours!” [Laughs] You don’t know
gonna go — “Okay, am I going to do a long thing. And it’s only really at the later part of where the time goes.

O
f course, there are always exceptions to pretty much every rule in
music, and some of these are featured in our extensive offering of
examples. John Lee Hooker and Elmore James often “vamped”
on a single chord, beginning and ending a song in much the same
way. Robert Johnson’s fingerstyle acoustic blues employed unusual
diminished voicings and chromatic movements to lead from one place to
another. And modern electric players like Eric Johnson and Scott Hender-
son substitute unusual and complex chords throughout the 12-bar progres-
sion, lending a jazzy feel to proceedings.
Whatever shades of blues you’re into playing, if you’re looking to expand
your vocabulary of “stock” licks and fills, there’s something here to please
you. Starting with 20 intros, there are both easy and more advanced ideas in a
variety of keys and sub-styles, from fingerstyle acoustic to electric with full-on
distortion. We then present 20 outros that follow a similar template — first a
simple idea, and then something a little more advanced over the same backing
track, again beginning with a few acoustic licks followed by a healthy array of
electric ones. You may want to perform the acoustic licks fingerstyle or with
pick and fingers (hybrid picking). In some cases, doing so is a technical necessi-
ty, as you’ll be sounding notes on non-adjacent strings together, and strumming
them with the pick may create unwanted sounds. Also consider the noticeable
difference between a simultaneous note attack and a staggered one, which
strumming produces.
Some of these licks will also be useful for your general soloing vocabulary. So,
whatever happened when you “woke up this morning,” you will now be able to
express it far better in song. You should be able to tackle one or two of these
ideas per day, so let’s get to it!
20 INTROS
INTRO 1: EASY ACOUSTIC IN E chord again (D in this case). Keep the feel
This should sound familiar to anyone who’s swinging and bouncy, and dig in confidently
ever listened to the blues, and also rock and with thumb and fingers (or pick and fingers).
roll. Using the open-string-friendly key of E,
this descending figure creeps back up to the V INTRO 4: ADVANCED ACOUSTIC IN G
chord (B), ready for the first verse. Although a Using essentially the same basic idea as the
simple and common idea, it never dates. You previous examples and adding a few nice
may want to mute the open low E note after chord embellishments creates an interesting
picking it, to prevent it from ringing below the and harmonically richer-sounding intro.
notes that follow. Note that the ascending bass line is still very
apparent here, until we break away for the
INTRO 2: ADVANCED ACOUSTIC IN E melodic fill in bar 2.
This is a fancier spin on the previous idea,
with expanded chord voicings providing a INTRO 5: EASY ACOUSTIC IN A
J O BY S E S S I O N S/ F U T U R E
jazzier feel. Play the triplets deliberately and Starting on the V chord (E) means we’ve
clearly, and experiment with different picking jumped in toward the end of the 12-bar blues
approaches, using various combinations of progression, at bar 9, just in time for the
pick and/or fingers. turnaround. The partial 7th chords lead to an
ascending chromatic line, implying both 7th
INTRO 3: EASY ACOUSTIC IN G and diminished chords. The sudden stop for the
This ascending turnaround leads to the V vocals is also an essential in blues vocabulary.

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There’s something compositionally elegant about “book-ending”

a song in this way. It sounds more deliberate, rather than just bluffing
through and coming up with whatever you fancy
INTRO 1 easy acoustic in E

q = 100 Swung
.
(E)
. (B7)
. .
0 2
T 4
3
4 3
2
3 2
1
2
0
0 1
0
2
B 0
0 1 2 X
X
3 3 3
INTRO 2 advanced acoustic in E

q = 100 Swung
E5 E7 Gdim7 F # m7 b 5 E B7 # 9
0 0 0 0
. . .
T 0 3
5
2
2
1
0 1 2
3
2
6 3 4 0 2 1 1
B 0
0 1 2 X
X
3 3 3 3
INTRO 3 easy acoustic in G

q = 75 Swung
G G/B C C # dim G/D D7
T 0 0 0 0 0 5
0 4
B 3
2 3 4 3 4 5 5
INTRO 4 advanced acoustic in G

q = 75 Swung
G G/B C C # dim7 G/D D7
T 0
0
3 5
3
5 3
4
5
5
3
3 4 3 5
0 5 5 5 0 5 3 4
B 3
2 3 4 5 5
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
INTRO 5 easy acoustic in A

q = 90 Swung
E7 D7 (A)
T 7 ‰ 7
.. 5 ‰ 5 2 2 2 2
6 6 4 4 5 4 3
B 7 7 7 5 5 5 0
(E)
.
A
2
2 0 1 2
A Strat-wielding
Eric Johnson, 0 0 3 0 4 5
backstage in 2012
3 3
guitarworld.com 5
guitarworld.com 55
INTRO 6 advanced in A
q = 90 Swung
~ ~~ ~ ~~~~~
(E9) (D9)
rake
. |
rake
. | 1
9 7 7 5
7 9 8 7 5 7 6 5
7 5 7 5
7 7
B
3 3 3
~~~~
(A) (A/E) (E) (A)
1/4
5 5 5 5 5
5 2
5 4 3 0 2 5 6 7
7 7 7
INTRO 7 easy in E
q = 70 Swung
A5 E5 A5
.
E5
~~~~ A5
‰ ‰
2 2 0 2 2
B 0
0
0 3
2
0 0
0
0 3
2
0 0
0
0 3
3 3 3
INTRO 6: ADVANCED IN A
.
E5
~ A5
.
E5
~ A5
.
E5
We’re adding a little rock and roll flair
here. These pentatonic-based licks lead to
3
2 4 another useful chromatic idea that you’ll
2 0 2 2 2
2 0 2 0 2 hear in the playing of Robben Ford, among
0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 others. Really dig into the raked chords at
3 3 3 3 the beginning and keep the attitude going
from there.
INTRO 8 advanced in E INTRO 7: EASY IN E

q = 70 Swung This classic vamp pattern on the I chord
(E) doesn’t need a turnaround to the V to get
~
1/2 1/2
.
1 1 things going. Although relatively easy to
play, it’s challenging to sound like you
‰
0 0 really mean it, so keep a close eye on your
0 2 2 2 0 3 0 2 2 2 0
2 2 2 0 2 4 2 2 2 0 timing and make sure you don’t lose the all-
2 2
B 0 0
important intensity.
3 3 3
INTRO 8: ADVANCED IN E
. ~ ~
A5 (E)
1/4 1/4 Turning up the gain and indulging in a few
double-stop bends brings the idea forward
a few years. Having established the riff,
9 7 12 0
7 9 2 5 9 9 14 0 who could be blamed for allowing their fin-
0 5 7 7
0 0 0 0 3 0 7 gers to slip up the neck for some pentatonic
indulgence? Dig into those low notes to
3 3 3 3 3 3
make people pay attention.
1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INTRO 9: EASY IN G MINOR
1/2 1
Without the minor blues, many classic

15 15 15 15 15 recordings would never have been created.
14 14 14 13 12
Inspired by original Fleetwood Mac guitar-
FUTURE
ist Peter Green, this idea focuses on wring-

ing as much emotion out of as few notes
3 3

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INTRO 9 easy in Gm
q = 55
(Gm) (Cm) (Gm) (D7)
1 1 1 1
. . . ~~~~
. ~~~~~~
T 3
3
6 8
. ‰ 6 86 8 6 6
‰
3
6 .
5 7
B
INTRO 10 advanced in Gm
(Gm) (Cm7)
1 1
~~~~ .
1
‰
13 8
T 12
11 13 11 13 13 11 13 11
10
8 11
(Gm) ...and Remler in 1990 (D7)

1 1
~~
Œ
10 8 9 8 8
11 11 8
10
8 11 8
10
8
10 7
10 11 10 8 10 12
.
as possible, making the most of bends and 3 3 3 3 3 3
vibratos. These details are crucial if you are INTRO 11 easy in E
to really get your point across.
q = 95 Swung
INTRO 10: ADVANCED IN G MINOR E7 Edim7
Œ Œ
This fiery, intense phrase is inspired by the 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
T 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2
great blues rocker Gary Moore. As “busy” 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
as the phrasing is, with lots of note “cram- B
ming,” the line is quite logical once you’ve
teased your fingers through it. After that, 3
it’s a matter of running through it a few
more times to develop and integrate your E7
muscle and auditory memories. 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
INTRO 11: EASY IN E

Using dominant- and diminished-7th 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
chords (you get the diminished here by
simply dropping the dominant-7th shape INTRO 12 advanced in E
down a fret), this intro should be played q = 95 Swung
with a heavy strum, to maximize its impact. E5 A9
Remember, this would be your first and
‰
121212 121212 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
possibly only chance to grab your audi- T 13
1214 121212 121212 12
13
12 14 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 13
1214
ence’s attention. 14 14 14
B
INTRO 12: ADVANCED IN E 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Bringing to mind Eric Clapton’s brief but
brilliantly soulful mid-Sixties stint with E (E)
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers on the leg-
~~~~~
1 1 1/4 1/4
endary “Beano” album, this lick has the

12
gain turned up, though not quite to rock 12 12 12 12 12 15 15 12 14 12
13 13 13 13 14 14 12 14 12
levels. Details like timing and quarter- 14 14 12
tone bends are all important to achieve 14 12 10
the desired bluesy effect. Take your time
3 3 3 3 3 3
developing these skills and you can’t lose.
guitarworld.com 5
guitarworld.com 57
INTRO 13 easy in B b
q = 85
(B b) (B b 7) (E b) (G b /F b ) (B b /F )
. .
(F7)
‰
6 6 6 6 6
6 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 8 6
5 7
B
INTRO 14 advanced in B b
q = 85
(B b) (B b 7) (E b) (G b /F b) (B b /F)
~ ~~~~
(F7)
. 1
≈
6 6 6 6 6 6
6 9 9 9 68 8 67 6 6 6 6 6 6
8 57 57 7 7 5 3 57 5
57 6 5 3
B
INTRO 15 easy in Cm
q = 101
(Cm) (Fm) (Cm) G7 # 9
.
1/4 1/4
11
10
11
10 Œ
1 6 1 9 9
B 3 3
1 2 3
3
3
8
67 8
8
8
3
12 3
3
3
3
1 2 3 10 10
Intro 10 is inspired
by Gary Moore, shown
here with a Les Paul
back in 2008
INTRO 16 advanced in Cm
q = 101
INTRO 13: EASY IN B FLAT

~~ ~
(Cm) (Fm)
~~~~~
1 1 1 1
Using the tried and true descending-line
8 approach heard in countless blues intros,
11 11 8 8 11 8
10 8 10 10 10 8 8 this example should be played quite
10
B 15
delicately while keeping it out front in
the mix. Add a little delay to create a nice
moody atmosphere.
(Cm) (G7)
INTRO 14: ADVANCED IN B FLAT
~~ ~~~~~~~
1 1
Taking a more solo-based approach, this
.
13 13 11 13 11 example is built around the framework of
13 13 11 13 11 the previous descending line then flows
12 12
into some Jimi Hendrix-style double-
stops. A little wobble with the vibrato bar
(or a light shake of the neck if you don’t
have one) can add extra expressiveness.
INTRO 17 easy in A
q = 165 Swung
INTRO 15: EASY IN C MINOR
Played with an even-, or “straight”-eighths
(Am)
.
11 1/4 groove, this phrase is more aggressive and
“in your face,” so crank up the gain and dig
in. This Jimmy Page-inspired intro octave-
7 7 5 5 doubles the bass line and offers a great
7 5 7 5 7 7 5 7
B
FUTURE
0 3 53 0 7 0 3 53 0 example of the symmetry often present in

intros and outros.

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INTRO 16: ADVANCED IN C MINOR INTRO 18 advanced in A

This “coming out of the gate wailing” q = 165 Swung
approach is a great way of letting your audi- (Am)
ence know you mean business before toning 1
it down for the song’s verse. Bold bends and
‰
5 5
vibratos are again the key to producing the T 5 5
7 5
desired feel. Take your time to work on both, 7 5 7 7 7 7
as touch is all-important in blues!
B 0 3 5 3
INTRO 17: EASY IN A 1/2

3
This is another example of how you can just

start a blues song off by just riffing over the
1
.
5 7 7 5
implied I chord, with no turnarounds or 5 7 7 5
diminished chords. It’s deceptively tricky, so 7 7 7 5 7 7 7 7 7
0 0 3 5 3 0
be patient and mindful of the subtle details.
A little bit of gain is good here, but too much
crosses over into rock territory and can make
the phrasing harder to control. INTRO 19 easy in C
q. = 65
INTRO 18: ADVANCED IN A G9 F9 C C7 F Fm C/G G
Dialing in slightly more gain and adding
≥ .. ≥ .. ~~~~~
Wylde let ring
some bent double-stops give this intro a little
.. Œ . . . . . .
in 201
more attitude than the previous one. Notice T
10
10 .. 8
8 .. 8
8
.. 5
. . . .
5 6 6 5 5 8
how bars 2 and 4 also double up on the A
and D strings. The phrase isn’t much harder B
10
9
10
. 8
7
8
. 8
7
8
3 5 8 7 6 5 5 7 9
to play than the easy version, but to make it

sound “right” takes focus.
INTRO 19: EASY IN C INTRO 20 advanced in C
Rake through those dominant-9th chords q. = 65

and wobble them a little with the bar, if you G9 F
have one. Combined with a little spring ≥ ..
1/4
..
reverb, this creates a nice shimmer. Add-
. ‰
10 10 10 10 10 10
T 10 10 10 12 10 10 12 10 11 10 8
.
ing higher, hybrid-picked notes to the stan- 10 10 12 12 12 10 11 10 8
dard descending turnaround line in the last 9 9 10 10 12 13
two bars beautifully outlines the underly- B 10 10 10 12 12
ing chords, Eric Johnson-style, and elegantly
~~~ ~~~~~~~
sets up the vocals. C7 F Fm C G
INTRO 20: ADVANCED IN C

Starting with a raked G9 chord, this intro
10 8
10 8 9 10 10
13 13
12 14 12
..
12
10 10 8 10 10 12 14 14 12 10 12
quickly moves into Hendrix and SRV terri- 12 11 12 14
tory with a series of double-stops with soul-
ful hammer-ons. Take your time to find
the most comfortable fingerings and don’t
neglect the subtle but highly emotive quar-
ter-tone bends, or “blues curls.”
20 OUTROS
OUTRO 1
OUTRO 1: EASY ACOUSTIC IN E easy acoustic in E
This descending line leads to the common q = 100 Swung

and effective move of resolving to the I chord E E/G # Gdim7 F # m7 b 5 E F7 E7
from a half step above (F7 to E7) instead of 0 0 0 0
.
a V - I cadence (B7 - E7). Not too technically T 4 3 2 0 1
1
2 0 1 1
challenging, but you can never play some- 1 0 0
thing too beautifully, can you? So make that B 0 4 3 2 0 1 0 0
the object of this particular exercise.
guitarworld.com
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...Jett in 2011...
OUTRO 2: ADVANCED ACOUSTIC IN E

OUTRO 2 advanced acoustic in E Using a similar template to the easy ver-
sion above, we’ve opted for a rhythmically
q = 100 Swung busier triplet figure this time, with a little
.
F # m7 b 5
. .
E E7 Gdim7 E F13 E13 organ-style lick at the end of bar 1 leading
.
up to some jazzier dominant 13th chords
0 0
3 2 3 2 2 to bring things to a close. These chords are
2 4 4 3 3 3 2 0 2 1 1
2 1 0 0 best picked with thumb (or pick) and fin-
B 0 0 0 1 0 0 gers to sound all the notes simultaneously
and avoid sounding unwanted open notes.
3 3 3
OUTRO 3: EASY ACOUSTIC IN G

OUTRO 3 easy acoustic in G The concept of an ascending figure fol-
lowed by the descending half-step chord
q = 75 Swung
C # dim G# 7
resolution is put to good use here, this time
G G/B C D7 G7 in the key of G. Let the open G string ring
together with the fretted bass notes for
0 0 0 0 5 4 4 some interesting implied chords.
4 3 3
B 2 3 4 5
3 0 4 3 3 OUTRO 4: ADVANCED ACOUSTIC IN G
Keeping the ascending bass line from the
previous figure, this phrase features a more
gospel-style full-chord approach, even
OUTRO 4 advanced acoustic in G
when we reach the “surprise” D11 chord.
q = 75 Swung This is a great example of spicing up a clas-
C # dim7 G # 7 # 9 G7 # 9
.
G G/B C D11 sic progression. Use thumb or pick and fin-
gers for simultaneous notes and to avoid
the unused A and D strings on those 7#9
7 6 6
0 3 5 5 5 8 7 6 6
0 0 0 3 5 5 4 4 chords at the end.
0 0 0 5 5
B 3
2 3 4 5
4 3 3
OUTRO 5: EASY IN A
3 3 3 Starting on the V chord, E, and incorpo-
rating some chromatic passing tones, this
easy in A descending line leads us back home with a
descending line and the familiar bII - I final
OUTRO 5
cadence (Bb7 - A7). Note the use of position

q = 90 Swung
B b 7 A7
E7 D7 A
.
E
shifts throughout the figure.
7 ‰ 7 7 5 ‰ 5 7 6 6 OUTRO 6: ADVANCED IN A
6 6 6 4 4 4 5 6 7 5 4 3 2 6 5 5
B 7 7 7 6 5 5 0 8
6
7
5
7
5
Rock and roll-style double-stops over the V
and IV chords in the first two bars lead to a
3 3 harmonized descending line on the G and
B strings. Remember, a lot of classic blues
was made in the early rock era. The half-
OUTRO 6 advanced in A
step cadence at the end is back again like an
q = 90 Swung
~~
old friend, but we’re sure you won’t mind
(E7) (D7) when you hear those lovely and slightly
challenging-to-finger 13b5 chords.
‰ ‰
10 10 12 8 10 8 7 5
7 9 9 9 9 5 7 7 7 7 7 7
9 7
OUTRO 7: EASY IN E
B This could be an early Van Halen ending,
but has its roots in the classic descending
3 3 blues turnaround, modified for an ending.
(D # dim/A) (Dm/A) B b 13 b 5 A13 b 5
Note, the bass line in the accompanying
(A) (A7) A
audio recording features an ascending line
5 5 5 5 8 7 7 underneath — E, G#, A, A#, B — creating con-
8 7 6 5 8 7 7
9 8 7 5 6 9 8 8 trary motion and implying some interesting
6 5 5 harmony. Take this as a starting point for
more rock excess. Remember, rock sprang
from electric blues.

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...Iron Maiden's Murray, Smith (and Steve Harris) in ..
John Lee Hooker and Elmore James OUTRO 7 easy in E
often “vamped” on a single chord, q = 70 Swung

(A/C # )
~~~~ ~~~~
(E) (E7/D) (C7) (E/B) F9 E9
beginning and ending a song in much .
T
the same way. Robert Johnson’s acoustic 8
8
7
7
7
6
7
7
6
7
7 g in 200
...an Ki
6
B 7 7 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 8 7 7 7
blues employed unusual diminished 0
voicings and chromatic movements to lead OUTRO 8 advanced in E

from one place to another q = 70 Swung
(E7) (B) (F9) (E9)
OUTRO 8: ADVANCED IN E ~~ ~~
1 1 1/4 1/4
‰
A more Clapton-esque affair, this melodic 12
outro is peppered with soulful finger
T 12 13
12 15 15 12
14 14 12 12 13 7 7 9 7
14 14 9 9 7 5
vibrato and whole-step and quarter-step B
bends, all of which require your strictest
attention to detail and pitch. How many 3 3 3 3 3
times have you heard the old adage “it’s not
so much what you play but how you play it OUTRO 9 easy in Gm
that matters most”? That’s certainly true q. = 55
here. (Gm) D Gm
.
. ~~~~
1 1 1/4
OUTRO 9: EASY IN G MINOR ≥ ≥

. Œ. ‰ ‰ 77 .....
3 3 3
g g .
As featured here, using the V chord (D) to T 5
3 6 6 3
6 5 3
8
7
set up the final i (one minor) is an alterna- 5 5 7 8
tive to the half-step movement in the pre- B
vious outro examples. Watch out for the
usual bend and vibrato issues, as regards
pitch accuracy. This simple phrase is based OUTRO 10 advanced in Gm
on the G blues scale (G, Bb, C, Db, D, F), q. = 55
~~~
which sounds great over the Gm chord. Gm D Gm
.
Switching to gentle chord strums at the 1 1 1/4
.
. .‰ . .. ..
very end makes for a nice, delicate finish. 3 6 3
T 3 6 3
OUTRO 10: ADVANCED IN G MINOR 5 6 5 3 5 5 3
5
5 3
5
2
4
3
5
Busier than the previous examples and B
played with a fair amount more gain, this
is an alternative take on the same ending
scenario. After the pickup bar, really dig in
OUTRO 11 easy in E
to that first G note with some stinging fin-
ger vibrato. We’ve opted again to end the q = 95 Swung
phrase with chords, this time using dyads, B7 A7 (E) (E7) (A) (Am)
.
(E/B) F9 E9
‰ ...
à la Peter Green.
‰
0 0 0 0 0
T 7 7 5 5 3 5 3 2 1 0 8 7 7 7
OUTRO 11: EASY IN E B
8
7
8
7
6
5
6
5
8
7
8
7
6
7
7
6
7
7
6
7
Played with a clean-ish tone, this exam- 7 7 5 5
ple follows a V - IV - I progression (B7 -
A7 - E7) with a standard descending line
and half-step cadence to the I chord, with
dominant 9ths used for an “uptown,” jazzy OUTRO 12 advanced in E
sound (F9 to E9). This will obviously be q = 95 Swung
a familiar idea by now, but ideas like this (B) (A)
~~~~~
never stop being usefully adapted, as blues 1 1 1/4 1 1/2
is often based on tried and true ideas.

7 7
T 7 7 10 12 10 10
OUTRO 12: ADVANCED IN E 9 9 7
9 10 11
9 12 11 9
11
Flicking to the bridge pickup, with a lit- B
tle more gain, this busier triplet-infused
incarnation of the previous outro presents 3 3 3 3 3 3
guitarworld.com 61
guitarworld.com 61
Intro 6 contains a useful
chromatic idea you'll hear
in the playing of Robben
F7 # 9 E7 # 9
Ford, among other top-
U
(E) (E7) (A) (Am) (B) notch guitarists
9 8 8 8
9 9 9 9 9 8 7 7 7
12 11 10 9 7 6 6 6
8 7 7 7
OUTRO 13 easy in B b
q = 85
(B b) (B b 7) (E b) (E b m) (B b /F) Ebm Bb
‰ 78 .. ..
6 6 6 6
6 9 9 68 6 67 6 6 6
8 8 5 7 7
B
OUTRO 14 advanced in B b
q. = 85
(B b) (B b 7) (E b) (E b m) (B b /F) (E b m) (B b)
. . ~~~~~
1 1
~~~ ~~~~~
1/4 1/4
‰ 11
9 11 9 9 6
9
6
6
6 9 6
9 6
9 8 6 8 6 7
.
8 8
B
OUTRO 15 easy in Cm
q = 101
Cm7 Fm7
P.M. |
P.M. P.M. |
P.M.
8 1
8 8 1 8 10 a few useful soloing ideas too, using notes
B 10 10 10 from the E major pentatonic scale (E, F#,
G#, B, C#) in conjunction with bends, which
8 8 8 1 1 1
G7 # 9 C7 # 9
work especially well over the IV chord, A.
Cm7 It’s another cool way of playing the classic
..
P.M. P.M. P.M.
| descending pattern that leads to the final
..
4 chords.
8 3 3
8 8 3 2
8 8 8
10 10
8 X X
2
3
3
OUTRO 13: EASY IN B FLAT
Similar to Intro 13, this simple phrase takes
in a couple of double-stops, to highlight its
OUTRO 16 advanced in Cm “finishing-the-song” message. As a set-up
q = 101
for the final Bb chord, we’ve opted to sub-
stitute the iv (four minor) chord, Ebm, for
the V (F7) or bII (B7), adding a little par-
~~~~~~~
(Cm) (Fm)
.
1 1 1 1
allel-minor-key drama to the proceed-
13 13 13 11 13 13 11 ings and demonstrating another harmonic
13
option.
B
OUTRO 14: ADVANCED IN B FLAT
3 3
Taking a more SRV or B.B. King-style
(G7 # 9) (C7 # 9)
approach with the previous example’s pro-
(Cm) gression, this Bb minor pentatonic-based
W I L L I R E L A N D/ F U T U R E
~ ~~~~ phrase (Bb, Db, Eb, F, Ab) is another exam-

1
13 15 14 13 18 ple of the importance and power of string

13 16 13 13 16 16 13 16 13 16 13 bending in blues. Even if the phrase is easy
15 15 15 15 12
15 17 for you technically, there are always inter-
esting variations you can make with the
phrasing to personalize your statement.

R WOR
L
I
D
G
FORT
EARS
OUTRO 17 easy in A
OUTRO 15: EASY IN C MINOR q = 165 Swung
Now we’re adding a bit of rock to the blues.
Am
U
This outro plays a slightly more fleshed- 1/4
out version of the accompanying bass part,
pausing on the V chord (G7#9, but it could T 5 7 5 5 7 5 5
5 7 5 5 7 5 5
be a regular G chord, if you prefer) before 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
a punchy finish on C7#9. As with all of the B 0 0
“easy” examples, don’t just play the notes,
play them really well, with lots of feeling.
OUTRO 18 advanced in A
OUTRO 16: ADVANCED IN C MINOR q = 165 Swung
Staying firmly in lead guitar territory, this
(Am7) Am(maj7)
~~ ~~
wailing, Gary Moore-style finish really
milks string bends. Although it launches
1/4
≥
7
into something of a pentatonic flurry, it T 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 5 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 5 9
9 9 9 9 9 9 7 5 5 0 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 5 9
stops short of becoming noodly and should 7 5 7 75 7 7 5 7 10
fall under the fingers nicely if you run B
through it a few times.
3 3 3 3
OUTRO 17: EASY IN A OUTRO 19 easy in C

The double-stops in bar 1 of this exam-
q. = 65
ple are saved from simply doubling the
G9 F9
bass line by the addition of quarter-tone
bend, or curl. Sometimes, that’s all it takes ~
w/bar
~~ ~ ~~~
w/bar
‰
to make a melody sing on the guitar. But 10 8
in cases like this, make sure you have your T 10
10
10 8
8
8
9 7 3 5
timing razor-sharp too. Playing slightly B 10 10 9 8
ahead of or behind the beat makes a huge
difference, in terms of feel.
D b 9(13)
U
C C7 F Fm C C9(13)
OUTRO 18: ADVANCED IN A
. . . . . ≥11 ≥ 10 .
. .. .. .. ‰ ...
Here’s another spin on a previously offered
Œ
idea using rapid-fire double-stops and trip-
lets. As always, the use of decorative finger
slides and a quarter-tone bend are classic
5 5
5
8
. 6
5
7
. 6
5
6
. 5
5
5 g
11
10
9 g
10
9
8
blues guitar phrasing enhancers. And how

about that spooky Am(maj7) chord, which
creates a hauntingly sophisticated finish.
OUTRO 20 advanced in C
OUTRO 19: EASY IN C q. = 65
Arpeggiated the G9 and F9 chords in bars 1 (G9) (F9)
and 2 of this example and giving them a lit- 1/4 1/4
tle vibrato-bar shimmer adds sweetness.

‰ 10
10 10 8 8
Equally appealing is the way the descend- T 12
10 12 10 12 12
12 12 14 12 12
8 10 8 8 8
10 8 10 8 10
ing turnaround figure in bar 3 is fleshed out 14 12 12 12 10 8 13
with three-note chord voicings. (Have you B 13 10 12 10 12 12
noticed how many of these intros and out-

ros utilize this kind of descending and/or
(C) (C7) (F) (Fm)
ascending movement?) The 13th chords in
the final bII - I cadence add a cool jazzy fin-
ishing touch.
~ ~~~~~~~~~ 1
8
~~~ ~
8 11 8 8 10
10 10 11 10 8 10 8 10
OUTRO 20: ADVANCED IN C 10 10
10
Mixing double-stop and pentatonic ideas,
this outro is quite complex, so it deserves a
(D b 13)
bit of extra time and study. Work through (C) (C13)
~~
.
it slowly and focus on the vibrato and
string bending details, as well as the best 8 9
8 ‰ 8 9
fingerings for those double-stops. It should 8 8 10 10 8 10 8 10
10 10 9 8 7 7
be fairly self-explanatory with a guitar in
your hands.
guitarworld.com 3
guitarworld.com 63
GUITAR WORLD
HOLIDAY 2020
ON SKELETONS, BROTHERS OSBORNE’S BIGGEST AND

LOUDEST ALBUM, AMPS RAGE AND SEETHE, HELL IS RAISED
— AND THERE’S DAMN NEAR TOO MANY WALLOPING GUITAR
SOLOS TO KEEP TRACK OF. BELOW, JOHN AND TJ OSBORNE
LET THE SKELETONS OUT OF THE CLOSET
B
ROTHERS OSBORNE SINGER-GUITARIST TJ
Osborne lets out a throaty, good-natured laugh
when asked if he and his brother, John, felt more
pressure cutting their third and latest album, Skel-
etons, than on their first two studio outings. “I as-
sume that’s a rhetorical question,” TJ says before
running down a list of hardships the country-rock
duo endured. “First, John came down with tinnitus. That came
out of nowhere right before we started recording, so we had to
reschedule things a bit. He’s got it to a manageable place now, By JOE BOSSO
but that set us back. Then I got salmonella poisoning, I guess Photo by
KEVIN NIXON
from eating under-cooked chicken. It took me a month to shake
that off, although I was still recording vocals with cold sweats.”

THERE WAS A
FRESH AIR OF
FEARLESSNESS
AND DERRING-DO
THROUGHOUT
BROTHERS
OSBORNE’S FIRST
RECORDS — THE
PAIR CAME ON
LIKE YOUNG
BUCKS EAGER TO
SHOW OFF THEIR
STUFF. THAT
UNBRIDLED
SPIRIT IS AT A
FEVER PITCH
THROUGHOUT
SKELETONS
TJ [left] and John

Osborne perform at the
2019 Download Festival
in the U.K.
guitarworld.com 65
John [left] and
TJ perform during
the halftime of
last year’s Lions/
Bears Thanksgiving
game
Next, TJ recounts the tornado that tore about your sophomore record, it’s as if their
through Nashville last March, an epic expectations aren’t so high. It’s almost like
twister that ranks as the sixth-costliest tor- they’ll give you that one. So coming into the
nado in U.S. history. “That was tragic for third album, you have to show everybody
a lot of people in town, and many are still that you’re here to stay and you’re ready to
recovering,” he says. “As for how it affected take it to the next level. It was a challenge
us, we lost power in our studio for a week, we weren’t going to turn away from.”
T
so we ended up having to track the rest of
the record elsewhere. And then COVID here was a fresh air of fearless-
hit. We had to finish up the last bits while ness and derring-do throughout
in quarantine.” He heaves a sigh and says, Brothers Osborne’s first records —
“You could say there was some pressure.” the pair came on like young bucks
Beyond health issues and acts of God, there eager to show off their stuff. That
was another kind of strain the brothers unbridled spirit is at a fever pitch through-
experienced, although this one was self- out Skeletons. The boys blaze like comman-
inflicted. Following up their knockout 2016 dos through barn burners such as “Back on
debut, Pawn Shop (which spawned smash music, Brothers Osborne’s forward-think- the Bottle” and “Dead Man’s Curve” (the
singles like “Stay a Little Longer” and “It ing, crafty blend of Southern rock, outlaw latter of which features a seismic chicken
Ain’t My Fault”), the two weathered the country, arena anthems, soul grooves and pickin’ solo by John), and they fold lib-
dreaded “sophomore slump” confidently blues swagger — highlighted by TJ’s heart- eral helpings of funk flavor into the greasy
with 2018’s Port Saint Joe, a vibey, adven- felt baritone vocals and John’s intricate, groover “All Night.” On their first true-blue
turous and hook-filled set that featured explosive guitar licks — made its mark. instrumental, “Muskrat Greene,” they take
the radio hits “Shoot Me Straight” and “I “We succeeded with the first two albums, listeners on a blitzing bluegrass ride, but
Don’t Remember Me (Before You).” In the and in a way that became a good kind of with the strutting shuffle “Hatin’ Some-
increasingly pop-oriented world of country problem,” John says. “When people talk body,” a heartfelt call for racial unity, they
STEVEN KING/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES

re-imagine themselves as a swampy jam JOHN OSBORNE : I think you should always I didn’t want to play things like they were
band for the modern age. Amps rage and shoot for something different. I try to get on record; I wanted to put my own voice in
seethe, hell is raised, and there’s damn near out of my own head a lot. That’s when there. I got improvisational and stretched
too many walloping guitar solos to keep you can go on the real journey of the song. out. Like I said before, that’s the journey.
track of. It’s a thrilling album because it was Sometimes I forget that I even know how to The music will guide you if you get out of
made to be thrilling. Despite all the out- play guitar — I’m so lost in where the song is your own way.
side turbulence (or perhaps to spite it), the taking me. I forget the licks I’ve learned, so TJ: We would always slip in our own music
Osbornes are having the time of their lives I just start playing whatever — I make stuff when we played in cover bands, so I think
making music, and their enthusiasm is up. That’s where the surprises come in. that’s what really molded us into what we
infectious. I’m as surprised as you are. Of course, a lot are. It was hard sometimes; we’d follow
One thing that’s remained constant in of people might listen to me and go, “That some band that played nothing but cov-
the Brothers Osborne’s world is producer guy’s a total idiot. Why can’t he play any- ers, and the crowd loved them. We gotta fol-
Jay Joyce, who returns for his third go- thing normal?” [Laughs] low that? But I didn’t see the point in driv-
“I’M FRIENDS WITH A LOT OF SESSION MUSICIANS — THEY’RE THE BEST PLAYERS
IN THE WORLD — AND I KNOW THEY’RE DEALING WITH LIMITED TIME IN THE
STUDIO. THEY HAVE TO GO IN AND DO THE JOB AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT
THING. I GET TO MESS AROUND AND FIND STUFF THAT’S CRAZY AND ABRASIVE”
— JOHN OSBORNE
round with the outfit, but for the first time But “normal” can be boring. You hear it in ing from Nashville to Kansas to play some-
the duo have eschewed using guest musi- a lot of big radio songs; the guitar parts body else’s music. I didn’t want people going,
cians and opted to record Skeletons with are well played yet generic. “Man, those guys were a great jukebox.”
their touring band: guitarist Jason Graum- TJ OSBORNE: I think what helps us in that JOHN: Learning other people’s music is
lich, bassist Pete Sternberg, drummer Adam regard is that our music is just a reflection important, but it should always be a spring-
Box and keyboardist Billy Justineau. of who we are. We’re not trying to be any- board for how you can apply it to your own
“We had one main objective for this thing we’re not, and we’re not trying to fit music.
album, and that was to make sure each and in with anybody. We try to stay true to the
every song could be plucked from it and music we hear in our heads, and I think that This is the first full album you recorded
put right into our live show,” John says. “If extends to all elements of the songs — the with your band. Did that shape the way
you come to one of our concerts, you’re not writing, the singing and, of course, the gui- you wrote in any way?
going to get some laid-back deal; you’re in tar playing. I think that’s how you establish TJ: I don’t think so, because all of our stuff
for a full-on rock show. We’re very proud your own identity. always sounded very band oriented. We’ve
of our last album, Port Saint Joe, but it had a JOHN: One of the advantages I have over a never had a sterile, studio vibe in our songs.
bit of a chilled-out vibe. This time, we went lot of other musicians is that I’m afforded JOHN: Everybody writes their own way,
for more of a heavier hand. You hear these time to dig in and try to find something. I’m but when I’m writing I just try to stay in the
songs the way they’re going to be played on friends with a lot of session musicians — moment of inspiration and let the song guide
stage.” they’re the best players in the world — and me; I don’t think about anything else. TJ’s
Which, of course, in the age of COVID, I know they’re dealing with limited time in a little different. When he’s writing, he’s
raises the inevitable question: When might the studio. They have to go in and do the job already thinking about the light show.
that be? and move on to the next thing. I get to mess TJ: On this record, more than we ever did
“That is the unknowable right now,” TJ around and find stuff that’s crazy and abra- before, we did pre-production. We played
says. “Right now, we still have 2021 dates sive. So on the one hand, maybe I do think the songs with the band, and everybody
in the U.K. still on the books, but we’ll have differently and play differently because knew the material really well. We were able
to see if they stick. It’s been hard being off that’s who I am, but I’m also allowed that to work on mood rather than just chord
the road. We’ve always toured when we opportunity. changes. We never really had the time for
released a record; we’d slowly work new that before. The only rehearsing we did
songs into the set. I guess one good thing Before you formed Brothers Osborne, was onstage during soundcheck. John and I
that can come out of this is, when we finally you both played in cover bands. I’m curi- would start playing a new song and the band
do play, our fans will have lived with Skel- ous how you were able to create your would join in. That was it. So it was a bit dis-
etons and they’ll know the whole album own identity after playing other people’s jointed, and that gave John and me an unfair
before we hit that first note. We’re excited music for so long. advantage over the guys.
to see how the new stuff is received.” JOHN: For us, and certainly for myself, that
happened right from when we went from But how were you able to make things
One of the best things about your play- the bedroom to the stage. I learned other sound fresh and spontaneous if you knew
ing, John, is how you always surprise peo- people’s licks and solos, which you have to the material so well?
ple. It’s impossible to predict what you’re do to get to a level of proficiency. I learned JOHN: Well, you still leave room for impro-
going to do in any given song. a lot of styles. But when we were on stage, visation. The songs were sketched out, but
guitarworld.com 67
they weren’t written in stone. [Laughs] JOHN : Now, I think there’s a huge level of
That’s where all those surprises come in. trust that we’ve developed over years of
TJ: We leave a lot of jagged edges in working with each other. When Jay says
because we don’t want to get married to something really abstract, we just go with
any one thing. We want to be like, “OK, this it because he is a mad scientist; he doesn’t
is a good little placeholder. Now, let’s take think like a normal human being. You have
this into the studio in its raw form.” Then to trust his intuition. And he also trusts our
we can collectively kind of piece this thing intuition. On this record, he asked us a lot
together of where we want the solo to be, more questions than ever before: “What do
to where it’s not the same formula of verse, you think about this?” “What are you feel-
chorus, verse, solo, chorus or whatever. ing for this?” I think that’s huge. That’s
JOHN: Like, for my solos — I treat those what collaboration is all about.
spaces like a canvas, but I don’t know
exactly what I’m going to do till I do it. How do you two actually work out guitar
And I’m open to changing things around. I parts between yourselves?
usually find that my third take is the best. JOHN: To tell you the truth, it’s pretty
Takes one and two, I’m still figuring things unspoken. TJ plays acoustic guitar when he
out. On take three, I’m comfortable and sings. He’s got a heavy hand and has great
let ’er rip. Beyond that, things get sleepy. rhythm; he’s very percussive. Sometimes
Takes seven or eight usually sound tired. what he plays will pop out of a track, just
like an electric guitar. I anticipate that, so I
This is the third album you’ve made with know how to respond.
producer Jay Joyce. How would you TJ: I think I’ve gotten better as a guitarist.
characterize your relationship with him? I try to play just enough of what’s needed
Do you butt heads? from me. I enjoy playing rhythm. I like
JOHN: We butt heads, but a lot less than we stacking guitar tracks, but I never want to
used to. I remember on Pawn Shop I had overwhelm what John is doing. He’s such
the solo all worked out for “Stay a Little a great guitarist, so I don’t mind support-
Longer.” Jay had some thoughts on it, and ing him. On stage he’ll look over at me and
before long we were arguing. He was trying say, “Take a solo!” And I’m like… “Really?” I
to push my buttons, but he was also trying guess I’m like the ginger with sushi. I’m the
to figure us out. He was sizing us up. And palette cleanser.
so we got into, literally, a screaming match, I’ll tell you one thing that’s made a big
cursing at each other, throwing F-words difference on this record is our other gui-
“I LIKE STACKING GUITAR TRACKS, BUT I NEVER WANT TO

OVERWHELM WHAT JOHN IS DOING. HE’S SUCH A GREAT
GUITARIST, SO I DON’T MIND SUPPORTING HIM. ON STAGE
HE’LL LOOK OVER AT ME AND SAY, ‘TAKE A SOLO!’
AND I’M LIKE… ‘REALLY?’”
— TJ OSBORNE
around. It was pretty tumultuous, but we tarist, Jason Graumlich. He’s a really, really And then I’ve got to make room for the solo
got past it. amazing guitar player, and his style is so dif- and then I’m going to double this.” With
TJ: We’ve had a lot of debates with Jay, ferent from John’s. He gets an awesome Jason, I could think more like a band guy.
and that’s fine. I love a good debate. I think tone and he’s got a lot of… swagger. If something needed stacking, I did it later,
that’s where some of the best stuff comes JOHN: This is the first time he’s been on but I didn’t have to think about it. Most of
from. Jay can be difficult sometimes, but if a record of ours. Jason and I are so dif- the time, things already sounded good.
it were so easy and he just agreed with us ferent in terms of style and tone. He does
all the time, there wouldn’t be much point things I would never think of. On our first John, your distortion sound all over the
in working together. The reason this com- two records, I would think more like a ses- record is so vibrant and exciting, but it’s
bination clicks is because we do disagree. sion player: “I’ve got to play this part here especially potent on “Lighten Up.” What
Something good always comes out of it. because later I’m going to stack this part. are you using there?
N ATA L I E O S B O R N E

JOHN: For a lot of the record, I used a Two- “All Night” has a pretty distinct ZZ Top John, your staccato picking on the “All
Rock Traditional Clean. It’s a really cool, vibe. Was that an intentional tribute? Night” solo is quite awesome. How many
versatile amp. You match that with the TJ: It wasn’t intentional, but it was cer- takes did you need for that?
JHS Bonsai Overdrive pedal and you’re tainly referenced after the fact. The song’s JOHN: That was a third take. Jay won’t
good to go. The Bonsai has a switch that really simple, and we were kind of unsure really let me overplay, and I appreciate him
allows you to get all kinds of screaming about it at first. We were like “Man, is it not for that. He wants the notes to sound pre-
green distortions. On “Lighten Up,” I used cerebral enough?” It does have a ZZ Top cise, but he also wants energy. I played the
those with my ’56 Les Paul Junior, which swagger too, not that I’m saying their stuff whole song on a baritone guitar. I didn’t
is my favorite rock guitar ever. It just sings. isn’t cerebral. A song can be high-minded want it to sound stock. I was going for a
As soon as I played the solo on that song, I in its own way. As the saying goes, “Not surprise sound. I was inspired by Danny
noticed that the tone really spoke. every song has to be Socrates.” Gatton, that staccato triplet thing he used
guitarworld.com 69
it great. It feels like a Dodge Charger about
to explode.
John, you mentioned your ’56 Les Paul

Junior and the baritone guitar. What
other models did you use?
JOHN: After making some money, I went a
little crazy buying vintage guitars; in fact, I
went too crazy. At the end of the day, sim-
plicity works for me. My main guitar is still
the one I’ve had for years, a ’68 Tele with a
B-bender in it. I have a ’53 blackguard that I
used for the chicken pickin’ on “Dead Man’s
Curve.” Then I used the Les Paul Junior
and a ’63 SG/Les Paul Standard. What else?
Oh, there’s a ’59 Strat. I brought 10 guitars
with me but ended up using those five.
TJ, how about you?

TJ : Just before making the record, I bought
a pre-war 1937 Martin D-18. Sometimes
Jay will put a piezo pickup on it but he’ll
still mic it. Doing that, we can get kind of an
electric tone from it. The other guitar was
Jay’s Gibson J-200. I have a few myself,
but they sound a little “boomy.” Jay’s gui-
tar sounds awesome. I’ve used it on every
record.
Brothers in a band can be a combustible

mix — the Kinks, Oasis… Do you guys ever
“I USUALLY FIND THAT MY THIRD TAKE IS THE BEST. have volatile moments?
TAKES ONE AND TWO, I’M STILL FIGURING THINGS OUT. JOHN: We definitely do. I think anyone in
ON TAKE THREE, I’M COMFORTABLE AND LET ’ER RIP. a relationship, whether it’s a marriage or
a close friendship or a family, you’re going
BEYOND THAT, THINGS GET SLEEPY. TAKES SEVEN
to fight. It’s human nature. TJ and I have
OR EIGHT USUALLY SOUND TIRED” a joke: “We either agree 100 percent or we
— JOHN OSBORNE disagree 100 percent.” There’s no gray area.
We were raised in a very close family. We
came up as best friends and we really stuck
to do. I just never heard it on a baritone gui- is there, and it makes the point if you want up for each other. The way I see it, the only
tar. It came out great, and then I stacked it to hear it. person who can kick his ass is me, and I
with a blackguard Tele. It really speaks. know he feels the same way.
John, you mentioned “redneck jazz” TJ: One thing that helps is that we’re not
TJ, let me ask you about the song “Hatin’ star Danny Gatton before. Your chicken trying to get in each other’s lane. John can
Somebody.” It has an obvious social- pickin’ solo in “Dead Man’s Curve” is also sing, and there are times when he’ll take the
political message. How on the nose do very Gatton-ish. vocal lead on a verse, say, but he’s not try-
you try to be when writing something JOHN: Yeah, but not as good as what he did. ing to be the singer for the band. He’s more
like that? My chicken pickin’ chops aren’t what they of the guitar player. Same goes for me; I
TJ: The answer is “not very.” You don’t used to be back in the day. I was a lot faster play guitar, but I’m basically trying to sup-
want to sound pandering or kumbaya like when I was younger, when I would play port John’s guitar work. I’m happy to be the
“We Are the World.” With a song like this, with anybody who asked me. I wasn’t a bet- singer. We know our strengths.
you just want to make your point enough ter guitar player; I was just faster. I feel like JOHN: We’re not afraid to be honest with
where it’s made. You don’t want to ham- I’m more musical now, but the piss and vin- each other. In this industry, people aren’t
mer it home and make somebody cringe, so egar that once was there, I had to really always forthright for whatever reason.
there’s a finesse to it. That’s the artistry, the dig for that one. It’s aggressive — the song They want to tiptoe around artists, whereas
fine line you want to walk. It tells the story is called “Dead Man’s Curve,” so it’s gotta TJ and I go right for the jugular. It’s neces-
N ATA L I E O S B O R N E
— there’s our grandfather, a hillbilly from have that feeling of driving too fast and sary. It keeps us grounded. We’ve had huge
West Virginia who went to Baltimore to get you’re gonna crash and burn. The very first blowout fights for 10 minutes, but a min-
work. He was like a fish out of water, and thing I played was pretty good. The second ute later we’re having a beer and laughing.
I think it really changed him. The message take was imperfect, but that’s what makes That’s just how it’s been our whole lives.

C I D •I
A
NC
ZZ•
ENS
F U
E•
AND•
OVERLOOKED, UNDERRATED, SIDELINED

AND DOWNPLAYED SIXTIES GUITAR HEROES
PART 2: JOHN CIPOLLINA
CIPOLLINA
C K S I LVER
S O F QUI LL I NA,
D TIM E N CI P O IST
F E A N S JO H D S T Y L
THE LI ER SERVICE’ UNHER ALDE FUTURE
G D E
MESSENORIGINAL ANICIPATED TH A
, NT
A BOLDE PLAYING A BY ALAN DI P
ER N
WHOS OF RO C
K
WO
AR RL
T
D
GUI
• HOLI
20
DA
Y • 20
John Cipollina performs
in London with Man, a
Welsh psychedelic/prog
band, in October 1976
PA
73
GE
E S TAT E O F K E I T H M O R R I S/ R E D F E R N S/ G E T T Y I M A G E S
CIPOLLINA EMBODIED EVERY-
THING EMBEDDED IN THE TERM
“ROCK GUITAR GOD.”
TALL AND SLENDER — WITH LONG,
DARK, SIDE-PARTED HAIR FRAM-
ING A PAIR OF MODEL-QUALITY
CHEEKBONES — HE STOOD OUT
EVEN AMONG THE COLORFUL CAST OF WILDLY TALENTED
CHARACTERS WHO MADE UP THE SAN FRANCISCO PSYCHE- the Grateful Dead, the Quicksilver guys
DELIC MUSIC SCENE OF THE MID TO LATE SIXTIES. could hand Garcia and company their
asses,” the Bay Area music critic Joel Sel-
vin wrote.
So why aren’t Cipollina and Quicksil-
His amp rig was like something out lina’s deployment of his dual plectra. He ver Messenger Service more well remem-
of Tom Wolfe’s Kandy-Kolored Tanger- used them in tandem with vigorous vibrato bered today? Much of it is down to the typ-
ine Stream-Flake Streamline Baby — a arm action to create haunted, howling, face- ically sad rock and roll story of bad tim-
hybrid tube/transistor stereo tower of melting leads. ing and worse luck. For one, Quicksilver’s
tone, crowned with gleaming metal horns In this, he anticipated the dexterous fin- lineup was notoriously unstable. One of
and flashing automotive lights. You half gers-and-vibrato-arm technique that Jeff the group’s founders, singer/guitarist Dino
expected the thing to sprout massive tires Beck would develop to stunning effect later Valenti, was jailed for marijuana posses-
and go roaring off down the highway. in his career. But Cipollina was doing it in sion before the band could even have its
Armed with this primordial super-stack ’65, long before Beck. And by combining first rehearsal in ’65 at the Matrix, the club
and his beloved 1961 Gibson SG, Cipollina his distinctive picking with a highly orig- owned by the Airplane’s Marty Balin. But
did things that bordered on the occult. A inal approach to amplification, Cipollina then it was Balin who recommended gui-
bold, original stylist, his guitar work with was able to forge a style that blended tremu- tarist Gary Duncan for the newly forming
Quicksilver Messenger Service played a key lous lyricism with bursts of snaky, anarchis- group. Balin felt a little guilty for luring Skip
role in defining the San Francisco psyche- tic phrasing. Spence away from his slot as Quicksilver’s
delic sound, also anticipating much of what In an era when rock guitarists were guitarist so that Spence could play drums
was to come in rock guitar playing. debating whether they should stick with for an early incarnation of the Airplane.
But outside of a small, if devoted, cult fol- tubes or move on to then-brand-new tran- Duncan and Cipollina would soon
CIPOLLINA
lowing, he is not as well or widely remem- sistor amplification, Cipollina simply said, become a formidable two-guitar team, trad-
bered today as, say, Jerry Garcia, Jorma “I’ll have both.” He devised an elaborate ing licks and interweaving lead lines during
Kaukonen, Carlos Santana and other gui- amp rig combining two solid-state Stan- trippy, marathon improvisations over mate-
tarists who came out of San Francisco dur- del bass amps with two Fender tube amps: a rial like Bo Diddley’s classic “Mona.” Cipol-
ing the psychedelic era. Which is a shame, Twin Reverb and a Dual Showman driving lina and Duncan’s freewheeling, modal,
as Cipollina was every bit their equal. By the six Wurlitzer horns. raga-flavored excursions took “Mona” far
time of his relatively early death — in 1989, “I like the rapid punch of solid-state for from the Afro-Cuban roots of the original
at age 45 — he’d been reduced to playing the bottom, and the rodent-gnawing distor- Bo Diddley recording. This kind of mind-
small Northern California clubs, his health tion of the tubes on top,” he said. meld interplay was a precursor to the dual-
seriously compromised by emphysema and His setup, which today is on exhibit at guitar style that Duane Allman and Dickie
often in need of a wheelchair to get around. the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, also incor- Betts would later develop in the Allman
Cipollina was a true son of the Bay porated a Maestro Echoplex and Standel Brothers’ music, which also makes Cipol-
Area, born in Berkeley on August 24, 1943, Modulux, complete with a system of auto- lina and Duncan key forefathers of the jam
and growing up mostly in Mill Valley. He motive lights to indicate which effect had band scene.
started out on piano, but like many of his been activated by footswitch. Even in an era “We got into double leads right from the
generation, he switched to electric guitar noted for its imaginative experimentation start, partly at my insistence,” Cipollina
once the mid-Fifties rock and roll explo- with gear, Cipollina’s rig stood out just as recalled. “I’ve always liked double leads,
sion had ignited. His first band, the Penetra- much as he did. and just because no one was doing double
tors, covered Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, In 1965, Cipollina became a founding leads at the time, it didn’t stop us.”
Fats Domino and other prominent first- member of Quicksilver Messenger Ser- But, again, if Cipollina and Quicksilver
L A R RY H U L S T/ M I C H A E L O C H S A R C H I V E S/ G E T T Y I M A G E S
wave rockers. Cipollina’s adoption of the vice, the band that would bring him to fame. were so good, why aren’t they more well
thumb pick may have grown out of emulat- They were an integral part of the hippie remembered today? Their tardiness in sign-
ing Presley guitarist Scotty Moore, who also scene that grew up around LSD, free love ing with a major record label is something
employed this style of plectrum. This would and free thinking in San Francisco’s Haight else that worked against them. Not that the
become one of the defining features of Ashbury neighborhood. And their history labels weren’t interested. They were. It was
Cipollina’s technique and style, which com- intersected with that of several other Bay the band who weren’t interested in a record
bined a thumbpick and first-finger finger- Area bands. At various points, the Quick- deal, which would prove detrimental to
pick. Cipollina had been relatively unfazed silver lineup included Skip Spence, best their career.
by the mid-Sixties folk boom that had cap- known for his work with Moby Grape, and The San Francisco scene at the time was
tured the imagination of guitarists like Gar- bassist David Freiberg, who would go on to notoriously insular and flush with anti-
cia, Kaukonen or Roger McGuinn. He’d play with the Jefferson Airplane and Jeffer- commercial, anti-capitalist hippie idealism.
stuck with his rock and roll roots. So there’s son Starship. The bands and scenemakers wanted to keep
something a bit more primordial in Cipol- “On any given night sharing a bill with their thing “pure.” There was a consider-
74 GU I TA R WOR L D + HOL I DAY 2020

CAPTIOCCAPTOPMNerform
at London’s OCAPTION
N and Ronnie Romero
John Cipollina — shown

with his ubiquitous Gibson
SG — performs in the mid
Seventies
able mistrust of outsiders — particularly

those from L.A., which was regarded as the
capital of glitzy, crass, commercial “plas-
ticity.” This feeling ran so high that many
of the San Francisco bands initially refused
to participate in the historic Monterey Pop
festival in 1967 because it was being orga-
nized by Los Angeles record producer Lou
Adler. Many of them eventually relented,
of course, including Quicksilver, whose set
was a festival highlight.
But Quicksilver steadfastly resisted sign-
ing a record contract, despite the fact that
their friends the Grateful Dead and Jef-
ferson Airplane had done so — the Air-
plane striking a deal with RCA in 1966 and
the Dead signing with Warners in ’67. As a
result, those bands had albums on the mar-
ket just as media interest in the San Francis-
co’s hippie scene and ’67’s Summer of Love
was peaking. Quicksilver basically shot
themselves in the foot by refusing to deal
with “the man.” They thought they could go
it alone, basing a career solely on live work.
“We didn’t want to sign,” Cipollina
insisted. “We had no use for [the record
labels], and we were unsigned. And we were
making more money. We would make dou-
ble the money of the guys who had a record
contract.”
So by the time Quicksilver finally signed
with Capitol Records, releasing their self-
titled debut album in ’68, other bands had
already established themselves as the king-
pins of acid rock. And just as the Capitol
deal went down, Quicksilver lost their lead
singer, Jim Murray. Some accounts say he
was scared off by the discipline required to WHY AREN’T JOHN
make a studio recording.
The debut disc, Quicksilver Messen-
CIPOLLINA AND
ger Service, is nonetheless a solid album. QUICKSILVER
Embellished by Cipollina’s tastefully trem- mostly recorded live at the Fillmore. It cap- MESSENGER
ulous lead guitar work, the disc’s apocalyp-
tic lead track “Pride of Man” garnered sig-
tured Cipollina and Duncan’s trademark
dual lead work on the band’s tour de force
SERVICE MORE
nificant airplay on FM underground rock live interpretation of “Mona,” as well as WELL REMEMBERED
radio stations. But it never achieved any-
thing like the crossover success of songs
another Bo Diddley song, “Who Do You
Love.” Cipollina’s stinging, frenzied, acid
TODAY? MUCH OF
such as the Jefferson Airplane’s “White rock leads ignite his own instrumental com- IT IS DOWN TO
Rabbit” or “Somebody to Love.” position “How You Love;” also taking pride THE TYPICALLY
“I don’t think the group ever reached its
potential,” Cipollina said. “We were pretty
of place on Gary Duncan’s opus, “Maiden of
Cancer Moon.”
SAD ROCK AND
lame in the studio, but we were a kick-ass Like its predecessor, Happy Trails ROLL STORY OF
live group.”
So it was fortuitous that Quicksilver’s
caught the ear of the counterculture. Jerry
Garcia even hailed it as “the most psyche-
BAD TIMING
second album, 1969’s Happy Trails, was delic album ever recorded.” AND WORSE LUCK
I D •I
AC
ZZ•
NC
ENS
FU
E•
AND•
OVERLOOKED, UNDERRATED, SIDELINED AND
DOWNPLAYED SIXTIES GUITAR HEROES
PART 2: JOHN CIPOLLINA

CIPOLLINA
Jerry Garcia [left] and

John Cipollina perform at a
Grateful Dead show at the
Greek Theatre in Berkeley,
California, in May 1983
But it was hardly a mainstream commer- the top of their respective games. was fired from the
cial success. But Cipollina started to become disen- label shortly thereaf-
And then Gary Duncan left the band. In chanted with Quicksilver once Dino Valenti ter. So Copperhead’s
a surprising move, Cipollina drafted British signed on as the group’s lead singer in 1969. only recording, a self-titled debut album,
session piano ace Nicky Hopkins (the Bea- As we’ve seen, Valenti helped launch Quick- languished in the absence of label support.
tles, Rolling Stones, Who, Kinks) to replace silver back in ’65, but was prevented by a pot Cipollina went so far as to say that anti-
Duncan. It was the end of Quicksilver’s days bust from performing with the group. When Davis forces at the label openly sabotaged the
as a two-guitar juggernaut, but the start of he finally got around to assuming front- release. By 1974, Copperhead was finished.
an interesting new chapter for Quicksilver man duties, he brought a strong and coher- For the next 15 years, Cipollina drifted
and Cipollina. ent songwriting voice to the band. He wrote through numerous bands, many including
“Quicksilver was the first band I’d played what is perhaps Quicksilver’s best-known old cronies of his from the San Francisco
in without a piano,” the guitarist noted. “I song, 1970’s “Fresh Air,” which became a scene. But he’d never again achieve the level
always missed the keyboard, so when Gary pothead anthem thanks to the song’s “Oooh, of success he’d attained with Quicksilver.
left, instead of trying to replace a guitarist, have another hit” chorus refrain. He was still slogging it out in Bay Area clubs
I looked for a piano player. Nicky was the Valenti’s focus on songcraft, however, when ill health caught up with him. A com-
best. It seemed natural to me. Besides, we left less room for wide-open guitar exper- bination of emphysema and alpha-1 anti-
became good friends right from the start.” imentation; and Cipollina had left Quick- trypsin deficiency claimed his life on May
Hopkins’ superb piano work is predom- silver by 1971. “I wanted to try some new 29, 1989.
inant on Quicksilver’s next release, Shady stuff,” he said, “and a lot of the new [Quick- Like many gifted Sixties rockers who
E D P E R L S T E I N / R E D F E R N S/ G E T T Y I M A G E S
Grove, from 1969. His presence pushed the silver] material didn’t give me much to do. didn’t get enshrined in the “classic rock”
group toward bluesy abandon, on the one Besides, I wanted to branch out. Quicksilver pantheon, Cipollina and Quicksilver might
hand, and quasi-classical elegance on the Messenger Service’s format seemed old.” sound a little alien to listeners raised on the
other — both directions bringing Quicksil- His next project was Copperhead, a solid homogenous AOR rock radio format of the
ver further afield from their more psyche- early Seventies hard rock band that might Seventies and beyond. But Cipollina’s pio-
delicized earlier work. Still there’s plenty of have had a shot at major success had bad luck neering work is nonetheless one of the foun-
fascinating interplay between Hopkins and not derailed them. Record biz maven Clive dation stones on which the classic rock edi-
Cipollina — two outstanding musicians at Davis signed Copperhead to CBS in ’73 but fice was erected.
76 GU I TA R WOR L D + HOL I DAY 2020

H O LI DAY 2020
GUITAR
WORLD
GOLD
AWARD
Twang for Gretsch G5410T
the Buck
Electromatic "Rat Rod"
the gear P
Hollow Body Single-Cut in
Matte Phantom Metallic
in review ER E
FORMANC
GRETSCH ELECTROMATIC
G5222 AND G5410T MODELS
By Chris Gill
81 EVER SINCE THE Gretsch family joined forces with

FENDER FMIC in late 2002, Gretsch has produced electric
Limited Edition guitars that many players, collectors and aficionados
HM Strat
consider the best instruments they’ve ever made. In addition
to FMIC’s expertise and attention to crucial detail of what truly
makes a Gretsch a Gretsch, FMIC has now been building
82 Gretsch electric guitars for more than 18 years, which is
longer than the celebrated classic period that lasted from
NEW EQ
the first Chet Atkins models introduced in 1954 through
the company’s sale to Baldwin in 1967.
Those years of experience show across the entire
83 current Gretsch electric line, with the most dramatic
improvements showing in the company’s affordably
ORANGE
Crest Edition priced Electromatic models introduced in recent
Wireless years. Two new Electromatic models — the G5222
Headphones Electromatic Double Jet BT and G5410T Electro-
matic “Rat Rod” Hollow Body Single-Cut — offer
tones, playability and eye-catching designs that
84 compare favorably to Gretsch’s higher-end mod-

els costing two to four times as much. For players
REDSEVEN
Leviathan
who have always desired “that great Gretsch sound,”
these new Electromatic models provide a very afford-
able means for achieving that with a whole lot of style.
guitarworld.com 79
[left] Gretsch G5222 Electromatic
Double Jet BT in Walnut Stain;
[below] the G5410T in Matte
Vintage White
CHEAT
FEATURES The Gretsch G5222 Electro- black (Phantom Metallic or Vintage White
matic Double Jet BT features a symmet- models) or red (Black model only).The Rat
rical double cutaway “solid” chambered
body design with similar DNA to the post-
Rod’s set maple neck features a standard
“U” profile, 24.6-inch scale, 12-inch radius
SHEET
1960 Duo Jet/Jet Firebird (the model and rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium
used by Malcolm Young). The body is 1.85 jumbo frets, aged white single-ply bind-
inches thick and built from mahogany with ing and pearloid Neo-Classic Thumbnail
an arched maple top surrounded by white inlays. The nut is crafted from Graph Tech STREET PRICES: $499.99
binding with black/white purfling. Four NuBone and measures 1.6875 inches wide. (G5222 Electromatic Double
different gloss finish options are available: The pickups are a pair of “Black Top” Filter- Jet BT); $799.99 (G5410T
Aged Natural, Jade Grey Metallic, Lon- Tron humbuckers with red inserts (instead Electromatic “Rat Rod” Hollow
don Grey and Walnut Stain. The mahogany of black), and controls consist of neck vol- Body Single-Cut)
set neck features a thin “U” profile, 12-inch ume, bridge volume, master volume with MANUFACTURER: Gretsch,
radius, 24.6-inch scale, 22 medium jumbo treble bleed circuit, master tone and a three- gretschguitars.com
frets and laurel fingerboard with single- way pickup selector toggle. The hardware
layer white binding and pearloid Neo-Clas- is chrome-plated and includes a secured The G5222 Double Jet BT features
sic Thumbnail inlays. Electronics consist of Adjusto-Matic bridge, licensed Bigsby B60 chambered solidbody construc-
a pair of Broad’Tron humbucking pickups, flat-handle vibrato, vintage-style open-back tion consisting of a mahogany body
three-way pickup selector toggle and neck tuners and G-Arrow control knobs. The Rat with arched maple top.
volume, bridge volume, master volume with Rod is strung with .011-.049 nickel-plated
treble bleed circuit and master tone con- steel strings for added twang. The G5410T “Rat Rod” Hollow
trols. The hardware is chrome plated and Body Single-Cut features a Bigsby
includes a Gretsch “V” stoptail, anchored PERFORMANCE With pickup resistances B60 vibrato, slim 2.5-inch thick
body and Sound Post bracing.
Adjusto-Matic bridge, G-Arrow control measuring just above 5k ohms (Double
knobs and die-cast tuning machines. The Jet BT) and 4k ohms (Rat Rod), both mod-
The Double Jet BT’s Broad’Tron
Double Jet BT ships with .010-.046 nickel- els deliver classic Gretsch character with
humbuckers deliver 5k ohm resis-
plated steel strings. ample growl, clang and twang. With its
tance for slightly hotter tones that
The Gretsch G5410T Electromatic “Rat slightly hotter output and chambered solid- preserve classic Gretsch character.
Rod” Hollow Body Single-Cut is more of a body design, the Double Jet BT is ideal for
cousin to the venerated late-Fifties 6120 hol- hot-rodded rockabilly, high-voltage hard The Rat Rod’s Filter-Tron hum-
lowbody model, featuring a 16-inch wide rock, caffeinated country and beyond. The buckers measure 4k ohms of resis-
body, small late-Fifties bound headstock Rat Rod is more of a classic cruiser, with an tance and deliver genuine Gretsch
and oversize bound F-holes, but with a slim- inherent mellow warmth that can get deli- twang and growl.
mer 2.5-inch depth. The body is constructed ciously rowdy with an overdrive boost.
of laminated maple with an arched top and Both models are thoroughly Gretsch THE BOTTOM LINE:
back and sound post bracing. Three finish through and through, from their eye-catch- That great Gretsch sound has
options are available: Matte Black, Matte ing styling to their unmistakable tones. Both never been more affordable,
Phantom Metallic and Matte Vintage White. also deviate from the Gretsches of yester- thanks to these new Electromatic
The Phantom Metallic and Black models year, in a very good way, with stellar play- models, which also deliver stellar
have aged white binding with black/white ability, rock-solid construction and rock- playability, high-quality hardware
purfling, while the Vintage White model bottom prices that will inspire players to and construction and irresistible,
comes with black binding and white/black add a Gretsch to their stables or add to their unmistakable Gretsch style.
purfling. The floating pickguard is either growing Gretsch collections.

GUITAR
WORLD
GOLD
AWARD
Super Fast from the Past SOUNDCHECK
FENDER LIMITED EDITION HM STRAT
P E
ER
FORMA NC By Paul Riario
THE FIRST TIME I ever laid eyes on the Fender 25.1–inch scale length that hits a sweet spot for snappiness
HM Strat was in the hands of Greg Howe for his in tone and playability. Other features include Gotoh tun-
1989 Hot Rock Licks instructional video on (wait for it…) ers, molded ‘F’ logo control knobs (volume, tone and tone),
VHS! Back then, it appeared Fender had released their five-position pickup selector switch, coil-split toggle (for
own offbeat version of a Superstrat. But for me, I was humbucker), and the distinctively stylized “Strat” silk
merely blown away by the look of these guitars with their logo on its headstock. The guitar is available in era-cor-
bright-colored Day-Glo finishes, HSS configuration and, rect Black, Frozen Yellow, Flash Pink, Ice Blue and
of course, its hot-rodded sound paired with a locking Bright White finishes.
tremolo (it might also have been Howe’s sheer virtuosity
that helped make the guitar that much more alluring, but PERFORMANCE Though I try and subdue it, my
I digress). inner C.C. DeVille proclaims this is the exact gui-
Introduced in 1988 and ending production by 1992, the tar I wanted in 1989 — Flash Pink finish and all. Con-
Fender Heavy Metal (HM) Strat was originally made in sidering that roasted necks have become fashionable for
Japan and subsequently produced in the United States, and Superstrats with their darker caramelized hue, I find the
at the time, was celebrated for its contemporary design as bright maple fingerboard in contrast to its bold Day-Glo
well as being unfairly maligned for exactly the same thing. finish makes playing the HM Strat all the more enjoy-
One example would be the cutesy Eighties “Strat” logo able, as if its unblemished fingerboard looks lit up as a
underscored by a matching body paint stripe on its black- launch pad for ferocious lead playing. And that is key
capped headstock evoked more of a Miami Vice vibe than here, the HM Strat is a total shredder of a guitar. Having
“heavy metal.” Regardless, let’s just say the HM Strat has its control set ergonomically within reach, I absolutely
since built a cult following because of its coveted rarity. love the tall rubberized knobs you can easily manip-
Fender has recently been digging into their archives and ulate for their equally smooth volume and tone taper.
reissuing many former favorites in guitars, and here, the Nostalgia aside, this reissue’s brilliant setup of its Floyd
Limited Edition HM Strat is one of those beloved models Rose Special rivals the twitchiness of an original Kahler
that happens to be built in the same Japanese factory as the Spyder, making aggressive dive bombing and nuanced
originals with (mostly) the same specs and look, but with a tremolo throw easily accomplished with total control.
far more fresher sound and feel. The custom-voiced pickups are also outstanding in
this reissue. The high-gain humbucker is not too over-
FEATURE Most will ask what is the difference between wound to choke out any subtlety, instead, it’s well-bal-
the original HM Strat and Fender’s brand-new reissue? anced and rich, allowing harmonics to pop and thicken-
The answer is rather simple: the reissue debuts new cus- ing single notes to shine. Bravo to Fender on making the
tom-voiced high-gain humbucking and dual single coil pick- humbucker’s coil tap effective in that it doesn’t affect
ups, and a recessed Floyd Rose Special double-locking trem- the volume when you activate it, and
olo system that replaces the original’s discontinued Kahler offers a useful split-coil sound that
Spyder tremolo. Outside of the upgraded componentry, the doesn’t sound weak. The two sin-
Fender Limited Edition HM Strat shares the same features gle coils also provide much color to
in what made the original a prized model with a lightweight the HM Strat’s hot-rodded engine.
basswood body, a sharper body radius, a contoured and Their close proximity to each other
shaved neck heel for comfortable access to the upper frets, a offer a denser shade of glassiness to
bolt-on maple neck with a maple (or rosewood) fingerboard, their single-coil spank. If you don’t
24 jumbo frets, a thin “C” shape neck profile with a soft satin mind its retro-Eighties styling, the
urethane finish, a super-flat 17–inch radius that facilitates HM Strat is one helluva sweet turbo-
a low action setup for extreme bends, and a slightly shorter charged ride.
CHEAT
SHEET STREET PRICE: $1,199.99
MANUFACTURER: Fender, fender.com
The recessed Floyd Rose Special double-locking tremolo is perfectly set up to keep strings
in tune when forcefully dive-bombing or pulling up toward the stars.
The HM Strat’s custom-voiced HSS pickups deliver searing high-output, and its coil-tap toggle
offers extra tonal options when combined with the five-position switch.
THE BOTTOM LINE:

The Fender Limited Edition HM Strat is an improved reissue with enhanced pickups and a Floyd
Rose Special double-locking tremolo, eclipsing the original as a superior shred-worthy guitar.
guitarworld.com 81
SOUNDCHECK
Luna Guitars
VISTA EAGLE TROPICAL WOOD
ACOUSTIC-ELECTRIC
For those who
love the look of
This new acoustic-electric showcases a handcrafted top made
from attractive tonewoods that bring its panoramic image to
handcrafted wood
life. The Vista Eagle features a portrait of an eagle in its natural
habitat, using a variety of tropical woods across the body of the
or just want to stay

guitar. The design starts with a gloss-finished, flamed maple-
bound, Grand Concert cutaway body with koa back and sides; the
plugged in, here are

top is handcrafted from padauk, quilt mahogany, koa and spalted
maple, making each guitar unique. Other features include set-neck
some fine options

construction, a hand-shaped 25.5’’ scale mahogany neck with a
20-fret ebony fingerboard and Pearl Moon Phase inlays, bone nut (1
to mull over.
11/16’’ width), ebony bridge, sealed diecast tuners, black-and-gold
hardware and a Fishman Presys+ preamp with built-in tuner.
STREET PRICE: $729

lunaguitars.com
BOSS
POCKET GT GUITAR EFFECTS PROCESSOR
The BOSS Pocket GT pairs wirelessly with a smartphone or tablet and combines premium BOSS guitar
tones with integrated YouTube learning as an innovative solution for learning and practicing. Pocket
GT works seamlessly with the BOSS Tone Studio app for iOS and Android, which features a YouTube
browser and deep editing tools for crafting tones with more than 100 amps and effects. The Pocket GT
hardware provides the sound engine and audio connections, while the BOSS Tone Studio app offers a
YouTube browser that streams sound to Pocket GT, plus an intuitive interface for shaping sounds. This
integrated approach simplifies setup and eliminates switching between apps, giving players a hassle-
free way to enjoy premium guitar tones while watching online lessons and jamming with videos. Users
can also wirelessly stream nearly any music app over Bluetooth and play along, and there’s an Aux-In
jack for connecting a non-Bluetooth music player, drum machine or other device. Pocket GT functions
as a Mac/Windows USB audio interface too, ready to record mix-ready guitar tracks in a computer
DAW, and players can find a wide selection of free patches for download at BOSS Tone Central.
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boss.info

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The Axe-Calibur is a brand-new floor stand
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guitarworld.com 83
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FORMANC
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COLUMNS STRING For video of this lesson, go to
THEORY GuitarWorld.com/Holiday2020
by Jimmy Brown
FIG. 1
I GOT RHYTHM, count: 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh
PART 11 T .> > > > > >
Creating chains of
. 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12
dotted-eighth syncopations
LAST MONTH, I presented a couple of in- 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh
teresting ways to apply accent patterns to a
> > > > > > > > > >
.
steady stream of 16th notes to create five- or
six-note groups. I then demonstrated how 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0 12 0 0
.
to chain those groups together to produce
some rather tricky-sounding syncopations
and rhythmic phrasing schemes that “go FIG. 2
against the grain” of the expected four-note 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh
“quads.” As you recall, I employed the very T .> > > > > >
drum-like and musically effective “rhythm-
within-a-rhythm” approach. I’d now like to
. 12 0 0 10 0 0 9 0 0 7 0 0 6 0 0 5
present yet another cool and interesting way
to phrase 16th notes — in groups of three,
again by applying shifting accents. And with 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh
this pattern, we’ll learn about a highly use-

> > > > > > > > > >
.
ful and appealing rhythmic phrasing device
0 0 4 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 6 0 0 7 0 0 9 0 0 10 0 0
.
known as dotted-eighth syncopations.
To begin, I’m going to play steady 16th
notes entirely on the A string, using strict
alternate picking and the open string as FIG. 3
a rearticulated pedal tone and hitting the 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh
octave-higher A at the 12th fret on every T .> > > >. >. >
third note, starting on beat 1 (see FIGURE
B
. 12. 10 10 9 9 7 6 5
1). The result is a highly syncopated “threes-
on-fours” hemiola pattern with the naturally
accentuated high A note “popping” at a dif- 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee uh & uh 4 ee & uh 1 ee & uh 2 ee & uh 3 ee & uh 4 ee & uh
ferent spot each time it’s played, relative to
4
the beat. As you can see, in 4 meter the pat- > >. >. > > >. >. > > >.
.
tern takes three bars to complete and come 5 4 4 3 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 7 9 9 10
.
full circle, to the point where the fretted
high A note finally falls on beat 1 again.
A highly beneficial exercise, or drill, is
to practice running through this pattern Now, if we were to remove all the open A use a tie instead of a dotted eighth note, to
repeatedly while counting the 16th-note notes and instead hold each fretted note for show the breaks between the beats, per the
subdivisions out loud and tapping your the duration of three 16ths, we’re left with rules of rhythmic notation. (This example,
foot squarely on each beat. Doing so will the rhythmically sparser but equally synco- by the way, kind of reminds me of the super
definitely bolster your skills for playing and pated line shown in FIGURE 3. This is an bad-ass bass riff in “Jungle Boogie” by Kool
feeling rhythmically intense musical styles, example of a dotted-eighth syncopation pat- & the Gang.)
such as prog rock, fusion, metal and funk. tern. As you recall from a few lessons back, As an additional exercise, play FIGURE 3
A cool thing you can do with this pattern an augmentation dot placed to the right of a again, but now articulate each fretted note
is add a moving melody line with the fretted note indicates that its duration is increased staccato, cutting it short after picking it, thus
4
notes. In FIGURE 2, I’m additionally incor- by 50%. And so, in 4 meter, a dotted eighth adding rests between the notes. Again, be
porating a sort of bluesy-Dorian-chromatic note equals an eighth note tied to a 16th. sure to count and tap your foot as you play,
line that walks down the A string, skipping When crossing beats, however, you need to to maximize the benefit of the drill.
over certain notes, then back up again, using
just enough notes — 16 — that the line lands
on the starting high A each time you begin Senior Music Editor “Downtown” Jimmy Brown is an experienced, working
it again. (This line, by the way, brings to musician, performer and private teacher in the greater NYC area whose
mind the double-time outro riff in the song mission is to entertain, enlighten and inspire people with his guitar playing.
“B.Y.O.B.” by System of a Down.)

COLUMNS
For video of this lesson, go to
IN DEEP GuitarWorld.com/Holiday2020
by Andy Aledort
FIG. 1 FIG. 2
FOUR OFF THE G maj9 Am7
1 U
FLOOR, PART 2 T 3
2 5 5
3 T 5 3
2 5 2
3 5
3 7 3
More twists and turns A

B
3 4 4
4 A
B
5
5
0
. 3 4 4 5
on four-note 7th-chord 3 5
arpeggios FIG. 3
LAST MONTH’S COLUMN focused on four- U ~~~~~~ maj7 Am7 Bm7 Cmaj7 D7 Em7 F #m7 b 5 Gmaj7
3
note arpeggios based on the A Dorian mode
(A, B, C, D, E, F#, G), as played on different
5
5 4 2 4 2 0 2 4
.
2 2
T 3
4
5
5
7
7
5
4
7
5
8
7
10
9
12
11
A 4 5 7 5 7 9 10 12
string sets and in various areas of the fret- B 3 5 7
3 5 7 9 10
board. Let’s expand our look at 7th-chord

arpeggios built from the A Dorian mode by
incorporating chromaticism and a “scalar”
1
FIG. 4
U
approach. 2 5 2 2 5 2 25 2 2 5 3 7 3 3 7 3
An arpeggio is defined as a “broken T 3 4
3 3
4 3 4
3 3
4 3 4
3 3
4 3 4
3
4 5
5 5
5 4 5
3 5
5
A
chord,” meaning that the notes of a given B
chord are played individually and in suc-
cession. The chord tones are determined
4
U
by playing the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th scale 3 7 3 3 8
5 5 3 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
degrees; in A Dorian, these notes are A, C, 4 5 5 4 5 6 7 7 6 7 7 6 7 7 6 7
E and G. When these four notes are played
together, an Am7 chord is sounded. When
played individually, an Am7 arpeggio is
7
U
sounded. 7 10 7 7 10 7 7 10 7 7 10 8 12 8 8 12 8
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 10
A Dorian is considered a minor mode 8 9 9 8 9 9 8 9 9 8 9 10 11 11 10 11 11
because the 3rd scale degree, C, is a minor
3rd, or one and one half steps, above the
root note. In comparison, the major 3rd is
located two whole steps above the root note. 10
U
In the key of A, that note would be C#.
8 12 8 8 14
10 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
10 11 11 10 11 11 12 12 11 12 12 11 12 12 11 12
As detailed last month, A Dorian con-
sists of the same seven notes as the G major
scale (G, A, B, C, D, E, F#). The only differ-
ence is that the 2nd degree of the G major 13
U
12 15 12 12 15 12 12 15 12 12 15
scale, A, is now established as the new root 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
note (A, B, C, D, E, F#, G), which sounds the
13 14 14 13 14 14 13 14 14 13 14
A Dorian mode, which is deemed the sec-

ond mode of G major.
FIGURE 1 illustrates a Gmaj9 arpeggio 15
U
(G, B, D, F#, A). Starting with a decorative
14 17 14 14 17 14 14 17 14 14 17
15 15 15 15 15 15 15
chromatic slide from A# to B, the subse-
15 16 16 15 16 16 15 16 16 15 16
quent notes — D, F# and A — spell out the

rest of the arpeggio. Bar 2 illustrates these
notes played together as a Gmaj9 chord.
For our purposes in this column, we will successive scale degree, as illustrated in edly in ascending and descending form
apply this note series to the key of A minor, FIGURE 3. before moving up one scale degree to the
with A as our root note throughout. As We can generate a progression of four- next diatonic pattern. Be sure to memorize
shown in FIGURE 2, an Am7 chord is fol- note arpeggios by starting on each subse- each shape and incorporate slides and pull-
lowed by the same arpeggiated form shown quent higher note of A Dorian, as shown in offs to make each phrase sound as smooth
in FIGURE 1 but is recognized as an Am FIGURE 4. Each pattern is played repeat- as possible.
arpeggio (or more specifically, Am6sus4).
When we move the four-note arpeg-
gios up the fretboard in a scalar fashion, Guitar World Associate Editor Andy Aledort is recognized worldwide
reference is made to the harmonized scale, for his vast contributions to guitar instruction, via his many best-selling
wherein chords are formed from a 1-3-5-7 instructional DVDs, transcription books and online lessons.
pattern of stacked diatonic 3rds from each

COLUMNS MOORE For video of this lesson, go to
POWER GuitarWorld.com/Holiday2020
by Vinnie Moore
FIVE TO FOUR FIG. 1

B
FIG. 2
B
Alternating four- w/hybrid picking throughout U~~~~ ~~~~ 7 ~~~~
and five-note patterns T
7
10 7
7
10 7
7
10 7 T . 7
10 7 0 10 7 0 .
A
B
9 9 9 9
A
B
. 9 9
.
ONE OF MY favorite techniques when
soloing is to incorporate unusual and unex-
pected pull-offs to open strings in the midst FIG. 3 FIG. 4
of what otherwise sounds like normal blues- B
* ~~~ B U U
rock-style phrasing. The addition of an 7 7 7 7
unexpected open string accomplishes two T 10 7 0
9
10 7 0
9 9
T 7 0
9
7 0
9
A A
things: one, the given phrase is suddenly one B B
note longer, so a four-note phrase becomes *repeat previous beat
5 5
a quintuplet; another is that this open string
FIG. 5 FIG. 6
provides a melody note that can, when used
B B
properly, sound like it comes from out of (play 3 times)
~~~~~
nowhere. I first discovered ideas like this
T . 7
10 7 0
7 7
7 0 10 7 0
7
70 . T
7
10 7 0
7
10 7 0
from studying Eddie Van Halen’s playing,
specifically evident on such tracks as “Erup- B
. 9 9 9 9
. A
B
10 10 10
tion” and “I’m the One,” and soon began to

5 5 5 5
develop similar ideas of my own.
FIG. 7
Let’s start in the key of B with phrases B
based on the B minor pentatonic scale. The 7 7 7 7
(repeat previous bar)
7 7
~~~~~~
notes of B minor pentatonic are B, D, E, T 10 7 0 70 10 7 0 70 10 7 0 70
F#, A; intervallically speaking, this equals
10 10 10 10 10 10 10
A
1(root), b3, 4, 5, b7. Most people are well B
familiar with a lick like the four-note de- 5 5 5
scending line shown in FIGURE 1. The twist FIG. 8
is that I like to add the open B string into the 1
mix, via a double pull-off from A to F# to B
7 7 10 7 5
T 10 7 0
9
10 7 0
9
12 10 0
8
10 7 0
7
7 5 0
9
on the 2nd string. In FIGURE 2, I alternate A
this pattern with the four-note sequence B
illustrated in FIGURE 1. 5 5 5 5 5 5
When you cycle the quintuplet pattern
that includes the pull-off, as demonstrated 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
in FIGURE 3, the result is a fast barrage of
7
10 7 0
11
10
12 10 0
9
7
10 7 0
7
5
7 5 0
9
7
10 7 0
9 9
.
notes that is both rhythmically and melodi-
cally compelling. Articulation-wise, I like to
perform these kinds of phrases with hybrid 5 5 5 5 5
picking, combining fingerpicking and flat-

~~~~
FIG. 9
picking, and in these examples I pluck the
14 12 10 9 7
high E string with my middle finger and T 17 14 0 15 12 0 14 10 0 12 9 0 10 7 0
14 12 11 7 9 9
sound the rest of the notes with a combina- A
tion of picked downstrokes and pull-offs. B
A cool variation is to keep the pull-off 5 5 5 5 5
to the open B string but shorten the phrase
by one note, which results in B, F#, B, D, just as we had done in FIGURES 3 and 5. up and down the fretboard, using the vari-
as shown in FIGURE 4. I’ll then alternate The next step is to move the pattern ous notes of B minor pentatonic, sounded
between the five- and four-note variants, around the neck diatonically, staying for the on the high E string, as new starting points.
as demonstrated in FIGURE 5. The quick most part within the structure of B minor You can move this idea anywhere you like,
switch between five and four notes gives the pentatonic. In FIGURE 8, I randomly move as illustrated in FIGURE 9.
phrase a random, synthesizer-like feel.
Now that you have the idea, you can eas-
Vinnie Moore is an American guitarist and has been a member of the
D AV I D H E I T U R
ily change the tonality a little bit by chang- British hard rock band UFO since 2003. He is one of the most influential
ing one of the notes. In FIGURES 6 and 7, and celebrated players to emerge from the 1980s virtuoso shred guitar
I replace the 4th, E, with the flatted 5th, F. era. Vinnie's latest album is 2019's Soul Shifter.
Play this phrase in fast repeating sequences,

COLUMNS
ACOUSTIC For video of this lesson, go to
JOURNEY GuitarWorld.com/Holiday2020
by Molly Tuttle
ALL IS GOOD Capo at 5th fret

All music sounds a perfect 4th higher than written.
All tablature positions and chord names are relative to the capo.
How to play “Good Enough,”
FIG. 1
part 1
..
Em
.
1
.
0 0 0
A KEY ELEMENT of my guitar style is 5 5 3 1
0 0 4 4 2 0
switching between playing chords and 0 1 2
B 0 1 2
single notes. Most often, my guitar parts
naturally encompass both approaches, as it
..
C G
is essential for me to lay down foundational 3
.
0 0
rhythm parts to sing over, while also having 1 1 1 3 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
the freedom to embellish those parts with 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 5 5 2 0 2 0
3 3
single-note lines.
A perfect example of this approach can Dsus2 D/F #
be found on my song “Good Enough,” which 7
0 0 0 0
appears on my 2017 EP, Rise. I often play 3 3 3 3 3
0 2 2 2 2 0
this song unaccompanied, and I’ll sing the 0 0 0 0 4
lyric passages and then play lead parts and
add fills during the performance. I play the
FIG. 2
song with a capo at the 5th fret, and all of the
D Em
written examples in this column are notated 1
2 0 0
relative to the capo position: in other words, 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
0 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0
any unfretted string is notated with a “0” in 0 0 0 4 4 4 4 0 0
B 0
the tablature; a note sounded one fret higher
than the capo (at the 6th fret) is indicated
with a “1,” etc. The first chord in the song is a FIG. 3 Verse 1
standard “open-position” Em shape, though 1
Em C
0 0 0 0 0 0
with the capo at the 5th fret, it sounds a 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
concert-pitch Am chord. For our purposes, 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 0
B
J
2 2 2 2 0 2 3 3 3
all chord names are also relative to the capo 0 0
position, so this chord is notated as Em.
In the first part of the video, I do a play- 5
G D
3 3 3 3 3 3 0 0
through of an intro/verse/chorus/solo. I 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
begin by playing a version of the verse melo- 0 0 0 0 4
dy, and when I am playing unaccompanied, 3 2 3 3
or even in a group setting, I like to find ways
to augment the melody with different chord Em C
9
tones, working around the standard open 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
Em, C, G and D chord shapes. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 2 2 0 2 0 0
FIGURE 1 shows the intro, and instead 2 2 3 3 3
0
of simply replicating the verse melody, I’ll
add dyads, or two-note figures, to fill out G D
the sound, as in bar 2. I like to use different 13
3 3 3 3 2 0
articulation techniques and embellishments, 3 3 3 3 3 0 1
0 0 0 2 0 0 0
such as sliding into a note or “walking” up to 0 0 2 4 0
2 2
a chord, while remaining pretty true to the 3 3 3
original melody. Bar 3 ends with a single-
note phrase, which I insert to add interest to half of bar 2 consist of strumming, but I drop crosspicking in bars 7 and 8 on the G-to-D
the rhythm part, and bar 4 ends with an as- in a walk-up to C across beats 3 and 4 of bar chord change.
cending line that sets up the switch to G. 2. Bars 3 and 4 are played on the C chord, Be sure to work through all of these chord
Crosspicking also plays a very important with a combination of licks and crosspick- changes slowly and carefully, and strive for
role in the execution of this part. As shown in ing, followed by strumming on the G chord smooth and even execution, as you switch
FIGURE 2, I use crosspicking on each chord in bars 5 and 6 and then a switch back to between the different pick-hand techniques.
to drive the rhythm and the harmony along.
CHELSEA ROCHELLE
When I get to the verse section, I still take

Molly Tuttle is a supremely talented and diverse multi-instrumentalist
the same approach to filling out the rhythm and singer-songwriter who is well-versed in the languages of bluegrass,
part, by walking up to chords and adding acoustic folk, pop and Americana. Her new album, ...but i'd rather be with
some crosspicking. FIGURE 3 illustrates the you, was released August 28 via Compass Records.
verse section of the tune. Bar 1 and the first

Clutch guitarist
Tim Sult in 2009 —
holding a Gibson Les
Paul that current
Guitar World editor-
in-chief Damian Fanelli
bought used at a gui-
tar shop in Virginia a
couple of years later;
he later sold it to
a rabid Clutch fan.
There’s your random
factoid of the day!
PERFORMANCE NOTES
••• HOW TO PLAY THIS MONTH ’S SONGS • • •
“A QUICK DEATH IN TEXAS” “FORTUNATE SON”

Clutch Creedence Clearwater Revival
WITH THIS FAIRLY simple Notice the large intervallic gap THIS CLASSIC PROTEST rhythm and cram them into the
but highly appealing and hard- between the open low E note and song features CCR frontman and phrasing. And so you pick the
grooving song, Clutch’s veteran the notes played high up on the guitarist John Fogerty serving up note, then immediately slide or
guitarists Neil Fallon and Tim fretboard, which makes for an great melodic riffs and powerful hammer-on up to the “main” note
Sult prove that funky blues-rock angular, “bouncy” riff. Also note chord accompaniments to his vo- that follows.
is alive and well. the staccato dots that appear di- cals, which perfectly underscore Sometimes just a diagonal
The song’s riffs are based rectly above certain notes, which the potent message of his lyrics. slide is indicated in the tabs
on the tried-and-true E minor tell you to cut their duration As he had done for other CCR instead of a grace note, when it
pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D) and E short (technically, by 50%). For songs, such as “Proud Mary,” Fo- doesn’t really matter if the slide
blues scales (E, G, A, Bb, B, D) and example, for the A and G notes in gerty tuned his guitar down one is from one, two or more frets
feature catchy rhythmic phras- bars 7 and 8, you’ll want to tem- whole step while bassist Stu Cook away. This is the case with the
ing and interestingly contoured porarily loosen your fret-hand and co-guitarist Tom Fogerty Interlude riff John plays at sec-
melodies. Fallon kicks off the finger pressure on each note im- (John’s brother) played their tion D (bars 23-26), where the
tune with a soulful two-bar fig- mediately after picking it, which instruments in standard tuning. dyads (two-note chords) are slid
ure, for which he employs both will effectively stop it from ring- This enabled John to utilize a dif- into from an indeterminate point.
pick-hand palm muting (P.M.) ing and create the desired crisp, ferent set of chord voicings and (You’ll often see this with slide
and fret-hand muting to control punctuated articulation, with a open strings in a way that made guitar notation.)
his note durations, such as dur- brief rest after the note. for powerful-sounding riffs that You’ll notice the numerous
ing the brief pause and 16th rest Fret-hand muting is employed had great tone and were fairly boxed fills in this transcription,
after the first note in bars 1 and in a different way in bars 23 and easy to play. which indicate all the short,
2, and also to prevent the lower 24 (section E), in this case to The key to making the song’s tasteful lead fills that John had
strings from ringing as he strums create a pitchless, percussive bluesy intro riff sound authen- overdubbed behind his vocals
the high chord fill at the 12th fret “chuck” sound when a string is tic is to properly perform the and much simpler Gtr. 3 rhythm
on the top four strings at the end picked, as indicated by an “X” in decorative grace-note finger part on the studio recording.
of bar 2. the tablature. Here, the fretting slides and hammer-on, which Notice in these fills how the gui-
The repeating one-bar verse finger does not push the string are indicated by small tab num- tarist makes great use of subtle
figure, beginning at section B down to touch the fret at all and bers. Grace notes are not math- quarter-step bends, or “curls,” as
W I L L I R E L A N D/ F U T U R E
(bar 3) is a great example of how instead lightly touches it, just ematically counted as part of the they’re often called, which bend
to craft an appealing, “hooky” enough so that it does not ring rhythm of the measure and occur the pitch up just enough to give
riff on only one string, using the when picked. “by grace of” the following beat. the note a soulful “sassiness.”
open string and position shifts. — JIMMY BROWN Basically, you add them to the — JIMMY BROWN
guitarworld.com 93
TRANSCRIPTIONS

Clutch
As heard on PSYCHIC WARFARE
Words and Music by NEIL FALLON, RICHARD SULT, DAN MAINES and JEAN-PAUL GASTER • Transcribed by JEFF PERRIN
E5 E5 D5 G5
7fr. 7fr. 5fr. 10fr.
134 13 13 13
A Intro (0:00)
Moderately q 94
N.C. (E5)
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~

Gtr. 1 (elec. w/overdrive) let ring
1 P.M. P.M. P.M.
. .
| | |
‰
12 12
T . 12 12
A
B
. 2 2 0 2 2
12
12
14
12 14 .
0 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 3
3 3
B Verses (0:10, 0:30, 1:16, 1:37)

1. My nasty Yankee mannerisms
2. He was the G.M. of a Tracktor Supply
3. I crawled my way into The Doom Saloon
4. I found myself atop a stolen roan
Fill 1
3 Gtr. 1
let ring
.
. ‰
12
12
12
12
. 12
12 12
14
14
*G
. . .
.
. . .
0 0 15 12 12 10 0 10 12 0 0 15 12 12 10 0 10 12
*Doubled throughout.
.
B
. . .
. 7 7 5 5 7
. 7 7 5 5 7
.
0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0
didn't jive with the local traditions

Well aquainted with the guns and knives
in an attempt to cauterize my wounds
Quite convinced that I would never see home
5 .
Gtr. 2
. G

0 0 15 12 12 10 0 10 12
. 0 0 15 12 12 10 0 10 12
.
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 twice (see bar 3)

WORDS AND MUSIC BY NEIL FALLON, RICHARD SULT, DAN MAINES AND JEAN-PAUL GASTER
COPYRIGHT (C) 2015 SEA GATOR MUSIC
ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (US) LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED USED BY PERMISSION
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC

How was I to know she had a jealous
Sometimes I swear I have less sense than a bag of hammers
I did a terrible job And they became powerfully infected
And all on account of my lack of common manners
(A5) (G5)
7 .
Gtr. 2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3
.
Bass
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3
1.
husband
(E5)
Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 twice (see bar 3)
let ring
9 Gtr. 1
‰
12
12
12
12 .
12
12 12
14
14 .
2.
C Chorus (0:46, 1:52, 2:53)
I prayed for courage I prayed for love
(E5) (D5) (E5) (G5) (E5) (D5) (E5) (G5) (E5)

Gtr. 2 (w/wah pedal)
11

7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7
. 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
0 0 0 6 5 3 0
Bass
5 5 5 5
7 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 7 7 7
0 0 0 6 5 3 0
I prayed for guidance from the heavens above
(D5) (E5) (G5) (E5) (D5) (E5) (G5) (E5)

13

7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7
. 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
0 0 0 6 5 3 0
Bass Fig. 2
5 5 5 5
7 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 7 7 7
0 0 0 6 5 3 0
guitarworld.com 97
TRANSCRIPTIONS
3rd chorus, skip ahead to H (bar 34)

I prayed to know divine protections
(D5) (E5) (G5) (E5) (D5) (E5) (G5) (E5)

15 Gtr. 2

7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7
. 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
0 0 0 6 5 3 0
Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 (see bar 13)

2nd chorus, skip ahead to E Interlude (bar 23)
But now I'm prayin' for a quick death in Texas
(D5) (E5) (G5) (E5) (w/sub-octave effect)
Gtr. 1 1 1
17
14 14 14 14 12
Gtr. 2 ~~~~~~~~~~ 1/4

7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7
. 5 5
7 5 7 5 5 5
0 7 7 5 7 5 3
Bass
5 5 5 5
7 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 5 5 5
0 7 7 5 7 5 3
D (1:06)
Hey hey
(E5)
Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 1 twice (see bar 3)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .
Gtr. 1 1
19
15 14 14 14 12
14 14

3
Go back to B 2nd Verse (bar 3)

Please forgive me Mister Gibbons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gtr. 1 let ring
21 (sub-octave effect off)
‰
12 12
12 12
12 14
14 12 12 14
.
Gtr. 2
. .
Rhy. Fill 1

0 0 15 12 12 10 0 10 12
. 0
.
Bass
. .
Bass Fill 1
7 7 5 5 7
.
0 0 3 0 0

“A QUICK DEATH IN TEX AS”
E Interlude (2:12)
(E5)
Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fill. 1 (see bar 22)
Gtr. 1
23 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fill 2
.
1
15 14 14 14 12
14 14
Gtr. 3 (elec. w/dist.)

Fill 3
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X X
X X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X X
X X
X
X
X
X X X X X
X X X X X
Bass plays Bass Fill 1 (see bar 22)
N.C.
Gtr. 3 plays Fill 3 twice (see bar 24)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gtr. 1 1
25 end Fill 2
14 14 12
14 14
Gtr. 2 (w/Micro POG polyphonic octave effect*)
7 9
9
*Effect produces additional notes

both one octave above and below the original pitch.
Bass
5 7
7
F (2:23)
3 3
=
(2nd time) The saloon

Gtr. 1 plays Fill. 2 (see bar 23)
Gtr. 3 plays Fill 3 twice (see bar 24)
27 Gtr. 2
. .
. 9
7 8 9
9 9 7
9 8 7 9
10 7
9
7 9
.
. .
Bass
. 7
5 6 7
7 7 5
7 6 5 7 3 0 7
5 7 .
guitarworld.com 99
TRANSCRIPTIONS
G Bridge (2:33)
doors stopped swingin' the piano player stopped playin' (Hey hey)
The preacher stood up on a table in his right hand he had a bible (Hey hey)

29
.
. 9
7 8 9
9 9 7
9 8 7 9
10 7
9
7 9
.
. 7
5 6 7
7 7 5
7 6 5 7 3 0 7
5 7
1. 2.

C
q q=q q
In the shadows I could hear archaic Spanish phrases (Hey hey)
And in his left the business end of a Winchester #
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gtr. 1 1
31
.
14 14
14 14 12
. 14
Gtr. 2
.
9
7 8 9
9 9 7
9 8 7 9
10 7
9
7 9
. 9 7
9 8 7 9
10 7
.
Bass
7
5 6 7
7 7 5
7 6 5 7 3 0 7
5 7 . 7 5
7 6 5 7 3 0
H (3:09)
But now I'm prayin' for a quick death in Texas
34
Gtr. 2 .

5 5
7 5 7 7 7 7 7
0 0
Bass
5 5
7 5 7 7 7 7 7
0 0 0

“A QUICK DEATH IN TEX AS”
I Outro (3:14)
Beaumont Amarillo got a line on me Galveston El Paso Nacogdoches

E5
Gtr. 1
36
.
*
9 ‰ 9 ‰ 9 ‰
. 9 9 9 9
9 9 9 9
7 7 7 7
9
7
9 9 9 9
9 9 9 9
7 7 7 7
9 9 9 9
9 9 9 9
7 7 7 7
9
7
9 9 9 9
9 9 9 9
7 7 7 7
9 9 9 9
9 9 9 9
7 7 7 7
9
7
9 9 9 9
9 9 9 9
7 7 7 7
0 0 0 0 0 0
*Note tied on repeats only.
(E5) (D5)(E5) (G5) (E5) (D5)(E5) (G5) (E5) (D5)(E5) (G5) (E5)
Gtr. 2
.
*
.. ..
. 9 7 9 9 9 12
7 5 7 7 7 10
12 9
10 7
9
7
9 7 9 9 9 12
7 5 7 7 7 10
12 9
10 7
8 7 5 9 7 9 9 9 12
7 5 7 7 7 10
12 9
10 7
9
7
0 0 0 0 0 0
Gtr. 3
.
. 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7
. 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7
.
0 0 0 6 5 3 0 0 0
Bass
. *
. 0
7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7 7 7
0 0
7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
6 5 3 0 0
7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7 7 7 7
0
1., 2., 3. 4.
Abiline Abiline
39
‰ .
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
. 9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
9
9
7
0 0 0
(D5) (E5) (G5) (E5) (D5) (E5) (G5) (E5)
.
9
7
7
5
9
7
9
7
9
7
12
10
12
10
9
7
8 7 5 . 9
7
7
5
9
7
9
7
9
7
12
10
12
10
9
7
8 7 5
0 0 0 0
.
7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
. 7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
0 6 5 3 0 0 6 5 3 0
.
0
7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
6 5 3 0
. 0
7 5 7 7 7
5 5
7
6 5 3 0
guitarworld.com 101
TRANSCRIPTIONS
“FORTUNATE SON”
Creedence Clearwater Revival
As heard on WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS
Words and Music by JOHN FOGERTY • Transcribed by PATRICK MABRY
Guitars 1, 3 and 4 are tuned down one whole step (low to high: D G C F A D).
Guitar 2 is in standard tuning (low to high: E A D G B E).
Bass is in standard tuning (low to high: E A D G).
chords for Gtr. 3 (tuned down one whole step) chords for Gtr. 2 (standard tuning)
A5 G5 D5 E5 *
[G] [F] [C5] [D5]
5fr. 5fr. 7fr. 5fr.
134 134 1144 1144 1342 1342 1144 1144

All notes and chords for Gtrs. 1, 3 and 4 sound one step lower than written (key of G). *Chord names in brackets indicate concert key
harmony throughout (key of G).
A Intro (0:00)
Moderately q 138
N.C. (A) (G/A) (D/A) (A5)

1 Gtr. 1 (elec. w/bright, slightly dirty t e) . . . . 1/4
. .
*
5 5 3 3 2 2 0
T
A
B
. 4 6 2 4 0 2 0 2
3 0
. .
*Let open A note

ring into next
[G] [F/G] [C/G] [G5] bar both times.
Bass (repeat previous bar)
. .
. .
T
A
B
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
B Verses (0:18, 0:47, 1:31)

1. Some folks are born made ! Whew, they're red white and blue
2. Some folks are born silver spoon in hand Lord, don't they help themselves yeah
3. Some folks inherit eyes Whew, they'll send you down to war, Lord
A5 G5 D5 A5
$%
(see next page)
Gtr. 1 plays Fill 2 second and
7 Gtr. 3 (elec. w/fuzz tone) third times (see next page)
.
. 7 5
7
5 7
5 3 5 5
[G] [F] [C5] [G]

*Gtr. 2 (elec. w/clean tone)
Rhy. Fig. 1 end Rhy. Fig. 1
. ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰
. 4
5
5
4
5
5
4
5
5
4
5
5
2
3
3
2
3
3
2
3
3
2
3
3
2
3
3
5
5
3
5
5
3
5
5
3
5
5
3
5
5
3
4
5
5
4
5
5
4
5
5
4
5
5
3 3 3 3 0
J 1 1 1 1
J
1 3 3 3 3 3
J 3 3 3 3 0
J
*standard tuning
Bass
. Bass Fig. 1 end Bass Fig. 1
. 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
“FORTUNATE SON”
WORDS AND MUSIC BY JOHN FOGERTY
COPYRIGHT (C) 1969 JONDORA MUSIC C/O CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING
COPYRIGHT RENEWED
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED USED BY PERMISSION
REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD LLC

And when the band plays "Hail to the chief" Ooh they point the cannon at you yeah
But when the taxman come to the door Lord, the house lookin' like a rummage sale yeah
And when you ask 'em how much should we give Whew, they only answer more, more, more no
A5 G5 D5 A5
[F/G] [F] [C5] [G]
!
Gtr. 2 repeats Rhy. Fig. 1 (see bar 7)
11 Gtr. 3
7
7 5 5 5
5 3 5 3
Bass plays Bass Fig. 1 (see bar 7)
C Chorus (0:33, 1:02, 1:45)

It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no senator's son son
It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no millionaire's son, Lord no
It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no military son son no
A5 E5 D5 A5
!

15 Gtr. 3
9 7
7 7 5 7
5 0 5 5
[G] [D5] [C5] [G]

Gtr. 2
Rhy. Fig. 2
4 4 ‰ 4 ‰ 4 7 7 ‰ 7 ‰ 7 5 5 ‰ 5 ‰ 5 5 4 4 ‰ 4 ‰ 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 5
3 3 3 3
J
3 5 5 5 5
J
0 3 3 3 3
J
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Bass
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
guitarworld.com 103
TRANSCRIPTIONS

$ & %#&"
E '&$""$'%$
It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no fortunate one no

A5 E5 D5 A5
Gtr. 2 repeats Rhy. Fig. 2 &$#+%,$%&& %#$("'% #
(see bar 15) &$#+% %"!& % ")
Gtr. 3 &$#+%% &$& % ")
19
.
7
9
7
7
5 7
.
5 7 5 5
[G] [D5] [C5] [G]
.
Bass
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 3
0 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
.
D Interlude (1:16) !& " &" B

$($%
N.C. (A 75 ) (Adim7) (G/A) (A)
[G 75 ] [Gdim7] (F/G) [G]
&$ #+%%")
&$
#+%%"!& %!*&#
.. ..
23 Gtr. 1 (doubled)
.8 7 7 3 3 5 5 .
.9 8 8 4 4 6 6
.
. .
Bass *
. 3 3 3 3 3
.
"!&#+&% !"& ,$%& "'$ & %

“ FORTUNATE SON ”
E Outro Chorus (2:00)
It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no fortunate one no no no

It ain't me it ain't me I ain't no fortunate son no no no
A5 E5 D5 A5
[G] [D5] [C5] [G]
Gtr. 4 plays Fill 10 second time
(see below)
Gtr. 2 plays Rhy. Fig. 2
!
(see bar 15) Gtr. 1 plays Fill 11 second time (see below)
27 Gtr. 1 (repeat and fade)
. .
. 7
9
7
7
5 7
.
5 7 5 5
Bass
. .
. 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 3
0 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
.
guitarworld.com 105
TONAL RECALL
THE SECRETS BEHIND
FAMOUS GUITAR
“GUITARS, CADILLACS”
SOUNDS
DWIGHT YOAKAM | GUITARS, CADILLACS, ETC., ETC., 1986 | GUITARIST: PETE ANDERSON | STORY BY
YCCHRIS GILL
COUNTRY MUSIC RADIO was dominated by slick

Pete Anderson [left] performs
“urban cowboy” pop sounds during the mid Eight- with Dwight Yoakam in the mid Eighties
ies, but in 1986 a handful of artists with classic, tra-
ditional-inspired sounds emerged to shake up the
scene. The release of Dwight Yoakam’s debut album
Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. was one of the peak breakthrough
events of what became known as the “New Traditionalist” move-
ment, delivering the hit singles “Honky Tonk Man” and “Guitars,
Cadillacs.” Driven by guitarist Pete Anderson’s rambunctious Tele
twang, which was reminiscent of the Bakersfield sound of Don Rich
with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, and Roy Nichols with Merle
Haggard and the Strangers, Yoakam’s music even enjoyed crossover
appeal with rockabilly, cow-punk and alternative music fans.
The core of Anderson’s Telecaster tone on “Guitars, Cadillacs”
is generated by the classic combination of a Fifties Tele into a Six-
ties blackface Fender amp, in this case a 1956 Telecaster into a 1965
Deluxe Reverb, but what makes it stand out is the meticulous atten- midrange always sounds like it’s at 3.”
tion to every little detail. The track was recorded at Capitol Stu- Other notable details include Anderson’s
dio B in Hollywood, and Anderson’s rig was miked with a Shure custom light top/heavy bottom string gaugges
SM-57 into a 1073 mic preamp on a Neve 8068 console. Engineer for slinky bends and low-end wallop, picking tthe
Dusty Wakeman says he used either a Urei 1176 or LA-2A for light strings close to the bridge and his “backward ds”
compression, and the track was recorded on a Studer A-800 with pick grip. “I used the heaviest, stiffest regular-
Ampex 456 tape — all of which comprise a classic signal path for size nylon pick I could find and spun it around
stellar guitar tone. so I was picking the string with the flat edge
But as anyone who has plugged a Tele into a Deluxe Reverb in instead of the point,” Anderson says.
search of Anderson’s tone can attest, there’s more to his mojo. One The most surprising secret of all is that
of the most important details is that Anderson’s Deluxe Reverbs had Anderson also employed a Scholz Rockman set
numerous modifications performed by amp guru Jim Williams. “I to the Edge setting. “We split the guitar’s signal
wanted as much clean headroom as I could get,” Anderson says. “Jim and recorded the miked Deluxe and a direct sig-
put in more powerful transformers, 6L6 tubes and a solid-state rec- nal from the Rockman simultaneously. The Deeelux xe
tifier, so it’s as loud, clean and powerful as a two-tube Fender amp sounded pretty good on its own, but when you rode up u the
can be. He also tweaked the midrange so it sounds like it’s dialed to fader on the Rockman track it really cleaned up the sound
10. Normally a Deluxe Reverb is wired so the with this brilliant presence and bite.”
ORIGINAL GEAR
GUITAR: 1956 Fender Telecaster
with maple neck (bridge pickup),
Volume: 10, Tone: 1
AMP: 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb

modified by Jim Williams with
Twin Reverb transformers, 6L6 L6
GET THE SOUND, CHEAP!
power tubes, solid-state rectifierr,
midrange resistor and Electro- Squieer Classic Vibe ’50s Telecaster
Voice EVM-12S 12-inch speake er Reverend Guitars Pete Anderson Eastsider
(Vibrato channel, Input 1, Voluume e: T (If you’re willing to spend a little extra, this is
4, Treble: 4.5, Bass: 2.5, Reverb: Pete’s signature
s instrument from Reverend)
2, Speed: 0, Intensity: 0) and Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV 1x12 combo
Scholz Rockman (Edge setting g, Seymmour Duncan Antiquity Tele bridge
MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Chorus Off) pickup
STRINGS/TUNING: D’Addario o XL
L TONE T TIP: The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV
Nickel Wound custom hybrid set has 6L66 tubes and a midrange control, so it
.009, .011, .015, .030, .042, .052/ has a s imilar vibe to Pete’s modified Deluxe
Standard Reverb s. For authentic vintage Tele twang,
replace
p e the chrome bridge saddles with a
PICK: Jim Dunlop Standard red
brass Fender Vintage Telecaster Bridge
nylon 1.0mm
Saddle set.
110 guitarworld.com
9000 9001

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COVER PHOTO: JO SH CHE USE

12 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

ANGUS YOUNG — AND SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR Jimmy Brown

SOME OLD-SCHOOL BLUES VIDEO EDITOR Alan Chaput

LICENSING Guitar World is available for licensing.

14 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

of magazines about hair care and cross-country “Guitar Safaris”

16 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

If you’ve created a drawing,

Also, please let us know

GARY CLARK JR. BY MICHAEL TAFT LINDA MA NZ E R BY DICK BOA K

DEFENDERS of the Faith

Oliver Sean Mike Wise

18 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

20 22 ROOKIE SURF'S UP! 29

ourselves. But it came out

think of rhythm and melodies. I absolutely

20 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

The Black Dahlia

This Wretched Underworld

22 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

Dressed for success! Rookie's guitarists include Christopher

24 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

HAVOK VOCALIST/RHYTHM shredder

return to venues further down the line. “If

Baby from Hell, MXR overdrives, ISP

26 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

28 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

Got my first real six-string

Break on through to the other side

Just a castaway, an island lost at sea

"We're at a certain age

32 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

TERMINALformer bandmate Mike Portnoy

36 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

38 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

40 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

44 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

46 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

and pick out all sion.” Angus laughs.

those ideas” right word. But I just look at everything

48 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

You clearly have this guitar thing fig-

What do you practice?

50 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

54 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

There’s something compositionally elegant about “book-ending”

INTRO 1 easy acoustic in E

INTRO 2 advanced acoustic in E

INTRO 3 easy acoustic in G

INTRO 4 advanced acoustic in G

INTRO 5 easy acoustic in A

INTRO 8 advanced in E INTRO 7: EASY IN E

Without the minor blues, many classic

ist Peter Green, this idea focuses on wring-

56 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020

(Gm) ...and Remler in 1990 (D7)

INTRO 10: ADVANCED IN G MINOR E7 Edim7

INTRO 11: EASY IN E

endary “Beano” album, this lick has the

INTRO 13: EASY IN B FLAT

0 3 53 0 7 0 3 53 0 example of the symmetry often present in

58 GU I TA R WOR L D • HOL I DAY 2020