Latest articles by Mark McStea
Zakk Wylde cracks us up with tales of Ozzy as he reveals the stories behind his greatest tracks
The heavy metal shredder also explains how he fuses together Pat Martino and Jimi Hendrix in his practice sessions
Guitarist Billy Duffy tells the story behind the song that gave the Cult a second life
The guitarist says the hit track was key to helping them shed their goth reputation and develop their own sound and image
"I’m still in denial." Jimmie Vaughan on the pain that lingers from Stevie Ray's death
The Austin legend shared his thoughts with us this past year while discussing guitar highlights from his long career
Martin Barre tells how a bogus guitar became his main axe in Jethro Tull’s early days
The guitarist also tells us how he stays excited about playing more than 60 years down the road
John Rzeznik reveals how his odd alternate tuning resulted in a song that's reached 2 billion streams
The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” has become one of the most played songs in the world
Brian Setzer played Eddie Cochran's guitar just as he left it in 1960: "He was way ahead of his time with how he strung it."
Today is Eddie Cochran’s birthday. We asked Setzer what made the '50s guitar icon such an innovator. Here's what he told us
George Lynch recalls the pressure to create memorable solos in the guitar-hero years of the Dokken era
Here's what he told us about the five songs that define his career
From Winger to Dokken, Whitesnake, Night Ranger, and his solo albums, Reb Beach looks back on his career, and his greatest solos
Four decades down the road, the Winger guitarist explains to GP that the band deserved far more than the ‘hair metal’ label
Walter Trout is healthier and playing better than ever, but he’s still being dragged down by the world around him
On Broken, Trout – with some help from Dee Snider and a ’60s Coral electric sitar – tries to bring hope in a divided world through some of the most fiery licks of his career
"Like somebody trying to string telephone wire across the Grand Canyon…" Duane Eddy: My Career in Five Songs
His twangy guitar helped Duane Eddy travel across decades and genres. These are the top cuts from his long-running journey.
How Duane Eddy wrote his twanging, game-changing instrumental smash, Rebel Rouser
Needing an intro for his shows, Eddy – with the help of an empty 2,000-gallon tank – created one of the most influential guitar instrumentals of all time
“I went to Mickie Most's office with an acoustic guitar and played it. It was almost like one of those clichéd movie moments: he said, ‘That’s going to be a hit!’”: Session guitar ace Chris Spedding reveals the stories behind five of his best songs
A long-standing sideman to Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry and the late Robert Gordon, Chris Spedding is a master of tasteful playing – just don't expect him to spend too much time looking back at his voluminous discography
“Slash came in with the riff, and I got behind the drum kit... we got it down real quick”: Lenny Kravitz breaks down 5 of his classic songs
High-octane collaborations, sudden, manufacturing-halting bursts of inspiration... the stories behind these songs are as eclectic as the tunes themselves
“People used to show up in the parking lot and ask the crew to tell me that they had guitars to sell... One guy was facing trial and needed money for his lawyer. That's how I got my goldtop Les Paul”: Lenny Kravitz on recording, and unlikely gear finds
Since his first release, Lenny Kravitz has been the master of impeccable riffs, perfect guitar tone, and genre-melding music. As he releases his fiery new album, he takes GP inside his creative process and incredible collection of vintage guitars
“Sly Stallone asked me about why AC/DC records sounded so powerful – I told him about tape compression...”: Survivor's The Eye of the Tiger beat out Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust for use in Rocky III – here's how the '80s smash came together
Though the rewards were ultimately huge, the process of putting together one of the most iconic rock songs of the 1980s – guitarist Frankie Sullivan tells GP – was sometimes a tense one
“My version of 'Fire' attracted some attention. I tried to imagine how Muddy Waters would have played it… Hell, I’m not going to compete with Jimi Hendrix!” Pete Anderson charts his career in five songs
From Dwight Yoakam to Michelle Shocked — Pete Anderson picks the tunes that put him on the map.
“I spent five eight-hour days working on that solo until I knew I had it”: Steve Lynch on how Autograph conquered the airwaves with debut single Turn Up The Radio
Influenced by Harvey Mandel and Emmett Chapman, Turn Up the Radio announced the arrival of Steve Lynch…
"Waiting for the Bus and Jesus Just Left Chicago? In essence, it’s a blues suite in 4/4 and 6/8 time..." The career of Billy Gibbons, blues guitar supremo, in five songs
From early days in Moving Sidewalks, opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience to taking the world by storm on 1980s MTV with ZZ Top, he’s defied convention. Here are five deep cuts Billy Gibbons considers his best
How Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and "the Randy Rhoads school of soloing" helped Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde write No More Tears
Zakk Wylde talks through the making of Ozzy Osbourne’s immortal 1991 track, No More Tears
“We Got One Play on MTV at 1:55 a.m. Then Everything Just Lit up”: Reb Beach Reveals How “Seventeen” Rescued Winger From Obscurity
The band’s 1989 hit saved them... and became a mark of hair-metal infamy
Watch the Official Trailer for New SRV Music Doc, ‘Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan: Brothers in Blues’
Video Featuring previously unseen family photos and insightful interviews with the Vaughan brothers plus Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons and more, this fascinating documentary is available to watch now on streaming services and DVD
"We Set up in a Circle, Just Like We Did Onstage, Put Mics on Everything and Ran Through the Songs a Couple of Times": Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton Tell the Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Game-Changing Debut Album, ‘Texas Flood’
Faced with a choice between David Bowie and his own band, Stevie Ray Vaughan took a bet on the blues and unleashed one of the greatest blues-rock albums ever made
“I Think Metal Plays From the Waist up, and We Play From the Waist Down”: Billy Duffy Reveals His Top Five Career-Defining Tracks
The Cult axeman tells the stories behind the tunes that made him an alt-rock guitar hero
