Player archive

March 2024

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15 articles

March 26
- “I was playing the Breeders' Divine Hammer, and my whole hand cramped up, I couldn’t move it... It seemed so simple, but it was something I would never play”: J Mascis went electric for his new solo album, but (mostly) without his usual Jazzmaster
March 25
- “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
March 20
- “Sister Rosetta Tharpe inspired artists like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Chuck Berry, and helped give birth to rock and roll, soul, and electric blues”: A brief look back at the career of a perennially under-appreciated rock guitar pioneer
- “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
March 19
- “I had a ’60s Guild 12-string that was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy. Guild rebuilt the back for me... ever since, it sounds amazing”: How Rich Robinson used resurrected Guilds, and an unusual Fender amp, to make magic with the reunited Black Crowes
March 14
- “Link Wray does it all, but his style also reminds us how captivating a few well-chosen riffs can be when combined with compelling tone, passion, and musicality”: Link Wray's Rumble (1956–62) is an essential document of ‘less is more’ guitar playing
March 13
- “What impressed me the most was, at 72 years old, the guy still gets excited like a little kid, like a true rock fan... He had a lot of ideas”: Steve Brown details the inspiring process of working with Ace Frehley on his shocking new album, 10,000 Volts
March 12
- “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
March 11
- “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
March 8
- “It’s mind-blowing to know I was a huge influence on a new crop of guitar players in the same way that Hendrix, Page, and Beck had an impact on me”: Ace Frehley on the creation of his new solo album, and the '59 Les Paul he'll forever regret selling
March 7
- “Mick Taylor would play the top lines. Keith Richards would write most of the songs... Once, Keith said, ‘You play too f*cking loud. I can’t work with you in the room right now‘”: Andy Johns on the Rolling Stones' turbulent Exile on Main St. sessions
March 6
- “There’s a riff that represents my twisted idea of how Aerosmith might sound in 5/4”: How Guthrie Govan channeled his inner Steve Reich, and Steve Cropper, on the Aristocrats' humorous, musically dazzling new album, Duck
March 5
- “When I went to my first meeting with Elton, I immediately hit him with ideas. Elton saw my willingness to put myself out there”: Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone reveals how learning the sitar benefited his guitar playing, and how (not) to get a gig
March 4
- “When I switched to guitar, I still had the piano in me, so I developed the two-handed tapping technique to play the guitar more like a piano”: Stanley Jordan on playing piano and guitar simultaneously, and the pitfalls of higher (and lower) frets
March 1
- “I was working with Ibanez in the mid-'70s, and they showed me a new guitar from Japan. I played it, and they told me they'd made it for George Benson. I said, ‘You can call the police, but I'm taking it’: Bob Weir on Ratdog, and his unique custom models