Frank Zappa Dweezil Zappa on the time he taught Eddie Van Halen how to play one of his dad’s most difficult riffs Dweezil had looked up to Eddie all his life, but the apprentice became the master one night in 2010 Dweezil Zappa reveals the ins and outs of Frank Zappa's futuristic setup Though guitar gear, of course, has advanced in leaps and bounds since Frank Zappa's heyday, the elder Zappa enthusiastically pushed its technological limits "I showed Eddie Van Halen some of what I had to learn in order to pull off Frank’s music... Eddie said, 'Who would've thought that you'd be giving me a guitar lesson!': How Dweezil Zappa took EVH inside his father's playing, and left him in awe In this vintage GP interview, Dweezil also reflected on the idiosyncratic nature of his father's soloing, and how the elder Zappa worked around his technical limitations Latest Frank Zappa Adrian Belew recounts his audition with Frank Zappa: "We sat on his purple couch. I placed my Pignose amplifier face down on it so I could get a little bit of sustain... At the end of it, he reached out his hand and said, ‘You got the job’" By Jimmy Leslie published 8 November 23 Belew got the gig in the end, but his audition was anything but smooth sailing... “My Goal Was Simply Longevity – to Have a Long Career – Not to Become Famous”: Steve Lukather Looks Back on His Extraordinary Life as a Guitarist By Jude Gold published 18 April 23 From Toto and Boz Scaggs to Michael Jackson and Ringo Starr, it’s hard to name a guitarist who has landed more dream gigs than Luke “He Just Wanted Me to Go Wild on the Guitar”: Adrian Belew Reveals How David Bowie Helped Him Become a More Creative Player By Mark McStea published 12 April 23 The guitarist recalls his “wild and unusual” approach to recording the final instalment of Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, 'Lodger' Sick of Playing the Same Old Lead Lines? Here’s How Guitar Players Like Robert Fripp, Bill Frisell and Frank Zappa Broke the Mold By Patrick Brennan published 9 March 23 Learn to play “outside” by superimposing arpeggios over chord changes Watch a “17-Year-Old” John Frusciante Shredding Like Steve Vai in the ‘80s By Rod Brakes published 10 February 23 VIDEO The teenage guitarist shows off some fretboard pyrotechnics in this rare clip of his pre-Red Hot Chili Peppers band, IKE VIDEO Heard on Classic Records by the Cult, the Smiths, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Metallica, Talking Heads, King Crimson and More, the Boss and Roland Chorus Sounds Are a Mainstay of Rock By Dave Hunter published 7 February 23 A brief history of artists’ affection for Boss and Roland’s industry-leading chorus effects “He Will Eventually Be Remembered as One of the Great Composers of Our Time”: Adrian Belew, Don Preston, Mike Keneally and Jon Anderson Remember Frank Zappa By Grant Moon published 26 January 23 The musical method behind the perceived madness of a “genius” guitarist “He Picked Me up off the Floor and Said, ‘Honey, You Play Good Guitar!’”: Alice Stuart Talks Playing With Albert King and Frank Zappa By Sue Foley published 24 January 23 There were few female guitar role models in the mid-’60s when this trailblazer’s career took off Frank Zappa's Favorite Guitars and Amps By Darrin Fox published 22 December 22 “Frank rarely used anything stock": Dweezil Zappa reveals the custom gear behind some of his late father's greatest recordings in this essential read from the 'GP' vault Watch Captain Beefheart Guitarist Jeff Cotton’s New “Does It Work for You?” Music Video By Rod Brakes published 28 July 22 Video “Magic Band fans will like the song,” says the guitarist fka Antennae Jimmy Semens. Video 1 2 3 Archives Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors LATEST ARTICLES1David Gilmour talks soloing in Guitar Player's guide to the Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time2"It's a very weird situation, and I don't think I'll ever understand it." Guitarist K.K. Downing updates his status with Judas Priest as he tells the story behind the song that defined the group's heavy-metal image 3The world’s first seven-string Fender Stratocaster is here4"It's great. I dig this!" Watch Eddie Van Halen compose "Amsterdam" on a Charvel guitar in an unearthed home video from 1987 — eight years before the song's official release5Rory Gallagher’s Strat sells for $1.16 million at auction before being donated to the National Museum of Ireland
Adrian Belew recounts his audition with Frank Zappa: "We sat on his purple couch. I placed my Pignose amplifier face down on it so I could get a little bit of sustain... At the end of it, he reached out his hand and said, ‘You got the job’" By Jimmy Leslie published 8 November 23 Belew got the gig in the end, but his audition was anything but smooth sailing...
“My Goal Was Simply Longevity – to Have a Long Career – Not to Become Famous”: Steve Lukather Looks Back on His Extraordinary Life as a Guitarist By Jude Gold published 18 April 23 From Toto and Boz Scaggs to Michael Jackson and Ringo Starr, it’s hard to name a guitarist who has landed more dream gigs than Luke
“He Just Wanted Me to Go Wild on the Guitar”: Adrian Belew Reveals How David Bowie Helped Him Become a More Creative Player By Mark McStea published 12 April 23 The guitarist recalls his “wild and unusual” approach to recording the final instalment of Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, 'Lodger'
Sick of Playing the Same Old Lead Lines? Here’s How Guitar Players Like Robert Fripp, Bill Frisell and Frank Zappa Broke the Mold By Patrick Brennan published 9 March 23 Learn to play “outside” by superimposing arpeggios over chord changes
Watch a “17-Year-Old” John Frusciante Shredding Like Steve Vai in the ‘80s By Rod Brakes published 10 February 23 VIDEO The teenage guitarist shows off some fretboard pyrotechnics in this rare clip of his pre-Red Hot Chili Peppers band, IKE
Heard on Classic Records by the Cult, the Smiths, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Metallica, Talking Heads, King Crimson and More, the Boss and Roland Chorus Sounds Are a Mainstay of Rock By Dave Hunter published 7 February 23 A brief history of artists’ affection for Boss and Roland’s industry-leading chorus effects
“He Will Eventually Be Remembered as One of the Great Composers of Our Time”: Adrian Belew, Don Preston, Mike Keneally and Jon Anderson Remember Frank Zappa By Grant Moon published 26 January 23 The musical method behind the perceived madness of a “genius” guitarist
“He Picked Me up off the Floor and Said, ‘Honey, You Play Good Guitar!’”: Alice Stuart Talks Playing With Albert King and Frank Zappa By Sue Foley published 24 January 23 There were few female guitar role models in the mid-’60s when this trailblazer’s career took off
Frank Zappa's Favorite Guitars and Amps By Darrin Fox published 22 December 22 “Frank rarely used anything stock": Dweezil Zappa reveals the custom gear behind some of his late father's greatest recordings in this essential read from the 'GP' vault
Watch Captain Beefheart Guitarist Jeff Cotton’s New “Does It Work for You?” Music Video By Rod Brakes published 28 July 22 Video “Magic Band fans will like the song,” says the guitarist fka Antennae Jimmy Semens.