Jeff Beck : 1944-2023

It took till I was 30-years old before I truly discovered Jeff Beck. As a kid I listened to enough classic rock stations to be familiar with his work in The Yardbirds, his solo albums with Rod Stewart(thanks to Scorsese’s Casino “I Ain’t Superstitious” will ring forever in my brain), as well as receiving this […]

Durham’s Magic Fingers

So coming up through middle school and high school as an introverted wannabe guitar shredder is tough business. I could barely strum chords in front of my parents at home, let alone cut heads like Jack Butler in Crossroads in front of my peers. There was a definite “who’s the best?” vibe in high school. […]

Make Time For Rock and Roll

I think nearly everyday of my life since I was about 12, the idea of playing guitar has popped in my head. Maybe not on my wedding day, or the day my kids were born, or at funerals, but most other days. Ever since being a 3, 4 year-old and hearing Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Doors, […]

From Overseas and City of Dawn : Misty Memories

The latest from label Past Inside The Present is a free fall into sonic bliss with the collaborative Misty Memories. Bringing together for the first time artists From Overseas and City Of Dawn, this ambient/new age record brings together “nostalgic tape sounds, lo-fi strings, mesmerizing guitar loops, and Kévin(Séry’s) use of subtle vocal samples create […]

Adrian Belew : Elevator

Unless you’re in deep the music way, the name Adrian Belew might not ring a bell. Truth of the matter is that Adrian Belew was the secret weapon to the biggest names in music for the better part of nearly 5 decades; Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, and Trent Reznor are […]

Joe Satriani : The Elephants Of Mars

Guitar wizard Joe Satriani has had a long and accomplished career over the last nearly 40 years redefining what a guitarist can do. His prophetic skills and melody-driven instrumentals made albums like Surfing With The Alien, Flying In A Blue Dream, The Extremist, and Strange Beautiful Music essential listening for any budding guitar slinger. I […]

Fall Deep Into Shortwave Broadcaster’s Latest “Transposing Memories”

Keith Canisius works as Shortwave Broadcaster in the modular/ambient realm. If you’ve been paying any attention to these pages the last couple of years you are sure to know that. Canisius is also one half of the synth/guitar duo Astral TV(along with Causa Sui’s Rasmus Rassmussen.) But with Shortwave Broadcaster Canisius deep dives into heavily-effected […]

Nicklas Sørensen : Live

Guitarist Nicklas Sørensen comes at the guitar in a very unique way. He paints these vibes out of thin air; he builds cavernous soundscapes and sound fortresses with his instrument. For sure Sørensen can blow the roof off the joint with his red Stratocaster in his psych/prog trio Papir. He can riff and blow minds […]

That Orange Tone

Since the spring of 1994 I’ve been a tube amp kind of guy. My first amp in December of 1987 was this little generic practice amp. My uncle gave me his old DOD Flanger Pedal and I used to get this sound I called the “psychedelic butterfly”. I’m not sure where that name came from, […]

Christmas Blues : Clapton, Beck, Page, Dad & Me

It was the Christmas of 1988. I was a budding guitarist who had just received his first electric guitar, a 1986 Fender Squier Stratocaster, for his 14th birthday a mere three weeks before. Prior to that, the last two years were spent toiling on a generic dreadnought acoustic with the kind of action that’s meant […]