Joe MateraSocial Links Navigation Latest articles by Joe Matera “It's about the band. There’s a kind of confession in it…” How the fear, hope and sadness of a love affair mixed with secret band tensions helped Justin Hayward write the Moody Blues’ The Story in Your Eyes By Joe Matera published 14 January 24 Justin Hayward lifts the lid on the making of the Moody Blues’ immortal 1971 hit single The Story In Your Eyes “It's all about Bach and Beck. Before Beck, guitars used to just go ‘twang.’ Then they learned to sustain and scream and impersonate a woman’s voice and imitate brass instruments." The career and influences of Steve Hackett in five songs By Joe Matera published 19 December 23 Prog legend, innovator and “musical chameleon”, Steve Hackett spent six years in Genesis before a stellar solo career delving into everything from classical to blues and beyond. Here are five Genesis cuts he considers his best Pink Floyd didn't mean anything to him, he told Thin Lizzy he wouldn't jump around onstage and he once had an accidental top 10 hit: The career of Snowy White, rock's easiest-going guitar hero, in five songs By Joe Matera published 16 November 23 Blues player, session legend and "accidental frontman", Snowy White has worked with everyone from Thin Lizzy to Pink Floyd. Here are five deep cuts he considers his best. "The keyboard player said ‘Why are you just hitting random chords?’ I said, ‘You never know, I might get lucky!'" How Loverboy's Paul Dean wrote Working For The Weekend By Joe Matera published 13 November 23 How Loverboy made their floor-filling, meat-market moving, chart-topping, soundtrack favorite 1981 hit Working For The Weekend “The Concept Is Simple: Plug a Great Guitar Into a Great Amp, and Don’t Let Anything Get in Between”: Billy Squier Explains How He Honed His Tone on Five Classic Tracks By Joe Matera published 21 June 23 “I’ve always taken a tremendous amount of inspiration from the guitars I’ve played,” says the chart-topping arena rocker Phil Manzanera’s Top Five Career-Defining Tracks By Joe Matera published 14 February 23 The Roxy Music guitarist picks from a wide range of sessions with a common denominator: Brian Eno Bryan Adams’ Guitarist Keith Scott Names His Top Five Career-Defining Tracks By Joe Matera published 16 January 23 The Canadian superstar’s right-hand man of over 40 years knows the tales behind the best tracks “All of a Sudden, Our Audiences Doubled”: Peter Buck Opens up About R.E.M.’s Breakthrough Hit, “The One I Love” By Joe Matera published 15 November 22 The guitarist reveals the surprising truth behind their 1987 smash MOST READ1“‘Those old Beatle bashers?’”: Paul McCartney talks Vox amps, and his love of dirty tones2“I was 17 years old and found it in this local paper. It said, ‘Gretsch guitar, 100 bucks.’ I called the guy up and asked, ‘Is it like Eddie Cochran’s?’ He was like, ‘Who?’”: How Brian Setzer forged his trademark twanging tone 3“We’re the birthplace of blues, country and rock and roll music, and the guitar is at the core of all of it”: The America at the Crossroads exhibit charts the guitar’s history with instruments owned by Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and more 4“A lot of guitarists don’t consider themselves part of the rhythm section. I could always count on Randy to come up with great rhythm guitar parts”: Rudy Sarzo on the magic of Randy Rhoads' rhythm work, and the tonal quirks that set him apart5“The Opus might not displace your Helix, Fractal, Kemper or Quad Cortex, but it offers a lot of good-sounding emulation in a compact and usable package at a fraction of the price”: Two Notes Opus Amp Sim and IR Loader Unit review
“It's about the band. There’s a kind of confession in it…” How the fear, hope and sadness of a love affair mixed with secret band tensions helped Justin Hayward write the Moody Blues’ The Story in Your Eyes By Joe Matera published 14 January 24 Justin Hayward lifts the lid on the making of the Moody Blues’ immortal 1971 hit single The Story In Your Eyes
“It's all about Bach and Beck. Before Beck, guitars used to just go ‘twang.’ Then they learned to sustain and scream and impersonate a woman’s voice and imitate brass instruments." The career and influences of Steve Hackett in five songs By Joe Matera published 19 December 23 Prog legend, innovator and “musical chameleon”, Steve Hackett spent six years in Genesis before a stellar solo career delving into everything from classical to blues and beyond. Here are five Genesis cuts he considers his best
Pink Floyd didn't mean anything to him, he told Thin Lizzy he wouldn't jump around onstage and he once had an accidental top 10 hit: The career of Snowy White, rock's easiest-going guitar hero, in five songs By Joe Matera published 16 November 23 Blues player, session legend and "accidental frontman", Snowy White has worked with everyone from Thin Lizzy to Pink Floyd. Here are five deep cuts he considers his best.
"The keyboard player said ‘Why are you just hitting random chords?’ I said, ‘You never know, I might get lucky!'" How Loverboy's Paul Dean wrote Working For The Weekend By Joe Matera published 13 November 23 How Loverboy made their floor-filling, meat-market moving, chart-topping, soundtrack favorite 1981 hit Working For The Weekend
“The Concept Is Simple: Plug a Great Guitar Into a Great Amp, and Don’t Let Anything Get in Between”: Billy Squier Explains How He Honed His Tone on Five Classic Tracks By Joe Matera published 21 June 23 “I’ve always taken a tremendous amount of inspiration from the guitars I’ve played,” says the chart-topping arena rocker
Phil Manzanera’s Top Five Career-Defining Tracks By Joe Matera published 14 February 23 The Roxy Music guitarist picks from a wide range of sessions with a common denominator: Brian Eno
Bryan Adams’ Guitarist Keith Scott Names His Top Five Career-Defining Tracks By Joe Matera published 16 January 23 The Canadian superstar’s right-hand man of over 40 years knows the tales behind the best tracks
“All of a Sudden, Our Audiences Doubled”: Peter Buck Opens up About R.E.M.’s Breakthrough Hit, “The One I Love” By Joe Matera published 15 November 22 The guitarist reveals the surprising truth behind their 1987 smash
