Joe Matera

Joe Matera

Joe Matera is an Italian-Australian guitarist and music journalist who has spent the past two decades interviewing a who's who of the rock and metal world and written for Guitar World, Total Guitar, Rolling Stone, Goldmine, Sound On Sound, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and many others. He is also a recording and performing musician and solo artist who has toured Europe on a regular basis and released several well-received albums including instrumental guitar rock outings through various European labels. Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera has called him "a great guitarist who knows what an electric guitar should sound like and plays a fluid pleasing style of rock." He's the author of two books, Backstage Pass; The Grit and the Glamour and Louder Than Words: Beyond the Backstage Pass.

Latest articles by Joe Matera

Steve Hackett of Genesis plays electric sitar on stage in a black and white portrait

“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

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

Guitarists
English guitarist Snowy White sits on a sofa playing his guitar

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

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.

Guitarists
A group shot of Loverboy in 1981

"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

How Loverboy made their floor-filling, meat-market moving, chart-topping, soundtrack favorite 1981 hit Working For The Weekend

Guitarists
Billy Squier plays guitar as he performs onstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 2, 1984.

“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

“I’ve always taken a tremendous amount of inspiration from the guitars I’ve played,” says the chart-topping arena rocker

Music
Phil Manzanera poses with his 1964 Gibson Firebird VII

Phil Manzanera’s Top Five Career-Defining Tracks

By Joe Matera published

The Roxy Music guitarist picks from a wide range of sessions with a common denominator: Brian Eno

Music
Keith Scott (right) performs with Bryan Adams at Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany, September 24, 2008

Bryan Adams’ Guitarist Keith Scott Names His Top Five Career-Defining Tracks

By Joe Matera published

The Canadian superstar’s right-hand man of over 40 years knows the tales behind the best tracks

Music
Michael Stipe and Peter Buck performing live onstage with R.E.M.

“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

The guitarist reveals the surprising truth behind their 1987 smash

Guitarists
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