Players “It’s the sound of the Stones: a five-string with a six-string on top. Guitars are amazing things – you can make an orchestra out of them…” Keith Richards on life without Charlie, The Beatles and the Stones, and new album Hackney Diamonds In an exclusive interview, Keith Richards talks about the magic of the new album Hackney Diamonds, and why losing a string created a whole new sound for the Rolling Stones “We worked out a big, long harmonized guitar solo. It’s my little homage to Thin Lizzy.” Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett on his new solo album Lost at Sea and why he's happy to not be the loudest guitarist in the room After he regretted not playing more guitar on his solo albums, Chris Shiflett assembled a six-string dream team for Lost at Sea. The result is a treat for the ears “I had a gold Klon but I lost it in Hurricane Katrina...” Blues supremo Eric Johanson on being both a Metallica and Jack White fanboy and why he’s into tone as much as music With the help of "a really gritty velcro fuzz", blues guitarist Eric Johanson gets into the raw experience of the moment on his latest album, The Deep and the Dirty Grid List Latest Players “I have a few guitars but if I don’t play them for a while, I punish myself by giving them away. It’s not fair to have a guitar in a lockup…” The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and James Walbourne on songwriting and the “solo-shy” James Honeyman-Scott By Marc McStea published 23 November 23 Chrissie Hynde has been leading The Pretenders for 45 years now. She and co-guitarist James Walbourne on developing style, the pressure to stay faithful to old guitar parts and more... "I wanted Eric Clapton on My Guitar Gently Weeps for a bit of moral support and to make the others behave..." Jamming with Eric Clapton, recording with the Beatles: A long-lost interview with George Harrison By Dan Forte published 22 November 23 “I've always been embarrassed at the idea of being in Guitar Player magazine. I'm just a skiffler. I do ‘posh skiffle’, that's all it is…” In 1987, George Harrison sat down with us for a classic interview, looking back across his career… From playing fiddle on street corners during the Great Depression to becoming one of the biggest Telecaster heroes of the 20th century – here's why you should immerse yourself in Jimmy Bryant's Country Cabin Blues… By Jim Campilongo published 19 November 23 Jimmy and pedal-steel supremo Speedy West (aka “the country jazz John and Paul”) have a swingin’ good time on this fun 1960's shredfest which belies his difficult reputation 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. Steve Lukather: "I realized it was okay to play a bad note when I saw Larry Carlton six years ago. He broke his E string, and everybody was like 'Oh, no.' Then he took his clippers and clipped off the B and G strings and played a killer solo!" By Jas Obrecht published 14 November 23 In this classic GP interview, the session guitar and Toto king reveals how Carlton (especially his work on Steely Dan's Royal Scam) changed his view of what was possible within the confines of rock guitar playing "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 "This is what separates the pros from the Joes…" Gary Hoey's top five tips for guitarists (and a bonus tip from Steve Morse) By Joe Bosso published 10 November 23 Whether teaching, supporting or playing solo, here are the drills that Gary Hoey uses to stay at the top of his game "Every kid who picks up a guitar wants to be Keith Richards, right?" How Andrew Watt kicked Keef and Mick Jagger "up the ass in the studio," connected the Stones back to Muddy Waters, and recruited Paul McCartney for a punky cameo on the band's new album By Brad Tolinski published 9 November 23 Andrew Watt has made records with Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Pearl Jam, and more, but manning the boards for the Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds was, he says, "the honor of my lifetime” 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... Billy Gibbons: “We went to the second change, but Lightnin’ was still in the first... Our bassist said, ‘Lightnin’, that’s where the second change is supposed to be, isn’t it?' Lightnin’ said, ‘Lightnin’ change when Lightnin’ want to change!’” By Jas Obrecht published 8 November 23 ZZ Top's main man and Johnny Winter recount their time backing Lightnin’ Hopkins, where they quickly learned that to accompany the blues legend meant doing things his way 123456789Archives 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 MOST READ1“It’s the sound of the Stones: a five-string with a six-string on top. Guitars are amazing things – you can make an orchestra out of them…” Keith Richards on life without Charlie, The Beatles and the Stones, and new album Hackney Diamonds2"You son of a b****, you're playing a Fender?" Watch Keith Richards and Les Paul jam in rare footage from 20003These 40 huge Black Friday and Cyber Monday guitar gear deals are still live – but they won’t be around much longer4Build your own Fender Stratocaster with this fun Cyber Monday Lego deal5The most affordable way to transform your sound: Get a Cyber Monday effects pedal deal before it's too late
“I have a few guitars but if I don’t play them for a while, I punish myself by giving them away. It’s not fair to have a guitar in a lockup…” The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and James Walbourne on songwriting and the “solo-shy” James Honeyman-Scott By Marc McStea published 23 November 23 Chrissie Hynde has been leading The Pretenders for 45 years now. She and co-guitarist James Walbourne on developing style, the pressure to stay faithful to old guitar parts and more...
"I wanted Eric Clapton on My Guitar Gently Weeps for a bit of moral support and to make the others behave..." Jamming with Eric Clapton, recording with the Beatles: A long-lost interview with George Harrison By Dan Forte published 22 November 23 “I've always been embarrassed at the idea of being in Guitar Player magazine. I'm just a skiffler. I do ‘posh skiffle’, that's all it is…” In 1987, George Harrison sat down with us for a classic interview, looking back across his career…
From playing fiddle on street corners during the Great Depression to becoming one of the biggest Telecaster heroes of the 20th century – here's why you should immerse yourself in Jimmy Bryant's Country Cabin Blues… By Jim Campilongo published 19 November 23 Jimmy and pedal-steel supremo Speedy West (aka “the country jazz John and Paul”) have a swingin’ good time on this fun 1960's shredfest which belies his difficult reputation
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.
Steve Lukather: "I realized it was okay to play a bad note when I saw Larry Carlton six years ago. He broke his E string, and everybody was like 'Oh, no.' Then he took his clippers and clipped off the B and G strings and played a killer solo!" By Jas Obrecht published 14 November 23 In this classic GP interview, the session guitar and Toto king reveals how Carlton (especially his work on Steely Dan's Royal Scam) changed his view of what was possible within the confines of rock guitar playing
"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
"This is what separates the pros from the Joes…" Gary Hoey's top five tips for guitarists (and a bonus tip from Steve Morse) By Joe Bosso published 10 November 23 Whether teaching, supporting or playing solo, here are the drills that Gary Hoey uses to stay at the top of his game
"Every kid who picks up a guitar wants to be Keith Richards, right?" How Andrew Watt kicked Keef and Mick Jagger "up the ass in the studio," connected the Stones back to Muddy Waters, and recruited Paul McCartney for a punky cameo on the band's new album By Brad Tolinski published 9 November 23 Andrew Watt has made records with Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Pearl Jam, and more, but manning the boards for the Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds was, he says, "the honor of my lifetime”
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...
Billy Gibbons: “We went to the second change, but Lightnin’ was still in the first... Our bassist said, ‘Lightnin’, that’s where the second change is supposed to be, isn’t it?' Lightnin’ said, ‘Lightnin’ change when Lightnin’ want to change!’” By Jas Obrecht published 8 November 23 ZZ Top's main man and Johnny Winter recount their time backing Lightnin’ Hopkins, where they quickly learned that to accompany the blues legend meant doing things his way
