CATEGORIES

New Jimi Hendrix film and album feature bassist Billy Cox

I was there! A historic moment in bass world—recalled by those who were there to see it

Tony Visconti

This month’s forward-thinking bass player: David Bowie’s longtime collaborator Tony Visconti.

ROLL THEM BONES

ON SKELETONS, BROTHERS OSBORNE’S BIGGEST AND LOUDEST ALBUM, AMPS RAGE AND SEETHE, HELL IS RAISED — AND THERE’S DAMN NEAR TOO MANY WALLOPING GUITAR SOLOS TO KEEP TRACK OF. BELOW, JOHN AND TJ OSBORNE LET THE SKELETONS OUT OF THE CLOSET

This Wretched Underworld

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER’S BRANDON ELLIS AND BRIAN ESCHBACH TALK TONE HUNTING, SONGCRAFT AND OPERATING ON THE ODDER END OF THE SPECTRUM

POWER PLAY

Regardless of what fate throws at ’em, you just can’t keep a great band down. In this worldwide exclusive interview, intrepid AC/DC icon Angus Young discusses life after Malcolm and the band’s positively charged new album, POWER UP

Surf Guitar's Next Chapter

SURF-ROCKER MARTIN SCHMIDT TALKS GW THROUGH THE SURF GUITAR BOOK, AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE TONES AND TEXTURES BEHIND THE REVERB-DRENCHED GENRE’S MOST FAMOUS RECORDINGS, GEAR AND GUITAR HEROES

Rookie

PUT ON YOUR JUMPSUITS, HOP IN THE ’79 EL CAMINO AND LET THIS CHICAGO SIX-PIECE WHISK YOU AWAY TO A LAND RULED BY BIG STAR, THE EAGLES, CHEAP TRICK AND TOM PETTY

LOCAL COLOR

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE’S JOHN CIPOLLINA, A BOLD, ORIGINAL AND UNHERALDED STYLIST WHOSE PLAYING ANTICIPATED THE FUTURE OF ROCK

JOHN PETRUCCI REACHES TERMINAL VELOCITY

Dream Theater’s resident lord of the strings uses the lockdown as an opportunity to record some sick instrumentals — with a little help from former bandmate Mike Portnoy

HEARTBEAT

CARS SIX-STRING INNOVATOR ELLIOT EASTON TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO THE GEAR AND GUITAR SOLOS THAT DRIVE THE EMPTY HEARTS’ PERSONALITYPACKED SECOND ALBUM.

Gettin' Deep with Steve Morse

THE DEEP PURPLE GUITARIST — NOW IN HIS 26TH YEAR WITH THE LEGENDARY U.K. BAND — TALKS SCREAMING PRODUCERS, HIS UNUSUALLY BUSY DOWNTIME AND PURPLE’S SMOKING NEW ALBUM, WHOOSH!

Gain and Glory

REDSEVEN LEVIATHAN

Mercy of Muscle Shoals

DOWN ON MUSIC ROW AND IN MUSCLE SHOALS: SONGWRITING LEGEND DAN PENN IS ‘LIVING ON MERCY. ’

TIME FLIES FOR A BYRD

IN HIS NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY, CHRIS HILLMAN, BYRDS CO-FOUNDER AND ORIGINAL PILOT OF THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS, SHARES A TALE OF TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER … AND EVER

The year 2020 is important in Beatledom. John Lennon would have turned 80 on October 9, and December 8 is the 40th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Beatles history.

CHECKING BACK IN TO MORRISON HOTEL

A DELUXE ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE DOORS’ MORRISON HOTEL WILL HAVE FANS WANTING TO REVISIT THE HISTORY BEHIND AN ICONIC CLASSIC ROCK ALBUM. GUITARIST ROBBY KRIEGER GIVES US A PERSONAL TOUR AROUND THE MUSIC.

10 ALBUMS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

TOP MOST VINTAGE ALBUMS

SUPER TROUPER

JANNE SCHAFFER REMEMBERS BEING IN THE STUDIO AS THE ABBA GUITARIST.

CATCHING UP WITH JOHN OATES

CAROL ANNE SZEL CONTACTS ONE HALF OF THE POP DUO HALL & OATES TO FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW AND WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2021.

CÜLTÜS REDÜX

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT RETURN WITH THEIR FIRST STUDIO ALBUM OF NEW MUSIC IN NEARLY 20 YEARS.

'80s WEISS GUY

PHOTOGRAPHER MARK WEISS HAS MADE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER TAKING ICONIC IMAGES OF ROCK STARS SUCH AS OZZY OSBOURNE AND JON BON JOVI. HE RECENTLY COMPILED MUCH OF HIS MEMORABLE PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE 1980S INTO A HARDCOVER BOOK CALLED THE DECADE THAT ROCKED.

Elvis Costello – This Year's Model

Elvis Costello is back with his 31st (or so) studio album. But don’t look for any consolation from him.

THE DEAN GENIUS

Metal monsters Destruction return with a new live album. We meet frontman Marcel ‘Schmier’ Schirmer for a chat about the album he recorded by mistake...

PICKUPS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to those wiry pickup units

THE LAW OF LEE

The Texan trio Khruangbin is unlike almost any other band we know. Jamie Dickson asks bassist Laura Lee to explain...

PEARLS of WISDOM

Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam returns with a solo project, American Death Squad, and advice that applies to all of us.

TOP OF THE LAKE

Matthew Leone of Madina Lake recalls his way into bass

PASS NOTES

Lindsay Manfredi of Cold brings us essential survival advice, for life in general as much as related to bass playing

ICONIC

Jazz maestro Christian McBride looks back at his storied career

I SPY… THREE-NOTE SEQUENCES

Hey there, bass players! Welcome back to our game of ‘I Spy’. Let’s take a moment to recall the rules. In this game, our goal is to refine the most essential tool in our musical arsenal: Our ears. By highlighting a particular theme and attempting to spy it on a record, we’re actively listening for something that lies beneath the surface of the songs that we love. Our goal is to draw attention to it, to call it by its name, and to recognize it in its natural habitat.