STAFF PICKS
In Our Dreams
We’ve all imagined sharing the stage with our favorite guitar gods. To take this a step further, PG editors enlist the help of Joe
Bonamassa to hypothetically indulge in what it might be like to learn new tricks from any guitar player in the entire world.
Andy Ellis
Senior Editor
What are you listening
to? Trace Bundy, Elephant
King. Using radical fretting techniques, altered
tunings, percussive effects, and multiple
capos, Bundy creates melodic, memorable
compositions that eclipse his incredible chops.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be
and what would you ask to learn? I’d ask
Hendrix to play “Castles Made of Sand”
and explain how he spun soulful phrases
from Curtis Mayfield and Teenie Hodges
into a psychedelic masterpiece.
Shawn hammond
Editor in Chief
What are you listening
to? Sonny Landreth,
Elemental Journey. The
inimitable slide master
returns with a badass instrumental whose
only bummer is that the big-name cameos
(Satch and EJ) aren’t as satisfying as the
vocals he might’ve laid down in their place.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be and
what would you ask to learn? I’d rather try
to develop my own style by organically absorbing musical influences than get too inside
other players’ techniques or philosophies.
chris kies
Associate Editor
What are you listening
to? The Assemble Head
in Sunburst Sound’s
swirling “Slithery
Thing” (with its Stones’ Tattoo You vocal
harmonies), Soundgarden’s crushing “Live
to Rise,” and JJAMZ’s guilty-pleasure popper “Never Enough” are making me eager
for summer releases.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be and what
would you ask to learn? Keef or Dimebag
Darrell because they both took the simplest
riffs and made them iconic. I’d ask for a crash
course in not over-thinking the guitar.
champ long
Web Production Assistant
What are you listening
to? Alex Clare’s The
Lateness of the Hour.
From the power rock
of “Up All Night,” the piano in “I Won’t
Let You Down” to the dubstep in “Too
Close”—it has a little of everything.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be
and what would you ask to learn? Jack
Johnson. I’ve always loved his music and I
don’t care what he would teach me because
he’d be awesome just to hang with.
joe bonamassa
Guest Picker
What are you listening
to? I’m listening to a lot
of Freddie King lately. I
was just at the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and
we did “Hideaway.” That second break is
the hardest guitar lick in the world!
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be and
what would you ask to learn? I would sit
down with Paul Kossoff and watch his process of setting up and adjusting his Les Paul.
I’d knick his amp settings, then ask him to
show me the voicings for “Fire and Water.”
charles Saufley
Gear Editor
What are you listening
to? William Tyler’s “A
Portrait of Sarah” 7” is a
tasty side of solo-electric
12-string—like a lazy Saturday riverside
shade tree sit with Robbie Basho and Roger
McGuinn and a perfect little guitar record
for your own shade tree, if you ask me.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be
and what would you ask to learn? I’ll take
whatever wisdom Bill Frisell is willing to share.
28 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2012
Tessa jeffers
Managing Editor
What are you listening
to? I went vinyl digging
recently and scored the
La Bamba soundtrack
(Los Lobos or Bo Diddley, anyone?) and
some vintage Dolly Parton.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be and
what would you ask to learn? If it were
possible to watch Jimmy Page play without
losing my beans, I’d be happy to glean even
a single run incorporating his superhuman finger slides and bends à la “Any Led
Zeppelin Song Ever.”
Rich osweiler
Associate Editor
What are you listening
to? Sun Kil Moon’s
Among the Leaves.
While I’m not the biggest singer-songwriter fan, Mark Kozelek’s
guitar work and melancholy vocals have
yet to disappoint.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be and
what would you ask to learn? My man
Django Reinhardt. I own an amazing Selmer-style guitar that’s never been done proper justice, so a master class on “Minor Swing”
with Grappelli and a bottle of Bordeaux
joining us would be pretty cool.
jason Shadrick Associate Editor What are you listening to? Ry Cooder’s Paradise
and Lunch. His solo
break in “Tamp Em’ Up
Solid” is the perfect example of how to turn
the beat around and not lose your place.
If you could take a lesson from any guitarist, dead or alive, who would it be and
what would you ask to learn? The obvious
answer would be Clapton, but I think I
would get more out of spending the afternoon with Jim Hall and asking about his
comping on The Bridge.
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