If you’re reading this on Sunday, it’s likely that I have a coffee nearby and a guitar in my hand for Father’s Day. What have you been working on this weekend? Let me know in the comments (on Substack) or by replying if you’re getting this via email.
This week I put out the backing track version of my single “Between Daylight”, which you can check out here. If you're looking for a fun track to play where you can use both C minor and major pentatonic, check it out and let me know what you think!
Alright, let’s get into this week’s links - there’s a lot of awesome ones this week!
You know ‘em, you love ‘em…it’s this week’s links!
- The 30 Guitar Riffs Everyone Should Know - Paul Davids recently got back from the NAMM show, where he asked some of the best guitar YouTubers what their favorite riff of all time was, and why. Then he goes about playing those riffs too. I had a lot of fun watching this video and hearing what everyone chose - what was your favorite?
Also, I'm trying to get more eyes to the Chasing Sound YouTube channel. It'd mean the world to me if you subscribed!
- Why Every Guitarist LOVES Julian Lage - The first time I heard Julian Lage, I was so excited to hear something "new" in the jazz realm. Rick Beato caught up with Julian at the Power Station in NYC. Julian always seems like such a humble guy, and he's one of the most incredible players and improvisers I've ever heard. I recommend starting with his ‘Arclight' album, and checking out the rest of his catalog after that.
- Chord Tone Soloing Secrets - If you want to take your lead playing to another level, you should try and focus on soloing on target notes. I've been talking about it so much over the past few years, and for good reason. I feel like if you outline the changes, you start to sound like you always know the right notes to play, rather than just meandering around scales and hoping for the best. Check out this great video on chord tone soloing from Anyone Can Play Guitar.
- Coffee with Wolfgang Van Halen - Wolfgang sat down for coffee with Ola recently. The two talked about the upcoming Mammoth WVH album, who Wolf's influences are, and so much more. I loved the last Mammoth WVH album, and I'm really excited to hear the new stuff. I feel like his music speaks on its own. Looking to see the band with Metallica this summer.
- There's loads of unheard Van Halen music in the vaults, according to Gary Cherone - We got some more Van Halen news this week, this time from Gary Cherone. Gary talks about the climate of the band during his tenure with them, and that there's a ton of Van Halen material that's in the vault. I'm hoping we get to hear some of this stuff sooner rather than later!
- Brian May and the POWER of the PREBEND! - One of the coolest techniques you can learn is the pre-bend. Ben Eller put out a fun video this week discussing the technique in the vein of Brian May. If you haven't joined Ben's Patreon yet (for all sorts of extra content), it's one of the best deals on the planet.
- 3 RIDICULOUS Mateus Asato Pentatonic Licks You Should Learn - Mateus Asato is a wizard when it comes to using chords and leads together - he's one of the most tasteful players out there. Not many can use chord melody the way he does. John Cordy put out a video this week that shows off 3 Asato licks, all based around pentatonics, that you can get under your fingers.
- The Edge's U2 Pedals & Effects - I'm a huge fan of The Edge's textured playing. A large part of that comes from his refrigerator sized effects racks hanging out under the stage. Premier Guitar caught up with the Edge's tech to discuss the his mindset when he's creating tones, and why he pays such detail to every little part of his setup (all the way down to his pick).
- 5 Concepts Jazz Guitar Beginners Must Understand To Learn Faster - One of the biggest wins we have as guitarists these days, is being able to learn from others mistakes, and bypass some of those hurdles that they had at lightning speed. If you're learning jazz or really any guitar music, it'd be a great idea to check out Jens Larsen's latest video. He breaks down 5 concepts/myths that you should know as soon as possible. One of my favorite videos of the week.
- Muse fans are going crazy for Matt Bellamy’s astonishing mirror mask guitar – we found out how Manson made its most ambitious design yet - Even before he owned Manson guitars, Matt Bellamy (frontman for Muse) had always been making some wild guitars (remember his kaoss pad guitar?) Now Manson has made a wild looking mirror mask guitar. Check out the post to hear how this guitar came to be.
- Norman’s Rare Guitars Just Sold One of the Gems of its Collection to Joe Bonamassa - Speaking of wild guitars, this week Joe Bonamassa added to his enormous collection of instruments with his purchase of a insanely clean 1950 Fender Broadcaster. This is one of the top guitars in Joe's 500 strong arsenal of axes. Check out the video for a demo on how this classic instrument sounds.
- Joe Bonamassa shows you his favorite Fender Esquire licks: “You can rule the world with one pickup” - And, moving from Broadcaster to Esquire, Guitar World has a good lesson with Bonamassa this week, where he goes over some pretty slick Esquire licks, all while utilizing just one pickup.
Hey did you know, not only do I talk guitar each week, but I also teach it!
Try out a half an hour to see how much you can learn when you know the right things to practice. Whether you want to learn guitar, recording, mixing or more, I can help you out!