Andy Wood's 'Charisma' is here!
Plus, the 20 most underrated guitarists
I have a ton of links to share in this week’s issue, so while I tried to keep the commentary short, we’re still at over a thousand words. I was hoping to share some pictures of the Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire from last weekend, but it got rained out and postponed! I’ve been quiet on the YouTube front over the past few weeks, but I have some fun videos coming out this month - including a review of another great Kraftgeek product, my new series on breaking down my favorite licks in songs, Fractal stuff and much more. Anything else you’d like me to make a video or lesson about? Let me know!
This week’s guitar links!
The 20 Most Underrated Guitarist Of All Time! - I'm happy that a bunch of these guitarists are players that I've been recommending for a long time - guys like Andy Timmons, Ian Thornley and more. Robert Baker did a good job at surfacing 20 guitarists that might've slipped your radar. Who are you most excited to listen to next?
Making my New Album Charisma - Live From the Woodshed - Andy Wood's new album 'Charisma’ just came out this Friday, and it is amazing - you should definitely give it a listen! Earlier this week, he did an hour long livestream previewing the tracks and talking about gear. He also talked about his music and life experience inspirations that made this album so powerful. Going to be spinning this one a lot over the next few months.
Mike Dawes - Galactic Acid (Official Music Video) - I linked to Dawes' song “Cloudcatcher” a couple of issues ago, and now the rest of Mike Dawes' new album ‘Galactic Acid' is available. If you're a fan of acoustic guitar, or great playing in general, you need to check this album out.
Tom Quayle Cheats at Guitar, and You Should Too | AMS Interview - Tom Quayle hung out with AMS recently to go over his incredible legato technique, and how him using 4ths tuning led him to feel like he was "cheating at guitar". They also touch on classic every-guitarist type of topics like getting out of a rut, and what you should focus on practicing.
These 3 Mistakes Are KILLING Your Picking - Justin Hombach gets into Troy Grady territory when going over 3 mistakes that you might be making with your picking. Hombach has been releasing a ton of great videos lately, so if you're into shred guitar at all, I recommend you go through his past videos too!
Live Q&A with Mike Stern and Eric Haugen - Jazz legend Mike Stern sat down with Eric Haugen this week to talk about his new album, and to take a ton of questions from the live chat. Stern talks about some jazz albums that influenced him deeply, how living in NYC affected his playing, some theory questions and more.
Marcin plays a jaw-dropping medley at Guitar World HQ in NYC - I feel like this style of acoustic playing is a whole genre unto itself. I first saw Marcin playing a ton of different cover songs on Tik Tok, and have followed his channels ever since. He hung out at Guitar World HQ to play a medley of his favorite songs. He has a new album coming out in September!
Josh Smith Can Play ANYTHING On Guitar, But He's Still NOT SATISFIED - Tyler Larson got to hang out with the incredible Josh Smith recently. The two talk about everything from sports fandoms to being open minded, pushing your boundaries of what you can do, and so much more. Smith has been one of my favorite blues guitarists of the last couple of years. You can learn a ton in this interview.
Use this to revolutionize your chords - Want to make your playing sound more sophisticated? Check out this new video from Rotem Sivan, where he breaks down how to use add 9th chords all over the place.
How To Play Better Guitar Solos (3 Key Steps...) - I love Ross Campbell's lessons. He always packs a ton of information into his videos, and he's back this week to talk about how to play better guitar solos. Not only does he give 3 bits of good advice, he also has a fantastic new course on soloing with triads. I've been checking it out over the past few days, and have learned a lot from it.
From Alternate Picking to Economy Picking in Easy Steps - Chris Brooks recently re-launched his Yngwie Malmsteen series, re-branding it the Viking Shred guitar course. If you want a taste of what the course is like, check out this module that covers how to get from alternate picking to economy picking.
Mateus Asato Talk Gear, Career, & Inspiration - Mateus Asato joined the ‘Charimen of the Boards' show to talk about gear of course, but he also talks about how he got started being a sideman guitarist, how important the internet was for him blowing up, working on cover songs, and more.
How to deliver when you’re put on the spot - Justin Ostrander is a session guitarist who's played on a ton of country hits. I love videos that go behind the scenes of thought process when creating music, which is exactly what this is all about. Justin gives us a bunch of tips about what to do when trying to create a guitar part on the spot.
“No-one will ever have an amp on stage at the Sphere. They might have dummies, but they’re not on”: Trey Anastasio reveals why it’s impossible to play with onstage amps at the most advanced music venue in the world - I've heard John Mayer talk about having to house his cabs backstage at the Sphere and The Edge switching to modelers, but now Phish's Trey Anastasio has talked about why at Vegas’ Sphere you can't have an amp onstage. It comes down to the how they're using the 52,000 speaker surround system. Apparently there'd be too much slapback, and even possibly some feedback. The quote comes from Trey's recent interview in Guitar World, which is also a great read.
A massive 62-foot guitar honoring Rick Nielsen is heading to Illinois – and it’s shaped like his iconic checkerboard Hamer- A checkerboard guitar honoring Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen is headed to his hometown...except this is no regular guitar. This is a 62 foot guitar that'll be housed outside of the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford. Imagine they chose the 5 neck though?
The 50 greatest acoustic guitar songs of all time - Guitar World readers voted on the top 50 greatest acoustic songs ever. This post runs down the list, with the top 20 having accompanying videos as well. I can't say I agree with #1, but there are a lot of great songs on this list.