Gregory Adams
Gregory Adams is a Vancouver-based arts reporter. From metal legends to emerging pop icons to the best of the basement circuit, he’s interviewed musicians across countless genres for nearly two decades, most recently with Guitar World, Bass Player, Revolver, and more – as well as through his independent newsletter, Gut Feeling. This all still blows his mind. He’s a guitar player, generally bouncing hardcore riffs off his ’52 Tele reissue and a dinged-up SG.
Latest articles by Gregory Adams
![Jerry Cantrell and Jeff Beck](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/r2cw2FwEPFtvQW96zWoQF7-320-80.jpg)
Jerry Cantrell on how Jeff Beck inspired him to dig out a rare pedal for I Want Blood
By Phil Weller published
The Alice In Chains riffer drew inspiration from the late great, and his penchant for left-field gear, for his latest solo album
![Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains plays his iconic "Blue Dress" G&L Rampage onstage in Australia in 2009. Bought in 1985, its eponymous graphic has been worn away after decades of use.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mqxtjYitrkRwLkcezunJ9T-320-80.jpg)
Jerry Cantrell on what really happened when his ‘Blue Dress’ G&L went missing last year – and why he’s happy he “cried wolf”
By Jonathan Horsley published
In a recent interview with Guitar World, Cantrell expresses his relief and gratitude that the ‘Blue Dress’ was found, and admits he thought it was gone for good
![A shot of the Austin, TX, band Billy King and the Bad Bad onstage at the Sagebrush](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jQN2KceCUm4cgVtBASa9mY-320-80.jpg)
Riff inspiration can strike in the strangest places – just ask William “Billy” King Reynolds
By Gregory Adams published
Billy King & the Bad Bad's new album, Introspective Resolute, is all Lovecraftian punk sneer, howling at the moon and the sound of a band stretching out
![Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver wears a white shirt and plays her Fender Elvis Costello Jazzmaster onstage.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cYAjksUi2GThmHbX6cQ4F7-320-80.jpg)
Deep Sea Diver’s Jessica Dobson talks most rocking riffs, goofy stage humor and unheard Silvertones
By Gregory Adams published
The Seattle band on wielding Silvertones – and preparing to launch new album, Billboard Heart
![Duane Denison of The Jesus Lizard plays a chord on his Travis Bean electric guitar, in this black-and-white live shot from the audience's POV.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/66xPDBQZucUz6HU5CtnqiQ-320-80.jpg)
Duane Denison on the Jesus Lizard’s comeback LP and that time he tried to sell Steve Howe a guitar
By Gregory Adams published
Chaotic, unpredictable, brilliant, the Jesus Lizard finally recorded their post-reunion album and it does not disappoint. Denison checks in to tell us how it came together and where it stands in the band's history
![Frozen Crown's three guitarist pose with their high-performance electric guitars on a stairwell [from left] Alessia Lanzone, Federico Mondelli and Fabiola Bellomo](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JN9yU5zYEezpbWoG7jt9XF-320-80.jpg)
How an 18-year-old shredder supersized Frozen Crown’s triple-guitar power metal assault
By Gregory Adams published
Backing tracks? GTFO. Frozen Crown is going for triple-guitar shred maximalism – and don't try holding them back
![Steve Howe and Duane Denison](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aJb5n7LweChGq3gowVuMyL-320-80.jpg)
Duane Denison on the time he attempted to convince Steve Howe to buy a guitar from him
By Phil Weller published
Denison had grown up idolizing prog rock shredders – then one day he found himself attempting to convince one of them to buy a rare Guild guitar
![Within the Ruins' Joe Cocchi wears a ballcap and riffs on his 7-string Caparison live onstage,with steely blue-green stagelights behind him.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kUbXiLHTvpQAbbkmUcNJm8-320-80.jpg)
How Joe Cocchi looked to the X-Men and the Punisher for Within the Ruins’ comicbook inspired sequel
By Gregory Adams published
Metal's comic book guys return with Phenomena II, as Cocchi draws on Ron Wasserman’s '90s era X-Men soundtracks for inspiration, and his pedalboard for color
![Aaron Marshall of Intervals holds a peach-coloured S-style as he is photographed against a green and blue patterned wall.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ryzwFHUoaHEnYLzNFekD8E-320-80.jpg)
Intervals' Aaron Marshall on making the impossible possible, and jamming with Wolfgang Van Halen
By Gregory Adams published
Memory Palace is another dizzying work of instrumental genius from Aaron Marshall and co, but creating all this on record presents a challenge when it comes to the live show. Marshall's approach? Play it by any means necessary...
![Joe Hoare of Orange Goblin plays a solo his Gibson Les Paul onstage, wearing a white t-shirt and black waistcoat.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vF7aVegbkyQ8yJz2zASDR6-320-80.jpg)
Orange Goblin’s Joe Hoare on life’s simple pleasures – Les Pauls, Marshall amps and signature beer
By Gregory Adams published
The UK metal stalwart's new album, Science, Not Fiction is a career high, but if Hoare is stretching out beyond the Pentatonics in search of new horizons for lead, the power of the riff lies in its primitivism. Some things will never change...
![Asymmetric Universe's Nicolo and Frederico Vese (right, guitar) jam in their front room](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pkpw864LA76GPPB6BXbmmH-320-80.jpg)
Meet Asymmetric Universe, the Italian brothers who graduated from theme park music and video game scores to world-beating jazz-djent
By Gregory Adams published
Introducing Frederico and Nicolò Vese, two brothers who traffic in progressive djent, elevator jazz and mercury-dripping guitar and bass runs
![Kittie's Morgan Lander and Tara McLeod](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cxjTmDY95m2SodfMTRLRyH-320-80.jpg)
The nine lives of Morgan Lander and Tara McLeod – and how swapping ’00s-era Hamers for a Solar V helped supercharge their revival
By Gregory Adams published
Returning with their first album in 13 years, Lander and McLeod discuss their tone chemistry and explain why you can shove them through the meat grinder but you'll never kill them
![Bill Kelliher and Mark Morton](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3tCjokktGQRpDzTEAET4CZ-320-80.jpg)
Bill Kelliher and Mark Morton on how Leviathan and Ashes of the Wake changed everything
By Gregory Adams published
With two classic albums, both released on the same day, Lamb of God and Mastodon's fates have long been connected and now they're touring together, Kelliher and Morton reflect on a turning point for both bands
![Jake Dreyer of Witherfall brandishing a purple Jackson King V against a green-lit backdrop](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PJQ5ej8qPiBkeyUrEnNWiB-320-80.jpg)
“I always think about what Brian May would do”: Witherfall’s Jake Dreyer on flamenco, metal, vibes…
By Gregory Adams published
Sounds of the Forgotten is Witherfall at their best: musically ambitious, virtuosity swinging for the fences, and it came together by Dreyer chasing vibes and taking melodic metal bigger
![Ken Andrews of Failure plays live in 2014 with an aluminum guitar](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bzcbP4c4HBTxiayzHmQHtd-320-80.jpg)
Ken Andrews on how Failure conquered space from Lita Ford’s house with Fantastic Planet
By Gregory Adams published
Fantastic Planet was recorded at a time when substance abuse was tearing them apart and their record label folded. Now Andrews can look back with a bit of perspective on an artistic triumph that's given them a second life
![Bruce Soord of the Pineapple Thief onstage in Italy, playing a single-cut electric guitar](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/H2WiU59xWcg2JZpHH6Se9m-320-80.jpg)
The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord on crossing the Rubicon with Porcupine Tree’s drummer
By Gregory Adams published
It Leads to This finds Soord and company working in weird time signatures and towards the point of mental exhaustion in search of new sounds
![Ben Weinman of Suicidal Tendencies performs onstage at Showbox SoDo on November 30, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hacPHQBF7zXQsGXLH4PwX9-320-80.jpg)
“I wasn’t playing accurately in the beginning – I was just going crazy. It became a balance of visceral expression and actually trying to play”: Ben Weinman on the Dillinger Escape Plan’s chaotic birth – and unexpected return
By Gregory Adams published
Ben Weinman on the Dillinger Escape Plan’s chaotic birth – and unexpected return
![Tom Dumont](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/G45fc9PQDom9cwtrcjtmGo-320-80.jpg)
No Doubt’s Tom Dumont names 10 guitarists (and one genre) that shaped his sound
By Gregory Adams published
The No Doubt and Dreamcar guitarist attempted two Rush songs at a seventh-grade talent show, chunked up on Black Sabbath and later named his son after Ace Frehley – but reggae got deepest into his heart
![Pedal Steel Noah](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zanhDjpWkXF5omdC8m325A-320-80.jpg)
Meet Pedal Steel Noah, the teenager going viral with country-fied covers of Judas Priest, Nirvana and My Bloody Valentine
By Gregory Adams published
With help from his dad, brother and the family pet, Instagram hit musician Noah Faulkner is reshaping classic grunge, metal, synth pop and more with his 10-string pedal steel
![Amy Rose Mills of Couch Slut](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MfYKFZGRZuJMWUhCYRTjCH-320-80.jpg)
Meet Amy Rose Mills, the accidental luthier who sets up some of the rarest guitars on the planet
By Gregory Adams published
The noise improv specialist for Brooklyn’s Couch Slut is also a luthier at NYC institution Retrofret. She details some of the most treasured instruments she’s encountered, the magic of running a Gretsch at high gain, and grabbing one of her hero’s pedals before anyone else got the chance
![Jeff Ament](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sDZBosc6CJ7M4KF4tquow7-320-80.jpg)
Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament names 11 bassists who shaped his sound
By Gregory Adams published
From Dee Dee Ramone to Eric Avery, fretless to 12-string bassists, Jeff Ament believes all his influences can all be heard on the latest Pearl Jam album Dark Matter
![Bradley Fry of Pissed Jeans](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AZo2LHJVDtAyv45roFxUSd-320-80.jpg)
Pissed Jeans’ Bradley Fry on why he loves awkward offsets and solid-state Peavey amps
By Gregory Adams published
The Pennsylvania punks play so loud, Fry gets his sound engineer to mic a tiny Peavey combo instead, so he can keep his onstage amps raging
![Crystal Skins](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/D9NL9bhUMkQ9iBBvvvugPj-320-80.jpg)
“A collector turned up with a Cherry Red Flying V and I was like, ‘Are you sure you want to customize that?’ It was such a beautiful thing already!” Meet the English entrepreneur who covers guitars with crystals for a living
By Gregory Adams published
Crystal Skins boss Zoe Brodie-James’ work has been seen in movies and on TV, and she’s completed commissions for some very, very rich people
![Mary Timony](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XASTiQBiYUqvmn88ezegkC-320-80.jpg)
“It didn’t sound right with just one guitar lead, so why not have two?” Mary Timony on her multiversal lead lines and why the Depression-era Gibson acoustic is the ultimate six-string survivor
By Gregory Adams published
The former Helium and Wild Flag D.C. rocker can still unleash some decidedly untame sounds and work an EBow like no-one else
![Page Hamilton](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QeSPbEcQ4pxLHpzH7GdxxQ-320-80.jpg)
“I became this musician because of jazz. I mean, I still wake up every day and work on Charlie Parker’s Hot House!” Even with a broken finger, Helmet’s Page Hamilton is one of the all-time great heavy riffsmiths – but he owes it all to jazz
By Gregory Adams published
Nothing can stop Hamilton's flow as Helmet return with a politically charged masterclass in punishing rhythms, off-kilter melodies and open-tuned acoustics
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