Joe Bosso
Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
Latest articles by Joe Bosso

Plini: ”The biggest thing is writing music I think is interesting... Once I’ve done that, I find room to put guitar on it”
By Joe Bosso published
The Australian guitar phenom on the perils of “guitar fame,” the challenges of modern prog and his stunning new album

Richard Williams: “Not to sound pompous, but Kansas pretty much gave birth to American prog bands”
By Joe Bosso published
The Kansas co-founder and guitarist talks highlights, hits, classic guitar solos and new album The Absence of Presence

U2's The Edge discusses his approach to gear, songwriting and solos on The Joshua Tree in this classic 1987 Guitar World interview
By Joe Bosso published
"I will never play without effects, because they're too much a part of what I do as a player. I rely on being creative with sound"

Brothers Osborne: “We try to stay true to the music we hear in our heads. That’s how you establish your own identity“
By Joe Bosso published
Turning up the heat on new album Skeletons, TJ and John Osborne explain how it's all about getting lost in the licks

Steve Morse: ”I do have the ability to take a good solo and screw it up – sometimes I’ll need 20 takes, by which time Bob Ezrin runs out of the room screaming!”
By Joe Bosso published
The Deep Purple guitarist on his unusually busy downtime, Purple's smoking new album and his dedication to the art of the solo

L.A. Witch's Sade Sanchez: ”People can’t go out, so this is a perfect time for everybody to learn how to play the guitar”
By Joe Bosso published
How the burgeoning SoCal trio went from getting fired to playing for keeps with a reverb-drenched garage rock sound

John Petrucci on his lifelong love of Rush: "I still use Alex Lifeson licks that I learned in high school!"
By Joe Bosso published
The spirit of radio is strong in Dream Theater's shredder-in-chief, as he details how Rush lit a progressive fire in his playing

Jason Isbell: “As I get older, I tend to play fewer notes to try and make my point“
By Joe Bosso published
The alt-country rocker discusses his "clean and loud" approach to recording a Strat through a Roland Jazz Chorus on Reunions

Hits, misses and major labels: Veruca Salt’s Louise Post and Local H’s Scott Lucas on surviving the '90s alt-rock boom
By Joe Bosso published
Post and Lucas remember a febrile time for alternative-rock – and what came after

100 things every guitarist should know
By Joe Bosso published
GW joins forces with Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Joe Bonamassa and many more to teach you 100 essential lessons in the art of the six-string

Black Pumas: "A lot of groups fall into that 'soul revival' thing, but we embrace rock equally"
By Joe Bosso published
Adrian Quesada and Eric Burton on their unlikely pairing, vintage gear and letting the ear guide the song

Sadler Vaden: "Some downplay their influences, but I wear them right on my sleeve"
By Joe Bosso published
The deliciously melodic guitarist busts out the Roger McGuinn/Mike Campbell vibes for his new solo record, Anybody Out There?

Joe Satriani: "Every day there’s something new to learn about the guitar. I don’t know if we’re ever going to figure the thing out!"
By Joe Bosso published
The shred icon goes deep on the creation of Shapeshifting, his latest gear inspirations, and the solo that needed 170 takes to get right

Kim Gordon: "If dissonance is something we added to the vocabulary of indie rock, from a legacy standpoint, that’s pretty cool"
By Joe Bosso published
The former Sonic Youth bassist/vocalist/guitarist breaks down her truly wild solo debut, No Home Record

Brothers Osborne: "I can’t just think about blowing guitarists away when I come up with a solo - I try to think big-picture"
By Joe Bosso published
John and TJ Osborne offer up an exclusive preview of their upcoming “bigger, louder and more exciting” new album

Steve Vai: "When I was a kid playing guitar too loud, the neighbors would complain... and my father would tell them to shut the f**k up"
By Joe Bosso published
With the big 6-0 just around the corner, guitar icon Steve Vai reminisces about Satch, Zappa, Alcatrazz and a life in the ultra zone

Lady Gaga guitarist Tim Stewart: "We get pop fans come to see her, but we get the guys from Anthrax and Slayer, too"
By Joe Bosso published
He's played with Rihanna, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, and now the session pro shares what it's like to land one of the highest-profile gigs on the planet - and how you can emulate his success

Chris Shiflett: "Foo Fighters isn’t a band that has a lot of guitar solo-type stuff - on my own material, I do a lot more of that"
By Joe Bosso published
The guitarist discusses his gutsy, twangy - but definitely rocking - second solo outing, Hard Lessons

Dylan LeBlanc: "Certain guitar moments can sound like poetry if you get ’em right"
By Joe Bosso published
The American guitarist and singer-songwriter on the influence of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on his writing style

Stephane Wrembel: "When you cut out string noise, you’re left without the physical aspect of what a musician does"
By Joe Bosso published
Stephane Wrembel’s annual The Django Experiment albums are mind-blowing odes to the music, legacy and influence of the late, great Django Reinhardt

Penn Jillette: magic is easy, music is hard
By Joe Bosso published
One half of magic duo Penn & Teller discusses his other love: bass playing

Royal Blood's Mike Kerr: “I don’t talk about my pedals, ever”
By Joe Bosso published
The bassist–frontman half of the British power duo Royal Blood gives a coy nod to the gear used on “How Did We Get So Dark” – but don’t expect any instructional videos from this secretive player

Vince Gill: "I reached the point where I said, ‘I’m just going to play what’s necessary’"
By Joe Bosso published
The country guitar master discusses his bittersweet new gig with the Eagles, fingerpicking and his powerful new solo album
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