Latest articles by Mark McStea
“I played a Japanese Les Paul copy on Teenage Kicks but, ironically, I still think it’s the best sound I ever got on record”: The Undertones’ Damian O’Neill looks back on the making of the band’s defining anthem – and the lost classic that followed
The Undertones’ out-of-left-field 1981 album, Positive Touch, was an about turn for the Northern Irish rockers, after Teenage Kicks gave a generation an anthem to rally to. This is its story
“We’ll play up to 200 songs over the course of a tour… it would drive me crazy to play the same songs every night”: Warren Haynes on what drives Gov’t Mule – and why he’s focusing on writing guitar epics
Gov’t Mule return with Peace…Like a River, a work of long-form rock ’n’ soul inspired by John Lennon, the Doors and the complex masterpieces of Kansas and Queen
“Mick came in with his Les Paul, plugged in to my amp and fiddled with the controls. All of a sudden there it was, the full Ziggy Stardust tone”: The post-Bowie career of Mick Ronson, rock ’n’ roll’s most quietly spoken guitar hero
Sure, he made a massive imprint on David Bowie’s classic early ’70s albums. But Mick Ronson also worked with Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Elton John, Roger McGuinn, Morrissey, Ian Hunter and many others
“Jimmy Page and Jim Sullivan were getting a lot of work, but I was always getting plenty of calls – and that increased after I did the Jack Bruce sessions”: The confessions of session pro Chris Spedding
The British session ace on being asked to audition for the Rolling Stones, producing the Sex Pistols’ early demos and recording Robert Gordon’s final album
“What you don’t play is as important as what you do play. You need the space, as it makes the small things that you do seem bigger”: 5 questions with McKinley James
The soul/blues/rock ’n’ roll aficionado on how he fills out a duo – and why guitarists using pedals to replicate classic sounds are “shooting themselves in the foot”
Chris Duarte: “I sound much better when I practice every day. The guitar gives you back what you put into it – it’s that simple”
The Texas blues pro discusses the benefit of shutting out all the noise and going by the gut, and why practice always pays out over time
Daniele Gottardo: “I remember thinking Yngwie Malmsteen’s playing was amazing, and I wondered if the scalloped neck was his secret”
Get to know the award-winning Italian guitar star Steve Vai once called his “favorite new young guitar player”
The British Invasion that failed: why Slade, Status Quo, the Sweet and Dr. Feelgood never conquered the USA
Slade’s Noddy Holder and Jim Lea join Status Quo’s Francis Rossi, the Sweet’s Andy Scott and Dr. Feelgood’s Wilko Johnson (in one of his final interviews) to explain what did – and didn’t – go down in the ’70s
Vinnie Moore: “The SG is a recent discovery of mine – I can’t believe I’ve never owned one. I didn’t realize how cool they were”
The shred maestro talks getting vocals on new solo album Double Exposure, his newfound love of Epiphone SGs and the future of UFO
Imagine Dragons' Wayne Sermon on how his time playing jazz at Berklee formed the foundation of his pop rock approach
The guitar star addresses the Rick Rubin-produced Mercury – Acts 1 and 2, and why there won't be a third installment of the Mercury collection
Tyler Bryant: “Ever since we did the Rock or Bust tour, whenever we get together to jam, it’s impossible not to want to play like AC/DC”
The Shakedown leader talks riffing, production and why DIY is the way to go in the music business
“Captain” Kirk Douglas on the link between technique and songwriting, and what made Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen different
The Tonight Show stalwart's latest solo album is a little psychedelic, a little trippy, and always about the songs. Here, Douglas tells us how he gravitates towards “mind expansion”
How jamming with Pretenders, Sex Pistols and Stray Cats inspired James Walbourne to take his high-voltage rock ’n’ roll outfit His Lordship to the next level
The Pretenders guitarist channels the elemental rock fury of Johnny Thunders with his new band – but don’t call it a side project
Orianthi breaks down 10 standout guitar tracks from across her repertoire
The Aussie guitar star takes a deep dive into her discography, and unpacks her approach to writing, recording, soloing and more
The life and times of Johnny Thunders: the New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist who crystallized the essence of street-cool rock ’n’ roll
Brilliant, self-destructive, hugely influential, Johnny Thunders was a voice of nature who made helped make the TV Yellow Les Paul Junior one of the coolest electric guitars ever
Robin Trower: “The secret to the warm tone I get, whilst still retaining the clarity, is due to a combination of heavy strings and a high action”
The British master of the Stratocaster discusses his new album No More Worlds to Conquer, dissects his masterful solo strategies and reveals why he changes his strings every night when playing live
Producer Ken Scott on the making of David Bowie and Mick Ronson’s most iconic albums
Scott takes us back to a febrile moment in rock history when David Bowie and the trailblazing Mick Ronson’s talents combined for Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust
Reef’s Jesse Wood: “We worked in the way Keith Richards describes as ‘the ancient art of weaving’”
Jesse Wood – son of the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie – on sharing guitar duties with Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor on their rollicking new album, Shoot Me Your Ace
Sylvaine spirits us away to share the guitar secrets behind her dreamy, shoegaze-inspired atmospheric metal sound
Sylvaine’s latest LP, Nova, is a hypnotic, cinematic work of blackgaze that came together under a singular creative vision, with a little help from EarthQuaker Devices and Fender offsets
Tracii Guns: “Everything I played on the new L.A. Guns record was recorded direct through a HeadRush – I didn’t use a mic’d-up amp for anything”
The hair metal survivor talks L.A. Guns' hard-riffing 2021 album Checkered Past, his Kramer Gunstar Voyager signature model and why he's content playing smaller venues over arenas
Curse of Lono’s Felix Bechtolsheimer: “Punk and Pink Floyd showed me there was so much more to say in a song than ‘I love you, baby’”
On their third album, the moody UK rockers take endless inspiration from some hard-hitting deaths and the darker side of life
Emily Wolfe: “Modern pop songs are immediately stuck in your head. To me, that’s the point. I would defend pop music to my grave”
The Austin, Texas-based rock maverick reveals how she gets her super-hot guitar tone and explains why the hooks are all over new album Outlier
Carlos Santana: “I’ve always really loved B.B. King and Peter Green, and I wanted to combine that with Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria”
The guitar legend reflects on the making of his star-studded new album, Blessings and Miracles, and explains that for an artist, the universe can be the wind beneath your wings
Ariel Posen: “If you’re playing something great all the time, it has a lot less impact – if you play sparingly then you really notice what is going on”
How the Canadian slide phenom builds his sound and finds individuality in self-discipline and note choice
Paul Stanley on Soul Station: "I got into music for the freedom of it. If it’s not to everyone’s liking, I guess nothing is"
The perennial guitarist discusses his soul- and R&B-flavored side project, the group's new ear-catching album Now and Then, and the possibility of a Kiss reunion record down the line
