Favorite Solos: Chris Gill (Contributing Writer)

1) The Yardbirds “Jeff’s Boogie” 2) Blue Oyster Cult “The Red and the Black” (live) 3) Megadeth “Symphony of Destruction” 4) Scorpions “Sails of Charon” 5) Focus “Hocus Pocus”

Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.

Latest

John Sykes performs onstage with Whitesnake at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois on November 10, 1984

“His work with Tygers of Pan Tang was by far my favorite of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal”: Tributes pour in for Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang guitarist John Sykes

See more latest ►

“I never get to discuss guitar in most interviews!” Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos reveals his obscure vintage gear obsessions, how Peter Green was a huge influence on his playing, and why the thrill of guitar is undeniable

“I had to have a spare liver and pancreas on ice… Then I missed my flight, and that’s when the comedy really began”: Zakk Wylde tells the story behind his infamous Guitar World cover with Dimebag Darrell

“To have it sitting at home, then see it on Good Morning America in Ed’s hands was a pinch-yourself moment”: Teddy McDonald pointed out Ed Sheeran was using a fake version of Eric Clapton’s Crashocaster. So they asked him to replace it

“I got a knock on my door. When I opened it, I couldn’t believe my eyes – it was a Gibson. I was overwhelmed and cried for hours”: How Aryan King escaped the war in Ukraine to find a new home in Nashville – and rekindle his love affair with Gibson guitars

“Someone once said to me, ‘Why do you make solo records?’ And it’s like, ‘So I can play solos!’” Myles Kennedy on the blues-rock hero who shaped the way he plays, why he’s an accidental frontman, and what the power of the riff made him do

“You heard a lot of musicians, but nobody played guitar like him”: In 1965, Jimi Hendrix appeared on TV backing an obscure soul duo – and you can already feel his brilliance

“My phone rang – Nuno told me to get to Sao Paulo right away. I arrived 30 minutes before guesting on Get the Funk Out”: Mateus Asato on landing the Bruno Mars gig, playing with his heroes and how his pink Suhr went from reject to best-selling signature

“All the labels said, ‘You’re dated.’ If we weren’t doing so well, it would have been crushing, but we were playing to sold-out crowds”: How forgotten ’80s heroes Zebra earned their stripes as the people’s power-trio

“The tone fattens up as the amp is pushed into overdrive, and fully cranked up it pumps out deliciously gritty crunch”: In praise of the Champ, Bronco and Vibro Champ – how Fender’s compact tube amps became MVPs in the studio

“When I joined, Ozzy told me I'd often hear people scream out Randy's name during a show”: Zakk Wylde discusses Ozzy Osbourne's hard-and-fast guitar rules, and the friendly shadows of Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee, in his first Guitar World interview

“It’s been an incredibly intense year – even my closest friends didn’t know what we were doing. I can’t believe we were able to keep it a secret”: Brad Delson on Linkin Park’s miraculous comeback, why he quit touring, and how he trained his replacement

Get The Pick Newsletter

Most Popular