Podcast Spotlight

Pickin’ Through Elliot Easton's Countryfied Solo on “My Best Friend’s Girl”

The Cars’ lead guitarist unveils how he put together the song’s iconic rockabilly indebted leads. The Cars’ self-titled 1978 debut record changed the world of power pop forever. Guitarist and co-vocalist Ric Ocasek penned all the tunes, but lead guitarist Elliott Easton transformed them with his tasteful 6-string stylings. This time on Shred With Shifty, Easton sits down with Chris Shiflett to show him how to play the solo from “My Best Friend’s Girl.” Born in Brooklyn before winding up in Long Island, Easton washed dishes to save up for his first 1971 Fender Telecaster, and after high school, he studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he picked up key theory and technique that he still holds dear. Reared on country and rockabilly players like Roy Buchanan, Jesse Ed Davis, Gram Parsons, James Burton, and Roy Nichols, Easton brought a slick twang to Ocasek’s new wave gems. Easton tells Shifty how the band came to work with producer Roy Thomas Baker in London, while crashing at a label-provided mansion nearby and driving a loaned Jaguar and Land Rover to the sessions. Easton’s celebrated leads didn’t take long to come together. “On my mother’s memory, I did all my guitar parts in a day and a half,” he says. All he had with him was a 1978or ’77 Telecaster with a Bartolini Firebird-style mini humbucker in it, a red Les Paul, a Martinacoustic, and two effects: the brand-new Boss CE-1 and a Morley EVO-1 Echo Volume pedal. His amp of choice in those days? An Ampeg VT-22 or VT-40i. After running down his giddy-up guitar parts from “Best Friend’s Girl,” Easton talks about which modern players impress him, why he doesn’t consider himself a shredder, and the experience of working with Mutt Lange: “I spent as much time tuning with him as playing!”

Podcast Spotlight

EP 316: Mike Campbell, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

EP 316: Mike Campbell, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep 472: Kevin Evers

KEVIN EVERS is a Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review. Passionate about shaping groundbreaking research and amplifying pioneering ideas, he has edited bestselling and award-winning books on high performance, creativity, innovation, digital disruption, marketing, and strategy. He has also written popular articles on brain science, Hollywood blockbusters, the art of persuasion, and the unpredictability of success. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an MFA in film studies from Boston University.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 315: Andy & Nick

EP 315: Andy & Nick

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep 471: NO FAKES Act is back; we interview artist and copyright advocate Lana Love

Ryan is obsessed with TikTok artist Antronsongs new track “For You”; the Senate re-introduces The NO FAKES Act: Utah passes a new law to protect child influencers; we interview artist and copyright advocate Lana Love. You can follow our guest on Instagram @lanalovemusic.

Podcast Spotlight

The Lovell Sisters Teach Their Dueling Solos on “Summertime Sunset”

The Georgia-born, Nashville-based roots rock outfit Larkin Poe have had a busy year. Last summer, they toured across the U.S. supporting Slash, and released their seventh studio album, Bloom, on January 22. With a bit of downtime back in Nashville, co-shredders in chief Megan and Rebecca Lovell joined Shred With Shifty to deconstruct their face melting leads on “Summertime Sunset,” off of their 2022 record Blood Harmony. The Lovells grew up reading sheet music and learning violin via the Suzuki method there was little room for going off the beaten path until they fell in love with Jerry Douglas’ dobro playing on Alison Krauss records. Rebecca took up the mandolin, while Megan went for the dobro and the slide side of things. It took a while for them to get comfortable turning up from their bluegrass roots, but eventually they built Larkin Poe’s amplified, blues rock sound. First up, Rebecca, playing a pristine ’60s SG, shows how she put together her stinging, fuzzy solo by “hunting and pecking out” melodies in her mind, building up the chops to follow her intuition. Then Megan, playing a Rickenbacker inspired lap steel of her own design through a Rodenberg TB Drive, details her dizzyingly fast slide acrobatics, and her particular “rake” technique that she copped from Jerry Douglas and Derek Trucks. Tune in to hear them talk about how to sustain family relationships while going professional, keeping music community minded, and whether or not they’ll go back to bluegrass.

Podcast Spotlight

EP: 314 Doug Benson

EP: 314 Doug Benson

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep 470: Mariah Carey Copyright Suit DISMISSED; recording artist Nicki Richards

BTB Ep 470: Mariah Carey Copyright Suit DISMISSED; recording artist Nicki Richards

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep: 469 with guest Idania Valencia

BTB Ep: 469 with guest Idania Valencia

Podcast Spotlight

Learn to Shred the “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” with Craig Ross

Lenny Kravitz’s lead-guitar maestro shares how his scorching hit solo came together. Hold onto your hats — Shred With Shifty is back! This time, Chris Shiflett sits down with fellow west coaster Craig Ross, who calls in from Madrid equipped with a lawsuit-era Ibanez 2393. The two buddies kick things off commiserating over an increasingly common tragedy for guitarists: losing precious gear in natural disasters. The takeaway? Don’t leave your gear in storage! Take it on the road! Ross started out in the Los Angeles band Broken Homes, influenced by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and the Beatles, but his big break came when he auditioned for Lenny Kravitz. Kravitz phoned him up the next day to tell him to be at rehearsal that evening. In 1993, they cut one of their biggest hits ever, “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” Ross explains that it came together from a loose, improvisatory jam in the studio — testament to the magic that can be found off-leash during studio time. Ross recalls his rig for recording the solo, which consisted of just two items: Kravitz’s goldtop Les Paul and a tiny Gibson combo. (No fuzz or drive pedals, sorry Chris.) As Ross remembers, he was going for a Cream-era Clapton sound with the solo, which jumps between pentatonic and pentatonic major scales. Tune in to learn how he frets and plays the song’s blistering lead bits, plus learn about what amps Ross is leaning on these days. If you’re able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A: https://guitarcenterfoundation.org https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html https://www.musiciansfoundation.org https://fireaidla.org https://www.musicares.org https://www.sweetrelief.org

Podcast Spotlight

EP 312: Andy Nick & Allie Kral

EP 312: Andy Nick & Allie Kral

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep: 468- Policy solutions to low streaming payouts; interview with Rudy Love, Jr. of 2lot

breakthebusiness's Livestream Recording (03/21/2025, 01:02:54 AM)

Podcast Spotlight

Salute the Songbird with Special Guest Molly Tuttle

Salute the Songbird with Special Guest Molly Tuttle

Podcast Spotlight

EP 311: Andy & The Band

EP 311: Andy & The Band

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep: 467 - ZZ Ward

Acclaimed singer-songwriter ZZ Ward

Podcast Spotlight

Molly Tuttle’s Acoustic Acrobatics on “San Joaquin”

When you imagine the tools of a guitar shredder, chances are you see a sharp-angled electric 6-string running into a smokin’-hot, fully saturated British halfstack of sorts—the type of thing that’ll blow your hair back. You might not be picturing an acoustic steel-string or a banjo, and that’s a mistake, because some of the most face-melting players to walk this earth work unplugged—like Molly Tuttle. The 31-year old Californian has been performing live for roughly 20 years, following in a deep family tradition of roots-music players. Tuttle studied at Berklee College of Music, and has gone on to collaborate with some of the biggest names in bluegrass and folk, including Béla Fleck, Billy Strings, Buddy Miller, Sierra Hull, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Her 2023 record, City of Gold, won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. The furious flatpicking solo on “San Joaquin,” off of that Grammy-winning record, is the subject of this unplugged episode of Shred With Shifty. Shiflett can shred on electric alright, but how does he hold up running leads on acoustic? It’s a whole different ballgame. Thankfully, Tuttle is on hand, equipped with a Pre-War Guitars Co. 6-string, to demystify the techniques and gear that let her tear up the fretboard. Tune in to hear plenty of insider knowledge on how to amplify and EQ acoustics, what instruments can stand in for percussion in bluegrass groups, and how to improvise in bluegrass music.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 310: Andy & Nick - Live From Jam Cruise

EP 310: Andy & Nick - Live From Jam Cruise

Podcast Spotlight

EP 309: Michael Wilbur (Moon Hooch) & Honeycomb

EP 309: Michael Wilbur (Moon Hooch) & Honeycomb

Podcast Spotlight

EP 308: The War and Treaty

EP 308: The War and Treaty

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep 463: Kay Hanley talks about Chappell Roan’s Grammy Speech; musician and author Ben Neill