Podcast Spotlight

EP 298: Andy & Nick

EP 298: Andy & Nick

Podcast Spotlight

Laura Davidson

Laura Davidson

Podcast Spotlight

Learn Michael Schenker’s Improv - Shred on UFO’S “Only You Can Rock Me”

This episode has three main ingredients: Shifty, Schenker, and shredding. What more do you need? Schenker was just 11 when he played his first gig with The Scorpions, and recorded on their debut LP, Lonesome Crow, when he was 16. He’s been playing a Gibson Flying V since those early days, so it's only natural that both he and Shifty bust out the Vs for this occasion.While gigging with Scorpions in Germany, Schenker met and was poached by British rockers UFO, with whom he recorded five studio records and one live release. (Schenker’s new record, released on September 20, celebrates this pivotal era with reworking of the material from these albums with a cavalcade of high-profile guests like Axl Rose, Slash, Dee Snider, Adrian Vandenberg, and more.) On 1978’sObsession, his last studio full-length with the band, Schenker cut the solo on “Only You Can Rock Me,” which Shifty thinks carries some of the greatest rock guitar tone of all time. Schenker details his approach to his other solos, but note-for-note recall isn’t always in the cards—he plays from a place of deep expression, which he says makes it difficult to replicate his leads.Tune in to learn how the Flying V impacted Schenker’s vibrato, the German parallel to Page,Beck, and Clapton, and the twists and turns of his career from Scorpions, UFO, and MSG to brushes with the Rolling Stones.

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EP 297: Mark Wystrach (Midland)

Mark Wystrach (Midland)

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Kerri Kasem

Kerri Kasem

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BTB Ep 452: Should artists move to Bluesky? we interview singer-songwriter Sabrina Monique

Podcast Spotlight

Steve Brown Talks 80s Rock Glory, Push Ups, and How to Flip a Guitar

By the time he was old enough to drink (legally), Trixter founder and guitarist Steve Brown had put his hometown of Paramus, NJ on the rock and roll map, released a gold record, starred in a string of hit MTV videos and performed on arena tours supporting Kiss, Poison and the Scorpions. He hasn’t slowed down much since the Eighties, producing albums by such icons as Ace Frehley, filling in for both Phil Collen and Vivan Campbell in Def Leppard, touring with the Wizards of Winter, and even launching a line of super-affordable SBS guitars, one of which he should totally send us to mess around with. We connected with Steve remotely from his home studio/man-cave and talked about how he basically lived Dave and Tom’s rock and roll dream, the mighty Ibanez Icemen, isometric exercise routines, and who would win a Hamer versus Kramer death match.

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David Deluise

David Deluise

Podcast Spotlight

Keith Urban’s Country Thunder from Down Under

Next up on this action-packed season of Shred With Shifty, country superstar Keith Urban joins Chris Shiflett to walk through some of his most iconic solos and unpack some fine details behind his successful music career. Strapped with the ’51 Fender “Nocaster” that he used to record the solo on “Tumbleweed,” Urban walks Shifty through some of his guitar secrets, like how he came to own Waylon Jennings’ iconic, leatherbound 1950 Fender Broadcaster (hats off to his wife, Nicole Kidman, for that one). Urban tells avid surfer Shiflett why he never got into surfing while growing up in Australia, and remembers his earliest influences in the country’s music scene. Low-gain players like Mark Knopfler, Ray Flacke, and Lindsay Buckingham helped shape Urban’s lead-guitar tastes, imprints you can hear in the capoed, drop-D solo on “Stupid Boy.” (Urban says his new solo record, High, features more of these theatrics.) Amid the fretboard analysis, Urban talks about his “love-hate relationship” with his Fractal amp-modeling unit, which he still leaves at home when he plays live—a 100-watt Marshall Super Lead and PRS J-MOD 100 still reign supreme for Urban’s concerts. Tune in to learn how Urban’s unique pick grip gave his solos some extra percussive edge, how he keeps his chops up, and which artist he’d want to “gunsling” for.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 296: Cameron Winter (Geese)

EP 296: Cameron Winter (Geese)

Podcast Spotlight

EP 451: Nicholas Niespodziani

Podcast Spotlight

Matthew Caws on Telecasters, Martin Flattops, and 30 Years of Indie Rock

Matthew Caws has been the frontman and guitarist of Nada Surf for more than three decades, during which time he and his group transcended their status as an alternative rock “one hit wonder” to become one of indie rock’s most respected and resilient bands. As a guitarist, he draws as much from Crosby, Stills and Nash as Echo and Bunnymen and has developed an instantly recognizable right-hand approach and chordal vocabulary all his own. Caws joined us in the studio to discuss the making of Nada Surf’s excellent new album, Moon Mirror, Telecasters versus Les Pauls, Martin versus Gibson flattops, buying seats for your guitars on airplanes, and much more. Full disclosure: He is also Tom’s oldest friend, was the best man at his wedding, and is probably to blame for his lifelong guitar addiction.

Podcast Spotlight

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Chris Shiflett Reveal Their Triple-Guitar Recipe

The moment you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. That’s right: Shred With Shifty is back, and your beloved host Chris Shiflett is kicking off season two with a super-special episode. Shifty’s Foo Fighters shredders-in-arms Dave Grohl and Pat Smear join him for this season premiere that reveals some of the magic and maneuvering behind the Foos’ triple-guitar attack. The three friends and bandmates start off with some history lessons, discussing their earliest influences and how they learned to play before covering Grohl’s early days with Nirvana, Smear’s time in the Germs, and Shiflett’s invitation to join Foo Fighters—followed promptly by a trip to a guitar store to build out his arsenal, courtesy of Grohl’s AmEx. (Plus, Dave tells how he conned his mother into buying his first distortion pedal.) The trio cover their current and historical favorite pieces of gear—like Dave’s famed Gibson Trini Lopez, Mesa Boogie's Rectifier series, and Fender's all-tube, '90s-era Tone-Master amps—before getting into how they apply those tools in the studio between three players. “I think it took 15 to 20 years to figure out the recipe of what we do,” admits Grohl. Running through tunes like “Rope,” “Hey, Johnny Park!,” “La Dee Da,” and “A Matter of Time,” Shiflett, Grohl, and Smear demonstrate the evolution of the band’s rhythmically unique and tonally tiered guitar arrangements. From Melvins-inspired drop-D slammers to delay-driven, polyrhythmic riffs, Grohl likens the band’s 6-string components to the various elements of a drum beat. Once a drummer… Tune in for tons of hilarious stories (including Grohl’s “worst tour ever”), fascinating tidbits, and Dave’s guitar-store riff when he’s trying a new axe. It might sound familiar.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 295: David Shaw

EP 295: David Shaw

Podcast Spotlight

BTB 450: Eric Hirshberg, singer/songwriter & multi-industry business leader

Podcast Spotlight

Axe Lords Episode 5: The Untamed Sound of Kid Congo Powers

Kid Congo Powers helped redefine rock with bands like the Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and more.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 294: The Heavy Heavy

EP 294: The Heavy Heavy

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep 449: Promoting music on podcasts; Kanru Hua of Dreamtonics

Podcast Spotlight

Axe Lords Episode 4: Gear Talk with Mike Hickey

The Axe Lords crank it up this week with Mike Hickey, former in-house shredder for Venom, Carcass, Cathedral, and Cronos; guitar tech to the stars, and legendary gear hunter. Known as one of the world's leading Charvel historians, Mike dishes out his wisdom to the crew, trading stories of daring feats of guitar acquisition, the great Kahler-Floyd Rose debate, and how signature models have changed the guitar market. Mike also takes Dave, Cindy, and Tom for a stroll amongst the towering pillars of Grover Jackson's legacy. And, of course, there's plenty of praise for number one Charvel ambassador, Warren DeMartini.

Podcast Spotlight

The Singers Talk Podcast

Dionne Warwick, the chart-topping, award-winning artist joins this week's episode.