Episode 1 - Steve Vai / All Guitar Network

Malibu Guitar Festival

Episode 2 - Robby Kreiger

Robby Kreiger from The Doors talks art, golf and guitars.

03:29

Malibu Guitar Festival

Episode 3 - Tommy Emmanuel

A chat with a guitar genius.

08:09

108 Rock Star Guitars: The NAMM 2020 Interviews

108 Rock Star Guitars: The NAMM 2020 Interviews: Bon Jovi lead guitarist, Phil X

Phil Xenidis, better known as Phil X (born 10 March 1966) is a Las Vegas based Canadian guitarist, prolific session guitarist and officially a member of Bon Jovi right now. At 16 Phil formed a band called Sidinex (from Phil’s last name spelled backwards) with bassist Kevin Gingrich, drummer Scott Masterson and singer Todd Farhood. They played high schools and opened local shows for bands like Nazareth and Thor. Sometimes they were lucky to have their own gig in clubs. They even released an EP, but the band called it quits when Phil was offered a gig with Frozen Ghost in 1988. An early opportunity in Phil’s career came when he was asked in 1990 to tour with Randy Coven, whom he had met through Aldo Nova. In 1991, he toured the US with Aldo Nova, supporting Aldo’s new album Blood On The Bricks. While on tour with Aldo Nova, he got the chance to meet and jam on stage with Jon Bon Jovi several times and that got him a session at Jon’s house with the man himself and Tico Torres, recording guitars for the song Levon to be featured in the compilation album Two Rooms. In 1993 he replaced Rik Emmett in the Canadian rock band TRIUMPH, for the Edge of Excess album and tour. In 1994, Phil collaborated with Terry Brown, Doug Varty and Rob Kennedy to form a short-lived band, The Bushdoctors. They recorded one album, a self titled debut, now out of print. In 1997 he decided he would leave Canada and move to Los Angeles where he became a prolific session guitarist. In true hollywood story style, one day Phil was painting the garage of a hot shot record producer, and the next he was trading the paintbrush for a Les Paul to play on Tommy Lee’s new project, Methods of Mayhem. The new kid was on the block and had the heads a spinnin’. Playing for Tommy Lee led to playing for Rob Zombie, who gave Phil’s phone number to Alice Cooper (Phil played on Brutal Planet), while becoming the in-house guitar player for producer Scott Humphrey laying down some “X Magic” on Andrew W.K.’s I Get Wet, BT’s Emotional Technology and more recordings by Tommy Lee and Rob Zombie. Not only did Phil record Brick House with Mr. Zombie for the House of 1,000 Corpses movie soundtrack, he also performed the Commodores’ smash hit live on The Tonight Show (Jay Leno) with Rob and Lionel Richie. As Phil’s name began to crop up in more and more circles, names such as Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Chris Cornell, Orianthi and Adam Lambert were added to his credits with the list continuing to grow. Although Phil X was known for playing in several rock bands, his real breakthrough happened via YouTube, when the vintage guitars shop Fretted Americana hired him to host a series of videos where the guitarist demonstrated some of the instruments in stock. There are plenty of instrument reviews and gear demonstration videos on YouTube, but Phil X transformed his clips into a real show, not simply limiting himself to review the guitars, but showcasing his great charisma and larger-than-life personality. His mad guitar skills and fierce playing, combined with his sense of humor, transformed him very quickly into a YouTube sensation, generating millions of views for the channel and building a great international fanbase of music enthusiasts. With that kind of exposure, it’s not surprising that Phil X would get the call to fill in for Richie Sambora in Bon Jovi while the band’s lead guitarist took care of some personal issues. Phil played the last 13 US shows of the 2011 Circle Tour triggering rave reviews and the growth of his already expanding fan base. With the departure of Richie Sambora on 2 April 2013 for unspecified personal reasons, during the band’s US leg of the Because We Can tour, Phil X replaced Sambora once again, this time for the remaining shows of the tour. In 2015 he toured with the band again, playing sold out shows on a mini tour in Asia, and when the new album This House Is Not For Sale was being recorded, he was asked to play the guitar on some of the tracks, becoming an official band member once the record was out. At present he is recording guitars and backvocals for Bon Jovi’s next studio album. Phil X was co-founder of the Los Angeles-based turbo pop band Powder. Formed in 2001, they appeared to be a two-piece band made up of him and his then wife, singer Ninette Terhart. They released 3 albums: Sonic Machine, Powder and Nothing. The band called it quits in 2010. Phil X is also co-founder and frontman of The DRILLS, a three-piece band made up of him (guitarist/singer/songwriter/producer), Daniel Spriewald (bassist/background singer) and a drummer (various). So far they’ve released 3 albums (Kick Your Ass in 17 Minutes, We Bring The Rock N Roll and We Play Instruments N Shit) and are currently about to release the next one Stupid Goodlooking due out May 3rd, 2019. "108 Rock Star Guitars" is an illustrated coffee table book showcasing the world’s most famous guitars. By Lisa S. Johnson, foreword by Les Paul. Armed with a macro lens, an incredible eye for detail and a truly ground breaking vision, Lisa S. Johnson’s guitar art, is taking the world of fine art photography on a rock and roll ride. Born into a talented family, with a mother that sings and a father that plays guitar, bass, violin and mandolin, Lisa fell in love with melody and imagery and pursued a career in photography. After a successful 10-year stint at Kodak, Lisa found herself befriending the owner of a vintage guitar shop in Memphis, TN. It was there that she began to exclusively photograph guitars. Since then, Lisa has photographed the guitars of Les Paul, Jimmy Page, Roger Waters, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, John Lee Hooker, Peter Frampton, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Satriani, Wayne Kramer, Michael Wilton, Phil Collen, Ace Frehley, Ted Nugent, Carlos Santana, Scotti Hill, Ben Harper, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Scofield, John Hiatt, Luther Dickinson, Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, Lucky Peterson, Al Kooper, T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour, Steve Earle, Keb Mo, Nancy Wilson, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Robbie Robertson, George Benson, Steve Vai, Jack White, SLASH, John Entwistle, Michael Monarch, Brian May, Derek Trucks, Johnny Winter, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Richard Thompson, Gary Rossington, Joe Walsh, Robby Krieger, Mick Ronson, Bob Margolin, Hutch Hutchinson, Bonnie Raitt, Brian Setzer, Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Zakk Wylde, Warren DiMartini, Dave Mustaine, Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell, K.K. Downing, Steve Howe, Dave Mason, Tommy Shaw, Mark Farner, Brian Robertson, Steve Morse, Porl Thompson, Michael Schenker, and many more. Far from still life, Lisa’s work conjures the abstract, yet also possesses a very sensual and ethereal feel that intentionally illustrates the intimate wear and tear details of the instrument. Her unique presentation undoubtedly personifies the musician and captures their true spirit in these wooden extensions of their own iconic flesh. Her debut book entitled "108 RockStar Guitars" was released in Fall of 2013 in which the foreword was written by Les Paul.

05:10

108 Rock Star Guitars: The NAMM 2020 Interviews

Guitar Tech for Johnny Winter & Billy Sheehan: Jeff Mallard

"108 Rock Star Guitars" is an illustrated coffee table book showcasing the world’s most famous guitars. By Lisa S. Johnson, foreword by Les Paul. Armed with a macro lens, an incredible eye for detail and a truly ground breaking vision, Lisa S. Johnson’s guitar art, is taking the world of fine art photography on a rock and roll ride. Born into a talented family, with a mother that sings and a father that plays guitar, bass, violin and mandolin, Lisa fell in love with melody and imagery and pursued a career in photography. After a successful 10-year stint at Kodak, Lisa found herself befriending the owner of a vintage guitar shop in Memphis, TN. It was there that she began to exclusively photograph guitars. Since then, Lisa has photographed the guitars of Les Paul, Jimmy Page, Roger Waters, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, John Lee Hooker, Peter Frampton, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Satriani, Wayne Kramer, Michael Wilton, Phil Collen, Ace Frehley, Ted Nugent, Carlos Santana, Scotti Hill, Ben Harper, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Scofield, John Hiatt, Luther Dickinson, Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, Lucky Peterson, Al Kooper, T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour, Steve Earle, Keb Mo, Nancy Wilson, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Robbie Robertson, George Benson, Steve Vai, Jack White, SLASH, John Entwistle, Michael Monarch, Brian May, Derek Trucks, Johnny Winter, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Richard Thompson, Gary Rossington, Joe Walsh, Robby Krieger, Mick Ronson, Bob Margolin, Hutch Hutchinson, Bonnie Raitt, Brian Setzer, Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Zakk Wylde, Warren DiMartini, Dave Mustaine, Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell, K.K. Downing, Steve Howe, Dave Mason, Tommy Shaw, Mark Farner, Brian Robertson, Steve Morse, Porl Thompson, Michael Schenker, and many more. Far from still life, Lisa’s work conjures the abstract, yet also possesses a very sensual and ethereal feel that intentionally illustrates the intimate wear and tear details of the instrument. Her unique presentation undoubtedly personifies the musician and captures their true spirit in these wooden extensions of their own iconic flesh. Her debut book entitled "108 RockStar Guitars" was released in Fall of 2013 in which the foreword was written by Les Paul. This episode features guitar tech, Jeff Mallard, who worked for Johnny Winter and is now working with Billy Sheehan.

07:14

Norman's Rare Guitars, The Podcast

Episode 24: Composers, Dominic Lewis & Daniel Futcher: Audio version available now!

In this episode, Norm and Nick continue their exploration of making money in music, but in ways most kids don't think about when they start out in a band. Educated by the Royal Academy of Music, Dominic Lewis is a young and very relevant composer of modern day music... in film, TV, animation, and more. Together, Dominic and Daniel have worked with some legends in entertainment -- including Hans Zimmer and Jodie Foster -- and have worked for some of the most relevant films in our modern times; from Free Birds, to How to Train Your Dragon, to Duck Tales, Peter Rabbit, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and X-Men: First Class. Podcast only version available now....!

01:00

Norman's Rare Guitars, The Podcast

Episode 23 | Derek Frank & David Becker

On this episode, Norm and Nick sit with return guest David Becker (of the David Becker Trio), and Derek Frank. Derek is a world-renowned bassist who started with a love of heavy metal -- he is a self-proclaimed "metal head" -- and has toured globally with some of the world's biggest pop acts, including Gwen Stefani and Shania Twain. He's also been on the TV sensation Dancing with the Stars! Hear all about the guitars and basses that they love, why they play them, how they got started in the music business and what makes a great touring musician, on this episode of Norman's Rare Guitars, The Podcast.

48:03

Mostly Acoustic with Michael Reno Harrell

Episode 3: Jack Williams

Jack Williams is a national class guitarist/singer/songwriter based in Columbia, SC. He is outstanding among the handful of artists who - in skill, depth and integrity - are simply beyond the pale of the average club artist on the circuit. Among acoustic guitarists he is near-legendary. Having avoided the compromises of the commercial music industry during his 39-year professional career, he has preferred working the road, playing coffeehouses, concerts and festivals week in, week out, from the sheer love - and respect - of music. Jack has been writing since 1970 and has a new CD of original music, Across the Winterline, on his own label, in addition to Dreams of the Song Dog on Nashville's Winter Harvest Records, and Highway From Back Home, his 1993 independent CD. In 1980, one of his songs was recorded by Tom Jones as a single and an album cut. Jack's friendship with two great singers had an enormous impact on the rest of Jack's career. In 1973, his relationship with the late Harry Nilsson resulted in an album effort at RCA during a year of music-industry turmoil. Since 1993, he has occasionally toured as sole accompanist to his friend, legendary songwriter Mickey Newbury, with whom he recorded a live album, Nights When I Am Sane, on Winter Harvest. In 1996, Jack co-produced, played and co-wrote a song on Mickey's newest CD, Lulled By The Moonlight, which made Billboard's CD pick-of-the-week. Jack is currently involved in helping Mickey complete his life's work in performing and recording due to his friend's poor health. In the past few years, Jack has emerged from self-imposed obscurity to find new audiences in the contemporary acoustic - or "folk" - music world. This has brought him much attention and led him to acclaimed appearances at several music festivals and venues as well as at the Folk Alliance Conference in 1997 in Toronto, where his guitar-playing, songs, and commanding personal presence caused a buzz in the folk community. As a singer/songwriter, Jack has opened for Dave Mason, Dar Williams, Tom Paxton, David Wilcox, John Gorka, Steve Forbert, Jonathan Edwards, Nicolette Larson, and Leon Russell. As a guitarist, he has been invited to accompany Tom Paxton, Lucy Kaplansky, Ellis Paul, Tom Prasada-Rao, Dayna Kurtz and Caroline Aiken. From 1958 through 1987, Jack was probably best-known as an electric guitarist in several influential rock bands. In the late 60's, he began exploring his troubadour nature and started to perform solo, singing and playing a gut-string guitar, traveling coast to coast. Before becoming a writer, Jack drew music and inspiration from the likes of Jesse Winchester, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Willis Alan Ramsey and Ray Charles. When the spirit moves him today, hundreds of songs from favorite writers spring readily from his lips and fingers. As a hired-gun guitarist in the 60's, Jack worked shows with John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Turner, Jerry Butler, and Hank Ballard, and later opened performances by the Allman Brothers, Delbert McClinton, and Arthur Conley. His bands also backed up such artists as the Shirelles, the Del-Vikings, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Coasters, the Drifters, and the Platters. Jack's career has been nothing if not eclectic. He played trumpet in a jazz quartet in a beatnik coffeehouse in Seattle in 1959 - reading poetry to the audience during breaks. He learned banjo and mandolin to spice up folk groups in the 60's. He played pedal-steel guitar in a country-rock band, and composed chamber music for strings, winds, piano and voice for which he won a national arts grant in 1967. He also played classical guitar/lute in a Renaissance ensemble. Jack Williams is truly a melting pot of all these influences, and combining them with his guitar, voice and songs, he creates all-American southern music that should not be missed.

09:24

Norman's Rare Guitars, The Podcast

Derek Frank & David Becker | Podcast only, available now

Check out the latest episode of Norm's Podcast, featuring bass player to the stars, Derek Frank & Jazz guitar great, David Becker. Podcast version available now at your favortie Podcast provider.

48:03

Norman's Rare Guitars, The Podcast

Episode 22 | Angela Petrilli

On this episode, Norm is joined by Angela Petrilli, of Picking with Petrilli! Angela is an LA native who was in the band Roses & Cigarettes, until tragedy struck and the other half of her band was taken too soon by cancer. In her efforts to rebuild from such a tragic loss, she's regrouping and hitting the road on her own.

39:24

Mostly Acoustic with Michael Reno Harrell

Mostly Acoustic: Episode 2: Tommy Edwards

Siler City native Tommy Edwards was raised in a musical family. His mom was a piano player and his father played harmonica and ukulele and sang in choirs and quartets. Even though he is "as old as bluegrass"--having been born in 1945, the year that Earl Scruggs joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys--Edwards listened to rock and roll and R&B as a child, and doesn't remember listening to much country music in his home. But the folk revival hit just as he was a teenager, and he followed the sounds of the banjo from the Kingston Trio to Earl Scruggs and finally discovered Bill Monroe, a life-changing experience that also had important implications for Piedmont music history. He pulled a 1930s Gibson banjo out of his neighbor's trashcan, cleaned it up, and began emulating the styles of his heroes. He focused on banjo while he was in college at East Carolina University, but when he came home to Siler City he found that the only bluegrass band in town already had a banjo player, so he switched to guitar. He credits his neighbors, brothers Paul and Donald Beane, with helping him find his voice in bluegrass, and he joined their band, "Tom and Jerry and The Beane Blossoms" (which also included mandolin player Jerry Stuart) in the late 1960s. He preferred traditional approaches to bluegrass and developed a unique flat-picking guitar style that he perfected by adapting Bill Monroe's mandolin leads, and absorbed the techniques of seasoned players like Doc Watson, Arthur Smith, and Don Reno. He was soon good enough to enter competitions at fiddler's conventions, where he made friends with fellow North Carolina pickers like Jack Lawrence, Gen Meade, Michael Auman, Ray Cline, Wes Golding, and Jimmy Haley, as well as the teenaged Tony Rice. He began to garner accolades and twice took home the top prize for "World Championship Bluegrass Guitar" at the storied Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers & Bluegrass Festival. Edwards formed the The Bluegrass Experience in 1971 with the Beane brothers and friends Snuffy Smith, Charles Lee Conard, and "Fiddlin' Al" McCanless. The band joined fellow Chapel Hill musicians like Mike Cross and the Red Clay Ramblers to carve their own place in the local traditional music scene as accomplished players and singers, anchored by Edwards' original songs. For all the attention Edwards gets as a distinctive instrumentalist, he feels that he is at his best as a songwriter. "I love the creative part and I love to tell a story," he says. He finds that inspiration can arrive in a matter of moments or take years to hone, and that songwriting allows him to tap into a more cerebral process that can be very rewarding. "It differs from being an instrumentalist in that one has to find the words that tell the story and put them together in a cohesive (and often rhyming) manner in order to tell that story, to get a certain point across or to weave a particular spell." Edwards ran an antiques store in Pittsboro with his wife Cindy for over 25 years; taught middle school, coached, and was an administrator in the Randolph and Chatham County Schools; and served in the North Carolina National Guard. Members of The Bluegrass Experience continue to play together and recently celebrated their 40th anniversary with a concert at the Fearrington Barn in Pittsboro. Edwards currently plays solo gigs and with his group Carolina Lightnin', which also features Alice Zincone and Rick Lafleur of The Grass Cats. He still plays the banjo on occasion and sometimes joins old friend Leroy Savage at his band's regular Wednesday night gig at the Q Shack in Durham. He also hosts a radio show on WLHC in Sanford and WOQC in Rocky Mount (103.1 FM or www.life1031.com) called "Bluegrass Saturday Night" that can be heard--you guessed it--every Saturday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.

08:11

Mostly Acoustic: Episode I: Doc Watson's 1945 MARTIN D-18

Mostly Acoustic with Michael Reno Harrell

Joe BonamassaSlashSarah RogoTim PierceBassJosh SmithNorman's Rare GuitarsUpload Of The DayDeke DickersonLessonsNewsVintageTech & repairsKirk FletcherMorning Joe MassNorman's Rare Guitars PodcastHenny HendrexzMichael LemmoGuitar Of The DayJazzDavid BeckerCountryRockBluesAcoustic

Mostly Acoustic: Episode I: Doc Watson's 1945 MARTIN D-18

Michael visits old friend Jack Lawrence and they show us a piece of American music history, Doc Watson's 1945 Martin D-18....!! Yep, you heard right, Doc Watson's 1945 Martin D-18. Doc played this guitar on so many iconic records it's hard to even imagine the influence this instrument has had on tone, projection and playability and the players that have followed. A FLAT-PICKER'S DREAM.....!

09:22

Norman's Rare Guitars, The Podcast

Joe BonamassaSlashSarah RogoTim PierceBassJosh SmithNorman's Rare GuitarsUpload Of The DayDeke DickersonLessonsNewsVintageTech & repairsKirk FletcherMorning Joe MassNorman's Rare Guitars PodcastHenny HendrexzMichael LemmoGuitar Of The DayJazzDavid BeckerCountryRockBluesAcousticMrs Smith

Episode 21 | Michael Lemmo

Michael Lemmo has become a bit of a Norman's Rare Guitars celebrity, and for all the right reasons. On this episode, it's just Norm and Mike, talking through Mike's life in music, the way he started, the guitars he plays, and all the personal bits you would want to hear about his life, including why he stayed in Los Angeles, instead of high-tailing it back to PA.

57:33

Related

Episode 2 - Robby Kreiger

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108 Rock Star Guitars: The NAMM 2020 Interviews: Bon Jovi lead guitarist, Phil X

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Episode 3: Jack Williams

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Mostly Acoustic: Episode 2: Tommy Edwards

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