Podcast Spotlight

Gristletime Unleashed: Greg Koch Talks Van Halen, Vintage Teles, and Blues Mastery

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen the inimitable Greg Koch do one of his viral video instrument demos for Wildwood Guitars, shred his derrière off in one of his “Gristletime” livestreams from the Orange Room, or even learned to play reading his Hal Leonard books or watching his TrueFire instructional videos. In this raucous episode, Greg reveals all to the Axe Lords, including tales of growing up in a sprawling family steeped in diverse musical influences and a devout Catholicism that made him fear that listening to Van Halen’s “Running With the Devil” would in itself mark his young soul for eternal damnation. He also delves into how he developed chops so prodigious and tasty that Joe Bonamassa has called his blues-and-country fusion “scary good,” and Cindy, Dave, and Tom grill him about his three Reverend Signature guitars, Fishman pickups, love of vintage Teles, and of course, his new collection of flamenco standards, Blues. No, silly, it’s actually a blues record. We just wanted to see if you were still paying attention! Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff. Follow Greg @gregkochmusic

Podcast Spotlight

“Pick Every Note!” Learn Zakk Wylde’s Wrist Workout on “Miracle Man”

From Ozzy Osbourne to Black Label Society to Zakk Sabbath to, most recently, his stint filling in for his old friend “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott in Pantera, Zakk Wylde has left an unmistakable mark on the hard-rock and metal music worlds. Fresh off performing “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Cleveland Browns game in October, and paying homage to his boss Ozzy at the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Wylde joins this episode of Shred With Shifty to share his teachings from the book of rock. When he was learning to play, Wylde studied Frank Marino, Al Di Meola, and John McLaughlin along with Sabbath shredder Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, and “King Edward”—Eddie Van Halen—but Osbourne’s original right-hand guitar-man Randy Rhoades was top of the crop. Little did Wylde know he’d go on to replace him after his tragic death, following up the work of Rhoades, Brad Gillis, and Jake E. Lee. He got to join his favorite band, but it wasn’t an easy gig. “What’s expected of you as an Ozzy player?” says Wylde. “The bar that Randy set was lights out.” After a quick pinch-harmonics tutorial, Wylde lays out how he used a Marshall JCM800 and Boss SD-1 with his “holy grail” bullseye Gibson Les Paul Custom to track the alternate-picking intensive on “Miracle Man,” a mix of “ingredients” from all the players Wylde loves. (“Pass the Ritchie Blackmore, boss!”) For those thinking of skimping and swapping in some hammer-ons and pull-offs, Shifty warns: “There are no shortcuts! Pick every note!” Along the way, Wylde discusses the inner workings of his tenure with Osbourne, including being the longest-running player in the group—like “working at the deli,” according to Wylde. And tune in to hear about Wylde’s relationship to Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, who he refers to as “mom”—a role she performed well when she busted him at a nightclub while he was underage.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 300: Jakob Nowell (Sublime)

EP 300: Jakob Nowell (Sublime)

Podcast Spotlight

Derek Trucks Teaches His Classical Indian-Inflected Solo on “Midnight in Harlem”

Break out your glass, steel, or beer bottle: This time on Shred With Shifty, we’re sliding into glory with southern-rock great Derek Trucks, leader of the Derek Trucks Band, co-leader (along with wife Susan Tedeschi) of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and, from 1999 to 2014, member of the Allman Brothers Band. Reared in Jacksonville, Florida, Trucks was born into rock ’n’ roll: His uncle, Butch Trucks, was a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, and from the time he was nine years old, Derek was playing and touring with blues and rock royalty, from Buddy Guy to Bob Dylan. Early on, he established himself as a prodigy on slide guitar, and in this interview from backstage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Trucks explains why he’s always stuck with his trusty Gibson SGs, and how he sets them up for both slide and regular playing. (He also details his custom string gauges.) Trucks analyzes and demonstrates his subtle but scorching solo on “Midnight in Harlem,” off of Tedeschi Trucks Band’s acclaimed 2011 record, Revelator. In it, he highlights the influence of Indian classical music, and particularly sarod player Ali Akbar Khan, on his own playing. The lead is “melodic but with Indian-classical inflections,” flourishes that Trucks says are integral to his playing: It’s a jazz and jam-band mentality of “dangling your feet over the edge of the cliff,” says Trucks, and going outside whatever mode you’re playing in. Throughout the episode, Trucks details his live and studio set ups (“As direct as I can get it”), shares advice for learning slide and why he never uses a pick, and ponders what the future holds for collaborations with Warren Haynes.

Podcast Spotlight

EP 299: Travis Book and Anders Beck

EP 299: Travis Book and Anders Beck

Podcast Spotlight

BTB Ep 454: Advice for Indie Creators with Rod Yancy

BTB Ep 454: Advice for Indie Creators with Rod Yancy

Podcast Spotlight

Episode 8: Chris Shiflett on Punk, Glam, and the Quest for Sound

Even though he plays in one of the world’s biggest rock bands, is an active solo performer and hosts two podcasts (the second- and third-best podcasts ever), Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett found the time to convene with the Axe Lords to discuss his remarkable career, punk and glam-metal roots, signature Fender guitars, the relentless quest for an original sound, and why a sweaty club gig can be more nerve-wracking than playing a sold-out stadium show. Drop into our DMs if you need to know where to send those free Cleavers, buddy!

Podcast Spotlight

EP 298: Andy & Nick

EP 298: Andy & Nick

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.

Podcast Spotlight

Laura Davidson

Laura Davidson

Podcast Spotlight

EP 297: Mark Wystrach (Midland)

Mark Wystrach (Midland)

Podcast Spotlight

Kerri Kasem

Kerri Kasem

Podcast Spotlight

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.

Podcast Spotlight

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.