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EXPLAINED: Buckethead person - The Real Truth

“They already had Buckethead. I was thinking, ‘Who’s the craziest and the best?’ I knew there was only one guy”: Joe Satriani on the guitar ace he recommended for the Guns N’ Roses gig

Axl Rose was on the lookout for a player who could match Buckethead's ability and eccentricity – and Satch knew just who to call

Guitar World

Friday briefing: The answers to our quiz are in – how much of 2025 did you remember?

In today’s newsletter: From the right number of French prime ministers to the pasttimes of Archie Bland’s dog – here are answers to our inaugural Christmas Day quiz.

The Guardian - UK

“When I first came into the band, it was split into factions. Now everything feels solidified”: Guns N’ Roses’ longest-serving guitarist Richard Fortus on his bond with Slash and why he’s as surprised as anyone he’s still in the band

What does it take to be in Guns N’ Roses for 23 years and counting? For Richard Fortus, it requires tone mastery, the ability to mesh with his legendary gunslinger partner and a highly desirable signature Gretsch

Guitar World

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“A lot of the issues were to do with management and stuff that pitted me and Axl against each other”: Slash on his return to Guns N’ Roses, changing up the Sweet Child O’ Mine solo, and what needs to happen for a new GNR album

Slash is the luckiest man in rock. Quitting GNR in ’96 when they were on top, he returned in ’16 and hasn't looked back. Here he talks about the past, present, and what the future might hold...

Guitar World

“In the time I was involved in attempting to play his parts, never really could I have captured the essence of him”: Buckethead reflects on his time in Guns N’ Roses as Slash pays tribute to the elusive virtuoso

The man with the bucket on his head and magic in his fingers says an emotional thank you to Slash after the rock icon described his guitar playing as “next level”

Guitar World

“They kept talking about this bizarre guitar player who practiced nonstop in his room and was very eccentric. I thought, ‘I want to work with him’”: Bill Laswell survived Buckethead, John Lydon, Ginger Baker and Eddie Hazel – and made it sound easy

The bass journeyman, soundscape creator and producer recalls having his P-Bass stolen the night before his first Brian Eno session, making PiL classic Rise, and hoping illness hasn’t ended his surprisingly fight-free career

Guitar World

“I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the bucket”: Buckethead once auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne – now he’s covering Ozzy and Black Sabbath classics in tribute to the gig that didn’t quite work out

As the Prince of Darkness himself once revealed, the enigmatic guitarist wasn't recruited because he refused to remove his “Martian's-hat thing”

Guitar World

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“I don’t know how he got my address. He sent me a videotape of him jamming his head off. I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’” Buckethead gives rare ‘interview’ to Bootsy Collins – but speaks through his Les Paul

Collins talks and Buckethead riffs in the strangest guitar interview of 2025

Guitar World

Psychic tests! Pet wolves! Chicken coops! Guns N' Roses and the wild ride towards Chinese Democracy

Ever wondered why Chinese Democracy took so long to make? This is the truly unbelievable story of a year in the life of Axl Rose

Metal Hammer

“Daron’s the guitarist, I’m the vocalist, and yet he was using my Strat… Then somebody stole it after breaking our car window”: Serj Tankian reflects on his guitar journey with System of a Down, Tony Iommi, Buckethead and beyond

In a rare guitar interview, Serj Tankian breaks down his “fast folk” playing style and upcoming signature Gibson Les Paul, his love of shredders, and freaking out Maynard James Keenan (and being freaked out by Buckethead)

Guitar World

“He’d call me at four in the morning and leave a 15-minute guitar solo on my voicemail”: Serj Tankian on his collaborations with the enigmatic Buckethead – and the time they played a high school battle of the bands together

From taxidermy-inspired music videos to playing a high school battle of the bands as fully grown adults, the System of a Down frontman recalls his artistic camaraderie with Buckethead

Guitar World

"The whole vibe of Ace Frehley was really special to me. I was so small, and Ace was this larger-than-life figure… I didn't even think he was a real person": John 5 names the guitarists who shaped his sound

From shred titans to riff-masters to an obscure, blazing country picker he thinks every guitarist should listen to, the Mötley Crüe man names the players who forged his virtuosic, hard-charging sound

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