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FORGOTTEN HISTORY: 7 | History Defined

“Steve Vai tried to school me on string bending, but you just don't do that on bass!” Pete Griffin reflects on his time with Steve Vai, and his latest solo EP

The seasoned sideman compares notes on Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and Dweezil Zappa

Guitar World

“People thought the Beatles were God. That's not correct”: the genius of Frank Zappa, the rock’n’roll icon who had no time for rock’n’roll

Musical genius, rock’n’roll outsider, sexual obsessive, the ‘original shock rocker’ – this is the epic story of how Frank Zappa became Frank Zappa

Louder

Ten songs that fought back against the PMRC

In 80s America, the Parents Music Resource Center sought to censor music by imposing a series of draconian rules. Here’s how a group of rock, metal and punk bands fought back

Metal Hammer

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“I’ve always had a knack for emulating sounds or creating new ones”: Adrian Belew on the weird, wonderful and utterly unique tones behind his new solo album, Elevator

The former Frank Zappa and King Crimson guitarist keeps putting his decades-old knack for sonic invention to good use

Guitar World

“David Bowie’s Lodger was supposed to be called Planned Accidents… I was the accident!” Adrian Belew on being poached from Frank Zappa’s band

King Crimson and Talking Heads veteran recalls having to record for Bowie without hearing the songs first

Louder

“Led Zeppelin’s fee went from £500 to £20,000 in a year!” Collapsing stages and no toilets: The 1969 Bath Blues Festival that inspired Glastonbury

They sold 7000 tickets – and 30,000 people turned up. How The Bath Blues Festivals became the inspiration to a young Michael Eavis and Glastonbury.

Louder

Keziah Jones and Philippe Cohen Solal release EP celebrating over 30 years of friendship

In 1989, French composer Philippe Cohen Solal, co-founder of the electro-tango trio Gotan Project, heard Nigerian singer-songwriter Keziah Jones busking on the streets of Paris. That marked the beginning of an over 30-year friendship, which recently spawned an EP: "Class of 89". The record features a blend of influences and…

France 24

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John Frusciante’s guitar teacher once told him he wasn’t a good guitarist – so he learned to play like Steve Vai: “No-one was going to say that to me again”

The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar hero recalls being criticized because he couldn’t play the blues scale fast enough: “It was about the worst feeling I could imagine”

Guitar World

"I played a blues scale as fast as I could and he said, 'That's not fast, you're not a good guitarist'" – John Frusciante on his depressing encounter with a guitar teacher, and his teenage heroes Steve Vai and Adrian Belew

A new extensive interview with bandmate Flea reveals the iconic Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist's roots

MusicRadar

Steve Harley: The soundtrack of my life

Singer and songwriter Steve Harley picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals the song that reminds him of his first love, Glenda White from Wickford

Louder

New Van Halen documentary takes us back to the early ‘80s to tell the story of how Eddie built 5150 Studios as the band were coming apart

Or how Eddie Van Halen helped pioneer working from home, reinvented guitar, befriended Frank Zappa and ended up producing My Mother Is A Space Cadet for a young Dweezil Zappa

MusicRadar

Watch Dweezil Zappa nail Eruption with the Kramer guitar Eddie Van Halen gave him when he was 12 years old

It's clear that the vintage Kramer still has some mojo in it. Of course, Zappa's tapping and immaculate pickwork are pretty darn good, too

Guitar World

At 86, Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal continues to gloriously defy music genres

Bandmate Jovino Santos Neto claims Pascoal would doubtless be a Guinness World Records holder if his oeuvre could be accurately quantified, as he is, even at 86, constantly churning out new works.

Chicago Sun-Times

Jeff Berlin: “Look at Jaco Pastorius: clearly a genius, but misunderstood”

Jazz bassist Jeff Berlin debunks a myth surrounding Jaco’s early years

Guitar World

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Louder

"It was like Dorothy landing in Oz" - what happened when Alice Cooper went to Los Angeles

Once upon a time, a garage band from Phoenix moved to LA and became Alice Cooper, with a little help from Frank Zappa, a dark alter ego and... West Side Story

Guitar World

How to solo using compound time – the secret behind some of Frank Zappa and Robben Ford's most out-there leads

Open up some all-new possibilities for your lead strategies with these fresh rhythmic soloing approaches

Louder

The making of Deep Purple's Machine Head: "Smoke On The Water only made it onto the album as filler"

Let the members of Deep Purple MKII be your guide to the chaotic recording of Machine Head, an album that could have been very different to the one we know and love

Metal Hammer

10 great heavy metal songs that came before Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath may have been the official ground zero for metal, but these heavy-as-lead bangers all predate that classic first album

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Louder

Three of Jean-Luc Ponty's 80 and 90s albums to be reissued

Jean-Luc Ponty's Open Mind, No Absolute Time and Individual Choice will be reissued on vinyl over next three months

Guitar World

Seven-note groupings can add some serious spice to your solos – just ask Steve Vai

Looking to add the unexpected to your improv? Septuplets might be the answer, challenging the audience and yourself

Guitar World

10 things you didn’t know about Carol Kaye

She played for Elvis, Sinatra, Spector, the Beach Boys - but just how did she do it?

Chicago Sun-Times

Disappearing into hunting shed antlers and finding a surprise

Part of the joy of hunting shed antlers is disappearing in a still time of the year; some times, like Saturday, there are surprising finds.

Daily Mirror

Wildest celebrity baby names and the regretful star who changed her mind

Celebrities don't hold back when it comes to naming their offspring, finding inspiration in everything from My Little Pony to near-death disasters

Tribune News Service

Guitar wizard Mike Keneally, a member of 6 bands, starts new chapter with COVID-era solo album

SAN DIEGO — Guitar and keyboard wizard Mike Keneally has made several dozen albums as a band leader and has been featured on 200 or so more by other artists. His collaborators have ranged from Frank Zappa and the great soul singer Solomon Burke to avant-jazz trumpet great Wadada Leo…

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report; Hints and hopes of lakefront perch and waiting on first ice

Early hints of perch on southern Lake Michigan lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

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