Guitar Speak Podcast

Episode 39 Michael Molenda - Editor in Chief of Guitar Player Magazine

  Happy 50th birthday Guitar Player Magazine! This week we speak to Michael Molenda who is the current - and longest serving - Editor in Chief of Guitar Player Magazine. We speak about the magazine's history, legacy and plans for the future in this milestone year for the publication. Michael speaks candidly about his career as a guitarist, studio owner, journalist and creative producer.  We also discuss Gretchen Menn's latest album, Abandon All Hope, which Michael provided the libretto for. Good times!

Episode 38 Chris Brooks

  Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we speak to Chris Brooks from Sydney, Australia. Chris is an excellent player with two fantastic solo albums. He also is an in demand instructor and clinician who has produced some world class instructional resources. We speak to Chris about early influences - he is another of our guests to cite both Brett Garsed and Dieter Kleeman as important figures - collaborating with Yngwie alumni and maintaining the passion to continually learn and grow. Thanks for listening in - you can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and find us on Facebook and Instagram. chrisbrooks.com

Episode 37 Perry Ormsby of Ormsby Guitars

    Welcome to Episode 37 of the Guitar Speak Podcast. For over a decade Ormsby Guitars have been crafting incredible instruments in Perth, Western Australia. Perry Ormsby talks us through how his childhood love of fine woodworking led him to his career in guitar design and luthiery. Today, Ormsby Guitars are distributed in Australia, USA and the UK. Perry explains his multi-scale concept, the development of an off-shore series of guitars, plans to collaborate with Grover Jackson later this year and offers some 3D distraction from your day job. www.ormsbyguitars.com      

Episode 36 Greg Marra

    Welcome to Episode 36 of the Guitar Speak Podcast! This week we speak to Greg Marra - a brilliant guitarist and producer from Southern California. Greg's career to date has featured two excellent solo albums, a very cool new band project, sideman work with Paul Gilbert and Bruce Bouillet (amongst many others) and some great sponsorship partnerships involving Ibanez Guitars, Fishman pickups, Friedman amps and Wampler pedals. Greg has even found time to start his own super cool podcast - Greg Marra Iconoclast Music Podcast. We also feature a couple of listener emails...we love hearing from you at guitarspeakpodcast@gmail.com, Facebook or Instagram. Thanks for tuning in!    

Episode 35 Michael Ross NAMM 2017 Special

  Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast! This week we speak to our friend Michael Ross who has just returned from the 2017 Winter NAMM convention in Anaheim, California. Michael is a seasoned musician, author and journalist - currently writing for Guitar Player and Premier Guitar - whilst curating the excellent Guitar Moderne website. Michael gives us his take on the latest and greatest guitars, amps and pedals released at NAMM. For more of Michael's backstory, check out our interview with him in episode 6. Enjoy the show!     Subscribe: ITUNES  https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast/id1102714044?mt=2 STITCHER http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast    

Episode 34 Tim Green from Mojo Stompboxes

  Welcome to Episode 34 of The Guitar Speak Podcast! Today we speak to Tim Green of Mojo Stompboxes. Tim is a collector, modder, repairer, retailer and expert in all things retro Boss! In fact Tim digs many of those compact pedals hailing from Japan in the '70s and '80s - Ibanez, Maxon, Guyatone et al.  We had a great time learning about Mojo Stompboxes, busting or confirming pedal myths and Matt gets personal when asking about the scarcity of particular MIJ pedals he sold back in the day! Thanks for tuning in. For free access to all of our episodes head to: BLOGPAGE guitarspeakpodcast.libsyn.com ITUNES  https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast/id1102714044?mt=2 STITCHER http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast

Episode 33 Alastair Greene

Welcome to Episode 33 of the Guitar Speak Podcast! Today we speak with Alastair Greene, who mostly divides his his time between his own blues/rock trio - The Alastair Greene Band - and touring the world with The Alan Parsons Project. Alastair talks about growing up in California in the guitar intense 1980s, forging his voice and career as a solo artist and working with one of rock's most enigmatic figures. Thanks for tuning in! For free access to all of our episodes head to: BLOGPAGE guitarspeakpodcast.libsyn.com ITUNES  https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast/id1102714044?mt=2 STITCHER http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast We're also on those Facebooks and the Instagrams. Photo credit BG Phillips

Episode 32 Jude Gold

Happy New Year! Today we speak to Jude Gold...first 2017 candidate for the 'slashie' award. Here goes: solo artist / high profile sideman - Greg Howe, Billy Sheehan, Jefferson Starship et al / journalist - Guitar Player Magazine / podcaster - No Guitar is Safe / educator -  former Director of Guitar at the Musicians Institute, published by Hal Leonard / good guy! My problem wasn't thinking of things to ask Jude about...it was deciding what to focus on! Jude has built an amazing career and doesn't look like slowing down any time soon.  This interview features live guitar examples from Jude - from Van Halen to his own incredible 'full contact' style and much, much more. Thanks for tuning in! For free access to all of our episodes head to: BLOGPAGE guitarspeakpodcast.libsyn.com ITUNES  https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast/id1102714044?mt=2 STITCHER http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/guitar-speak-podcast

Episode 31 Paul Rhoney of Rhoney Guitars

Welcome to our last episode of 2016.  Today we speak to Paul Rhoney of Rhoney Guitars. Paul makes incredibly cool guitars that embrace his love of vintage and oddball design, whilst presenting a unique and original aesthetic. Sarah Lipstate (Guitar Speak Podcast Episode 13) plays one of Paul's beautiful Oceana models. Paul also co-hosts a great podcast - The Luthierist 2.0 - with Jon Sullivan of Sully Guitars (Guitar Speak Podcast Episodes 26 & 27). Thanks for joining us in 2016 - its been a fun 8 months or so since our launch in April. Looking forward to more in 2017!          

Episode 30 Grant Wills Valve Heaven

Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast! Today we speak amps with Grant Wills from Valve Heaven. Grant builds a range of low to medium powered amps that sound amazing and also hosts amp building workshops. Why does he have a range called the Lamington? There is a great reason! We also ask Grant some questions on valve amp basics - what is push-pull? Class A vs A/B? Triode vs Pentode?  Thanks for tuning in!  

Episode 29 Rob Balducci

Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we speak to New Yorker, Rob Balducci. Rob is a fantastic rock instrumentalist with several albums on Steve Vai's Favoured Nations label. He is an Ibanez, D'Addario and Atomic amps endorser, to name just a few of the companies he has had long associations with. Rob has a knack for melding his broad influences into fantastic compositions with very cool tones. We talk influences, career development, gear - his Custom Shop Ibanez guitars are too cool - and his latest album '812 Monroe Drive'. Good times!

Episode 28 Johnny Balmer - Alchemy Audio

Welcome to Episode 28 of The Guitar Speak Podcast! This week we speak to Johnny Balmer of Alchemy Audio. Based in Chicago, Johnny mods, builds and repairs pedals of all stripes. He has some high profile clients and is working on a line of original designs. Johnny also finds time to brew his own craft beer! We also have some exciting news about the 2017 Tamworth Country Music Festival from our friends Michael Fix (Guitar Speak Podcast Episode 3) and Jayne Denham. We get to hear some of Michael's Golden Guitar nominated tune, "Cosmopolitan Blues". Finally, the brilliant Sydney based label 4-4-2 Music has released it's latest Christmas album, "God Bless the Children". It's a glorious mess of indie, electronica, alt-folk and ambient celebration...definitely not playing anytime soon in your local shopping mall. We check out one of the tracks. Thanks for tuning in!  

Episode 27 Jon Sullivan from Sully Guitars Pt II

We continue our discussion with Jon Sullivan from Sully Guitars in Dallas, TX. In this interview Sully describes in great detail his working partnership with the legendary Grover Jackson on a limited run of Sully '71s. Sully also talks us through some new designs and refinements to come to the range in 2017, and we speak about The Luthierist 2.0 Podcast, which he co-hosts with Paul Rhoney (of the awesome Rhoney Guitars). BONUS STUFF! I asked Sully, as an invested Kiss fan, what he thought about Ace Frehley's 'Spaceman' character now being franchised out to whoever plays lead guitar in Kiss. He sent me a fascinating monologue as well as a version of Dr Love...where Sully plays all the guitars alongside the original recording stems. This episode is brought to you by the Michael Dolce 2016 Masterclass Tour.

Episode 26 Jon Sullivan from Sully Guitars Part I

Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast. This week we speak to Jon Sullivan - Sully - from Sully Guitars in Dallas, Texas. Sully builds amazing guitars which could be described as a modern evolution of the '80s hotrods he loved as a kid.  He has been working on a limited run of instruments built in conjunction with the legendary Grover Jackson, co-hosts The Luthierist 2.0 podcast and digs Ace Frehley. So much good stuff right there! This episode is brought to you by the 2016 Michael Dolce Masterclass Tour.    

Episode 25 Andy Timmons

Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast! This week we speak to the incredible Andy Timmons. Andy has had a remarkable career as a sideman for Danger Danger, Simon Philips, Kip Winger, Paul Stanley and Olivia Newton-John to name a few. He has jammed alongside Paul Gilbert, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and is a popular Ibanez and Mesa Boogie endorser. Throughout his career Andy has released several Andy Timmons Band albums and we catch up with Andy to discuss his latest - "View From a Perfect World". The interview features some album clips and Andy also playing live over the Skype line. Good times! This episode is brought to you by the Michael Dolce Funk/Fusion 2016 Masterclass Tour.

Episode 24 Randall Waller Part II

Today we continue our interview with Randall Waller, with more stories about Mutt Lange, touring rigs with Shania Twain and Keith Urban, coming back home to Australia and working on a solo album. We have heard some of it and it's sounding massive... Episode 24 is brought to you by yougroove@optusnet.com.au design and Michael Dolce's 2016 Funk/Fusion Masterclass Tour. Subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher for fresh episodes of Guitar Speak goodness delivered straight to your device!  

Episode 23 Randall Waller Part I

Welcome to Episode 23 of The Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we speak to Randall Waller, who has had an amazing career touring with the likes of  Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Bonnie Tyler, Dragon, Sharon O'Neil, Jon English, Billy Thorpe and Rose Tattoo to name a few - not a bad resume! This Episode is brought to you by You Groove Design - yougroove@optusnet.com.au and Michael Dolce's 2016 Funk/Fusion Masterclass Tour.

Episode 22 Andy Othling from lowercase noises

Welcome to Episode 22!   Today we speak to Andy Othling, the man behind lowercase noises. Andy has a built a full time career crafting beautiful ambient and cinematic pieces and taking on some super creative projects. Andy tells of his emerging influences, delving into instrumental guitar, touring as a soloist and sideman, his new podcast, gear and much more. Todays episode is brought to you by Michael Dolce's 2016 Funk/Fusion Masterclass tour and yougrooove@optusnet.com.au who designed our cool new logo.

Episode 21 Maton Guitars 70th Anniversary

Welcome to Episode 21 of The Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we give a shout out to Michael Katselos and Storm Front Touring for putting on the amazing Gary Moore Remembered concert. We spoke to Michael about the show in Episode 18 and when we attended the gig this week we were blown away! Our main interview this week is with David Steedman, General Manager of Maton Guitars, an iconic Australian company celebrating 70 years of guitar manufacturing. We also get to hear some of Michael Fix's new album, "Bending Air". Michael is a good friend of The Guitar Speak Podcast (we interviewed him in Episode 3) and a proud Maton endorser. Check out his wonderful Maton signature series guitar. Today's episode is brought to you by Michael Dolce's 2016 Funk/Fusion Masterclass Tour. Thanks for listening in, remember you can find all of our episodes at guitarspeakpodcast.libsyn.com, iTunes and Stitcher.  

Episode 20 Cameron James Henderson / Jay Parrino

Welcome to episode 20 of The Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we present a double header - two interviews with two Sydney based guitarists doing great work. Cameron James Henderson talks about his debut full length player - "Storm Rollin' In", melding blues, folk and roots influences whilst pulling some beautiful tones in the process. Jay Parrino rocks out, invents contrapuntal tapping pieces for fun and appears on our TV sets at regular intervals. Jay also tells us about his great relationship with Roland Australia. There is also a shout out to our friends from Amps and Axes in Baltimore who have added a second show in addition to their excellent weekly show. Today's episode is brought to you by Michael Dolce's 2016 Funk/Fusion Masterclass Tour.      

Episode 19 Gary Moore Remembered

Welcome to episode 19 of The Guitar Speak Podcast! Today we remember the late, great blues / rock master Gary Moore. Michael Katselos joins us to discuss a tribute concert he is putting together with some of Australia's best guitarists, including Peter Northcote and Chris Kamzelas who drop in as well. Episode 19 is brought to you by Michael Dolce's 2016 Funk-Fusion Masterclass Tour. Listen in to find out about Michael's amazing giveaway promo and also details on the clinic tour.  

Episode 18 Gretchen Menn

Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast - episode 18! This week we run from AC/DC to Zappa - with a healthy dose of Morse, Beethoven, Page and Django in between - as we catch up with the genre busting Gretchen Menn. Gretchen tells us about her varied influences, technique breakthroughs, Music Man guitars and passion for composition in this in depth interview. Also, our good friend Michael Dolce (Episodes 1 & 15) wants to give you some very cool stuff and we let you know how to get it.  

Episode 17 David Moyse Part II

Welcome to the Guitar Speak Podcast! Today we conclude our two part interview with Australian guitarist David Moyse and follow his career post Air Supply. David went on to become an in demand session musician in Sydney, including playing on film scores for huge films such as Crocodile Dundee and Strictly Ballroom. David also shares about recording and touring as a member of the Hillsong worship team and Don Moen's band - which included Shelia E, Chester Thompson, Abraham Laboriel and Paul Jackson Jr. We also get a sneak peek at his solo album. David speaks candidly about faith, what it means to play as an extension of yourself and why he's still passionately creating music.

Episode 16 David Moyse Part I

Welcome to Episode 16! This week we give a shout out to The Melbourne Guitar Show, which included some of our Guitar Speak friends Brett Kingman (episode 5), Bob Spencer (episode 9) and Michael Dolce with Charles Cilia (episode 15). We also talk about Michael Fix' (episode 3) new album and upcoming European tour. Our featured guest this week is with Australian guitarist, David Moyse. In Part I of a two part interview, we cover David's early career and his time in Air Supply - during the band's most successful years.

Episode 15 Michael Dolce Masterclass and Charles Cilia Guitars

Hey, welcome to episode 15! This week we sit in on a Michael Dolce Masterclass - held at Charles Cilia Guitars' showroom. We talk with some of the guys who attended the clinic and then hang out with Michael and Charles, who have been working together for almost 20 years. Michael owns 14 Cilia guitars...including an amazing signature model.  If you're in Melbourne, check out the Cilia Guitars stand at the Melbourne Guitar Show (Aug 6-7, 2016) or one of the two Michael Dolce masterclasses the following week. Good times!    

Episode 14 Jeff Bober and Mick Marcellino from Amps and Axes Podcast

Welcome to Episode 14! This week's episode is with Jeff Bober and Mick Marcellino who host the excellent Amps and Axes podcast from Baltimore, USA. It's a different kind of episode - more of a dual interview. These guys really know their stuff. Jeff was the mastermind behind the legendary Budda amps and we find out about his new company, East Amplification. It was great meeting these guys and talking guitars...    

Episode 13 Sarah Lipstate

Sarah Lipstate performs mesmerising solo guitar soundscapes - using a slew of pedals, a boomerang looper and a Jazzmaster or Jaguar - under the name of Noveller. We caught up with Sarah to discuss an amazing year in which she has opened shows for Iggy Pop across the US and Europe, hung out with Josh Homme and Troy Van Leeuwan, wrapped up a new solo album, played the NY Guitar Festival and scored a residency in the too cool for words Monkey Town LA pop-up. And bought a new pedal or two...

Episode 12 Joce Dominger

Episode 12!   Today we speak to Joce Dominger of Dominger Pickups in Carolina, USA. Joce and his wife Tammie are passionate boutique builders working closely with luthiers and players alike. Joce builds and designs, whilst Tammie takes care of the pickup winding and creates unique finishes.      

Episode 11 Jack Thammarat

Welcome to The Guitar Speak podcast.   Today we give a shout out to two of our past guests - Michael Dolce and Peter Northcote - who have upcoming events in Sydney, Australia.   Our special guest this week is melodic rock instrumentalist Jack Tharammat. Jack is a phenomenal guitarist from Thailand who is in constant demand as a Yamaha and Laney clinician.    We speak about his development, from teaching himself Dream Theatre songs by ear as a teen, through to his winning of the international Guitar Idol competition in London in 2009 and beyond.   Jack has a huge worldwide following and we are very proud to present his first interview in English. Jack's English is much better than my Thai...    

Episode 10 Daniel Steinhardt

Welcome to episode 10 of The Guitar Speak Podcast! This week we speak to ex-pat Aussie, Daniel Steinhardt who runs The Gig Rig in Swindon, UK. The Gig Rig creates state of the art effects switching equipment that has been used by Andy Timmons, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Ed O'Brien, Al DiMeola and Reeves Gabrels - to name just a handful. Dan is becoming increasingly hands on in building his customers pedal boards. Daniel is an excellent guitarist in his own right and plays with former XTC guitarist, Dave Gregory in the band Tin Spirits. Daniel also co-hosts That Pedal Show with Mick Taylor, a YouTube pedal show that has around 30K subscribers tuning in each week...not bad!    

Episode 9 Bob Spencer

This week we meet Bob Spencer, a guitarist who has played with not one, but two very prominent Australian bands - Skyhooks and The Angels. Bob has also been inducted into the ARIA hall of fame.  We discuss Bob's career from his first notes up to his solo album due out later this year.      

Episode 8 Peter Northcote Part II and The Melbourne Guitar Show 2016

Thanks for joining us. Today we conclude our interview with Peter Northcote, one of the most in demand guitarists in Australia. Also, we catch up with Rob Walker, creative director of the Melbourne Guitar Show 2016.

Episode 7 Peter Northcote

Peter Northcote is in all likelyhood one of the most recorded guitarists in Australian history. On top of countless session appearances, Peter has played with some major Australian acts including Dragon, Richard Clapton, Stevie Wright, Doc Neeson's Angels and Daryl Braithwaite to name a few. We spent some time in Peter's home studio in Sydney to discuss his career, fantastic guitar collection and why he will never buy an amp again.

Episode 6 Michael Ross

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Guitar Speak Podcast. In this episode we speak to Michael Ross from Nashville TN. Michael is a guitarist/author/journalist with a long and varied career, stradling both conventional and experimental musics. He writes for Guitar Player and Premier Guitar in addition to authoring several books on playing and crafting tones. Utilizing a hybrid iOS/laptop guitar rig, Michael writes and performs guitar based ambience pieces under the name of Prehab Nashville.  Michael curates the excellent guitarmoderne.com site, spotlighting avante garde and experimental guitarists. We also feature listener Jason King, who jammed some tasty licks over our backing track. Thanks Jason, great playing! You can hear more of Jason at https://soundcloud.com/jason-king-6/sunday-morning-strat-session-1 You can download our backing track here, solo over it and send it to us at guitarspeakpodcast@gmail.com...we would love to hear from you. Thanks for listening in!

Episode 5 Brett Kingman

Welcome to Episode 5 of the Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we speak to Brett Kingman, James Reyne's mainstay guitarist since the mid 80s, and in demand sideman. Brett has also established himself as one the world's preeminent online guitar gear reviewers, with his YouTube channel receiving a staggering 20+ million hits in 8 years.  

Backing Track 1: Jam with our track...get on our show

We want to hear you play!   1/ Download our free 'Backing Track 1' from guitarspeakpodcast.libsyn.com 2/ Record yourself playing over the track - it's a one chord vamp over Em, modulating to Gm a few times. 3/ Play over the whole track or just a bit, its up to you. 4/ Send us your recording - as an MP3 file - to guitarspeakpodcast@gmail.com 5/ If we like your stuff we will include it in an upcoming episode.

Episode 4 Pat Keegan Guitars

Welcome to episode 4 of the Guitar Speak Podcast. Today we speak to Pat Keegan of Pat Keegan Guitars. Based on the beautiful south-eastern coast of Australia, Pat has been building very cool electric guitars making creative use of Australian and imported tonewoods, in addition to some funky repurposed woods.              

Episode 3 Michael Fix

Welcome to the Guitar Speak podcast. In this episode we catch up with acoustic master Michael Fix. Michael is a prolific solo artist with 14 albums to his name, a calendar full of local and international tours and three Golden Guitar awards in the cupboard. Michael tells us about the development of his Michael Fix signature Maton guitar, touring Europe each year for the past decade or so and the impact of having Tommy Emmanuel as an 'older brother'. Thanks for listening!

Episode 2 Michael Dolce Part II

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Guitar Speak Podcast. We conclude our interview with Sydney based session guitarist - and member of the house band for the television show 'The Voice Australia' - Michael Dolce. Michael describes how he developed his technique, his partnership with Charles Cillia Guitars which culminated in the MD Signature series and the recording of his debut album "Everything 'Till Now". Thanks for listening in...you can find us on: Facebook www.facebook.com/Guitar-Speak-Pod…658947757579024/ iTunes: itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/guita…d1102714044?mt=2

Episode 1 Michael Dolce Part I

Welcome to the first episode of the Guitar Speak Podcast. In this episode we interview Sydney based guitarist, Michael Dolce. Michael is the guitarist in "The Voice - Australia" house band and is very much in demand for sessions and touring. He regularly presents guitar masterclasses around Australia and has released a brilliant solo album, "Everything 'Till Now". Michael talks about establishing his career, getting gigs with artists such as Delta Goodrem and Roachford and why he originally knocked back the job of guitarist for the TV show, "The Voice - Australia".