Here are some vids you have to see if you haven’t already. Doesn’t need more explanation than that so….

It’s Friday! Do you have guitar-squeezin’ in your weekend? Is it part of the plan? It should be if not, even if you have to…squeeze it in. (I wish I could find an amp that I could crank through headphones late at night that would sound like roasting EL84s or EL34s.)
Anyhow, to get your guitar-binge [...]

New DeMartini and Bonamassa!

Yeah, mang! New tunes!

Part 1 of this interview was about the music Joe Bonamassa has been recording lately. In part 2 below, it’s all about tone and gear (yeah!). Joe has a great ear for tone (for woody tone), so it’s always interesting to see what he has to say.
WoodyTone: There’s Black Rock, Black Country and now I’m [...]

Part 1 of 2
I was fortunate to grab some time with Joe Bonamassa today, and got to ask him a few questions about Black Rock, Black Country and black Les Pauls, among other toney things. Sounds very dark, but Joe called that coincidental.
I asked about things I hadn’t already read about, about half of it [...]

I’ll come right out and say it: Joe Bonamassa’s new Black Rock album is better than The Ballad of John Henry. My opinion, of course, and to some extent it’s apples/oranges, or at least apples/pears.
Still, that’s a pretty big statement because I believe John Henry debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart, and [...]

Have you heard about Black Country yet? This is the newly announced band with Joe Bonamassa (awesome chops and tone), Jason Bonham (awesome kabooming beats and tone), Glenn Hughes (awesome song magic) and Derek Sherinian (awesome augmentation, if you dig keys). Kevin Shirley is producing, and not only does he produce Joe but also has [...]

Well, wow.
I’d been watching bits and pieces of Joe Bonamassa’s Live from the Royal Albert Hall DVD, but today I sat down and watched the whole thing, start to finish. I have to say that this is one of the best concert DVDs I’ve seen – and remember, I’m a rock guy.
It’s a great performance [...]

Pre-Show Clinic, Bogner Now in Rig

Someone got it wrong.
Either Chuck Berry misread the divine inspiration he got, or a couple of young parents in upstate New York picked the wrong name for their son.
I’m betting Chuck was mistaken because after seeing Joe Bonamassa Wednesday night at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, there’s [...]

Do Some Players Think So?

I’ve always used my left-hand pinky while at the same time being acutely aware that many of the great players don’t – or not much. I’m talking riffing and soloing, not chording, obviously.

Before getting into this track-by-track review, I’d like to make three things clear just so you know where I’m coming from.
1.  I’m a new-ish Joe Bonamssa fan, so I don’t have in-depth familiarity with his prior six CDs.
2.  I’m a classic rock guy, not really a blues guy – although Joe is sort of a [...]

Uses Marshall Valvestates on Tour?!
Yes, that’s right, Marshall Valvestates – if you can believe it. That’s what the Rev. BFG said (sort of…more below), among other things, in a recent audio interview on MusicRadar.com. Highlights of that interview are below. Hats off to Joe Bosso, who conducted the interview, for asking a few gear-related questions [...]

It’s cool that Joe Bonamassa is a pretty regular participant on the forum at his website. Maybe that’s because, at 32, he’s a little younger than most guitar heroes. Or maybe it’s because he’s jazzed about gear and wants to share what he’s learned – and is still learning.
Whatever the case, the fact that he shares [...]

I’ve been listening to, and occasionally watching, this vid of Joe Bonamassa for about the last 3 days, ever since the good folks at thegearpage turned me onto it. It’s still giving me chills.

Part 1: Metro, Carol-Ann, Lollar

I went to my first Amp Show on Saturday, the 3rd annual “New York” show, really held about an hour from New York City in Jersey – which was great because getting in and out of NYC is a b**ch!
Show doors opened at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and closed at 6:00 [...]

After doing that research about Joe’s gear for Wednesday’s post, I realized there wasn’t anything about his guitar. I know he plays a custom Gibson Les Paul now, but didn’t know the specs. Nor, importantly, did I know why he switched from a huge arsenal of Fenders to Les Pauls. Luckily someone at Gibson.com asked [...]

I can’t say I’m a huge Joe Bonamassa fan – yet, anyway. But I am a fan. For sure he can play, he can sing and WoodyTone just might be his middle name.
Re: tone, a buddy of mine recently put me onto a great vid of Joe discussing his gear, which led me to another [...]