I Hear Thunder marks a return to recording for Tab Benoit. With 13 years between albums, he is recording music that stirs his soul. Rugged guitar tones and fierce vocals permeate an album that leads the listener through the emotional pathways of heartfelt blues from past to present. 

You left it all in the ring on I Hear Thunder.

I want to make sure someone out here is doing honest music. I can’t say it’s easy, but it’s what we need. It’s so easy to fake it these days. Everybody goes into the studio and uses every tool available just because it’s available. We don’t need to be doing that – not in the blues world. I’m just following what the old-school guys did. The stuff I loved was played raw. They recorded it once with everybody together – and no auto-tune (laughs)!

Why so long between albums?

I was stuck in the same record deal from when I started. I signed a bad deal with no lawyer when I was in my early 20s. I didn’t know what I was signing, and I just recently got out of it. I didn’t want to give any music away. It means too much to me. My audience has been following me since ’92. They know me. I’m friends with them. I could have put out a crappy album to fulfill the record deal, but I have to talk to my audience every night. I waited until they let me out of the contract, which only happened a few years ago. I Hear Thunder is what happens when you don’t have to answer to anybody.

How did you approach recording?

I got rid of the producers and engineers with too much knowledge (laughs)! I like to write things fast and not overthink or go back and second-guess. I want to feel what’s going on right now, put it down, and move on. I don’t want to affect it or tweak it. When I start writing, we gotta start recording – get it done! That keeps it fresh. “Still Gray” was written for Josh Garrett, and when he heard me sing it, he said, “I can’t sing it like that. You need to do it.”

Were you completely hands-on with this record?

Completely! I mixed and mastered it, and everything was in-house. My guitar is what 10 sounds like (laughs). You can’t do that at home; you have to be in the right environment. I used Category 5 amps, and one is based on a mid-’60s Super Reverb, the other on a mid-’60s Twin. One is 45 watts, the other 100 with two 12s. People call Don at Category 5 and go, “I want that Tab Benoit amp!” He says, “What are you going to be doing with it (laughs)?” Because if you play in a small bar, you’re not going to get that sound. My amps are cranked all the way up. If you do that, your band is going to hate you, and if you only play at home, you definitely don’t want that amp! Apparently, I don’t sell a lot of signature models (laughs). 

Do you put pedals in front of it?

No! I don’t want anything between the guitar and the amp – at all! Not even a tuner. I don’t want that signal broken. Every time I plug anything between them, I lose something. So, everything on the album is an amp-and-guitar combination, that’s it. The guitar is a tool to deliver emotion, feeling, and the song. I try to keep my head out of it.

What’s your main guitar?

It’s a 1972 Thinline Tele and the only thing that’s been changed were parts that went bad – pots, switches, tuning keys. I’ve had it since ’92. It doesn’t play great because it’s got the three-bolt neck that is always shifting. I keep the action as high as I can get it. Onstage, I’ve gotten used to tuning and adjusting it. There’s something to giving up playability for tone. A guitar that plays easy or great doesn’t have the juice. Those that are harder to play always have the best sound. If I pick up a Jackson, I can’t even get a note out of it. I hit it too hard with my right hand because I started as a drummer and I approach guitar with a drummer’s mind. I make music through rhythms. – Oscar Jordan

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This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Michael Schenker is back with an album covering the music of his early days. My Years With UFO is a tribute to his time in that band and features some of the most-talented musicians in hard rock. Guests include Slash, Axl Rose, Adrian Vandenberg, John Norum, and Dee Snider. The disc is a love fest, happily hosted by Schenker.

When your fans hear My Years With UFO, their heads will explode.
It’s been 50 years since I joined UFO, and I wanted to do something special. The remasters had very little information – you get the song title, and that’s it. I thought it would be a good opportunity to educate newcomers. My most-popular music was on Strangers in the Night. I wrote most of those songs, so I thought I could celebrate with musicians who UFO inspired. It’s been an incredible journey to record with these guys. They did fantastic. It was so entertaining hearing them working with my co-producer, Michael Voss. We were all smiling.

Did re-recording the songs bring back memories?
I was 17 when I joined UFO, and the recording process was like a calendar. I can tell you what I did when we released Lights Out, Force It, and No Heavy Petting. I know exactly what I was doing and where I was. It’s my life, going from album to album. From 1970 on, when I was 15, I started to record.

I changed the Scorpions from a dance band into a rock band. When we did Lonesome Crow, I wrote most of the songs. Nobody was writing music, so when I joined my brother Rudolph’s band, Klaus Meine was in my band, Copernicus, where I was writing songs with Klaus. The first Scorpions album looked like it was written by everybody because I didn’t know what rights I had. When I joined UFO at 17, they were a psychedelic band. I turned them into a rock band. I guess I had a rock influence on people (laughs).

I had a very clear direction as an artist. I wanted a distorted guitar sound that was clear, exciting, and tasty. Every band I was impressed by as a teenager had to have an impressive lead guitarist. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple had the sound that I loved.

How did you decide which songs the musicians would play?
I’ve been working with my co-producer, Michael Voss, for 14 years, and we always start an album without knowing what we’re going to do. I had ideas about My Years With UFO, and he had ideas about who to ask. I never directed anybody. I wanted them to be themselves. I knew the bands Europe and Guns ’N Roses were fans and probably played my music when they were kids. I let them do what they wanted.

I never thought of bringing in Axl Rose. It was Slash, who I knew was a fan. When he came into the studio in Frankfurt, he told me Axl was interested in singing. Him singing “Love To Love” made me so happy. The moment I put the idea out there, the possibilities came from everywhere. Michael met Stephen Pearcy on The Monsters of Rock Cruise. I liked “Round and Round” when it came out and became friends with Warren DeMartini. They were UFO and Michael Schenker fans – same with Europe, John Norum, and Joey Tempest. I was absolutely amazed by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, and Erik Grönwall. Erik is fantastic. So is Kai Hansen of Helloween. Biff Byford of Saxon singing “This Kid’s” was amazing. I was blown away.

There’s a new Gibson Michael Schenker Flying V.
This is the 50th anniversary of me playing the Flying V, so this is the complete cycle. It’s very strange how things show up after a period of time. I’m back with Gibson, and things have fallen into place.

Are there some personal touches on it?
They expected me to tell them exactly what I wanted, but I told them, “I’m more used to doing things by ear.” They are the experts coming up with the latest of the latest. I have the ears. If they have something they think is suitable, I will approve it if I’m happy with it. I had ideas of what it would look like, but when it comes to pickups or technical things, I’m absolutely useless. The one good thing I have is ears (laughs)!

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This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

On Blues In My DNA, second-generation blues man Ronnie Baker Brooks continues the legacy of his father, Lonnie Brooks, by keeping the blues relevant and fresh. Funky chord work, incendiary guitar solos, universal tales, and punchy production are only a few of the highlights. VG sat with the Windy City native to get the inside skinny.

Your songwriting and playing on Blues In My DNA is stellar.
Thank you. Producer Jim Gaines got me some really good guitar tones. It starts with the artist, but Jim knows how to tweak them. I put together 30-some songs I’d written and presented to Bruce Iglauer at Alligator Records and my manager John Boncimino. We got together and picked what we liked that fit. Then, I went down to Jim’s studio outside of Memphis and cut the ones I felt good and confident about. We prepared and wrote out the arrangements, but the most important thing was to get with the band and catch a vibe.

You maintain a Chicago sound but with a contemporary attitude.
That’s always been my formula – bring something authentic with something fresh. I try to be that bridge between the older generation and the new generation. My old man always told me to write songs. He pushed that on us. He’d say, “Who’s going to write the next ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ or ‘Got My Mojo Working’?” He started working with me as a child, when I first started playing guitar.

Your backstory includes being a touring roadie for your father and interacting with some of the greatest guitar players in the world.
When I was in L.A., they had just started GIT (now Musicians Institute) and I was a tech for my dad – he would let me play one or two songs a night with him. I was thinking about enrolling, and a guy who was attending said, “Man, I will trade places with you (laughs)!” He said, “You’re already in the right school, touring around the world with Lonnie!”

Looking back, he was right. It was an education that I could never get by paying tuition. I got to rub shoulders with the masters of guitar and some of the greatest artists in this field of music. I picked their brains and even got to jam with many of them, all because of my father. He was well-respected among his peers. When they saw his kids on the road, they embraced us. They knew we were going to keep this music going into the future, and here we are.

On “I’m Feeling You,” you get such a thick guitar tone.
I had the great Will McFarlane on rhythm guitar. He played with Johnnie Taylor and Bonnie Raitt, and he’s amazing. He stayed out of my way but elevated the music. I started the intro with a Strat – my number one, The Baby. I hadn’t played a Strat in so long because on my last record, Times Have Changed, my producer, Steve Jordan, said, “We’re leaving the Strats on the bus (laughs)!”

Why is that?
He wanted the warm sound of the Gibsons. Jim Gaines as producer was wide open with guitar tones. I tried to blend the Strats and the Gibsons, and I was really happy with the sounds. I used Gibsons for the leads and Strats for the percussion sounds.

Is the lead on “I’m Feeling You” a Gibson ES-336?
It is! They’re hard to find. I used a 335 on the record, as well. I have a custom Les Paul and used a Paul Reed Smith on “My Love Will Make You Do Right.” I love the 335, but it’s bulky, so I was predominately playing Strats. Going from a Strat to a 335 is uncomfortable as far as its feeling against your body. I got a 336 for myself and my dad. Then, a friend had a black one made for me that has my logo on it. That’s the one I use for all the lead tones on the record.

Which amps are you using?
I’m using a Deluxe Reverb, my buddy’s Supro, and a Super Reverb with a Quilter head on top; I unplugged my speakers and plugged it into the Quilter head. I also use a Vibro-King, but I don’t take it on the road because I don’t want anything to happen to it. Onstage, I’ll stack two Tube Screamers for solos.

What’s coming up?
Touring! I’m going out with my man Coco Montoya!

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This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Alexis Korner, and John Mayall became classmates during the 39th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held October 19 in Cleveland.

Frampton, who is battling the degenerative muscle disease inclusion body myositis, was inducted by The Who vocalist Roger Daltrey. Frampton performed “Baby (Somethin’s Happening)” before Keith Urban came out to join him for a rousing “Do You Feel Like We Do.”

“I really am a lucky guy to have had this amazing career, and it’s always been driven by my passion for guitar playing, and that is, as Roger said, that’s my comfy chair,” said Frampton during his induction speech. He also credited school friend David Bowie.

“In ’86, he asked me to play on his [Never Let Me Down] album, and then with him on the Glass Spider Tour. It was absolutely amazing. We never really spoke about it, but he saw how I had lost my credibility… I had no idea what a huge gift David was giving me. I went back on the road and started the journey that I’ve been on ever since.”

After his performance and induction speech, Vintage Guitar asked Frampton about the importance he placed on focusing his guitar skills in his music throughout all phases of his career.

“I think that because I’m a songwriter too, and I was writing songs inspired by Led Zeppelin and Joni Mitchell, I’ve always covered a broad sphere of different types of music,” he said. “So, if I wrote a song like ‘Baby, I Love Your Way,’ that had a keyboard solo on it because it was fitting, live. But, ‘Do You Feel Like We Do,’ obviously, is very guitar-based, and a lot of the heavier stuff is.

“I’ve concentrated on guitar ever since I first heard Hank Marvin of The Shadows – Cliff Richard’s guitar player – and my father brought me Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli to listen to. That’s what my parents listened to during the war. I’ve always been inspired by sound because Hank’s sound was always pure, and even if it was distorted it was still a pure sound – and Django Reinhardt’s technique. It’s always good to have someone to listen to that you know you will never be as good as, because hopefully you’ll make yourself better along the way. So, yes, I’ve always listened to players that are better than me.”

Foreigner was inducted by Sammy Hagar, though founder/lead guitarist Mick Jones was unable to attend due to the effects of Parkinson’s. The condition led to his retirement from touring a few years ago, and the current lineup performed with Hagar, Slash, and others. Jones’ daughter, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, spoke on his behalf.

After the ceremony, VG spoke with Jones via e-mail, discussing the role his guitar work played in Foreigner’s songs and recording.

“I think my playing had a distinctive sound,” he said. “I spent seven years in Paris, recording, playing with, and writing songs for Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan. That experience helped me as a songwriter. Having played with Spooky Tooth and Leslie West, I was immersed in different styles of music, which really helped me develop my own style. I was very much into playing melodically, seeking interesting riffs, chord progressions, and colorful guitar solos. I’ve always believed that you don’t have to play fast, but just play the right notes in the right place that sounds appealing to the ear. I think all of it contributed to the success of Foreigner.”

Jones wrote many Foreigner songs himself, while numerous others were collaborations with vocalist Lou Gramm, who cited their magical partnership during his induction speech.

“Right from the start, Mick and I hit it off in our first songwriting session,” he said. “The chemistry for many of our biggest hits was the Jones/Gramm collaboration.”

The late pioneering British bandleaders Korner and Mayall were inducted in the Musical Influence category. They were honored with short films covering their careers.

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards praised Korner during the latter’s film.

“What he would do (to take a break when performing), he would invite anybody up to fill in the gap for 10 or 15 minutes. One night, he invited Mick (Jagger) and me, which is the first time we played with Charlie Watts. You see, this is why we’re connected, Alexis and the Stones. I stole half his band!” Richards said, laughing. “He was a bluesman, but he is the father of British rock and roll.”

In the Mayall film, Eric Clapton honored his former mentor’s decades-long position at the helm.

“I think the important thing about John is that he loved the role of being a sponsor,” said Clapton. “He could bring people into the band and help them to bloom.”

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This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Released in January of 2025, Larkin Poe’s Bloom has Rebecca and Megan Lovell weaving powerful philosophies into strong songwriting and visceral musicianship. Bold lap-steel lines merge with phat Strat tones, so it goes without saying VG was on the scene to check it out.

Rebecca, your husband, guitarist/singer/songwriter Tyler Bryant, worked with you and Megan, producing Bloom.
Rebecca Lovell: Yeah, this is the second or third project we’ve co-produced with Tyler. It’s really special to be able to keep the process in the family. With the shorthand that Megan and I have in our creative conversations, between the three of us, we know how, when, and what we want to do. There’s a lot of shared experience. We’re able to move quickly, and I think you can hear that freshness on Bloom – how quickly we’re able to come to creative decisions organically, as a trio.

The production on “If God Is A Woman,” is a tasty mix of compression and grittiness. How do you approach getting such great sounds?
RL: That’s one of my favorite songs. In terms of the vocal production, it’s very under-sung. Clearly, I can be a bit of a bombastic singer; I pitch songs that are in the upper portion of my range. When we wrote “If God Is A Woman,” we wanted the lyrics to be the focus. We wanted it to be a little tongue-in-cheek with a “come hither” vibe. So, we pitched it lower. That really served the song.

In the studio, there’s a lot of comfort in being able to experiment and dig deep into the most-authentic tones we could find. Tyler has some incredible microphones in the studio and a lot of vintage mics that gave us that warm, ribbony sound that goes hand in glove with the musical arrangements and the Americana sounds we’re creating. We plugged in, we played, and it seamlessly came together.

On “Bluephoria,” the guitar sounds are vibrant and visceral. Megan, are you using a specific effect pedal during your lap steel solo?
Megan Lovell: No, that’s just me, and the tone is actually pretty simple. I’ll start by saying I really love David Lindley’s tone. I think slide players always pay more attention to their tone. Especially lap steel because there’s so much metal on metal – the slide and fingerpicks – so you can get a lot of tinniness. Also, you don’t want to get lost in the muck. Part of what makes the slide great is it can be very piercing, but has a vocal quality.

That’s why I admire Lindley’s tone in that it’s so pure, so overdriven, and fat. He managed to get both in one tone. For Bloom, we were diving a bit more into what he would play through. We tried a Dumble clone made by Tyler. I plugged into that, and straight away, that was the tone. We used the amp’s pure sound to get the overdrive on most of the record. I didn’t stray too far because nothing could beat it.

Are you happy with the final version of your signature lap steel built by Paul Beard?
ML: The Electo-Liege! I am very pleased with it. It is exactly what I was looking for – kind of a re-creation of my old Rickenbacker Panda, but with a Lollar horseshoe pickup. It has a strong tone out of the box. Paul is so creative and we had so much fun working on it.

What were the songwriting nuts and bolts that went into “Mockingbird?”
RL: The theme is self-acceptance. It’s intrinsic to the core of the whole album – the mission statement. We’re always works in progress. A lot of these songs were written as reminders and mantras that we could sing to remind ourselves what’s important. Trying to find peace, enjoy the finite time we have on the planet, and find self-acceptance. That’s the goal. “Mockingbird” really typifies that in the lyrics. It’s also about open tunings; I’m a huge Black Crowes fan, and I can imagine Tedeschi Trucks doing this song. It ticks a lot of boxes. It’s a really beautiful song.

Men who play and sing get a pass because they’re not expected to be great – they’re “…a guitar player who sings.” You guys do both at a very high level, with world-class harmonies.
ML: I’m a lap-steel player who sings (laughs).
RL: (laughs) – Oscar Jordan

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To read more on Megan Lovell’s Electo-Liege, check the January ’23 issue or go to www.vintageguitar.com/50434/megan-lovells-new-lap-steel/

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This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

The rock world was saddened to learn of bassist Phil Lesh’s death on October 25, at age 84. Perhaps the definitive jam-band bassist, he was a founding member of the Grateful Dead and pioneer of rock-bass improvisation.

Born March 15, 1940, Lesh played violin and trumpet as a child, and later became a serious student of classical composition, studying college-level music with fellow student Steve Reich, the avant-garde composer. Post-college, Lesh met Jerry Garcia, who later invited Phil to join his band, the Warlocks, as bassist. He didn’t play bass at the time, but swiftly picked it up as the Warlocks morphed into the Grateful Dead. What followed was 30 years of recording and touring, until Garcia’s death in 1995. Lesh co-wrote their beloved anthems, “Box of Rain” and “St. Stephen.”

He later played with offshoots The Dead, Seastones, The Other Ones, and his own Phil Lesh & Friends with guitar wizards Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Jorma Kaukonen, and Jimmy Herring.

Avoiding conventional root-fifth and R&B bass patterns, Lesh evolved into something of the Dead’s second lead guitarist to frontman Garcia. In any given jam, you might find Phil exploring thoughtful melodies and counterpoint figures, helping shape the group’s ethereal sound – their classic jam “Dark Star” is a quintessential example. Discussing the way he avoided cliches, he told Rolling Stone, “I didn’t think that would be suitable for the music I would make with Jerry, just to do something somebody else had done … [I wanted to] play bass and lead at the same time.”

Aside from his stylistic achievements, Lesh pushed the boundaries of gear, using an early quadrophonic Alembic bass and other high-tech slabs from Doug Irwin, Modulus, and Ken Smith. Geoff Gould, founder of Modulus Graphite and Gould Music (where he’s been building guitars and basses since 1995), recently told VG, “Phil was among the handful of bassists my younger self was most influenced by; he changed my life. Fast-forward to 1982, I go down to Guitar Player magazine with my new Modulus Graphite six-string bass, and they publish a picture of me holding it in the parking lot. Soon after, Phil calls! We made him a bass, which he played with the Dead at Oakland Auditorium. Over the next dozen years, we made lots of basses for Phil, guitars for Bobby [Weir], and even a couple for Jerry. To say Phil had an impact on my life and family is an understatement. In fact, without him, I don’t think Modulus would have existed.”

Singer/songwriter John Mayer, who filled the very large shoes of Jerry Garcia in The Dead, said upon hearing of the bassist’s death, “Joining the choir of voices to express my sadness in the passing of the great Phil Lesh. Phil had an open door policy when it came to the music, and gave so openly to so many musicians. He played bass in a singular way, climbing up and down the arrangements to give the songs and the players around him the feeling of flight.”

Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist and singer Bob Weir posted on social media that Lesh influenced his guitar method.

“I developed an approach to guitar playing based off of [Lesh’s bass style],” he said. “This happened because Phil turned me on to the John Coltrane Quartet. Early on, he also introduced me to the wonders of modern classical music, with its textures and developments, which we soon tried our hands at incorporating into what we had to offer. This was all new to peoples’ ears. Igor Stravinsky’s work wasn’t news to me at that point, but what he did and how he did it were ongoing topics of discussion for Phil and I – and boy, did I ever grow. Our conversation and interaction will last… until the end of my days.”

Lesh’s surviving bandmates – Weir and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart – jointly added, “Today we lost a brother. In one note from the Phil Zone, you could hear and feel the world being born. His bass flowed like a river would flow – he was an explorer of inner and outer space who just happened to play bass. We can count on the fingers of one hand the people we can say had as profound an influence on our development, in every sense. What a gift he was for us. Phil also loved the Dead Heads and always kept them in his heart and mind.”

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This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.