Guitar Gavel

This is episode three with Brian leading into the April 2nd debut of his latest album, "New World Rising".We take a deep dive into the album discussing the first six tracks with regards to the song's inspiration, meaning, and a mini-version of "rig rundown".It's a special conversation hearing from Brian what the songs mean to him, while understanding how the listener is free to interpret they lyrics any way they see fit. That's the power of music!We cover the remaining six tracks in the next ...

Leading up to the April 2nd debut of Brian's latest album, "New World Rising," this is the second in a three-part conversation with Brian in which we focus on the first half of his career. Brian and I discuss his early musical interests, a blend of pop, R&B, soul, blues and how the culture of New Orleans and southern Louisiana influenced his style. He tells us about his introduction to The Neville Brothers and shares memories of the near decade he spent touring and recording wit...

In this episode I sit down with solo artist, faithful band member, and prominent session guitarist Brian Stoltz.This is the first of a few episodes we’re doing together leading into the debut of his newest album, “New World Rising”, out April 2nd. Like many, Brian’s interest in music began with the Beatles and a beater acoustic guitar. Before he could drive Brian was already playing country bars and juke joints in southern Louisiana. Brian met The Neville Brothers in 1981, auditione...

In this episode I have the honor of sitting down with Falcon Eddy of the Galveston Guitar Lounge. He takes us through his guitar journey that properly began as a teenager at Gibson's department store when he bought a Teisco Del Ray, amp, and case for $29. Falcon Eddy moved up quick... next a Gibson SG and then a Gibson Dove. He even managed to trade a bass for a car!A lot of his journey revolved around the harmonica... there's too many guitar players :-)Falcon Eddy then walks us through the h...

In this episode I have the honor of sitting down with Kevin, straight from his amazing Star Wars guitar room and man cave. Kevin starts with his guitar origin story beginning with his dad's influences, his first guitars as a young kid, and the impact his brother and grandmother had on his musical interests. We talk about extensively about EVH, cracking the code on his guitar parts, the reason for his book and more EVH! And of course Kevin has an aresenal of EVH replica guitars for show and te...

In this podcast I have the pleasure of hosting a conversation with artist and guitar maker Robert Randall XI, yes the eleventh. He is a fantastic guy, super passionate and articulate, and his stories and lessons make for a great show. If you are a fan of "the process" and how unique artistry intersects guitar, then you don't want to miss this episode. Robert's guitar journey began at age 10 when he started taking lessons and ended with his parents selling his guitar a couple of years later. F...

There is so much goodness in this episode with Pete Flynn that I really struggled to write a concise, yet comprehensive summary of his story. At the end of the day what I wrote did not do our conversation justice and nor was it concise, so here’s a “from the gut” synopsis: Pete is a world class nice guy, a world class guitar player (and drummer), guitar tech, and now a world class pickups builder. His stories go on for days and include a long list of household names that he's done work for, b...

David’s guitar journey began on a Behringer strat style guitar when he was 13, his foundation being metal and blues (an influence from his dad). The Behringer also became a sacrificial lamb when David decided to explore the guts of an electric guitar. From there, David started building his own guitars as a teenager furthering his home-grown knowledge, and setting the stage for becoming a professional luthier. Tinkering with pedals was a natural extension of the guitar repair busines...

In this podcast I sit down with Jerry Cherry- guitarist, singer/songwriter, and guitar instructor extraordinaire.We talk about his guitar journey beginning at age 12 and how was super fortunate to be a member of an incredible band before he could drive and how that set the stage for the rest of his musical career. Key takeaways:At age 17, being one guitar lesson short of really starting to understand musical theory and playing for another 25 years before the next lesson made it all click...

In this episode I have a candid conversation with singer, songwriter, guitar slinger, and guitar dealer Izzy Miller.In Izzy’s own words, “I’ll tell you exactly how I feel about anything”, and that’s exactly how this one goes. If you’ve followed Izzy on social media for any length of time you know he has a huge personality and a great sense of humor. It all shines through during the show, but most importantly, he’s a good dude. Thank you Izzy!We have a blast bouncing around beginning wit...

In this podcast I have an amazing conversation with Frank Meyers about his fascination with vintage Japanese guitars and the resulting journey. Frank’s accolades include:Author, “The History of Japanese Electric Guitars”Monthly columnist for Premier Guitar magazine, “Wizard of Odd” Creator of the wonderful website, drowninginguitars.com with help from his friend Mike Dugan, and the @drowninginguitars YouTube channel Part of his origin story is seeing Kurt Cobain in concert in 1...

“How many more guitars are you going to buy?”In this episode I sit down with Michael Law, also known as Lawman Mike.Lawman Mike is the proprietor of Lawman Guitars, a wonderful vintage guitar store and probably the largest vintage Cowboy Guitar dealer in the country. A guitar player since the age of 10, we discuss Lawman’s guitar journey and how it led him to becoming a vintage dealer, recording artist, and the praise band leader at his church. Through the process of selling guitar...

In this wonderful conversation with Adam we explore his guitar journey in which he summarizes his present day style as an “accumulation of multiple different phases” of music along the way. Those phases included a hardcore run of ACDC, Metallica, Gary Moore, and John Mayer.His growth as a guitarist, which began at age nine, has most recently led Adam to exploring original music and writing his own songs. Adam shows off his well-rounded blend of guitars including an American Profess...

In this Guitar Gavel podcast episode we hear from Westone guitar enthusiast and aficionado Keiran Wynyard. A self-described hoarder, not a collector, Keiran walks us through his guitar journey and falling in love with Westone guitars. Keiran is more than just a Westone superfan, he also manages and co-manages websites, forums, and communities dedicated to the love of Westone guitars. As owner of Westone in UK, Keiran is collaborating with a number of people to restart produc...

John Shults, guitar hunter and founder of truevintageguitar.com is this week's Guitar Gavel podcast guest. There is so much goodness in this podcast a summary just won't capture it all. We hear from John about how he got his start flipping guitars, how it evolved into a business, and what the future looks like for True Vintage Guitar.Along the way he shares some absolutely amazing stories of his successes and not so successful safari's. On top of it all John has a natural ta...

In this Guitar Gavel podcast episode I have the pleasure of sitting down with Paul Kobylensky and we talk guitars, music, and his life as a copywriter in the music business.Since Paul is a storyteller for a living, he’s got some whoppers in this show :-).In addition to his behind the scenes work writing for household guitar and gear brands Paul is a writer for Premier Guitar. His latest article from September’s edition of PG was an interview with Dave Mustaine, one of his heroes. Paul could n...

In this episode I have a wonderful conversation with Laurence Carpenter of Rock Solid Investments. Laurence is a broker of high-end music memorabilia and artifacts based in Dublin, Ireland. To give you an example of the type of memorabilia that Laurence brokers some of his current offerings include: Kirk Hammett’s 1969 Fretless Wonder Les Paul used to record “The God That Failed Me”, Bono’s handwritten lyrics to U2’s “When Love Comes To Town”, and a John Lennon stage used Fender Bandsta...

In this episode I have the pleasure of hanging out with Michael Tash as he shares his guitar journey that really began at age 12 on a Montgomery Ward electric and Marlboro amp.Mike’s blues band, Bad Influence, has been playing consistently since 1989 with only a handful of changes from the original line-up. Mike share’s the secret to their longevity and highlights a few of his favorite shows which include playing with Buddy Guy and opening up for Heart. On the business side of things Mike tal...

This podcast is Round Two with Chris Kelly as he was gracious enough to come back and answer the numerous questions we received after the first one. Chris has a storied tenure with legacy guitar brands such as Robin, Ibanez, Peavey, Budda Amps, Trace Elliot, and Composite Acoustic. Much of our time focused on the Ibanez years as Chris was Director of Artist Relations and headed up the Custom Shop from 1985-1994.There is so much goodness in this podcast and I think it is best summarized ...

In this week’s podcast I have the privilege of hanging out with Chris Kelly. I don’t usually struggle for words, but it’s hard to put into writing where to start. My jaw was on the floor for most of the conversation, listening and laughing in amazement, but Chris disperses so much great substance in the mix you’ll listen to this one a few times. Chris has a storied tenure with legacy guitar brands such as Robin, Ibanez, Peavey, and Budda Amps. Much of our time focused on ...

In this episode I am grateful to have Jonathan Robinson as this week's guest. Jonathan is a prolific guitar player and has a pretty long professional career singing/playing/writing music in Charleston, Nashville, and from his home turf in eastern North Carolina. Starting with his first guitar, a black Fender Squier Strat that Jonathan bought using his first paycheck from the Piggly Wiggly to a well-rounded guitar evolution, we get to hear his amazing guitar journey and what he's up to these d...

When I asked Jonathan Spangler, Founder and CEO of Ciari guitars, how the idea came to him to create a travel guitar he responded with…“Study the friction in your day, solive it for you and you’ll solve it for someone else.”The seminal moment for Jonathan and his idea for a premium, pro-level travel guitar came about when he flew to Germany to perform a 40-minute set of Johnny Cash at a German metal festival. The podcast is 43 minutes and it is absolutely packed full of information about...

In this week’s episode I talk with multi-instrumentalist and producer Matt Charnoski about his guitar journey and how it lead to having a professional career in the music industry. Matt came out of the gate with his G.A.S. by landing a Fender Musicmaster as his first guitar when he was a kid by roping his grandmother and mom into the purchase through an elaborate pyramid scheme :-). Not bad for a pre-teen!The conversation increases in intensity as Matt describes how he landed a “br...

In this Guitar Gavel podcast episode we are the recipient of an absolutely brilliant conversation with Adam Gray. Fortunately/unfortunately Adam had a hard stop or we would have talked for hours.Acoustic guitar fans- this one's for you!Whether or not Adam’s wife regrets giving him a budget friendly Yamaha or not… she helped rekindle his affliction for playing. Not long after her gift Adam boldly pronounced this statement to a friend, “the thing is, actually with guitars, there’s n...

“I told my career advisor when I was 16 that I wanted to be a rock star. And he said I had to choose something more realistic. So, I didn’t.” Early in his musical career he was a jack of all trades, Tour Manager, sound tech, and t-shirt salesman extraordinaire. That eventually led into “looking after the band’s guitars”. Dave goes on to share his experience as a professional touring guitar tech and of course we take a look at some of his guitars: among those are a MIJ Fender Jazzm...

In this Guitar Gavel podcast episode I have the good fortune to sit down with Scott Olson and hear his guitar stories.Me: “Scott, what was your first guitar, when did you start playing?”Scott Olson: “It was actually the drums that started…”Had it not been for the wall of guitars behind Scott in the video frame I thought for a split-second this podcast was DOA :-). Scott goes on to show off his pride and joy Charvel, the Flying V he made, and thinline strat-style guitar he built among ma...

In this week’s podcast I sit down with the one and only Darko Grubisic and we talk guitars and metal. METAL- Right down to the skull and crossbones tuners on his Kramer Baretta. Darko has some great stories which include still playing with his original band from high school. It’s a lovely conversation and Darko shows off several sweet guitars!Darko, thanks for your time and wonderful spirit, it truly was my pleasure to hang out with you!For more cool guitar stories visit guit...

In this episode I sit down with Will Ray, a founding member of The Hellecasters and longtime “Bottom Feeder” columnist for Premier Guitar Magazine (among many accolades).Sporting a skull bolo, slide rings, and cowboy hat we talk guitars, guitars, and more guitars starting with his very first, a Gretsch Country Gentleman he bought when he was 16. Right out of the gate we take a look at his namesake Fender signature Telecaster model #0001 from 1996.His “Bottom Feeder” column in Premier Gui...

Beginning with a no-name classical guitar "purchased" with S&H Green Stamps to having a well rounded collection Rob Bernstein shows off some beauties in this Guitar Gavel podcast episode. A sign of the times... Rob upgraded from the unbranded classical to a Harmony dreadnought and then to a 72 Telecaster he bought in 1974 for $210 with the case!Several of Rob's teenage musical influences include Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, and The Monkees. Rob is an absolute delight to talk guitars and...

I am so excited for the latest episode of the Guitar Gavel podcast as we journey to Italy and have a tour of Franchin Guitars. A special thanks to Mattia Franchin and Pierantonio Cantoni for their excellent tour!In the show Mattia gives a full tour of the company’s “lab” and walks us step-by-step through the build process. Franchin specializes in reliced and hand painted bodies to complete guitar builds hand assembled by their luthier team including custom wound pickups engineered...

I have the pleasure of sitting down with Bryan Toney in this episode and we discuss his journey of starting on the piano and transitioning to the guitar as a young teenager Though Bryan has played the guitar since he was a teen, including a couple of garage bands, he got serious in retirement which has led to a couple of albums and gigging his way from North Carolina to Utah to visit his son. "The key to being a touring musician now, if you don't have a free place to stay you can't affo...

Steve brings his wonderful spirit, infectious smile, and addicting Irish accent to this week’s podcast episode. Steve’s go-to guitar is his 1997 Les Paul Studio and he shares his buying experience stateside in Orlando, FL and being scared to death making it back with the guitar in one piece. Being the same age we have a lot of common musical tastes and discuss some of our favorite bands. Now Steve is much more of a metal head than I am and you’ll hear Megadeth come up several ...

In this episode I sit down with Christos Fragias and he talks about his guitar journey that really began at age 7 when he heard Detroit Rock City for the first time. In his own words, KISS' Destroyer album was seminal in his life and Christos wore out several record player needles rocking to their vinyl's. Of course we talk guitars and hear about Christos' first electric, a Torch, that he bought when he was a teenager. A couple among several of his previous players was a hot p...

Frank Jeckell learned to play guitar by way of the accordion... sort of. His first guitar was a Kay acoustic and the action was so high he could slide his hand between the fretboard and strings at the 12th fret :-).Frank was progressing well on the guitar as a teenager in the early 60s and when The Beatles hit, it was all over. Frank taught himself all their songs within days of buying each album. A Strat guy through and through we hear about his two paint jobs on his origin...

One night when he was 12 or 13, Wyatt watched one of his dad's friends play "Stairway to Heaven" and he's been hooked on the guitar ever since. The one that really changed him was an Ibanez 2228, 8-string. It was also the one that got away. We connected on the sentimental aspect of guitar ownership and how a purchase can be reflective of what's going on in your life at that time. Wyatt's journey into servicing/restoring guitars and amps began as a "product of necessity, ...

Who's the dork that kept saying "so cool"? In this episode Natasha Nyxx shows off some incredible guitars representing most of the color palette. The recurring theme between the two of us is "to die for" and "that's so cool". Natasha's guitar collection is diverse and absolutely stunning. Plus, she has a great story about each one. Natasha started as a bass player at age 14 and is now a multi-instrumentalist. She got her start playing bass because her first band...

This week we hear from Ian Cowan who currently lives in Scotland. “If you want something you can’t afford learn to make it. If you want something you can afford learn to make it better.” Those were the words Ian heard from his dad when he was just a child. So with help from his dad Ian made his first guitar (a classical) at the age of eight. Ian is “kind of” a strat guy and since that first build he has gone on to make over 80 strat-style guitars (he prefers the scale length).The podcast is a...

"The first guitar I got was a Harmony student sized acoustic." -Ron ChaudhuriFrom that first guitar to "several" guitars later Ron found himself having a couple of custom guitars built in India by Erisa Neogy Video for all podcasts available on our YouTube channelVisit guitargavel.com for hundreds of cool guitar storiesFind us on Twitter and Facebook

"I laugh and I cry. Nobody knew that guitars would actually become a higher guaranteed profit investment than stocks." -Steve Kuykendall Video for all podcasts available on our YouTube channelVisit guitargavel.com for hundreds of cool guitar storiesFind us on Twitter and Facebook