With a title like that, I’m inviting hordes of arm-folded guitarists saying “Oh yeah? I’m gonna slag this in the comments section!” But there isn’t a comments section. Ha ha ha! And I know that there’s no “best” because we’re all different. I’ve never heard a bad guitar podcast. I’ve heard some I don’t care for, but if you’ve got the stones to record a guitar podcast and put it out there, good for you. I have no hate for people sharing their love of guitars.
That said, this is my fave podcast. It’s done by Jude Cole, a professional guitarist who has played with Starship and a bunch of other people/bands/projects. Jude himself is a smoking hot guitar player. He’s really freaking good. He also works for Guitar Player magazine. You know, that thing we all used to buy but don’t any more? But this podcast is so good it has me interested in the magazine again.
Jude interviews guitarists in a cool format where they play a bit, talk a bit, jam more, talk more, and so on. Jude gets the biggest names (Satriani, etc) but he also gets guys you’ve never heard of who have played on songs you have heard of. Session players, touring players, each one of them a professional guitarist. Amazing men and women who’ve made this wonderful instrument their career. Not every interview is super awesome amazing, but many of them are, and you’ll learn stuff about being a pro guitar player. The most recent episode features Steve Stevens.
Jude’s laid back semi-hippy style is apparently a bit of a put-off to some, but to that I say open up your heart and soul, man. No, seriously, listen to what Jude is saying, and listen to the vibe of everyone he interviews. All the pro guitar players have love for music, love for the guitar, and love for people making music. Hate poisons music. Love feeds it.
Or, more pragmatically, these pros have all learned that no one wants to hire you if you’re a hate filled asshole who’s always slagging other musicians. One of the most important transformations a pro musician goes through is when he moves from the arm-folded cold stare of watching another guitarist to just smiling and enjoying the music. It’s a maturity that some players get by the age of 16, some by the age of 32, some by 42, and some never.
Anyway, subscribe to this podcast and listen to episode 1, then just work your way forward. Don’t be put off if you don’t recognize the name of the guy or girl – just listen to the thing. And learn. And enjoy the music! This is my favorite guitar podcast.
