Guitar Player September 2024 Al Di Meola Dickey Betts Mike Campbell Steve Steven

IN THIS ISSUE: Interviews with Al Di Meola, Mike Campbell, Steve Stevens, Dave Stewart, Stephane Wrembel, John Oates and Oz Noy, plus a tribute to the late Dickey Betts, and much more!

Al Di Meola: Less than a year after an onstage heart attack took him out of action, the jazz-fusion guitarist is back on the road and releasing his most ambitious work to date, the double-album ‘Twentyfour.’ Says the unstoppable virtuoso, “This is a new beginning for me.”

Mike Campbell: "You always have to have a dream — my other dream ran its course." As the Dirty Knobs release their third album, Campbell reflects on the lessons he learned from Tom Petty and the guitars he’ll never part with.

‘Rebel Yell’ at 40: Billy Idol’s breakthrough album served notice that he was a force to be reckoned with — and that Steve Stevens was his master of tactical guitar design. Forty years on, Stevens recounts every guitar move from every track.

Dickey Betts, In Memoriam: A rock and roll guitarist with a flair for bluegrass. A hothead who sought peace in Zen Buddhism. There was nothing simple about Dickey Betts, who led the Allman Brothers Band — and southern rock — to their highest peaks.

Dave Stewart: He got famous playing a synthesizer. But these five tracks with Eurythmics, Tom Petty and others show Stewart at his best on his first instrument: guitar.

Stephane Wrembel: At the half-century mark, the Gypsy jazz guitarist reinvents himself with ‘Triptych,’ the new album he calls a celebration of life and “a mirror of my soul.”

Oz Noy: A master of improvisation, Oz demonstrates how to deftly navigate a series of musical challenges. Plus, he shares his best practices for every guitarist — from tuning to scales and fretboard visualization.

Eric Earley: The discovery of decades-old demo tapes gave the Blitzen Trapper guitarist an opportunity to resurrect some of his earliest songs and recordings for his group’s latest album, ‘100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions.’

John Oates: With his Hall & Oates days behind him, Oates finds his solo career bursting in new directions... and genres.

Muireann Bradley: At just 17, this Irish acoustic guitarist is leading a folk-blues revival.

The Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water”: Pat Simmons dips into the history of the group’s first number one hit.

All this, plus reviews of the PRS DGT15 Dave Grissom signature amp, Danelectro 1960s Big Sitar, Taylor 50th Anniversary 858e LTD Grand Orchestra 12-String, Peavey Classic 20 112 and Stonewall Signature Jazzmaster Pickups and Offset Fuzz Circuit.