For the last several years, Los Angeles-based musician Ryan Richter has served as a touring guitarist for Dijon, Ryan Beatty, Lizzy McAlpine and others. Years ago, he was also one of the Fretboard Journal’s earliest employees. Ryan recently released his first solo project – a fascinating one-track, 20-minute long album called “As Good A Place As Any (No Hard Feelings)” – and on this week’s podcast, we hear all about it. Ryan tells us about how this multifaceted composition came to be (with a little help from a rolling capo ad on social media), the gear that he used on it, his touring rig ..read more

 Derek Gripper plays Malian Kora music on a vintage Hermann Hauser classical guitar…and if that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will! John Williams himself describes feeling that this was, and, I quote, “absolutely impossible until I heard Derek Gripper do it.” So that’s pretty cool. We talk about his work translating the music of this beautiful African harp to the nylon string guitar, and the extraordinary instruments he has used in his quest to make the music in his head come to life including 8-string guitars, fanned frets and interchangeable magnetic fretboards. Yes, he has gone d ..read more

 Singer-songwriter and Fretboard Journal favorite John Smith joins us this week to talk about his moving new Joe Henry-produced album, ‘The Living Kind.’ We hear about the British folk scene and John’s time with John Renbourn and others; his guitar collection (including a rather unusual custom Fylde, his Mule guitars and others); the making of the new album; his thoughts on streaming; his love for pedals and the Quad Cortex and so much more. PS: Joe Henry will be appearing at our 2024 Fretboard Summit alongside Blake Mills, Valerie June, Colin Hay and dozens of other Fretboard Journal favo ..read more

Happy to announce some truly special updates to our 2024 Fretboard Summit at Chicago’s legendary Old Town School. On Friday, August 23, we’re bringing back two very special artists who attended our earliest version of the Summit way back in 2015: Blake Mills and Joe Henry. Each will be performing a full set that evening. Expect surprises. The last time Blake played for us, he and Bill Frisell did a duo for the first time ever…an unforgettable Bob Dylan cover. On Saturday, Colin Hay (Men at Work) will be performing courtesy of our friends at Collings Guitars. And on Sunday, the incredible Valer ..read more

 No guests or special theme this week…just an all-new, old-school episode of the Truth About Vintage Amps, where amp tech Skip Simmons fields your questions on all-things-tube amp. Want to be a part of our show? Just email us a question or voice memo to podcast@fretboardjournal.com. Some of the topics discussed: 1:31 What’s on Skip’s workbench: Valco amps with a resistor and a normal speaker instead of a field coil 3:46 This week’s sponsors: Emerald City Guitars, Amplified Parts, Stringjoy, StewMac, Izotope, and Grez Guitars! 5:04 Thrift store: Revere Ware 8:01 What’s the deal with ..read more

 Scott Ballew is an Austin, Texas-based filmmaker and musician. For years, he’s directed unforgettable videos and documentaries for Yeti and others. In 2020, he decided to take up songwriting. Just a year later, he released his first album. This week, Ballew releases Rio Bravo, his third album. It’s an exceptional work that somehow combines Ballew’s affinity for Townes Van Zandt and other Austin legends with his love for reverb-drenched Ennio Morricone soundtracks. We love it. During our chat, Scott tells us about his unlikely journey from football star to director to songwriter and about how ..read more

On April 5, 2024, our friends at Tompkins Square Records are releasing Imaginational Anthem, Vol. XIII: Songs of Bruce Cockburn. This collection features a wide array of indie artists celebrating the music of the famed Canadian singer-songwriter. Included are tracks by Eli Winter, Bill Callahan, Matt Valentine, Luke Schneider, Jerry David DeCicca and others. To celebrate the release of this album, we asked Eli Winter to share his arrangement of Cockburn’s “Foxglove,” the opening track on the album. Ge the album here. Learn more about Eli Winter here. The post Eli Winter – “Foxglove” (Bruce Co ..read more

 Lifelong friends Mathias Roux and Matthew Rice make visually stunning and beautifully executed Casimi Guitars out of their shop in South Africa. For episode 88 of the podcast, Mathias and Matthew discuss how they developed their visual style and the voice of their guitars. They also share their thoughts on the division of labor in the shop, their time working in Marc Maingard’s shop, planning inlays, and the pros and cons of making guitars in South Africa. https://casimiguitars.com/ Luthier on Luthier is hosted by Michael Bashkin of Bashkin Guitars and brought to you by the Fretboard Jo ..read more

Six-time Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer John Leventhal joins us this week to talk about Rumble Strip, his long-awaited debut solo album (out now)! John tells us why, after five decades in the music business, he decided to make a solo album. We chat about his writing process, the home studio he and partner Rosanne Cash have in NYC, the gear that he used on the album, his favorite microphones, and his go-to acoustic tuning (CGDGBE). Also discussed are the influence of Ry Cooder on his playing; the magic found in old Gibson flattops (and ’60s Guilds); and why John t ..read more

When bluegrass supergroup Mighty Poplar came through Seattle in 2023, we knew we had to film them. After all, here were five of our favorite musicians, touring together. Only problem? We weren’t sure we could cram Greg’s upright bass into our usual FJ HQ filming location! So we got creative and borrowed Seattle’s amazing Rabbit Box Theater for the video you see here. Mighty Poplar are Andrew Marlin (mandolin / vocals), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), John Mailander (fiddle), and Greg Garrison (bass). Filmed by Lake & Pine’s Peter Hilgendorf for the Fretboard Journal. The po ..read more