Frank Gambale Interview

Steve Hackett the legendary guitarist from the band Genesis contributed to six of the band's studio albums, three live albums, seven singles and one EP before he left to pursue a solo career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. He released his first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, while still a member of Genesis in 1975. Hackett also co-founded the supergroup GTR with Steve Howe in 1986. The group released the self-titled album GTR, which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and spawned the Top 20 single "When the Heart Rules the Mind". 

His 2024 release ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ is Steve’s first new music in over two years. Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark, the line-up for ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on NPR's WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2023 Brian’s music video “Speed of Sound” featuring Joe Satriani won Best Video of the Year by the Josie Music Awards. His all star album Brothers In Arms topped the metal radio charts peaking #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts. Both in 2022 & 2023 the Josie Music Awards nominated Tarquin for "Musician of the Year (Guitar)" and "Music Producer of the Year." In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” In 2023 the Hollywood Independent Music Awards nominated his company BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records for "Independent Record Label of the Year." 

Gus G. former Ozzy guitarist was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece and is hailed as one of the most important and influential Metal guitarists of his generation. Gus played guitar for Ozzy from 2009 till 2017, recorded all guitars on his Grammy nominated album “Scream” and toured the globe with the Prince Of Darkness until 2016. Gus has appeared on more than 50 magazine covers around the world including major music publications like Guitar World, Total Guitar, Metal Hammer, Young Guitar, Burrn!, and many more. He’s won 2 Metal Hammer awards (“God of Riffs” and “Best Shredder”) and topped categories multiple times in Readers Polls of Guitar World, Guitar Player, Total Guitar, Young Guitar, Burrn! and Metal Hammer. Gus has performed on stage with guitar icons such as Slash, Zakk Wylde, Tom Morello, Marty Friedman, Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore, Michael Angelo Batio, among others.

Gus is also heavily involved in designing musical gear. He is endorsed by Jackson guitars, with whom he’s released 4 successful signature models to date. He has also released signature products with Blackstar amplifiers. In 2020 he founded a pickup company called Blackfire Pickups, as he is always on a quest to develop and better his guitar tone.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on NPR's WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2023 Brian’s music video “Speed of Sound” featuring Joe Satriani won Best Video of the Year by the Josie Music Awards. His all star album Brothers In Arms topped the metal radio charts peaking #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts. Both in 2022 & 2023 the Josie Music Awards nominated Tarquin for "Musician of the Year (Guitar)" and "Music Producer of the Year." In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” In 2023 the Hollywood Independent Music Awards nominated his company BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records for "Independent Record Label of the Year." 

Geoff Tate was vocalist and originaly member of the band Queensrÿche, who had groundbreaking metal albums like Rage for Order, Operation: Mindcrime and  Empire. Tate is ranked fourteenth on Hit Parader's list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. He was voted No. 2 on That Metal Show's top 5 hard rock vocalists of the 1980s. In 2012, he won the Vegas Rocks! Magazine Music Award for "Voice in Progressive Heavy Metal". In 2015, he placed ninth on OC Weekly's list of the 10 Best High-Pitched Metal Singers.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on NPR's WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2023 Brian’s music video “Speed of Sound” featuring Joe Satriani won Best Video of the Year by the Josie Music Awards. His all star album Brothers In Arms topped the metal radio charts peaking #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts. Both in 2022 & 2023 the Josie Music Awards nominated Tarquin for "Musician of the Year (Guitar)" and "Music Producer of the Year." In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” In 2023 the Hollywood Independent Music Awards nominated his company BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records for "Independent Record Label of the Year." 

Kingfish debuted on the Billboard Blues Chart in the #1 position and remained on the chart for an astonishing 91 weeks. In addition to receiving a GRAMMY Award nomination, Kingfish was named the #1 Best Blues Album of The Year by UK tastemaker magazine MOJO. Ingram’s lead single, Fresh Out (featuring Buddy Guy) was the most played song on SiriusXM’s highly regarded Bluesville channel. Kingfish was also #1 on Living Blues magazine’s Top 50 Albums of The Year Radio Chart. The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Guitar World, and many other publications shared the joy of their musical discovery with their readers. Kingfish was even interviewed by Sir Elton John for his Apple Music Rocketman podcast. In 2021 Kingfish won the GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, won the Blues Music Award for Best Blues Album, and topped both the DownBeat Critics’ Poll and the Living Blues Critics’ Poll. Since his 2019 debut, Kingfish has been nominated for a total of 10 Blues Music Awards and has won them all. He’s also won 11 Living Blues Awards.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on NPR's WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2023 Brian’s music video “Speed of Sound” featuring Joe Satriani won Best Video of the Year by the Josie Music Awards. His all star album Brothers In Arms topped the metal radio charts peaking #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts. Both in 2022 & 2023 the Josie Music Awards nominated Tarquin for "Musician of the Year (Guitar)" and "Music Producer of the Year." In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” In 2023 the Hollywood Independent Music Awards nominated his company BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records for "Independent Record Label of the Year." 

Al Di Meola a bona fide guitar hero, perennial poll-winner, and prolific composer, he has amassed over 20 albums as a leader while collaborating on a dozen or so others with the likes of the fusion supergroup Return to Forever (with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White), the celebrated acoustic Guitar Trio featuring fellow virtuosos John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia, and the Rite of Strings trio with bassist Clarke and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. And while his dazzling technique on both acoustic and electric guitars has afforded him regal status among the hordes of fretboard fanatics who regularly flock to his concerts, the depth of Di Meola's writing along with the soulfulness and the inherent lyricism of his guitaristic expression have won him legions of fans worldwide beyond the guitar aficionado set.

A pioneer of blending world music and jazz, going back to early Latin-tinged fusion outings like 1976's Land of the Midnight Sun, 1977's Elegant Gypsy and 1978's Casino, the guitar great continues to explore the rich influence of flamenco, tango, Middle Eastern, Brazilian and African music with his World Sinfonia, an ambitious pan-global group that he formed in 1991. Their exhilarating world music fusion has been documented on such releases as 2000’s The Grande Passion (featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra), 2007’s Live in London, 2011’s Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody and the stunning 2012 DVD, Morocco Fantasia (recorded at the Mawazine Festival in Rabat, Morocco and featuring special guests Said Chraibi on oud, Abdellah Meri on violin and Tari Ben Ali on percussion).

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on NPR's WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2023 Brian’s music video “Speed of Sound” featuring Joe Satriani won Best Video of the Year by the Josie Music Awards. His all star album Brothers In Arms topped the metal radio charts peaking #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts. Both in 2022 & 2023 the Josie Music Awards nominated Tarquin for "Musician of the Year (Guitar)" and "Music Producer of the Year." In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” In 2023 the Hollywood Independent Music Awards nominated his company BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records for "Independent Record Label of the Year." 

For more than 45 years, Paul Stanley has reigned supreme as one of the single-most recognizable front men in the history of rock and roll. Although preferring to live his off stage life out of the media spotlight he continues to be the chief songwriter, driving force and unwavering voice of KISS. A visionary and trendsetter since the early 1970s, Stanley’s passion for both the musical and visual arts has perhaps been the key to the astonishing ongoing worldwide phenomenon known as KISS. Stanley also returned to his passion for painting ten years ago by creating portraits and abstracts that are emotionally-charged compositions. He aims to maximize the direct, physical impact of his paintings through scale, texture, color and simplicity of images. In a few short years of exhibiting, Stanley’s works have been acquired by numerous art collectors and he has been commissioned to create large works to be displayed internationally.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2022 Tarquin was nominated for both Best Guitarist and Music Producer of the year by the Josie Music Awards. Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans showcasing his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), and Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few.

For over 40 years, he has stood as one of the most innovative electric bassists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Known for his one-of-a-kind tone, jaw dropping technique and highly advanced harmonic approaches to the bass, Jeff has been one of the major figures in firmly establishing the electric bass as a solo instrument well deserving of its own distinct place in modern music. Jeff’s recording and performance credits include a who’s who of jazz and rock. They include: Bill Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, Larry Coryell, Pat Martino, John McLaughlin, Yes, Frank Zappa, Patrick Moraz and many more.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2022 Tarquin was nominated for both Best Guitarist and Music Producer of the year by the Josie Music Awards. Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans showcasing his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), and Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few.

UFO guitarist Vinnie Moore is interviewed for the Guitar Trax show by Multi-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin. Vinnie is considered one of the originators of shred guitar, and has released eight influential solo albums. He’s made countless album guest appearances, and has even recorded the soundtrack for a PEPSI TV commercial. He's talks about his new album Double Exposure.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2022 Tarquin was nominated for both Best Guitarist and Music Producer of the year by the Josie Music Awards. Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans showcasing his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), and Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few.

The world has just lost one of the great guitarists of a generation, the maestro himself Jeff Beck! Jeff represented so much for musicians because of his never ending strive for tone and proficiency as a guitar gunslinger. He reached millions through his decades of stellar recordings and performances that permeated our souls. He is the father of modern guitar instrumental music and pioneered the path for such guitarists as Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola and countless others. He was truly a risk taker and forged ahead in new styles of music that very few would ever dare to tread.

“Jeff was a hero of mine on many levels. He gave us so much wonderful electric guitar music to enjoy. R.I.P. Jeff Beck.”

Joe Satriani

“There are few musicians in history who transcend their instrument of choice and reach a level of pure, beautiful expression. We are all so fortunate to have lived in a time when one of those rare gods walked the earth and shared his gift with all of us.  Safe travels, Maestro.”

Dean Brown (David Sanborn)

“I had the honor of being featured together with Jeff on Tina Turner’s recording of Private Dancer. Watching him in action Jeff had the innate ability to make one feel like both giving up on the guitar and trying harder at the same time. The God of Guitar Gods, there will never be another like Jeff Beck.”

Hal Lindes (Hal Lindes)

"In 1966, when I first heard the Yardbirds “Shapes of Things” … double lead guitar solo was so exciting it defined psychedelic rock and undoubtedly influenced Jimi Hendrix. There will never be another Jeff Beck, a once in a generation talent."

Carl Verheyen (Supertramp)

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2022 Tarquin was nominated for both Best Guitarist and Music Producer of the year by the Josie Music Awards. Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans showcasing his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), and Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few.

The world has just lost one of the great guitarists of a generation, the maestro himself Jeff Beck! Jeff represented so much for musicians because of his never ending strive for tone and proficiency as a guitar gunslinger. He reached millions through his decades of stellar recordings and performances that permeated our souls. He is the father of modern guitar instrumental music and pioneered the path for such guitarists as Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola and countless others. He was truly a risk taker and forged ahead in new styles of music that very few would ever dare to tread.

“I am very sad to learn that Jeff Beck passed away, I loved his playing, a real innovator, great sound, great feeling.” 

Jean Luc Ponty

“Jeff Beck was one of the most innovative guitarists there ever was. He constantly reinvented himself. He was one of a kind and we were very lucky to have been graced with his amazing music.”

Eric Johnson

"Jeff Beck shaped the guitar's future, starting in the 1960's. His specialty was fluid, melodic, emotional playing, like nobody else. Always has been one of my absolute favorite players."

Steve Morse (Deep Purple)

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. In 2022 Tarquin was nominated for both Best Guitarist and Music Producer of the year by the Josie Music Awards. Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans showcasing his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), and Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few.