Jeff Floro's All About Guitar

It's another night of great tone and extraordinary technique. I am honored to have guitarist Dan Sistos on the show. A sought after session and touring musician, Dan has played with such notables as Christine Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Paulina Rubio, Macy Gray, Martina McBride, Juan Gabriel, Antonio Solis, and Shaila Durcal, to name a few. A graduate from the Berklee School of Music in Boston and the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, CA, Dan has been hailed as a "Spanish guitar master" and "the Carlos Santana for the next generation." Joining me as guest hosts for tonight's show are, amazing guitarists in their own right, Jim Stubblefield and Eric Hansen.

I met Andy Alt last September at the LA Amp Expo and got a good listen to his revolutionary "A Little Thunder" guitar pickup. The pickup is designed with an algorithm that takes the signal (from the low E and A strings) and translates them into a bass signal (either an octave or two octaves lower than the orignal note) while still preserving all 6 original guitar strings. The pickup utilizes a stereo output, which sends the bass signal to a bass amplifier and a guitar signal to a guitar amplifier. Very cool! But there's more to Andy. Andy is the online marketing director for Steve Vai and, together with Vai, founded GuitarTV, a website of 24/7 streaming of guitar-only related content, launched in May of 2011. He also, of course, is a guitar player, having been the lead guitarist for Drake Bell, of Nickelodeon's "Drake & Josh." We will look into Andy's career and check out, first hand, this revolutionary pickup he has designed!

We are honored to have Grammy Award winning guitarist Ed Gerhard on the show this week! Performing on 6-string, 12-string, slide guitar or acoustic Hawaiian lap slide, Ed's playing can also be heard on recordings by Arlo Guthrie, Jorma Kaukonen and in the Ken Burns film "Mark Twain aht "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." Along with players like Ben Harper and David Lindley, Gerhard's unique approach to the Weissenborn (an acoustic Hawaiian lap slide guitar) is playing a significant role in reinvigorating interest in this somewhat esoteric but beautiful instrument. So join us as we talk to Ed about his playing, his guitars and his fantastic tone!

Don Alder is an exceptional guitarist. Hailing from Canada, Don has served on the advisory panel for Lee Ritenour's Six String Theory Contest and been a part of Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night Performances, held at the winter NAMM shows in Anaheim. He is a master of acoustic steel string, baritone guitar and harp guitar. Don has won numerous awards in Canada and Internationally for his fingerstyle playing and he joins us here tonight to talk about his tone, technique, his instruments, and his new album, "Armed And Dangerous."

It is truly an honor to welcome back Prescott Niles back to the show! Actually we had him on The FLO Guitar-Enthusiasts and we barely scratched the surface of what this amazing musician can do! Prescott is well known for being the bassist of the band The Knack, and his iconic bass riff for "My Sharona" is known by a lot of musicians over several generations. But there is more to Prescott than that, and that is what we will explore tonight. We will talk to Prescott about, while in the Knack, working with producer Don Was and drummer Terry Bozzio and explore some amazing bass playing on the Knack albums. Also we take a look at life after the Knack, his working with George Harrison, Josie Cotton (featured in the movie Valley Girl), Velvet Turner and Randy California and will play some rare clips of some legendary sessions!! And we will talk about his playing bass for Missing Persons! We will be talking tone, basses and Prescott will be bringing some interesting basses in his collection to show us!!

We all know the 1960's and 1970's was a rich time for music. Some amazing and groundbreaking groups and artists gave us such a varied and brilliant body of work that is has changed music forever. But there was another "golden age" too! The session musicians, the people behind the hits were experiencing a very creative and prosperous period and was just as significant. One of those legendary session men is Don Randi. Don was one of the members of the legendary "Wrecking Crew," a group of session musicians that played on almost all of the hits we know from the 1960's. We talk to Don about what it was like to be an A-list session musician at that time. We will also find out how Don balanced all those sessions and still being able to tour with the Sinatras and others. Don has written a book about his experiences, called "You've Heard These Hands," and we will talk to Don about working with the Beach Boys, Phil Spector, The Sinatras, and the incredible guitarists on those sessions! So get ready for some g

You know how it is when everything gets turned around? Well that happens tonight when we talk about "My Sordid Past!" I will be interviewed by guest guitarists and friends Jean-Pierre Durand and Lance Allyn. I have dug into the Floro Archives and pulled some music clips of various sessions that I think you will enjoy! Covering over 40 years of sessions and music, from The Floro Bros. to present day, it will be a night of guitars, amps, tone and stories from the studio and on the road!

My guest this week is Tina Karras. Tina is a classical guitarist and pianist, but is more than that. Pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, Tina has taken her classical roots and is taking her music into new and exciting directions! Claiming classical influences of Bach, Beethoven and Debussy and rock influences The Beatles, Carly Simon and Fleetwood Mac, I actually hear more progressive influences in her music. So we will explore her unique music, her guitar playing, both electric and acoustic, her tone, technique, and more!

Since 1974, Michael Tobias has been tweaking and tinkering on guitars and basses, eventually he started building instruments, especially basses, and his Tobias basses have been collectible instruments used by a broad range of artists. In 1994, Michael started a new company, Michael Tobias Design, and has taken his instruments to a whole new level. To quote Michael: "The most important thing I learned is that, no matter what the instrument is, it is first and foremost acoustic. If an instrument sounds weak acoustically, adding pickups will just amplify its shortcomings. Throughout my career I have tried to apply this principal to everything I build. By experimenting with different types and combinations of wood, I seek to get the best possible tone from an instrument. And, by using different woods for body and neck, I am able to offer a wide variety of speaking voiced and tonal capabilities." Joining me, in studio, is renowned studio bassist and one of the founders of the phenomenal group Incendio, Liza

Ben Woods is a world renowned flamenco guitarist, but he is much more than that! Taking the music of Metallica and transcribing it for guitar, he has developed what people are calling "Flametallica" - a new hybrid style of music. Ben is pushing the bar bringing new and exciting repertoire to the flamenco and classical guitar body of music! We will be talking to Ben about his extraordinary technique, the music, his killer tone and more! Joining me as my guest host is another innovator on guitar, Jim Stubblefield, both as a solo artist and in the band Incendio. You will hear some guitar that you have never heard before!!

There are a few artists that really push the boundaries of their art, raise the bar, and take us to new places! Liona Boyd is one of those people! Truly the "First Lady Of Guitar" she has been one of the "A" list classical guitar artists for many years (having studied with Andres Segovia, Eli Kassner, Narciso Yepes, Alirio Diaz and Julian Bream) but she has gone much further. Starting with her breakthrough album "Persona" and continuing even today, Liona has gone beyond the traditional classical guitar repertoire and has explored a mixture of Rock, New Age and classical with such noted artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Chet Atkins, Al DiMeola, Steve Morse, and Roger Whittaker, taking her guitar playing into a multitude of directions. Today, she keeps going further, now also singing and songwriting, giving us a wealth of new repertoire for the guitar! We talk to Liona about her guitar playing, her beautiful tone, the guitars in her life and take a look at some of her music! We also will be

The Allman Brothers Band. An iconic band, part of the "New South" music happening at the time which had a profound impact on rock and blues music for years to come. Guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts both were perfect examples of great tone and technique. Tonight we delve into that legendary tone! Willie Perkins, who was the tour manager for the band from 1970 to 1984, and Jack Weston, an Allman Brothers memorabilia collector, have put out a book on everything Allman Brothers: "The Allman Brothers Band: Classic Memorabilia 1969-1976" which covers more than just the gear: artwork, patches, all sorts of merchandising and even tickets to the gigs! To help us explore the gear used by the Allman Brothers during their legendary years we are joined by guitar and amp tech Skip Simmons, who was commissioned by Jack Weston to completely restore Dickey Betts original 1964 Bassman amp. Skip is a renowned tech known globally for his expertise, especially on Fender amps. We will hear the story of how Dickey's a

The late 1960's and early 1970's - this was an exciting and vibrant time for music, especially in Los Angeles. And there was Fanny, headed by June and Jean Millington. They, as an all girl rock band, opened the door for groups like the Runaways and the Go-Go's. And June and Jean, along with such renowned artists like Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell, opened the door for many women artists in rock to come! But Fanny wasn't just a bunch of beautiful women, they were musicians with chops to spare!! Jean still is an amazing bassist and June is a consumate rock and blues guitarist. And her slide guitar playing is some of the best!! I will be talking to June about her playing, her influences, her guitars and amps, and explore her new autobiography "Land of a Thousand Bridges - Island Girl in a Rock & Roll World." We will also talk about her the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), and organization founded by June and Ann Hackler to help women develop into extraordinary artists.

It's another great night delving into the secrets of great tone! Since 1994 Larry Pollack has strived to raise the bar in the design and improvement of musical instrument electronics. His background in engineering, mathematics and music have guided him there for 40 years! Aero Instruments has been one of the most popular places to get custom made to order pickups for bass guitar, guitar, ukulele, pedal steel and other stringed instruments. Larry works with the players to get the sounds they want and need. We talk to Larry about the different types of pickups, the materials used to get certain sounds and take a listen to some of these renowned pickups! Joining us also in-studio are two of his clients: Jazz player and educator Jimmy Hewitt uses Aero pickups on his guitar and will be showing his setup. And sideman and session bassist David Inamine shows us his bass pickups he uses gigging.

We all have heard some amazing guitarists who can solo like there's no tomorrow. And it's always fun to let loose and improvise! But life isn't always all soloing! As most session players know, a lot of guitar playing in the trenches is playing in a rhythm section and accompanying a singer or group. But let's take it further. What about when you the only instrument accompanying a vocalist? How do you best make the song and vocalist sound great? Singer/Songwriter/Performer Susan Sheller joins me to talk about how she uses her guitar to back up her vocals and effectively support her songs. Susan is a solo artist who has opened for Leon Russell, Kenny Loggins, Robben Ford, Coco Montoya and Johnny Winter, among others. Just Susan and her guitars (She has a great collection!) We find out how Susan uses her guitars to back her up!

Tonight is another night of great chops and killer tone! Joining me tonight is guitarist Steve Fister! Steve has worked with Steppenwolf, Pat Travers Band, Stu Hamm and Jack Cassidy. He was the musical director for Lita Ford and has 9 solo albums under his belt. He is presently playing in the Tri-Fecta with bassist Ric Fierabracci and drummer Ray Brinker, with their new album, "The Tri-Fecta - A Triple Threat." We talk to Steve about his solo career and his playing in The Tri-Fecta, his tone, his gear, and take a look at his new signature model guitar made by Godin!

It's another night of great tone! Bobby Cochran returns to the show (He joined us on our "surf music" show with Tom Potts and Matt Quilter, 8-3-2015). Tonight we talk about his work as a guitarist for hire, having worked with Steppenwolf, The Flying Burrito Bros. and Leon Russell. A man of many styles, wearing many hats, we also talk to him about his famous uncle, Eddie Cochran (Summertime Blues), his tone, technique, gear and his session work bouncing from Los Angeles and Nashville.

With the LA Amp Show coming up this coming weekend, it seems appropriate that I have a pedal manufacturer that I met at the Guitar Pedal Expo, the sister show of the LA Amp Show. They had some great pedals at the show and I ended up buying one a couple of months later. My guest is Sean Pierce Johnson of Neunaber Audio Effects. Neunaber make some great digital pedals. We will be exploring them. I will also be playing an exclusive clip from the new album by Those American Girls, "All Time Smash Hits," which I used my Neunaber Seraphim Shimmer pedal on the Dolly Parton song "Try" sung by Alicia American and Ariel Petrie. My guest host for this week is Loni Spector, the man who makes the LA Amp Show and Pedal Expo happen! We will get a sneak peak on what to expect at the LA Amp Show!

Since 1975, Janet and Greg Deering started building banjos and Deering Banjos have become the largest manufacturer of banjos in America. And with good reason! These banjos are quality made, and are available in price ranges that everyone can afford. Joining us is Jaime Deering, Vice-President of Expansion, at Deering Banjo. Also returning to the show is Deering Artist David Maldonado, a mult-instrumentalist and recording artist. David will be bringing down his Deering Banjos and we will find out what makes Deering Banjos the choice of some of the best banjo players worldwide!!

To continue with our look at new and innovative ideas and techniques being utilized in teaching our children how to play music and how it can improve their lives in many other ways, we welcome back Linda and Les Wise! We had them on before, on the FLO Guitar-Enthusiasts, once explaining their teaching curriculum, The Deliberate Musician, and they had also returned with a case study to see the program in action. Tonight we talk about their DVD program of The Deliberate Musician, which was made by Linda especially for kids. The impact this can have on a child's emotional well being, besides the obvious benefits to their musicianship, cannot be stressed enough. And to help me explore this with Linda and Les, I am joined by last week's guest Jessica Baron, of Guitars In The Classroom. We will talk with Linda and Les about the development of this special version of The Deliberate Musician for Kids and explore how much more it can impact your child's future!