Shred With Shifty Chris Shiflett

As the premier season of the show comes to a close, Richie Sambora sends it off with a fun, free-wheeling episode that looks at his high-drama fingerwork on “Only Lonely” from Bon Jovi’s second record, 1985’s 7800° Fahrenheit. (The song’s music video is everything you’d ever want from mid-’80s hard rock.)
Richie joins Shifty subterranean-style, from his mother’s basement in New Jersey, where he’s equipped with a reverse-headstock Charvel, complete with a Floyd Rose system. It’s a busy time for Sambora: His first new single in 11 years, “I Pray,” dropped in late April, alongside a brand new, four-part Bon Jovi documentary. 
For “Only Lonely,” Sambora recalls that he used just a 50-watt Marshall and a yellow Boss overdrive pedal to push it to the limit. Producer Lance Quinn captured the performance at the Warehouse in Philly in spring 1985, and Sambora hasn’t slowed at all since that day. Shifty takes a run at a few of Sambora’s blistering lead screeds before Richie takes the reins and brings it home. They don’t leave it at “Only Lonely”; as an added bonus, they run through Sambora’s famous licks from “Bad Medicine,” too.

Between solo runs, Richie talks about his current rig (no modelers for him, just old-school tube-amp goodness) and addresses the rumors: Will he rejoin Bon Jovi after 11 years gone?
See you on the next season of Shred With Shifty!
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Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642
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Follow Chris Shiflett:
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Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudoin
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan

Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.

The Aerosmith axeman recounts how he ripped the blazing lead on the Rocks hit, dishing some critical history along the way.

Behind Steven Tyler’s unhinged howls, Aerosmith’s twin-guitar attack with Joe Perry and Brad Whitford cemented them as one of the greatest hard-rock bands of the ’70s. “Last Child,” the street-strutting, hard-blues hit off their breakout 1976 record Rocks, is one of the greatest demonstrations of this dangerous duo’s interplay. While Perry holds down the funky rhythmic chord stabs, Whitford burns through a volcanic, first-take solo. Did any pedals help snare that screaming tone? Nope. Just a ’57 goldtop Les Paul and a 100-watt Marshall.

That combo just “makes you play real good,” Whitford says with a grin on this week’s episode. Whitford gives Shifty the background story on how Rocks came together between the band’s Massachusetts rehearsal space and the Record Plant in New York. They dig deep on Aerosmith’s influences and the guitar players that shaped Whitford’s lead style, including the shredders that knew when to pause. “Whatever you play, you’re still replicating the human voice for the most part, and you have to take a breath,” Whitford notes.

Later on, Brad’s son Graham—an established player in his own right—joins the episode to talk about raiding his dad’s guitar and amp vault, and Brad muses on a big question: Will Aerosmith’s upcoming tour be their last?

Click below to subscribe to the podcast!

Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4B8BSR0l78qwUKJ5gOGIWb
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shred-with-shifty-116270551/
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Follow Chris Shiflett:
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.shiflett
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisshiflett71
Website: http://www.chrisshiflettmusic.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg?si=26kWS1v2RYaE4sS7KnHpag

Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudoin
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan

Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.

The influential British shredder talks about how he formed his playing style and demonstrates how to rip one of his most iconic leads.

To hear Phil Collen tell it, he joined Def Leppard almost by accident. He had loaned the band one of his amps, and when they asked him to play some leads on their upcoming record Pyromania, Collen thought he was just doing his friends a solid. The rest is history.

He and Shifty talk through Collen’s formative years on guitar, where he soaked up the scorching playing of classic guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Ronson, Michael Schenker, and Gary Moore all played a hand in Collen’s high-flying fretwork. 

Collen’s solo on “Photograph” is a perfect example of the sort of “ear candy” that producer Mutt Lange encouraged the band to chase in the studio—and yes, he did record individual notes to build a single guitar chord on Pyromania. But there weren’t many tricks to Collen’s sound on the solo. His Ibanez Destroyer and a 50-watt Marshall were all he needed to get the job done for the slick, Blackmore-inspired solo. Tune in to see how he worked that two-piece setup to record one of the most influential guitar solos of the ’80s.


Click below to subscribe to the podcast!

Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4B8BSR0l78qwUKJ5gOGIWb
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shred-with-shifty-116270551/
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Follow Chris Shiflett:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisshiflettmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shifty71
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.shiflett
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisshiflett71
Website: http://www.chrisshiflettmusic.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg?si=26kWS1v2RYaE4sS7KnHpag

Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudoin
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan

Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.

Being born into rock royalty doesn’t make you a rock star—you’ve gotta earn it with your own chops. And whether it’s the classical pedigree of his first name or the hard-rock infamy of his surname, Wolfgang Van Halen has a long lineage to live up to. As he displays on this episode of Shred With Shifty, he’s more than up to the task.
Wolf joins Shifty to teach the blistering, tap-heavy solo for his song “Take a Bow,” from 2023’s Mammoth II. It follows in his dad’s footsteps, sure, but it also shows Wolf has a voice and vision of his own—both of which are just as potent and theatrical as his father’s. 

Wolf treats us to a tour of his new signature semi-hollowbody EVH model, the SA126, with details from EVH managing director Matt Bruck. But he doesn’t hold out on the family jewels: Wolf shares the story of his father’s iconic Frankenstein Strat and brings it on the show, with some extra dirt on his dad’s journey from Marshalls to his signature Peavey 5150 amps. When Shifty asks who’s stewarding his father’s invaluable gear, Wolf eases our concerns: “If the world ended, they would still be okay,” he grins.

Click below to subscribe to the podcast!

Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4B8BSR0l78qwUKJ5gOGIWb
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shred-with-shifty-116270551/
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Follow Chris Shiflett:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisshiflettmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shifty71
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.shiflett
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisshiflett71
Website: http://www.chrisshiflettmusic.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg?si=26kWS1v2RYaE4sS7KnHpag

Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan

Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.

If you can’t figure out how to play Joe Bonamassa’s solo from “Blues Deluxe,” don’t worry. It all changes when Shifty sits down with Bonamassa for this special episode of Shred With Shifty. No surprise that both of them reach for their Les Pauls, and Bonamassa even reveals why he switched from Strats to Gibsons in the early 2000s.

Bonamassa is known for his dazzling collection of vintage guitars—which he says has become a target for haters—but he explains that you don’t need a ’58 Les Paul to get the goods. “It’s also the mystique,” he says. “If Jimmy Page played a Tokai, everyone would want a Tokai.” A guitar made two weeks ago, he says, is just as good as a classic.

Bonamassa’s lightning-quick soloing style, which conjures a hurricane of major and minor pentatonic notes with some phrygian flair, is the stuff of legend, and his tricks on “Blues Deluxe” are plenty. Even though he tries to adhere to a “divide by two” rule to simplify his phrasings, he still stumps Shiflett with a volume swell trick he learned from Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton.

This solo is no walk in the park. Any brave takers up for giving it a shot? Share it and tag us so Shifty can have a look! Most importantly, remember to have fun. “Do whatever you want with the damn thing,” says Bonamassa. “It’s just a guitar.”

Click below to subscribe to the podcast!

Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4B8BSR0l78qwUKJ5gOGIWb
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shred-with-shifty-116270551/
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Follow Chris Shiflett:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisshiflettmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shifty71
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.shiflett
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisshiflett71
Website: http://www.chrisshiflettmusic.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg?si=26kWS1v2RYaE4sS7KnHpag

Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan

Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.

It’s time for Chris Shiflett to rip another solo—solo episode, that is. During this first season of Shred With Shifty, our host has been keeping an eye on fan submissions of the lead parts explained in each episode, hand-picking sharp renditions to share. This time, he spotlights takes on the guitar theatrics from “Alive” by Pearl Jam, “Stay a Little Longer” by Brothers Osborne, and “The Waiting” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, plus a snippet of a Hendrix classic that inspired a listener to pursue lead guitar. The question on everyone’s mind: Will anyone be brave enough to tackle Brent Mason’s brain-melting shred on “Southbound Train?” Step right up, brave soul. It’s your moment.

Stick around for some choice cuts from this season’s interviews, including Mason laying out his signature pickup arrangement, Ace Frehley sharing how his bodyguard helped him recharge after days of partying, and Mike Campbell running down his old studio rig.

Stay tuned for the next episodes of Shred With Shifty featuring Joe Bonamassa and Wolf Van Halen.

Click below to subscribe to the podcast!

Full Video Episodes: http://volume.com/shifty 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1690423642
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4B8BSR0l78qwUKJ5gOGIWb
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shred-with-shifty-116270551/
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/shred-with-shifty/PC:1001071314

Follow Chris Shiflett:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisshiflettmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shifty71
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chris.shiflett
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisshiflett71
Website: http://www.chrisshiflettmusic.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tv5SsSRqR7uLtpKZgcRrg?si=26kWS1v2RYaE4sS7KnHpag

Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudoin
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan