92 episodes

Season 4 is here! Listen in on Greg Koch's conversations with his guitar-hero friends. Every episode Greg unleashes his fiendish humor and unique perspective as "one of the most famous unknown guitar players in the world", asking his often-famous musical friends the questions that we all want to know the answers to! Each episode is brought to you by Fishman and Wildwood Guitars

Chewing the Gristle with Greg Koch Greg Koch

    • Music
    • 4.8 • 175 Ratings

Season 4 is here! Listen in on Greg Koch's conversations with his guitar-hero friends. Every episode Greg unleashes his fiendish humor and unique perspective as "one of the most famous unknown guitar players in the world", asking his often-famous musical friends the questions that we all want to know the answers to! Each episode is brought to you by Fishman and Wildwood Guitars

    Mike Dawes

    Mike Dawes

    One of the world's best acoustic guitarists (just ask Total Guitar and Music Radar), Mike Dawes has made fans globally with his exciting and inviting brand of fingerstyle, percussive guitar. He first gained prominence on YouTube with millions of views for solo arrangements such as Metallica's "One",  Gotye's "Someone That I Used to Know", Van Halen's "Jump", his own tune "The Impossible" and others.  He has gone on to team up with players like Tommy Emmanuel, Periphery, Nick Johnston, Plini and more for collaborative, worldwide tours and videos.  Greg and Mike took a break from both of their busy touring schedules for this episode of Gristle!

    3:49 - Growing up Guildford
    8:33 - The exhaustion only kicks in when the touring stops, days off
    13:13 - Doing everything yourself vs hiring out control of your career, and the importance of touring / building an audience
    23:58 - The Music Industry in a post-COVID world
    25:04 - Ben Lacy, creative fingerstyle, and Mike’s own virtuosic chops 
    32:18 - How Mike works on timing as a solo player
    37:44 - What inspired Mike to originally pick up the guitar
    42:39 - The passing of the late, great EVH, and surviving COVID lockdown (mentally and fiscally)
    49:50 - The digital age, guitar, AI, and how everything moves forward
    64:14 - Being true to oneself as an artist and performer

    Total Length: 76:30

    • 1 hr 16 min
    Tom Quayle

    Tom Quayle

    Tom Quayle is an extraordinary musician, improviser, composer, cat,instruction-app entrepreneur, and six-string visionary hailing from Leeds in the UK. A master of legato playing, he has played all over the world giving him acclaim that means he can count Dweezil Zappa, John Petrucci, Brett Garsed, Greg Howe, Andy Timmons, and Tim Miller amongst his many fans. Greg and Tom get into the transatlantic gristle!

    3:02 - The latest and greatest from Tom, from video courses, new apps, and lots of guitar
    9:07 - Tom’s definition of a “legato” style of playing the guitar, and a few greats to help inspire your ear
    18:17 - The importance of alternate picking, and honing in your own personal style of picking
    30:30 - Tom’s formal guitar education
    36:03 - The importance of a good teacher, and the influence of how music in the family shapes us as players
    52:46 - Players who creatively combine jazz and other styles of guitar
    60:10 - Buc-ee’s and tacos


    Total Length: 65:32

    • 1 hr 5 min
    Johnny Hiland

    Johnny Hiland

    The mighty Johnny Hiland astounds with his telecaster manipulations and chicken-pickin'-fricassee par excellence.  Known far and wide for his blazingly fast and tasty playing, Johnny is a guitar veteran of the Don Kelley Band (a Nashville institution where other veterans such as Guthrie Trapp, Brent Mason, JD Simo, and more got their start), and he's also played on records for artists such as Ricky Skaggs, Toby Keith, Hank Williams III, and Randy Travis, just to name a few. He was signed to Steve Vai's Favored Nations label in 2004, and he's been ripping it up ever since.  Johnny tells Greg his story as they get into the gear and the gristle!

    2:12 - Thumbpickin’ (and how Johnny’s thumb is acting up)
    6:05 - The birth of MTV and being able to SEE how people played guitar, and the importance of the pick, and noiseless pickups
    12:40 - Johnny’s first real guitar and rig, and the glory of T and S style guitars
    22:27 - The influence of early chicken pickin players, B-Benders, and The Byrds
    27:55 - The Rockabilly Revival, Danny Gatton, and Roy Buchanan
    37:23 - Johnny’s decision to drop out of school and move to Nashville, and growing up an absolute fiend for the guitar
    47:02 - Johnny’s move from Nashville to Virginia, and knowing its never too late to make a good living as a musician

    Total Length: 67:21

    • 1 hr 7 min
    Duane Betts

    Duane Betts

    Duane is an incredible guitarist and songwriter, who has forged an impressive musical career by any standard. The son of The Allman Brothers Band's legendary guitarist Dickey Betts (who named him after Duane Allman), he has readily filled those large shoes with aplomb, appearing for years with his father, and also with bands like Dawes, Jamtown (Donovan Frankenreiter, G. Love, and Cody Dickinson), Whitestarr, The Allman Betts Band, and his own projects, such as Duane Betts & The Pistoleers. Greg and Duane get into the gear and gristle! 

    2:16 - Greg playing with Duane and the Allman Family Revival, and digging in to Duane’s playing
    7:05 - Growing up a Betts, Duane’s early musical taste, and his pull to the guitar
    12:50 - What it was like having vintage Gibsons lying around the house, and Duane’s decision to go into music professionally
    18:05 - Splitting time between the Allman Family Revival and Duane’s solo material, and Duane’s upbringing as a young Floridian 
    26:42 - Gear, gear, more gear, and TONE!
    43:36 - Stage volume - then and now
    50:43 - Talking about The Blues and other musicians, father and son, and some tour talk

    Total Length: 60:12
    Fishman Dedicated to helping musicians achieve the truest sound possible whenever they plug-in. Wildwood Guitars One of the world’s premier retailers of exceptional electric and acoustic guitars.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    • 1 hr
    Luther Dickinson

    Luther Dickinson

    North Mississippi Allstars' frontman Luther Dickinson is a great guitar player, musician, and human being! Greg and Luther talk about their recent appearance together with the Allman Family Revival, his influences, Luther and Cody's famous father, producer Jim Dickinson, 80s rock, slide guitar, and all kinds of other fun gristle. Dig it!

    2:25 - Luther’s time touring with the Allman Betts band, how he linked up with The Revival, and growing up an old (music) soul
    11:17 - Growing up with a musically iconic father, distinguishing the differences between styles of play over the years, and integrating different influences
    21:25 - Luther’s transition from Memphis to Nashville, Luther’s work as a producer, and Luther’s favorite guitars
    28:32 - Guitar fever
    33:22 - The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, and the legacy of improvisation
    44:19 - 1984 - the year of Van Halen, Purple Rain, Greg’s wet toe into Hair Metal, and missing out on quality greatness over the years
    54:04 - Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, and a thick conversation on slide guitar
    70:44 - The inspiration of ‘the random element’ of playing guitar, and grooving on the upbeats
    78:27 - The last days of Hendrix, and the favorite songs to play on guitar


    Total Length: 96:10
    Fishman Dedicated to helping musicians achieve the truest sound possible whenever they plug-in. Wildwood Guitars One of the world’s premier retailers of exceptional electric and acoustic guitars.

    • 1 hr 36 min
    Johnny Stachela

    Johnny Stachela

    Johnny Stachela is the firey slide guitar player from the Duane Betts Band, The Allman Betts Band, The Allman Family Revival, and many other renowned projects, all the while sporting his SG into his Fender Super Reverb and causing mayhem. Today they talk about the Allman Brothers, Dickie Betts, gear, and gristle!

    2:17 - Playing with Duane Betts, and how Johnny fell in to playing with the Allman Family Revival, and early influences
    8:08 - Growing up a young bluesman in high school
    14:07 - When the SG takes hold of Johnny, and how to avoid guitar hoarding
    20:50 - The early days of the Fender Super Reverb (the amp world’s best-kept secret), and the pains of inflation
    28:41 - Playing in different tunings, hanging with the old guard of the Allman Brothers band, and vintage guitars
    36:16 - Dickie’s signature sound, how he achieved it, and the intricacies of different Allman Brothers parts
    47:33 - The Allman Family Revival set list, Johnny’s 2023 calendar, and the complexities of record deals
    52:12 - Johnny’s thoughts on the “music game” in 2022


    Total Length: 57:37
    Fishman Dedicated to helping musicians achieve the truest sound possible whenever they plug-in. Wildwood Guitars One of the world’s premier retailers of exceptional electric and acoustic guitars.

    • 57 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
175 Ratings

175 Ratings

hearingloss ,

A plus

Outstanding podcast for musicians. Love the personal banter about living life as a working guitarist / promoter/ merch guy / van driver / drummer’s Dad, etc. Killer radio voice too. Highly recommended.

Stratoblogster ,

Jimmy Herring/Luther Dickinson shows

These 2 shows are especially rich in guitar geekery that connect dots like crazy!!

I’ve always enjoyed Greg’s podcast but I want to especially thank him for continuing it into the post-pandemic era. So many good pro musician podcast shows went to the shelf as those artists returned to gigging and touring. Completely understandable! But extra kudos to Greg Koch for keeping it alive as well as gigging, touring, recording, etc.! Thanks for being the hardest workin’ guy in the Gristle Dimension!!!💪🎸

JP Stratoblogster (Holesworth)

Dollar Derm ,

5 Star Guitar Podcast

Love this podcast, just started but it is essential for a current guitar player. Great job!

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