Legendary shredder Joe Satriani was the first ever guest on Wong Notes, so it makes sense that he’s the first returning sit-in with Cory Wong. Satch is busy as ever, juggling enough projects to make a normal guitarist’s head spin. But Satriani’s not a normal guitarist.

He teases a new song with Sammy Hagar, plus delves into the intricacies of Eddie Van Halen’s playing and why he can’t quite replicate it—every guitarist has their strengths and deficiencies, claims Satch. And believe it or not, Satriani didn’t figure standing in front of huge crowds to be one of his strengths when he was younger. Fate figured otherwise.

Satriani goes deep on one of his favorite tools, the Sustainiac pickup, and talks about how it’s defined his playing—just like his trademark sunglasses, even in dark rooms. (“Stupid idea, right?” he jokes.)And young guitarists, listen up: Satriani has some wise words on the importance of rigorous practice while you’re budding on the instrument. The big takeaway? Learn. The. Notes.

Listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/WongNotes

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Visit Joe Satriani: https://www.satriani.com/

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com

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Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid

Grace Bowers just released her debut record, 2024’s Wine on Venus, with her band the Hodge Podge, but she’s already one the most well-known young guitarists in America. On this episode of Wong Notes, Bowers talks through the ups, downs, and detours of her whirlwind career.

Bowers started out livestreaming performances on Reddit at age 13, and came into the public eye as a performer on social media, so she’s well acquainted with the limits and benefits of being an “Instagram guitarist.” She and Cory talk about session work in Nashville (Bowers loathes it), her live performance rig, and Eddie Hazel’s influence.

Bowers plugs the importance of networking as a young musician: If you want gigs, you gotta go to gigs, and make acquaintances. But none of that elbow-rubbing will matter unless you’re solid on you’re instrument. “No one’s gonna hire you if you’re ass,” says Bowers. “Practice is important.”

Tune in to learn why Bowers is ready to move on from Wine on Venus, her takes on Nashville versus California, and why she hates “the blues-rock label.”

Get 30% off your first year of DistroKid by going here: http://distrokid.com/vip/corywong

Visit Grace Bowers: https://www.gracebowers.com/

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wongnotespod

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid

You might not know Greg Koch, but we’ll bet your favorite guitarist does. In 2012, Fender called the Wisconsin blues-guitar phenom one of the top 10 best unsung guitarists, and in 2020, Guitar World listed Koch among the 15 best guitar teachers. He’s been inducted into the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame. Koch is a bonafide midwest guitar god.

He joins Cory Wong on this round of Wong Notes for this meeting of the Middle-America minds, where the duo open with analysis of music culture in Wisconsin and Minnesota—Koch taught at Saint Paul’s now-shuttered McNally Smith College of Music, which Wong attended. Koch and Wong zero in on the blues roots of most modern music and talk through soloing theories: It can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be, but Koch shares that he likes to “paint himself into a corner,” then get out of it.

Koch and Wong swap notes on the pressures of studio performance versus the live realm, and how to move on from mistakes made onstage in front of audiences. Plus, Koch has created scores of guitar education materials, including for Hal Leonard. Tune in to find out what makes a good guitar course, how to write a guitar book, Koch’s audio tips for crystalline live-stream sessions, and why he still prefers tube amps: “I like to crank that sh*t up!”

Visit Greg Koch: https://www.gregkoch.com/

Get 30% off your first year of DistroKid by going here: http://distrokid.com/vip/corywong

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wongnotespod

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by...