The legendary shred maestro—best known for his work as a solo artist and as a member of Return to Forever and other high-profile, hot-shot collabs—drops by to chat with Cory about his new epic full-length, Twentyfour. It features “sixteen brand-new compositions and they’re all very involved. I hope I don’t have to do this again.”

One of Di Meola’s biggest projects is, of course, the guitar trio he shared with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía and their thrilling 1981 record, Friday Night in San Francisco, which elevated the acoustic guitar ensemble to the level of high art. Di Meola shares the behind-the-scenes stories of that tour and the 2022 archival release from the next night’s concert, Saturday Night in San Francisco. He calls the ensemble’s dynamic a “real healthy competition” and explains, “I knew I was up against two guys who were relentless in their delivery of phenomenal ideas. When they finished a solo, it was like, ’Oh my god, what am I gonna come up with.”

No chat with Di Meola, who famously opened up his kitchen in the post-lockdown part of the pandemic, would be complete without a survey of Southern Italian food. Why is sfogliatelle the maestro’s favorite pastry, and where does he get his? If he’s on tour and there’s nowhere to eat but an Olive Garden, what’s his order? And much, much more.

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

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

Visit Al Di Meola: https://www.aldimeola.com/

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

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

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

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Marcus King has already been through the wringer, but he’s on the come-up. His hotly anticipated third LP, Mood Swings, drops this Friday, April 5, and on this episode of Wong Notes, the earnest, honest 28-year old South Carolinian goes deep on his career with Cory Wong.

The two shredders open by swapping notes on how touring has changed post-pandemic. Costs are way up, but they’re managing to make it work. King reveals to Wong that on his upcoming tour, he’s wrangled a few sizeable, must-have creature comforts into the trailers—tune in to find out what King brings on the road.

King walks us through his custom amp and cabinet setups, detailing why he prefers 10" speakers to 12", how he became friends with Orange Amplifiers founder Cliff Cooper, and the family history that led to his signature Gibson Marcus King 1962 ES-345, complete with sideways vibrola.

He and Wong get down to the nitty-gritty, too. Marcus talks about pressure to conform to certain genre communities, his struggles with self-medicating, and how sometimes, music feels like the only medicine we’ve got on hand.

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

Visit Marcus King: https://www.marcuskingofficial.com/

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 DistroKid

The ascendant roots shredder shares intimate details from his musical upbringing and gets philosophical on the past and future of bluegrass.

Millennial folk philosopher Billy Strings joins this episode of Wong Notes. The Grammy-winning acoustic picker is an open book—nothing is off limits with Billy, from recounting his days selling magic mushrooms in exchange for passing grades in math class, to an emotional drunk-driving revelation that might have saved his life.

Now, Strings can recount war stories of playing with his heroes in the bluegrass scene, and learning important lessons from the greats about respect while onstage. Strings is at the intersection of the old and the new, often stuck between the traditionalists and the new era of American folk music. He says he doesn’t belong to one or the other; his music is more of “a goulash of all the things put together.” Speaking of which, Billy and Cory connect for a brilliant mashup of Cory’s funk stylings and Billy’s bluegrass flatpicking, proving that music really can be a universal language.

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

Visit Billy Strings: http://billystrings.com

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 DistroKid