Axe Lords

First things first. In case you’ve ever wondered, Zakk Wylde… hard case or gig bag? The answer is, “Neither, motherf—ers, I carry my guitar around sub-freezing New York City in proper Bezerker fashion, like a norse, warrior’s cudgel, exposed to the elements and ready for combat.” This is only one of the many questions that are answered when the Black Label Society, Zakk Sabbath, Pantera, and of course, Ozzy Osbourne guitarist visits the Axe Lords keep for some tough talk and hand-to hand-tomfoolery. And while he’s ostensibly doing the rounds to promote Black Label Society’s forthcoming Engines of Demolition album, this is conversation that is delightfully far reaching: First guitars and why not to sell them, the meaning of the mysterious rune fretboard inlays on his Wylde Audio guitars, why Tony Iommi is the Henry Ford of hard rock, and how Ozzy Osbourne liked his ham sandwiches prepared. It’s a season-closer that feels like a hang—equal parts reverent, ridiculous, and obsessively specific. Axe Lords is presented in partnership with Witz Comedy Podcast Network and Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Zakk @zakkwyldebls Follow @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Warren Haynes walks into Axe Lords HQ like he’s done this a thousand times—and within minutes we’re deep into the stuff that actually matters: how you develop a voice standing next to a guitarist as singular as Dickey Betts, why the volume knob is not a decoration, and how “improv” gets better the moment you stop trying to have a good idea. Along the way, the Gov’t Mule frontman and solo artist unpacks the real-life chain of events that turned a 19-year-old kid into a professional musician: the surprise call from country provocateur David Allan Coe that turned him into a hardened rod dog almost overnight, the daily grind of being a Nashville session singer, and the long game of learning what he calls the golden rule of playing in a two-guitar band: respect what the other player is doing while still being unmistakably yourself. And because this is Axe Lords, we also get fully nerdy: the story behind that three-pickup SG Custom that went from the cover of Guitar World magazine to the Big House Museum in Macon, the red Custom Shop Strat that got stolen, and why he tours with no less than 20 guitars. Axe Lords is presented in partnership with Premier Guitar and the Witz Comedy Network. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Captain” Kirk Douglas joins the Axe Lords for a wide-ranging conversation about how guitars shape a life—musically, culturally, and sometimes, literally. The longtime guitarist for The Roots (who also serve as the house band on the Tonight Show) traces his path from growing up with reggae, church music, metal, and soul to finding a musical voice that incorporates them all. Along the way, he reflects on the profound effect that Ozzy Osbourne had on his young psyche, how the music that we consume in our youth has an impact that never really fades, real amps versus modeling rigs, and the many wonders of Gibson SG. As an excruciating bonus, the episode also includes the unbelievable story of the vintage Epiphone Crestwood Prince borrowed from him for a live performance on the Tonight Show—and then proceeded to destroy right in front of Douglas’ eyes in an astonishing display of music royalty privilege run amok. Beam us up! Axe Lords is presented in partnership with the Witz Comedy Network and Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow @axelordspod for news, updates, and other cool stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Stein of Blondie joins the Axe Lords for a deep conversation about tone, technique, and the guitars that shaped Blondie’s sound from their early years at CBGBs to today. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also explains why he dislikes relic guitars, how he came to his very un-punk fingerpicking picking technique and reveals that some of the band’s most iconic “synth” sounds were actually produced by guitars. A thoughtful, opinionated, and unrelentingly wise-cracking look at creativity by a punk and new wave legend who Dave says is basically his best friend. Make sure to stick around through the end of the episode for a deep dive into the design and build of Cindy’s D&D guitar. Follow Chris @christein Follow Cindy @cindyguitars Follow @axelordspod for updates, news, and cool stuff. Axe Lords is presented in partnership with the Witz Comedy Network and Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Designer, guitarist and certified culture tinkerer Billy Reid drops by Axe Lords to talk about the overlap between great guitars and great clothes — and why both have to look cool. Tom, Dave and Cindy grill Billy on the leather jacket he made for Jimmy Page, the custom Gibson Hummingbird he designed, and his deep obsession with ’70s Japanese acoustics like Yamaha “red labels” and Tokai Cat’s Eyes. Billy breaks down how Japanese builders and denim heads chase “perfect imitation,” how he hides signature details inside garments, and why some designs bomb at first only to become cult favorites — including wool shorts. Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas at Revoice Media. Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East, NYC. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow @axelordspod for updates, news, and cool stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Gillard (Guided by Voices, Nada Surf) joins the Axe Lords to dissect his signature sound , explain why why he’s one of the few “indie rock guys” running a Mesa Dual Rectifier and—bonus!-gives the A-Lords a guided tour of his battle-worn ’76 Les Paul Custom. Doug — who also played bass in Dave’s Band Valley Lodge — breaks down his approach to composed solos, the harmony and capo tricks behind “I Am a Tree,” and how Cleveland punk, college radio, glam, and right-hand tapping shaped his style. Along the way: how annoying Tom is to work with in the studio, early guitars from Sears and Gibson, Cleveland-scene lore, surviving GBV’s marathon shows, and the most intense comedy monologue since Andy Kaufman shuffled off this mortal coil. Axe Lords is presented in partnership with Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas at Revoice Media. Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow @axelordspod for updates, news, and cool stuff. Follow Doug Gillard @douggillard Episode Highlights 00:00 – Cold Open: Paulina Porizkova, Bambi Kino & a failed pizza date 07:00 – First guitars: Sears Fireball, ’70s Gibson and Dad’s missile-silo day job 15:10 – Cleveland punk roots: Suspect Device, college radio & UK post-punk influences 24:00 – GEM, “Something to Point To” & non–Van Halen right-hand tapping 28:30 – Meeting Dave Hill, cassettes at Euclid Tavern & early Guided By Voices memories 38:20 – Glam revelation: Bolan, Ronson, Slade & choosing Les Pauls over Strats and Jazz Choruses 42:30 – Gear talk: Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, relic culture & why faux-relics feel weird 56:00 – Bambi Kino explained: Hamburg-era Beatles covers only & the Paulina crossover 59:30 – “I Am a Tree” breakdown: capo tricks, Fleetwood Mac, Scarborough Fair & droning double-stops 1:10:00 – Doug’s solo albums, “Time Is Nigh” play-out & closing thanks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axe Lords is back with its biggest season yet—featuring guitar legends from Warren Haynes and Lita Ford to Chris Stein, Paul Gilbert, Larkin Poe, Doug Gillard, and more. Tune in on the Witz Comedy Network for the wildest, fastest, most riff-packed season of the best guitar podcast around. Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej, and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Edited and mixed by Justin Thomas. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legendary Kerry King visits the Axe Lords studio and it’s raining blood - and, of course, laughs. Kerry tells us about the craziest thing he’s seen at a Slayer show, how he keeps track of his massive library of riffs, and explains the architecture of his current live rig. We talk mastering right-hand technique, Mercyful Fate, custom Kahlers, and unleash the madness of his signature Dean’s Sustaniac pickup. Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej, and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff. Follow Kerry King @kerrykingmusic Listen to Kerry's latest album "From Hell I Rise" https://kerrykingofficial.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen the inimitable Greg Koch do one of his viral video instrument demos for Wildwood Guitars, shred his derrière off in one of his “Gristletime” livestreams from the Orange Room, or even learned to play reading his Hal Leonard books or watching his TrueFire instructional videos. In this raucous episode, Greg reveals all to the Axe Lords, including tales of growing up in a sprawling family steeped in diverse musical influences and a devout Catholicism that made him fear that listening to Van Halen’s “Running With the Devil” would in itself mark his young soul for eternal damnation. He also delves into how he developed chops so prodigious and tasty that Joe Bonamassa has called his blues-and-country fusion “scary good,” and Cindy, Dave, and Tom grill him about his three Reverend Signature guitars, Fishman pickups, love of vintage Teles, and of course, his new collection of flamenco standards, Blues. No, silly, it’s actually a blues record. We just wanted to see if you were still paying attention! Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff. Follow Greg @gregkochmusic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the time he was old enough to drink (legally), Trixter founder and guitarist Steve Brown had put his hometown of Paramus, NJ on the rock and roll map, released a gold record, starred in a string of hit MTV videos and performed on arena tours supporting Kiss, Poison and the Scorpions. He hasn’t slowed down much since the Eighties, producing albums by such icons as Ace Frehley, filling in for both Phil Collen and Vivan Campbell in Def Leppard, touring with the Wizards of Winter, and even launching a line of super-affordable SBS guitars, one of which he should totally send us to mess around with. We connected with Steve remotely from his home studio/man-cave and talked about how he basically lived Dave and Tom’s rock and roll dream, the mighty Ibanez Icemen, isometric exercise routines, and who would win a Hamer versus Kramer death match. Follow Steve @stevebrownrocks Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kid Congo Powers started his rock and roll journey as the president of the Ramones’ fan club, and then helped redefine rock himself with seminal bands like the Gun Club, the Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and now with his own Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds. As a guitarist, he blends raw, emotive rock with punk, glam, and blues influences, creating sounds that are both intense and deeply expressive. This week, he joins the Axe Lords to talk about how open-E tuning is the secret of the universe, Eighties MIJ Squiers, his signature Reuss pedal, the magic of Tokai stomp boxes, touring with a single gold lamé shirt and partying with director Wim Wenders. Also he’s Cindy’s favorite living guitar player! Check out Kid Congo Powers Signature Pedal The Tingler here Kid’s memoir, “Some New Kind Of Kick”, is available now. Follow @kidcongopowers Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karina Rykman, bass virtuoso, part-time guitarist, and all-around force of nature brings her unstoppable energy to Axe Lords. She dives into her switch from guitar to bass, discusses the personal connection she has to her instruments, and Karina and Tom reminisce about growing up as New York City kids. Karina explains how she's going to buy everyone a boat, and offers her hot take on the controversial 5-string bass. Born and raised in New York City, Karina Rykman’s musical path began in her early teens playing in bands whenever she could while attending a veritable ton of live music as a fan. Her remarkable prowess on the bass guitar soon landed her a number of high-profile television gigs. By the end of her senior year at NYU, Rykman’s virtuoso talent and infectious spirit saw her invited to join pianist Marco Benevento’s band (as recommended by Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz), with whom she performed countless shows including dates with Vulfpeck, Dispatch, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Guster, and many more. Rykman soon formed her own namesake band, accompanied by Adam November (guitar, loopers, effects) and Chris Corsico (drums). She quickly earned a reputation as a mesmerizing, unmissable live act, lighting up an array of international stages with headline sets, show-stealing festival performances, and recent appearances sitting in with the 8G Band on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the very first episode of Axe Lords, we're kicking things off with none other than Alex Skolnick—a guy who’s gone from shredding thrash metal stages to throwing down jazz riffs without missing a beat. Alex talks about his journey, from learning guitar with one of guitar’s greatest players to dropping jaws with his solos in one of metal’s most iconic bands. We get into the nitty-gritty of thrash guitar—writing solos that are fast, furious, and oh yeah, actually good (no pressure, right?). He dishes on his audition with Ozzy, the ups and downs of navigating an industry that isn’t always about the music, and why being a guitar god isn’t as glamorous as it looks. He also shows the Axe Lords how to sweep. There’s no sugarcoating here—just raw insights into his journey from rebellious teenage guitarist to seasoned pro, all while paying homage to the axe-slinging legends like Satriani and Malmsteen who paved the way. With new music on the horizon, Alex’s story is a testament (pun intended) to the relentless grind of a musician who never stops evolving. Axe Lords is hosted by Dave Hill, CIndy Hulej and Tom Beaujour Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge. Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod.com Watch the video on Volume.com/axelords Follow Alex Skolnick @alexskolnick Chapters 00:00 Discovering Music Through Covers 02:09 The Birth of Axe Lords Podcast 03:34 Writing Solos in Thrash Metal 10:23 The Pressure of Short Solos 12:37 The Influence of Virtuoso Guitarists 18:17 The Ozzy Osbourne Experience 26:52 Navigating the Music Industry 32:37 The Journey to Finding a Guitar 37:34 The Early Days of Music and Band Dynamics 40:51 Parental Perspectives on a Music Career 43:45 Influences and Lessons from Joe Satriani 49:16 The Yngwie Malmsteen Phenomenon 56:55 Guitar Techniques and Signature Sounds 01:06:26 Current Projects and Future Endeavors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices