IN LAST MONTH’S column, I talked about how using open G tuning (low to high: D, G, D, G, B, D) has inspired me to find my own musical and compositional voice as a guitarist and craft some cool and uni

MY FAVORITE ENSEMBLE to play in is the power trio. With only three instruments — electric guitar, bass and drum kit — there’s so much freedom to explore concepts like space, time and dynamic range. Th

Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks

Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks

Fifty years on from their first successes, Roger McGuinn, the 12-string architect of THE BYRDS , tells Uncut about their exceptional first 18 months – and his relationship with Gene Clark. As the young group make their jet-powered escape from the folk think tank, we hear about making the scene on the Strip, outraging Iowa and a muted response in the United Kingdom. But ultimately how “Eight Miles High” became the spectacular conclusion of the band’s first era. “I almost left The Byrds entirely to go and be in this space band With Dino Valente,” McGuinn tells John Robinson

From the bayou to Woodstock and back – the easygoing adventures of Bobby Charles. By John Mulvey.