Joe Bonamassa onstage with a
Music Man Y2D outfitted with
two
humbuckers, a single-coil,
and a solid-brass tail block.
Joe Bonamassa, one of today’s
hottest blues/blues-rock
players, has enjoyed an extraordinarily
charmed life—at least
when it comes to all things
guitar. His parents not only
owned a music shop in upstate
New York, they also owned a
very cool record collection that
turned him on to artists like
Guitar Slim and Eric Clapton
when he was practically a toddler.
Later, they hooked him
up with an enviable selection
of instruments. Bonamassa
proceeded to learn Stevie Ray
Vaughan licks at the ripe age
of 7, and by 12, as a protégé
of Telecaster legend Danny
Gatton, was skilled enough to
open for blues god B.B. King.
Since 2000, Bonamassa, now
34, has perfected his trademark
brand of electrifying blues-rock
on more than a dozen albums.
His searing lines and soulful
vocals have proven just as
popular with guitarists as with
the general public. At press
time, his latest solo album,
Dust
Bowl, had climbed to #37 on
the US charts. But thanks to his
insatiable playing appetite and
tireless work ethic, Bonamassa
has also been attracting attention
in the rock super group Black
Country Communion, which is
fronted by former Deep Purple
bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes.
Black Country Communion
vocalist/bassist Glenn
Hughes wields
his Nash
PB57 while Derek Sherinian
pounds the ivories.
Having joined DP in 1974,
and later doing a stint with
Black Sabbath, Hughes had a
hands-on role in shaping the
heavier strains of the British
blues-rock movement that
is one of Bonamassa’s main
benchmarks. In Black Country
Communion, Bonamassa and
Hughes are flanked by a pair
of formidable musicians—the
late Led Zeppelin drummer
John Bonham’s son Jason on
drums and ex-Dream Theater
wizard Derek Sherinian on keyboards.
On 2, the follow-up to
BCC’s acclaimed 2010 debut,
the Anglo-American quartet
plays a tight, fierce brand of
rock that shows another side
of Bonamassa. We recently
spoke to Bonamassa and
Hughes about their new rock
’n’ roll adventures and how they
approach their music.
For those who haven’t heard
yet, how did you guys come
to form Black Country
Communion?
Hughes: I met Joe around
the time that he was on the
rise, about five years ago, at a
NAMM show in Los Angeles.
It was a pleasure to encounter
this really nice lad who grew
up playing my music and Led
Zeppelin’s. We befriended each
other immediately. Joe came
over to my house a few times
to have lunch and play some
music, and we casually talked
about making a record together.
Jump forward three years, and
producer Kevin Shirley [Rush,
Dream Theater, Iron Maiden]
suggested we get together with
Jason and Derek. After that, it
all happened so quickly. Within
a month, we were in the studio
making our first album. The
rest is history.
Bonamassa (right) rocks a flamed-maple Les Paul plugged into a pair of Marshall JCM2000s and a vintage Laney Klipp head, while Hughes routes his
Nash PB57 through dual Laney Nexus-Tube stacks.