The well-known heir of rock royalty breaks down his own takes on his father’s fiery techniques—and gives an up-close look at rock’s most iconic guitar.
Being born into rock royalty doesn’t make you a rock star—you’ve gotta earn it with your own chops. And whether it’s the classical pedigree of his first name or the hard-rock infamy of his surname, Wolfgang Van Halen has a long lineage to live up to. As he displays on this episode of Shred With Shifty, he’s more than up to the task.
Wolf joins Shifty to teach the blistering, tap-heavy solo for his song “Take a Bow,” from 2023’s Mammoth II. It follows in his dad’s footsteps, sure, but it also shows Wolf has a voice and vision of his own—both of which are just as potent and theatrical as his father’s.
Wolf treats us to a tour of his new signature semi-hollowbody EVH model, the SA126, with details from EVH managing director Matt Bruck. But he doesn’t hold out on the family jewels: Wolf shares the story of his father’s iconic Frankenstein Strat and brings it on the show, with some extra dirt on his dad’s journey from Marshalls to his signature Peavey 5150 amps. When Shifty asks who’s stewarding his father’s invaluable gear, Wolf eases our concerns: “If the world ended, they would still be okay,” he grins.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
CHIC bandleader Nile Rodgers and his Hitmaker spill the history behind writing the unforgettable music and lyrics for Diana Ross’ iconic smash, “I’m Coming Out.”
Nile Rodgers gives Chris Shiflett the full, eyebrow-raising story of how he and bassist Bernard Edwards penned Diana Ross’ hit, “I’m Coming Out.” The duo had tried the song’s drumbeat on many other tracks—they nicknamed it “the hesitation waltz”—but its playful rhythm didn’t land until they wrote the song for Ross. Rodgers explains that his neck-pickup “chucking” on the song, which is most clearly voiced on the highest three strings, was structured around the vocal melody. “I’m a very hook-oriented guy,” says Rodgers. “I believe in reinforcing the thing that is melodically the motif that the house is built on.”
When CHIC guitar wizard Nile Rodgers tells Chris Shiflett that he was at Woodstock, Shiflett quips, “You didn’t take the brown acid, did you?” Rodgers grins and chuckles, “I took every color acid they had!”
This is the tongue-in-cheek tenor of the latest episode of Shred With Shifty, a fun, often hilarious conversational romp through Rodgers’ music career. It all started with classical music and woodwinds (specifically the flute and clarinet), but as Rodgers tells it, a major turning point was a chance encounter with a crew of Los Angeles hippies—affectionately called “freaks” in those days of the late ’60s—that led to a two-day LSD party soundtracked by The Doors’ first album.
After he picked up a guitar at 16, he turned to unique jazz pluckers like Django Reinhardt and Wes Montgomery. He followed in their footsteps and played semi-hollow guitars until he met his longtime musical partner and CHIC cofounder, bassist Bernard Edwards, who urged him to pick up a Stratocaster. So it was then that the Hitmaker was born one fateful day in a south Florida guitar shop.
And Rodgers doesn’t shy away from the whole truth about the song’s history. Diana Ross was the first superstar that Rodgers had recorded with, but as he remembers, that didn’t stop him from spinning a little white lie to make sure that “I’m Coming Out” was released.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Rig Rundown: Nile Rodgers [Chic]
On this episode, the country guitarist walks Shifty through her blazing solo on "Hits Me," after sharing all about what makes her guitar-mind tick.
But before the two get into the solo breakdown, they cover some ground delving into topics like Lindsay's early bluegrass studies (and how her teacher Randy Bachman later introduced her to jazz and blues), her experience playing with producer Dann Huff, and why there aren't more female lead guitarists. (For that last one, she's not sure she has the answer, but is proud to be on the vanguard!)
"Hits Me" is in Bb, which could be a challenging key to play in, and even Chris admits he gets lost on the fretboard if his songs aren't in the far more common keys of E, A, or G. But, she didn't want to be pigeonholed as the "girl who uses a capo," throwing it out at a very young age, and plays the solo high up on the neck, mostly on the top strings, around the 16th fret. It's also full of "guitarmony"—which she loves doing on just one guitar, although the solo was tracked on two for the recording to throw a bone to the mixing engineer.
In the final minutes of the ep, Lindsay reveals one of her favorite warm up exercises, which she calls "chromatic spiders," which Shifty finds pretty wild (and they sound just as creepy as their name). Watch the full episode to get the whole story on Lindsay and the nuts and bolts of her guitar wizardry.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.