Vince Gill and Paul Franklin
Bakersfield
MCA Nashville
Now that modern country music has veered more toward the pop metal of the 1980s, it’s sublimely refreshing to hear how two grand masters of guitar pay homage to what many people consider the Golden Age of country. On Bakersfield, Vince Gill and pedal-steel guitarist Paul Franklin team up for a collection of tunes that harken back to the time when the sounds coming out of Southern California rebelled against the overproduced string-laden tracks that Nashville was producing at the time.
Gill’s tone is pitch perfect—just the right amount of Tele snap—and he admirably handles all the lead parts while Franklin’s weeping pedal steel bends (especially on “The Bottle Let Me Down”) show exactly why he’s been a first-call session player for decades. Drawing exclusively from the catalogs of Merle Haggard (who contributed to the liner notes) and Buck Owens, Gill and Franklin aren’t out to reinvent the tunes, but they find a way to interject their own style and, in doing so, allow the songs to breathe. The opener, “Foolin’ Around” is a great showcase not only for the country shuffle of bassist Willie Weeks and drummer Greg Morrow, but Franklin’s swinging fills that always seem to fit around Gill’s vocals with restraint and taste. Bakersfield is a perfect example of taking inspirado from your heroes and using your talents to move the music forward.
Must-hear track: “Nobody’s Fool But Yours”
Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
Use code EMG100 for 15% off at checkout!
Learn more: emgpickups.com
At 26, Blu DeTiger is the youngest musician ever to have a signature Fender bass guitar. The Fender Limited Player Plus x Blu DeTiger Jazz Bass, announced in September, pays tribute to the bassist and singer’s far-reaching impact and cultural sway. She’s played with Caroline Polachek, Bleachers, FLETCHER, Olivia Rodrigo, and more, and released her own LP in March 2024. In 2023, Forbes feature her on their top 30 Under 30 list of musicians. So how did DeTiger work her way to the top?
DeTiger opens up on this episode of Wong Notes about her career so far, which started at a School of Rock camp at age seven. That’s where she started performing and learning to gig with others—she played at CBGB’s before she turned 10. DeTiger took workshops with Victor Wooten at Berklee followed and studied under Steven Wolf, but years of DJing around New York City, which hammered in the hottest basslines in funk and disco, also imprinted on her style. (Larry Graham is DeTiger’s slap-bass hero.)
DeTiger and Wong dish on the ups and downs of touring and session life, collaborating with pop artists to make “timeless” pop songs, and how to get gigs. DeTiger’s advice? “You gotta be a good hang.”
