Brent Mason has picked for the biggest and best names in country music: Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, and George Strait are just a few of the country stars on whose records you can hear Mason’s Fender-on-Fender fretwork. But his solo on “Southbound Train,” the closing track on Travis Tritt’s 2000 record Down the Road I Go, might be his hottest work of all.
As Mason explains, the song scoots along at his favorite country tempo—a Cajun two-step, Mason says—which provides the rhythmic framework for his face-melter lead. Mason says the melodic and structural components came in part from his familiarity with jazz, and the mixing of jazz and blues with his usual twangy conventions. In fact, Mason’s furious note barrages occasionally earned him some raised eyebrows (and some choice words from Conway Twitty) in the more traditionalist Nashville studio system.
This might be the toughest solo our host has taken on so far on Shred With Shifty. The key to wrestling it? “You gotta keep playing [it] til you wanna pull out all your teeth and hair,” says Mason. Which Nashville producers and stars would let Mason off-leash in the studio? How does a session ace deal with hand injuries? Listen on, shredders. And if you’re brave enough, send in your take on Mason’s solo.
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.
TOTO, CHRISTOPHER CROSS, and MEN AT WORK will embark on a North American tour in Summer 2025, produced by Live Nation. The tour kicks off on July 18 in West Palm Beach, FL, with tickets on sale December 13 at totoofficial.com. Citi cardmembers can access presale tickets starting December 11.
The run commences on July 18 in West Palm Beach, FL, and will stage several dozen appearances prior to the final event on August 30 in Ridgefield, WA. The general on-sale begins Friday, December 13 at 10AM local time here: totoofficial.com. Citi is the official card of this tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in the U.S. beginning December 11 at 10AM local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details, visit citientertainment.com. Additional performances not cited below will be forthcoming shortly.
Steve Lukather shares, “I am thrilled about this tour. Christopher and Colin have been close friends of mine for a long time. This is a tour that musically works, and brings a fresh new Summer tour package to the circuit. I could not be more thrilled an idea that germinated months ago was able to take flight and become a reality.” Colin Hay offers, “The mix of Christopher, Steve with Toto, and Men At Work rings true to me. I think it will make for an exciting night of music for old and new fans alike. Let’s go!!” Christopher Cross states, “I’m honored to be sharing the stage during the summer of 2025 with my dear friends Toto and Men At Work.”
Toto has celebrated one accomplishment after the next throughout 2024. The song “Africa” has been certified DIAMOND for sales of TEN MILLION copies by the RIAA in The United States. Current cumulative sales now exceed 10.5M. Additionally, “Hold The Line” has been certified triple platinum for sales of three million copies, while “Rosanna” hit the milestone of double platinum with sales of two million copies. Both “Africa” and “Hold The Line” have reached the milestone of a BILLION streams on Spotify. Cumulative Toto album sales now exceed 50 MILLION copies, while the band’s repertoire is played more than THREE MILLION times daily on Spotify alone by an audience that continues to get younger month to month. Consistently, over 50% of the band’s streams are from those 34 years or younger. Total streams now exceed 4 BILLION at Spotify, and 6 BILLION across all platforms.
Individually and collectively the band’s family tree can be heard on countless Grammy Award winning albums across all genres. Toto are one of the few 70’s bands that have endured the changing trends and styles while continuing to remain relevant. Joining Steve Lukather (guitar/vocals) and Joseph Williams (vocals) are Greg Phillinganes (keyboards / vocals), Shannon Forrest (drums), John Pierce (bass), Warren Ham (horns / percussion / vocals), and Dennis Atlas (keyboards / vocals).
Grammy Award-winning rock band Men At Work formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1979 and are best known for the breakthrough hits that include the billion streamed "Down Under," alongside "Who Can It Be Now?," "Be Good Johnny," "Overkill," and "It's a Mistake." The band achieved a global success as a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum selling act before disbanding in 1985. Due to demand, members Colin Hay and Greg Ham reunited in 1996, and revived Men At Work, touring the world until 2002. Following the death of Greg Ham, and while touring Europe as part of Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band in 2018, Colin Hay again entertained the idea of touring once more as Men At Work and has continued to do so since 2019. The band’s current touring line-up features Jimmy Branly on drums, Yosmel Montejo on bass, and San Miguel on guitar, all originally hailing from Cuba. On sax, flute and keyboards is Scheila Gonzalez, and Cecilia Noël performs harmony vocals and percussion. Steve Lukather and Colin Hay are close friends who have wanted to tour together for a long time. They are both members of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.
Special guest Christopher Cross and the members of Toto have been friends and collaborators for more than four decades. On September 1, they appeared with one another in front of a capacity crowd at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl. In February, Cross will tour Europe with Toto on a run that will stage performances in front of a potential quarter million fans. Joining Cross are Francis Arnaud (drums), Kevin Reveyrand (bass), Jerry Leonide (piano), Andy Suzuki (winds & keys), and vocalists Lisbet Guldbeck, Chrissi Poland and Nicky Richards.
Christopher Cross burst onto the music scene with his 1980 self-titled debut album winning five Grammy Awards, including – for the first time in Grammy history – the “Big Four” most prestigious awards: Record of the Year (for the single “Sailing”), Album of the Year, Song of the Year (“Sailing”), and Best New Artist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Cross has sold more than 12 million albums. His music has garnered five Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, an Emmy nomination and five Top 10 singles.
For more information, please visit totoofficial.com.
- 7/18 West Palm Beach, FL iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
- 7/19 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
- 7/21 Birmingham, AL Coca-Cola Amphitheater
- 7/22 Alpharetta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
- 7/24 Burgettstown, PA The Pavilion at Star Lake
- 7/25 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
- 7/26 Boston, MA Leader Bank Pavilion
- 7/28 Gilford, NH BankNH Pavilion
- 7/30 Bridgeport, CT Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
- 8/01 Atlantic City, NJ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
- 8/03 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
- 8/05 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
- 8/06 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center
- 8/08 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
- 8/09 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
- 8/11 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre
- 8/13 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
- 8/14 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
- 8/15 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
- 8/17 Oklahoma City, OK The Zoo Amphitheatre
- 8/18 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
- 8/21 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Financial Theatre
- 8/23 Las Vegas, NV Fontainebleau
- 8/24 Inglewood, CA Kia Forum
- 8/25 Concord, CA Toyota Pavilion at Concord
- 8/27 Salt Lake City, UT Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
- 8/29 Puyallup, WA Washington State Fair (On-Sale Coming Soon)
- 8/30 Ridgefield, WA RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
Nile Rodgers Put Rhythm Up Front (and Cory Wong Listened)
Funk-guitar wiz and Wong Notes host Cory Wong flips the script and sits in the 100 Guitarists guest chair.
Funk-guitar wiz and Wong Noteshost Cory Wong flips the script and sits in the 100 Guitarists guest chair. Wong cleared his schedule to talk about one Nile Rodgers’ work on the Halo 2 soundtrack. We were lucky that got him to return our call, but we did move on quickly.
Wong is a scholar of all things rhythm guitar—and that means all things Nile. We talk about how the Hitmaker voices his progressions—“You hear Nile play a chord progression … and it’s that song”—and the role of rhythm guitar in general. Cory delivers his list of best Nile performances, tips for direct guitar sounds, and most surprising Nile collabs.
Ever wonder what it would sound like if Nile Rodgers produced David Lee Roth covering Willie Nelson? Give a listen and drop us a know when you check it out for yourself.
This episode is sponsored by JAM Pedals.
More info: https://www.jampedals.com.
Joe Satriani and Steve Vai unite to form the SATCHVAI Band.
Kicking off on June 13, 2025, this monumental musical journey will feature stops in major cities like London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, and will also include performances at major European summer festivals including Hellfest, Umbria Jazz Festival and Guitares en Scene Fest. The tour is set to conclude in late July, with more dates to be announced soon.
The duo, along with each of their respective bands, initially joined forces for their first-ever tour together, outside of the G3 format, the past spring (2024) across select U.S. cities, and decided it was finally time to actually form a band together and bring that winning formula to the live stage, beginning in Europe.
Celebrating nearly five decades of musical friendship, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai made their first musical collaboration debut in March 2024. “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1” showcases the unmatched synergy between these two legendary guitarists as they seamlessly trade solo sections throughout the nearly six-minute opus. Their second collaboration is set to be released just before the European tour, adding even more anticipation for this epic run.
Pre-sale tickets for “The SATCHVAI Band Tour” will be available starting Wednesday and Thursday December 11 and 12, with general sales opening on Friday, December 13.
Satch and Vai’s musical careers have been intertwined since their very early days. Satriani served as Vai’s guitar teacher during their teenage years on Long Island, New York. Their connection has continued to evolve over the years, even sharing record labels, starting at Relativity Records in the late 80’s, to both calling Sony/Epic Records home for a significant portion of the 90’s. Together, they have also frequently teamed up with a third guitarist on multiple occasions throughout the span of three decades, participating in the semi-annual G3 Tours, both in the U.S. and abroad.
“The SATCHVAI Band Tour is happening! I’m so looking forward to sharing the stage with Steve again,” Satriani said. “Every time we play together, it takes me back to when we were teenagers, eating and breathing music every second of the day, pushing, challenging, and helping each other to be the best we could be. I guess we’ve never stopped!”
Vai added, “Touring with Joe is always a pleasure and an honor. He is my favorite guitarist to jam with, and now we have another opportunity to take it to the stage. I feel as though we are both at the top of our game, and the show will be a powerful celebration of the coolest instrument in the world, the electric guitar!”
Joe Satriani has had a packed schedule having recently concluded the Sammy Hagar-led Best of All Worlds Tour, which was met with much fanfare and critical acclaim. While Steve Vai has been playing shows across the U.S. as part of the BEAT tour following the conclusion of the Satch/Vai tour earlier this year.
Surfing with the Hydra Tour 2025 Itinerary:
June 13 York, UK Barbican
June 14 London, UK Eventim Apollo
June 17 Glasgow, SC Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
June 18 Wolverhampton, UK Civic Hall
June 19 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo
June 21 Clisson, FR Helfest
June 22 Paris, FR Palais Des Congres
June 23 Antwerp, BE Lotto Arena
June 24 Amsterdam, NL Amsterdam Afas
June 26 Copenhagen, DK Amager Bio
June 29 Helsinki, FI House of Culture
June 30 Tampere, FI Tampere Hall
July 2 Uppsala, SE Parksnackan
July 3 Oslo, NO Sentrum Scene
July 5 Warsaw, PL Torwar
July 8 Munich, DE Tollwood Festival
July 10 Dusseldorf, DE Mitsubishi Electric Hall
July 11 Frankfurt, DE Jahrhunderthalle
July 12 Zurich, CH Volkshaus Zürich
July 13 Milan, IT Comfort Festival @ Villa Casati Stampa
July 15 Pordenone, IT Parco San Valentino
July 16 Perugia, IT Umbria Jazz
July 17 Bologna, IT Sequoie Music Park
July 18 Saint-Julien, FR Guitares en Scene Festival
July 20 Prague, CZ Forum Karlin
July 22 Sofia, BG National Palace of Culture
More dates TBA
A menu of vintage-voiced, modulated, harmonic, and reverse delays makes an intriguing smorgasbord of echo textures.
An imaginative array of wild to rich and familiar echo textures. Darker EQ profile lends authenticity to tape-like effects. Smart, if somewhat cramped, control layout.
Harmonic delay mode can be cloying at most settings.
$249
Diamond Dark Cloud
diamondpedals.com
The art of using and building delays is, at this point, a discipline populated by a thousand little cults. Vintage-minded analogists, digital micromanagers, and seekers of chaos all live under this strange umbrella. What’s refreshing about Diamond’s Dark Cloud is the way it spans so many points on the echo spectrum without 30 push-buttons and an enclosure the size of a cigar box.
It does many of the things detail-minded sound crafters demand of their delays, like tap tempo and creating precise subdivisions fast. And while it’s a digital delay, it seems very carefully designed and EQ’d to feel very analog, vintage, patinated, and moody. Indeed, in many situations it proves worthy of its name.
Crafted for Controlled Chaos
The sturdy, Canada-built Dark Cloud is a nice study in design efficiency. While there are enough tightly packed controls and switches to make some players nervous, the Dark Cloud does a lot with four knobs, a mini-toggle, and two footswitches. The toggle doubles as a mode selector when you click down and a subdivision switch when you click up. Footswitches serve the function of tapping out tempo, instantaneously or momentarily doubling delay rate, or setting up the harmonic delay mode for octaves or fifths. And though the four knobs for delay time, mix, feedback, and modulation rate are ordinarily enough, each functions quite differently depending on the mode, making the Dark Cloud deceptively simple.
Softly Spoken Expansiveness
Tape mode is, needless to say, well suited for the Dark Cloud’s darkish tone profile. Repeats drift and dissolve into mist as the echo signal degrades, and in traditional sorts of tape delay settings (short-to-medium-length delays, a 50/50 mix, and anywhere from two to five repeats), the Dark Cloud maintains a responsiveness and a not-too-overbearing presence that are simultaneously spacey and subdued. But the tape setting is also fantastic at more extreme settings. Fast repeats mated to speedy modulations and maxed-out feedback levels yield results that sound like Joe Meek wrestling a Space Echo, and you can create many accelerating/decelerating oscillation effects that suggest the old Roland tape delay standard-bearer if you engage actively and in real time with the controls.
“Fast repeats mated to speedy modulations and maxed-out feedback levels yield results that sound like Joe Meek wrestling a Space Echo.”
Harmonic and octave-up effects paired with reverbs and delay have a way of generating polarizing effects. I am generally on the side of those who find that a little goes a long way, and that too much is a saccharine tone nightmare that evokes being eaten alive by Smurfs. If you want to be devoured by wee cannibals, that’s your business, and the Dark Cloud will go there, particularly if you run wild with the feedback control. But the pedal also makes space for mellower applications. I had great luck with slapback delay times, fast decay, moderate mix levels and modulation rates in the ballpark of a Leslie’s whirl. In this setting, the harmonic delay took on the feel of an old Vox or Farfisa organ tracking my chord melody. If you stray from the Duane Eddy zone on the fretboard, single-note melodies tend to bring out the harmonic delay’s more cloying side. However, if you dig the shimmering qualities associated with these effects, you’ll find the Dark Cloud is a rich source for them, especially if you tinker with the harmonizing fifth setting on the pedal.
The Dark Cloud’s reverse delay mode is the one where the dark and cloudy facets of its personality become really intriguing. Like the tape mode, it’s a great match for drive effects from mellow boosts to gnarly fuzz—whether you situate it upstream or downstream from the pedal. But using the effect in clean settings reveals a lot about how the pedal’s EQ emphasis and duskier repeats make reverse echoes more seamless, organic, and something closer to the effect of reverse tape, especially when you keep the modulation and feedback to a minimum. In this way, the Dark Cloud’s reverse delay betters that of many of its peers and makes echoes sound less like they were grafted on as an afterthought. The reverse-echo textures can also range to more mangled extremes. If you’re a fan of Daniel Lanois’ warped-echo-and-melting-tweed-Deluxe sounds, adding fuzzy gain and attenuating your guitar tone generates a spiraling, hazy distorted signal that sounds a little like a reel of 2" coated in dust and molasses. (There’s an audio sample of that kind of thing attached to the online version of this review.)
The Verdict
If I’d had my way, I would have nixed the Dark Cloud’s harmonic delay mode, stuck with the very nice tape and reverse modes, and charged a little less. Still, a lot of players will love the many strange high-pitched and pixilated sounds available via the harmonic mode. And together, the three modes add up to a uniquely varied echo unit that can see a player through many moods—from deeply psychedelic to hyperactively effervescent.