Bill Murphy
As seen in:
CorranCast,
New York Post,
Rolling Stone,
Time Out New York,
Guitar World,
Premier Guitar,
Relix
Covers:
Music, Arts & Entertainment
Record label manager, freelance writer, guitar slinger, occasional gadfly — mostly in that order. Also flying bsky.app/profile/roninscribe.bsky.social
Articles by Bill Murphy
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley’s New Songbook
Life on the road is, quite literally, a driving force in country music. From the baleful strains of Hank Williams’ classic “Lost Highway” to Willie Nelson’s perennially uplifting “On the Road Again,” the endless black ribbon has inspired more songs, with a wider range of moods and emotions than there are twists and turns on a Blue Ridge mountain switchback.
Tom Petty at the Fillmore Residency Box Set, 1997
“I always had it in the back of my mind,” Mike Campbell says thoughtfully, from his home in the hills outside Los Angeles. He’s taking a moment to savor what it felt like to go back in time and listen to the raw tapes of a now-legendary residency. “Playing the Fillmore was exhilarating for us. I knew then that it was really good, and I would always look forward to the day we’d pull it out again. And when we did, I was pleasantly surprised that it lived up to my expectations and my memory.
Mission of Burma’s Roger Clark Miller: Guitar Dreamscapes
If you ever find the opening to ask a composer or producer what it means to “paint with sound,” be prepared to frame the question in as many different ways as there are colors in the visible spectrum. Inspired by synaesthesis? Could be. Maybe a deep dive into abstract free-form improv? Sure, always worth a shot. What if you commit to exotic tunings or unconventional music theory? Or how about a mash-up of prepared instruments with some radical effects processing and tape manipulation?
Horsegirl’s Sisterhood of Loud
Since the dawn of garage rock, basements and carports across America have played host to untold thousands of high school friends looking to fulfill that insatiable need to form a band. And, of course, it’s never easy, but even when everything clicks, it’s probably safe to say that not many of them wind up getting signed to the genre-defining indie rock label Matador Records on their first try.
Ty Segall Shows Off His Harmonizer Studio and Talks New Album, 'Hello, Hi'
On a much-needed break from the first leg of his current tour with his road-tested Freedom Band, Ty Segall takes a seat in his mood-lit studio control room, mug of hot java in hand, and looks around with a visible expression of what can only be described as wonder. “You know, to have my own place to work on stuff is just pure joy,” he says. “I’m often like, ‘How did this even happen?’ It’s a great place to hone my skills and to get weird ideas going, with no pressure. The clock’s not running.
Fontaines D.C. Conor Curley & Carlos O'Connell Talk Guitar
We all know how the Irish saved civilization—and if you don’t know the story, look for Thomas Cahill’s excellent tome on the subject—but what about rock ’n’ roll?
Mastodon: Brent Hinds’ and Bill Kelliher’s Catharsis and Redemption
Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher (guitar), Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Brann Dailor (drums/vocals), and Brent Hinds (lead guitar). It’s a chilly night in late November, and the line for ticket holders has snaked all the way around the block. “Wow, that’s what I call dedication!” yells a passerby, marveling at the size of the crowd. Strict COVID protocols are causing delays at the doors to New York City’s sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom, but no one here seems to mind.
Wes Hauch’s Tectonic Shifts
Alluvial's current band lineup is, from left to right, Tim Walker (bass), Wes Hauch (guitar and vocals), Matt Paulazzo (drums), and Kevin Muller (vocals). We've all heard the colorful old saw that being in a band is a lot like being in a gang: a path fraught with so many tests of character, loyalty, and us-against-the-world commitment that it's become part of the lore behind everyone from Motörhead to Morbid Angel.
Harakiri for the Sky Defies the Rules of Heavy
Now five albums deep, Harakiri for the Sky was founded by guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Matthias Sollak (at right) and singer J.J. in 2011. Sollak composes the music and J.J. pens the band's lyrics. For all the black-metal bona fides Matthias Sollak has accumulated as a guitarist, his musical range extends into areas you might not expect from a 31-year-old who's been running with headbangers for most of his life.
Kurt Vile and Steve Gunn: Into the Mystic
Two exploratory rockers discuss their Philadelphia roots and the magic of collaboration, alternate tunings, old and loved guitars, and the search for transportive vocal and 6-string sounds. Steve Gunn’s S-style model was custom built by Brian Haran of Fret Sounds in Durham, North Carolina. “He put Lindy Fralin pickups in it for me and it sounds really good,” Gunn notes.
Wayne Kramer’s Impossible Life in Rock
With Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil riding shotgun, the MC5’s leader fronts a worldwide tribute tour for his revolutionary band, pens a no-holds-barred autobiography, and still kicks out the jams like a mother at age 70.
John Prine’s Souvenirs
John Prine received the “Artist of the Year” award at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert, and many others. With a songbook and album featuring his first new material in 13 years, the folk legend shows that even in the autumn of his career, he has plenty more stories to tell.
Malcolm Young: 1953-2017
Shown here in 1982, AC/DC founder and guitarist Malcolm Young was known for his gutted Gretsch, sanded down to the wood with only the bridge pickup in place. Earlier this year, Gretsch introduced the Custom Shop signature Malcolm Young Salute Jet.
Tom Petty: 1950-2017
Tom Petty basks in the light while on tour in 2013 at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena. Remembering the legendary singer-songwriter, guitarist, rock ’n’ roll rebel, and ambassador of the American spirit. It’s an unseasonably cool evening in late July, but halfway into his set with the ever-stalwart Heartbreakers behind him, Tom Petty sounds perfectly at ease.
Kristin Hersh: Raw Bones, Dressed in Colors
The Throwing Muses cofounder sets her muscular, riff-heavy ninth solo album aflame with ferocious flatpicking and bravura textures. Kristin Hersh’s favorite acoustic is a one-of-a-kind, Collings C10 cutaway, handbuilt for her by Bill Collings. She selected the body shape. Note the “K” on the headstock. None other than Bob Dylan once said about songwriting: “Songs don’t just come to me.
Lee Fields cranks up the heat for his soul-powered new record, Special Night
By Bill MurphyPosted: Friday January 6 2017, 6:08 PM Two decades ago, you’d be forgiven if you’d never heard of Lee Fields. His career to that point could best be described as a journeyman’s, but as he tells it, that was only because he’d yet to find the band he needed to transmute the emotional, explosive music he felt churning in his soul. Like James Brown, Otis Redding and Al Green before him, Fields had a vision he simply had to make real.
Animal Collective brings deep-space echoes to Williamsburg
Animal Collective’s David Portner, better known as Avey Tare, has always been fascinated by the idea of an alien band. If you’ve ever experienced the glitchy beatscapes, oddly stretched-out melodies and synthesized digital mayhem of the group’s epic live shows, then you have a taste for what he’s talking about.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Bill
Contact Bill, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack