Cover Story

Tom Petty

First published in 2015. “I was born a rebel,” Tom Petty once sang, and he wasn’t kidding. As a certifiable legend of rock music who has sold tens of millions of albums and filled countless arenas, he still takes a passionate stand about the things he believes in.  Take the environment, for example. Standing at the plate glass window of his Malibu beach house, he points out a spot where several dolphins are about to appear. “You’ll see... 

Jason Derulo

MAGIC MAN Mixing genres and producers, chart-topper Jason Derulo conjures up his own brand of pop By Russell Hall Jason Derulo’s songs are fixtures on the pop charts, but he’s hesitant to label his music as simply pop. He’s proud of his many influences, and his latest album, Everything Is 4, features an array of musical styles. For some artists, that could spell a lack of cohesion, but Derulo’s collection gels through the sheer force of his... 

John Legend & the Roots

John Legend remembers vividly the day that he and Roots drummer and bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson first met 10 years ago. Legend, then an aspiring singer, songwriter and keyboardist attending the University of Pennsylvania in the Roots’ hometown of Philadelphia, had been drawn to the buzzed-about series of public jam sessions the hip-hop group had been putting on at the Five Spot nightclub on Bank Street. “They were the heart of the... 

TAYLOR SWIFT

HEARING RED Taylor Swift turns up the emotional heat on her latest smash album By Russell Hall t’s midafternoon, and word has been circulating throughout the day that Taylor Swift is set to star as Joni Mitchell in a forthcoming biopic—but nothing’s confirmed. “If you see paparazzi shots of me shooting a movie,” Taylor says, “then you’ll know I’ve signed on to do it.” In any case, it’s quite likely the 22-year-old Swift will sooner... 

IMAGINE DRAGONS

Imagine Dragons finds success takes some getting used to   Sudden fame can be a double-edged sword. Just ask Imagine Dragons’ frontman Dan Reynolds. “It sounds cliché,” he says, “but I never got into rock ’n’ roll for fame or drugs or girls. For me, rock ’n’ roll was about people doing what they wanted to do and saying what they wanted to say. I’m hardly a typical rock star. I have a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, and I love... 

Neil Diamond

Road Scholar With his latest, Melody Road, pop legend Neil Diamond proves every song is a learning experience Neil Diamond has been writing songs for 50 years, so you might think it comes easy. Not so. Although melodies spring forth almost magically—“If I have a natural gift, that’s it,” he says—lyrics remain his bane. “It’s grunt work, requiring huge amounts of patience, diligence and focus. It’s ditch-digging, and unfortunately... 

Slash

World of His Own Eighteen years after Guns N’ Roses, Slash releases an explosive new record that finds him at the peak of his creative prowess I’m an energetic and aggressive player,” declares Slash. “I attack hard—it’s very much a physical thing for me. What excites me most is the off-the-cuff, spontaneous energy you get from live performance. That has a huge impact on me.” That impact began at a young age when the future musician—born... 

Ed Sheeran

UNPLUGGED & ON FIRE Ed Sheeran pushes acoustic boundaries to find new musical territory He arrived on the mainstream music scene three years ago with a massively successful debut album of delicately crafted acoustic ballads. So it might have been understandable if the world had gotten used to thinking of Ed Sheeran as a laid-back, reliable balladeer. But the 23-year-old troubadour has since emerged as a pop phenom, a creative dynamo whose varied... 

MIRANDA LAMBERT

SLOW BURN Country firecracker Miranda Lambert keeps the sizzle but embraces her softer side on her latest A decade ago, Miranda Lambert burst onto the country scene, branded as a volatile, gun-totin’ spitfire. But these days the sassy singer-songwriter has mellowed a bit. “All the fiery stuff is what set me apart in the beginning,” Lambert says, “because no one else was doing it. With success, I’ve been able to calm down and acknowledge... 

SARAH McLACHLAN

TIME TO SHINE Life’s hard knocks stoke the creative fire for Sarah McLachlan By Russell Hall For Sarah McLachlan, life in recent years has been punctuated by loss and change. Her 2010 album, Laws of Illusion, mourned the dissolution of her near decade-long marriage. Since then she’s endured the death of her father, and—less traumatically—ended a 24-year partnership with her management team and record label. “Losing my dad, separating from... 

ROBIN THICKE

SMOOTH BLEND Robin Thicke scores by blurring the lines between pop, soul and hip-hop By Russell Hall Although many artists become more serious with age, Robin Thicke sees himself on a reverse course—shedding youthful intensity in favor of a more freewheeling aesthetic. “I started out with very lofty ambitions,” says the 37-year-old. “The guys I admire got more serious as they got older. John Lennon went from ‘Help!’ to ‘Working Class... 

Avril Lavigne

A REBEL  RETURNS Punk-pop princess Avril Lavigne makes a fresh start with a new romance, new label and new album By Russell Hall rustrated by disputes with her record label over the direction of her last album, 2011’s Goodbye Lullaby, Avril Lavigne found herself at a low point in the wake of its release. “I wasn’t going to make another record unless I could do exactly what I wanted,” she recalls. But suddenly a new path emerged. “I... 

KISS

KISS For a long time, beginning in 1999, Paul Stanley wasn’t sure Kiss would make another studio album. Worse, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Ironically, it was the making of the previous year’s Psycho Circus—the much-ballyhooed record that featured original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley reunited with Kiss founders Stanley and Gene Simmons—that put Stanley in that frame of mind. As he tells it, Criss and Frehley were recalcitrant participants,... 

Journey – The New Frontier

How classic-rock juggernaut Journey turned a whole new generation into believers By Chris Neal Jonathan Cain is in the midst of a minor crisis. He was just shopping with his son in the Irish capital of Dublin when his wife called to let him know that their laptop computer has gone kaput, the victim of a virus that hacked all their credit cards—except for one, which happens to be a brand that isn’t welcomed by merchants here in Dublin. So while... 

ALANIS MORISSETTE

It’s a midsummer morning, and Alanis Morissette is enjoying some rare downtime in her hometown of Ottawa, Canada. Although she’s lived in Los Angeles since the mid-’90s, clearly there’s no place like home. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” she says. “I used to come up three times a year but almost two years have passed this time. Today we’re getting all the cousins together—having about 10 kids in one place. I’m... 

RUSH

  The Governor General’s Performing Arts Award is the highest honor the nation of Canada can bestow upon its artists. The first recipient was Gweneth Lloyd, who co-founded the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. This year the honorees included Stratford Shakespeare Festival artistic director Des McAnuff, classical pianist Janina Fialkowska, choreographer Paul-André Fortier and several other creative Canadians familiar with respectable, best-behavior black-tie... 

NORAH JONES

NORAH JONES How she made the most unexpected music of her career with some help from Danger Mouse.  In June 2009, Norah Jones was somewhere not many people would expect her to be: in a small Los Angeles studio, cooking up new music with producer Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton. Ten years ago, Jones’ diamond-selling debut, Come Away With Me, established her as a pop icon with a soft, jazzy touch. Each of her follow-up solo albums—all of which... 

JASON MRAZ

JASON MRAZ A talk about the meaning of music, finding the right sound and his favorite four-letter word. Jason Mraz is in a noisy Los Angeles rehearsal hall, taking a break from doing something that doesn’t come easily to him: telling other people what to do. Mraz first emerged from the Southern California coffeehouse scene just over a decade ago armed only with a guitar, a sweetly melodious tenor voice and a rapidly growing stack of original... 

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt One of music’s most beloved icons slides back into the rock ’n’ roll slipstream. Bonnie Raitt is always listening. “My ear’s always cocked for a possible direction,” she says. “Something that’s inspirational, either a song I want to do or a songwriter I want to investigate further. We’ve got hundreds of CDs in our collection and files on our computer. I take songs with me on my iPhone and listen every day when I go... 

RINGO STARR

RINGO STARR Rock’s most famous drummer remembers the Beatles and looks ahead to a Starr-filled future. THE FRAY    Earning scars, telling stories and letting themselves get a little bit louder in the process. KEITH JARRETT    Jazz’s premier improvisational pianist reveals the joy and anxiety of playing without a net. SEAN GARRETT  The producer behind some of today’s biggest R&B radio hits takes you into the studio. ANI DiFRANCO  How... 

COMMON

COMMON Catching up with the rapper, actor, author, poet and unlikely magnet for controversy. LOU REED How one of rock’s fiercest iconoclasts found common ground with the mighty Metallica. PETER GABRIEL Finding fresh new blood in familiar favorites with the help of a symphony orchestra. RAY MANZAREK The legendary Doors’ keyboardist extraordinaire isn’t finished lighting new fires just yet. JAM & LEWIS Behind the board with one of the greatest... 

CHICKENFOOT

CHICKENFOOT Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith are on a rock ’n’ roll mission. TORI AMOS Centuries-old classical compositions helped point this piano goddess in a new direction. ALICE COOPER America’s favorite shock-rock legend revisits his most beloved nightmare—with a few twists. VINCE GILL One of country music’s greatest guitarists, singers and songwriters finds a space of his own. LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM The guitar... 

MARY J. BLIGE

JULY/AUGUST 2011 COVER STORY: MARY J. BLIGE FEATURE: SHINE ON – PINK FLOYD MUSICIAN: TOM MORELLO, CHICK COREA PRODUCER: JAY JOYCE Q&A’s: LADY ANTEBELLUM, KELLY ROWLAND, AMERICA, YES, DOLLY PARTON, BARRY MANILOW SPOTLIGHT: THE BANGLES, VANESSA CARLTON, THE KOOKS, JEFF BRIDGES, SARAH JAROSZ, LENNY KRAVITZ, GLEN CAMPBELL WHO’S NEXT: HOPE WAITS, BREANNE DUREN, PETER BALDWIN INDIE SCENE: BLUE OCTOBER BEHIND THE CLASSICS: “Tom... 

STEVIE NICKS

MAY 2011 COVER STORY: STEVIE NICKS FEATURE: SUMMER FESTIVAL MUSICIAN: BRUCE HORNSBY, HERB ALPERT ENGINEER: MARCELLA ARAICA Q&A’s: KIMBERLY CALDWELL, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, ARCTIC MONKEYS, RAY DAVIES, SUSAN TEDESCHI AND, DEREK TRUCKS, ROBBIE ROBERTSON SPOTLIGHT: QUEENSRŸCHE, JESSIE J, BOOKER T. JONES, FLOGGING MOLLY, MOBY, AUGUSTANA, HIROMI WHO’S NEXT: LAURA JANSEN, CARTER’S CHORD, GRAHAM STOOKEY INDIE SCENE: JONATHAN EDWARDS BEHIND... 

FOO FIGHTERS

MARCH/APRIL 2011 COVER STORY: FOO FIGHTERS FEATURES: MATCH GAME MUSICIAN: ALISON KRAUSS, JOE BONAMASSA PRODUCER: James Stroud Q&A’s: R.E.M., LUCINDA WILLIAMS, BOOTSY COLLINS, AVRIL LAVIGNE, NIKKI SIXX, JAMES STROUD, STEVE EARLE SPOTLIGHT: DENGUE FEVER, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, JOHN OATES, BAND OF HEATHENS, WANDA JACKSON, JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT, THE DUKE SPIRIT WHO’S NEXT: HENRY WOLFE, FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI, KINA GRANNIS INDIE SCENE:... 

STING

JAN/FEB 2011 COVER STORY: STING FEATURES: STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, MUSICIAN: GREGG ALLMAN, ERIC JOHNSON, PRODUCER: PETER ASHER Q&A’s: BRIGHT EYES, THE DECEMBERISTS, DURAN DURAN, IRON & WINE, DOOBIE BROTHERS, JAMES BLUNT SPOTLIGHT: SOCIAL DISTORTION, ADELE, BEN E. KING, TIMES OF GRACE, CORINNE BAILEY RAE, OVER THE RHINE, THE DEARS WHO’S NEXT: FUNERAL PARTY, ANNA CALVI, PLAN B, INDIE SCENE: TIERRA NEGRA & MURIEL ANDERSON, BEHIND THE... 

KEITH URBAN

DEC 2010 COVER STORY: KEITH URBAN FEATURES: THE INDIE SURVIVAL GUIDE MUSICIAN: KEVIN EUBANKS, STEVE LUKATHER PRODUCER: DANIEL LANOIS Q&A’s: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, ANNIE LENNOX, REGINA SPEKTOR, BRYAN ADAMS, AMOS LEE SPOTLIGHT: YOKO ONO, THE DAMNED THINGS, RHONDA VINCENT, TAPES ‘N TAPES, INXS, CASSANDRA WILSON, CAKE WHO’S NEXT: HOPE, THE MEMORIALS, STEEL MAGNOLIA INDIE SCENE: CASEY DESMOND BEHIND THE CLASSICS: “Hard Knock Life... 

JOHN LEGEND & THE ROOTS

NOV 2010 COVER STORY: JOHN LEGEND & THE ROOTS FEATURES: MILES TO GO, WHOLE NEW WORLD MUSICIAN: JOE SATRIANI, RICHARD THOMPSON PRODUCER: DAVE STEWART Q&A’s: LINKIN PARK, LIZ PHAIR, NATASHA BEDINGFIELD, HUEY LEWIS, JASON BONHAM SPOTLIGHT: PHIL COLLINS, SUGARLAND, TRICKY, SHAWN MULLINS, BAD BOOKS, DAR WILLIAMS, AARON NEVILLE WHO’S NEXT: MATT WHITE, SECRET SISTERS, LAUREN PRITCHARD INDIE SCENE: PETER HIMMELMAN BEHIND THE CLASSICS:... 

TOM PETTY

SEPT/OCT 2010 COVER STORY: TOM PETTY FEATURES: MUSIC-BASED VIDEO GAMES, STAGE TO SCREEN MUSICIAN: CARLOS SANTANA, DEREK TRUCKS PRODUCER: LARRY KLEIN Q&A’s: JEFF BECK, SARA BAREILLES, MAVIS STAPLES, ROBERT PLANT, HEART, NICK CAVE SPOTLIGHT: LITTLE BIG TOWN, JENNY & JOHNNY, RAUL MALO, MAROON 5, NELLIE MCKAY, OF MONTREAL, JAMEY JOHNSON WHO’S NEXT: ESPERANZA SPALDING, JASON REEVES, BRENDAN JAMES INDIE SCENE: SARA HICKMAN BEHIND THE... 

Sheryl Crow

Issue 05 Cover Story: Sheryl Crow Features: Albums From Hell, Digital Dilemmas Gear Feature: Aces of Bass Musician Feature: The Black Crowes, Jimmie Vaughan Producer Feature: Bryan-Michael Cox Q&A’s: Tom Jones, Indigo Girls, Alejandro Escovedo, Crowded House, Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer, Belinda Carlisle Spotlight: Michael Franti, Squeeze, Nikki & Rich, Fefe Dobson, Goo Goo Dolls, Tegan and Sara, Tim O’Brien Who’s Next: Ryan Star,... 

Sarah McLachlan

M Music & Musicians / June 2010 Issue 04 Cover Story: Sarah McLachlan Features: Rock At The Movies, Deal Or No Deal? Gear Feature: Maximum Mixes Musician: Herbie Hancock, Robert Randolph Producer: Hugh Padgham Q&A’s: Jewel, Ozzy Osbourne, 3Oh!3, Timothy B. Schmit, Tift Merritt, Solomon Burke Spotlight: Devo, Dierks Bentley, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Against Me!, Hanson, Punch Brothers, Tonic Who’s Next: Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed,... 

Stone Temple Pilots

M Music & Musicians / May 2010 Issue 03 Cover Story: Stone Temple Pilots Features: The Vinyl Frontier, Summer Festivals Musician: Chester Thompson, Melissa Etheridge Producer: Alan Parsons Q&A’s: Merle Haggard, Deftones, Taylor Hawkins, Nas & Damian Marley, Chely Wright, The Black Keys Spotlight: Minus The Bear, Josh Ritter, Betty Lavette, The Hold Steady, Bill Charlap And Renee Rosnes, Widespread Panic, The New Pornographers Who’s... 

Willie Nelson

Cover Story: Willie Nelson Issue 02 Cover Story: Willie Nelson Gear Feature: Get Great Vocals Features: Rock On Broadway, Social Networking Musician: Slash, Warren Haynes Producer: Don Was Q&A’s: Jakob Dylan, Kaki King, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Peter Frampton, Meshell Ndegeocello, George Thorogood Spotlight: Angels & Airwaves, Jamie Cullum, Mose Allison, The Chieftains, Cypress Hill, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Drive-By Truckers Who’s... 

Premiere Issue 01: Alicia Keys

Premiere Issue - Alicia Keys Issue 01 Cover Story: Alicia Keys Gear Feature: Mixing Live Sound Features: TV’s Hottest House Bands, Fighting the Loudness War Musician Feature: Pat Metheny, Producer Feature: Al Schmitt, John Fogerty Q&A’s: Ok Go, Orianthi, Steve Wariner, Little Steven Van Zandt, Angie Stone Spotlight: Vampire Weekend, Omarion, Juliana Hatfield, Medeski Martin & Wood, Lady Antebellum, Midlake, Freedy Johnson Who’s... 
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