Welcome back for a special season finale of Wong Notes!

We’ve saved one of the best for last: Brad Paisley.The celebrated shredder and seasoned fisherman joins host Cory Wong for one of this season’s most interesting episodes. Paisley talks his earliest guitar-playing influences, which came from his grandfather’s love of country music, and his first days in Nashville—as a student at Belmont University, studying the music industry.

The behind-the-curtain knowledge he picked up at Belmont made him a good match for industry suits trying to force bad contracts on him.

Wong and Paisley swap notes on fishing and a mutual love of Phish—Paisley envies the jam-band scene, which he thinks has more leeway in live contexts than country. And with a new signature Fender Telecaster hitting the market in a rare blue paisley finish, Paisley discusses his iconic namesake pattern—which some might describe as “hippie puke”—and its surprising origin with Elvis’ guitarist James Burton.

Plus, hear how Paisley assembled his rig over the years, the state of shredding on mainstream radio, when it might be good to hallucinogenic drugs in a set, and the only negative thing about country-music audiences.

Get 30% off your first year of DistroKid by going here: http://distrokid.com/vip/corywong

Visit Brad Paisley: https://www.bradpaisley.com/

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wongnotespod

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid

Legendary shredder Joe Satriani was the first ever guest on Wong Notes, so it makes sense that he’s the first returning sit-in with Cory Wong. Satch is busy as ever, juggling enough projects to make a normal guitarist’s head spin. But Satriani’s not a normal guitarist.

He teases a new song with Sammy Hagar, plus delves into the intricacies of Eddie Van Halen’s playing and why he can’t quite replicate it—every guitarist has their strengths and deficiencies, claims Satch. And believe it or not, Satriani didn’t figure standing in front of huge crowds to be one of his strengths when he was younger. Fate figured otherwise.

Satriani goes deep on one of his favorite tools, the Sustainiac pickup, and talks about how it’s defined his playing—just like his trademark sunglasses, even in dark rooms. (“Stupid idea, right?” he jokes.)And young guitarists, listen up: Satriani has some wise words on the importance of rigorous practice while you’re budding on the instrument. The big takeaway? Learn. The. Notes.

Listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/WongNotes

Get 30% off your first year of DistroKid by going here: http://distrokid.com/vip/corywong

Visit Joe Satriani: https://www.satriani.com/

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wongnotespod

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid

Grace Bowers just released her debut record, 2024’s Wine on Venus, with her band the Hodge Podge, but she’s already one the most well-known young guitarists in America. On this episode of Wong Notes, Bowers talks through the ups, downs, and detours of her whirlwind career.

Bowers started out livestreaming performances on Reddit at age 13, and came into the public eye as a performer on social media, so she’s well acquainted with the limits and benefits of being an “Instagram guitarist.” She and Cory talk about session work in Nashville (Bowers loathes it), her live performance rig, and Eddie Hazel’s influence.

Bowers plugs the importance of networking as a young musician: If you want gigs, you gotta go to gigs, and make acquaintances. But none of that elbow-rubbing will matter unless you’re solid on you’re instrument. “No one’s gonna hire you if you’re ass,” says Bowers. “Practice is important.”

Tune in to learn why Bowers is ready to move on from Wine on Venus, her takes on Nashville versus California, and why she hates “the blues-rock label.”

Get 30% off your first year of DistroKid by going here: http://distrokid.com/vip/corywong

Visit Grace Bowers: https://www.gracebowers.com/

Hit us up: wongnotes@premierguitar.com

Visit Cory: https://www.corywongmusic.com

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wongnotespod

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid