Wong Notes

Bela is a world-class musician and the world's leading ambassador of the banjo. Cory is a card-carrying superfan. Listen in as Bela discusses his approach to improvisation, his high school years with Omar Hakim and Marcus Miller (!), and his love for collaboration.

Visit Bela Fleck: https://www.belafleck.com

Hit us up: [email protected]

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

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

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

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Presented by Fender

Molly Tuttle is a fiery picker, dynamite singer, and incredible songwriter. She meets up with Cory to discuss her unique clawhammer style, developing a repertoire, and playing rhythm guitar in bluegrass and old-time music.

Her latest album is called When You’re Ready and is available at mollytuttlemusic.com.

Hit us up: [email protected]

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

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

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

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Presented by Fender #wongnotes #premierguitar #johnscofield

A true guitar hero, Eric Johnson discusses sage advice he received while touring with B.B. King, his approach to refining his voice, and how he uses the piano to cop new guitar voicings. Bonus: Cory makes a shocking gear confession.

Check out Eric Johnson: https://ericjohnson.com

Hit us up: [email protected]

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

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

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

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Presented by Fender

The Extreme guitarist shares his pedal philosophy—including how a visit from EVH inspired him to use a phaser on the new record—and talks about ripping with Rihanna at the Super Bowl and more.

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

Visit Nuno Bettencourt: https://extreme-band.com/

Hit us up: [email protected]

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

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

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

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid

Jason Newsted spent 15 years holding down the low end in Metallica, playing bass for the band from 1986 through 2001. That era included records like ...And Justice For All and Metallica—AKA The Black Album—plus the iconic S&M live album with the San Francisco Symphony.

But that was just the beginning for Newsted, an artistic polymath who has since pursued a life of balance and creative freedom. On this episode of Wong Notes, he opens up to Cory Wong about why he left Metallica, and details the “Olympian” physicality and discipline that hard international touring requires. Newsted needed a break; the band wanted to keep going. “You gotta sometimes give it a minute,” he says.

Newsted shares his thoughts on Dave Mustaine and his predecessor Cliff Burton, and goes deep on the issue of cellphone usage at concerts. (Spoiler alert: He doesn’t like it very much, and he’s got good reasons for his disdain.) But Newsted isn’t just a performer. He talks about his painting and the way that practice differs from music-making, plus his private artistic journeys with theremin, mandolin, and sequencers and loopers—rabbit holes he might not have gone down if he stayed in Metallica. “I don’t say no to any medium,” he says.

Maybe leaving Metallica created the need to explore. “I did not get to fulfill that journey,” he says, “so I’m making up for it.”

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

Hit us up: [email protected]

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

Visit Premier Guitar: http://premierguitar.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wongnotespod

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

Produced by Jason Shadrick and Cory Wong

Additional Editing by Shawn Persinger

Presented by DistroKid