Meet Scott Tsai, founder of Philadelphia's Queens Vintage Guitars.

Queens Vintage Guitars may just be the newest brick & mortar vintage guitar store in the country. On today's podcast, owner Scott Tsai tells us about its inception, its community focus, and so much more. 

https://queensvintageguitars.com

Scott's story is fascinating: His love for guitar started with a Yamaha from Costco. He became hooked on the music of Tommy Emmanuel, landed a job at NYC's Retrofret (thanks to sheer tenacity), and gradually amassed a collection of rare Epiphone archtops from the 1930s. He gives us a mini history lesson on Epiphones and explains what makes their archtops different from their Gibson counterparts. 

Plus: Scott's short-lived stint as a paparazzi photographer!

Meet Scott and close to 100 former FJ subjects, podcast guests, luthiers and brands at this year's Fretboard Summit in Chicago. Read our 'First Timer's Guide to the Fretboard Summit' to learn about it: https://www.fretboardjournal.com/columns/a-first-timers-guide-to-the-fretboard-summit/

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:

https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

We just premiered Mikkel Ploug's beautiful arrangement of Bach's Art of the Fugue for guitar on our YouTube channel. Today, we hear all about it. 

Ploug talks to us about how he turned to a Gibson ES-330 and an Estey-era Magnatone M-14 for this recording, his arrangement process on the Bach piece, and so much more. We talk gear, European jazz, and the experience of commissioning a guitar-themed piece from composer Bent Sørensen. 

Watch Ploug play the Art of the Fugue here: https://youtu.be/5Sl1mQB9HR4

Follow Mikkel here: https://www.instagram.com/plougmikkel/

https://www.mikkelploug.com

We're throwing a guitar festival this August in Chicago. Read 'A First Timer's Guide to the Fretboard Summit':  https://www.fretboardjournal.com/columns/a-first-timers-guide-to-the-fretboard-summit/

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:

https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

The Decemberists' Colin Meloy joins us this week to talk about the band's new, long-awaited album, 'As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again.'

Longtime readers of the magazine will remember Colin gracing the cover of our 45th issue. This time around, we chat about why there was a six-year break Decemberists albums, the tedious side of touring, the joys of writing, Nic Jones and British folk and more. 

https://www.decemberists.com/

We're throwing a guitar festival this August in Chicago. Read 'A First Timer's Guide to the Fretboard Summit': https://www.fretboardjournal.com/columns/a-first-timers-guide-to-the-fretboard-summit/

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:

https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

Bluegrass banjo legend Tony Trischka joins us this week to discuss the making of his new album, 'Earl Jam.' He also gives us a mini-masterclass into the world of Earl Scruggs.

The story behind 'Earl Jam' is truly remarkable: Upon receiving a USB drive full of never-before-released Earl Scruggs home recordings from the '80s and '90s, Trischka decided to transcribe his favorite moments and solos, note-for-note. His playing of these transcriptions became the foundation for the album, which also features guest spots by Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Brittany Haas, Stuart Duncan and others. It's like hearing a completely new Earl Scruggs record in 2024.

Just as memorable as the album are some Trischka's stories about Scruggs and his influence. Somehow, King Curtis Ravi Shankar, Petticoat Junction, Steve Martin, and KFC all get mentioned...and a lot more!  

https://www.tonytrischka.com/earl-jam

A First Timer's Guide to the Fretboard Summit: https://www.fretboardjournal.com/columns/a-first-timers-guide-to-the-fretboard-summit/

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:  https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Izotope: https://www.izotope.com (Use the code FRET10 to save 10%)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

Meet Sofia Wolfson, a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, writer, and Fretboard Journal contributor who just released an incredible album called 'Imposing on a Hometown.' This project features a bunch of former Fretboard Journal subjects and contributors, including Meg Duffy of Hand Habits, Mason Stoops, and Harrison Whitford. Mostly though, it's a collection of great songs by an incredibly talented guitar fanatic. 

During our chat, we talk about growing up in LA (and the unique venues that helped shape Sofia's music community), the beauty of the Gibson J-45, working at LA's famed Old Style Guitar Shop (where Reuben Cox famously makes rubber bridge guitar mods and started a mini-movement), the making of 'Imposing,' the influence of Margaret Glaspy and so much more. We also talk about Sofia's soon-to-be-published interview with Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker in the Fretboard Journal. 

http://www.sofiawolfson.com/

https://sofiawolfson.bandcamp.com/album/imposing-on-a-hometown

Give 'Imposing on a Hometown' a listen and then sit back and hear the story behind it here. It's a good one.

Fretboard Summit 2024 Registration: 
https://fretboardsummit.org

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:  https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Izotope: https://www.izotope.com (Use the code FRET10 to save 10%)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).