Category: Australian Guitar

Hey, happy Monday! We are inching evermore closer to reaching issue #150 of Australian Guitar (which, if all goes according to plan, should hit shelves next October), and for our next notch on the timeline towards it, we’re embracing one of the most classic colour schemes in our arsenal: purple and yellow. But it’s not like we really had a choice to use any other palate – where there’s Prince, there’s purple. And yellow just goes really nicely with purple. 

We also did end up running with a Bluesfest special – though I’m not entirely confident that Bluesfest will actually go ahead in October. It really does seem like we (being NSW) will be locked down until at least the end of that month. Which sucks, because I am getting really, really, really done with being pent up in this fucking house. I want to go to the city! I want to see Shang-Chi when it comes out! I want to go to Bluesfest!!!! I wasn’t even planning to, but now it looks like a really chipper time! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, yeah, Australian Guitar #144 is out today. You can read all about what’s in it over on the Guitar World site. Copies are on shelves at newsagents all around Australia, online via Techmags and iSubscribe, and digitally wherever great magazines can be downloaded. 

Buy a copy (or ten) so we can make it to #150!

Hello! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been able to make a post like this (thanks to a lil’ delay in the system), but it’s officially here: the insanely overstuffed 143rd issue of Australian Guitar. I’ve had Rivers Cuomo on my “interview bucket list” since the day I started writing, and even though it happened a little over two months ago, it’s still completely surreal to me that I got to chat with him one-on-one for this issue. We vibed on Van Weezer and OK Human, the 25th anniversary of Pinkerton, and the four-album saga Weezer are (supposedly) going to drop throughout 2020.

I have to give Emilie at Warner the biggest shoutout known to humankind for this – we’ve been hustling hard to make this cover happen for over a year, and we finally made it happen! I am so, so, so, so, so, so stoked on how it all turned out. 

When I started working on this issue, I was kind of worried I wouldn’t be able to fill the top end of it with enough features; the first few weeks were pretty scant on album/tour announcements, and I figured I’d end up having to syndicate a few pieces to fill in the blanks. But all of a sudden, the opportunities just came flooding in, and I even ended up having to cut a whole bunch of editorial that I’d otherwise consider priority material. Like, look at that lineup – that would be the sickest festival bill of all time. 

I have literally no idea what AG #144 is going to look like right now, and that’s… Actually kind of exciting? It’s fun having a completely blank slate to run wild with. I know we’re going to do some massive, over-the-top Bluesfest special, which will be really cool. I’m wondering if we might do a non-artist cover story for the next one, too – our last one was the Signature Sizzlers feature in #139, so the timing is ripe. I’m gonna keep an eye on the release calendar for the next month and a bit before I make a decision.

For the moment, you can read all about what’s in Australian Guitar #143 over on the Guitar World site. Copies are on sale now at newsagents all around Australia, online via Techmags and iSubscribe, and digitally wherever great magazines can be downloaded. 

So when I rambled about Australian Guitar #141 on here, I noted that my number one pick for the #142 cover story was a giant long shot, and I’d probably have to syndicate it from international because there’d be no way I could score it locally.

But lo and behold, thanks to the absolute legends at Sony, we managed to pull it off, and Australian Guitar has an exclusive interview with a Foo Fighter for #142. Fuck. Yes.

This issue was an absolute joy to put together. I somehow managed to score almost every interview I pitched, and all the feature options I had from international were pure gold. The deadline rush was even surprisingly un-hectic; we approved the issue for print with like eight hours to spare on send day! That never happens!

#143 is deep in production now and I’m even more stoked about it than I am this issue. We already have our cover locked in (a band that’s been on my bucket list since day one) and a stack of A-plus features ready to go. This year really is shaping up to be a great one for AG.

For the moment, you can read all about what’s in Australian Guitar #142 over on the Guitar World site. Copies are on sale now at newsagents all around Australia, online via Techmags and iSubscribe, and digitally wherever great magazines can be downloaded. 

So this is a good while late – exactly three weeks since release day, in fact! But in case you don’t already follow me on my personal social media channels, or keep up to date with all the minutia of niche lifestyle magazines distributed exclusively in Australia, then I have some news for you: there’s a new issue of Australian Guitar out! It’s available digitally and on newsagent shelves all around the country, and you can read about exactly what’s in it here: bit.ly/AustralianGuitar140