ALSO THIS MONTH

FUNDRAISER FOR JASON BECKER

Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Metallica, Neal Schon and KISS are among the musicians who have donated guitars to raise money for Jason Becker’s medical expenses via Reverb.com. Virtuoso musician Becker has been living with ALS for 30 years and currently is recovering from a major health scare. DragonForce guitarist Herman Li has helped to organise fundraising that saw Satriani’s Ibanez ‘Flame’ JS1000 sell for £59,058.

GEORGE HARRISON ALTER EGO

Beatles collaborator Klaus Voorman has cast some doubt on George Harrison’s reputation as the ‘quiet’ Beatle – at least in the early days. In an interview with Uncut, Voorman recalls meeting Harrison as a teenager in Hamburg during the autumn of 1960. “The first time I saw George he was only 17,” says Voorman. “He was different to how he was later. He was a cocky little boy! This band he was with was completely unknown.”

MANSOOR’S WRITING CHORE

Periphery’s Misha Mansoor has revealed he hates writing guitar solos. In an interview with the No Guitar Is Safe podcast, the musician was frank about that side of the creative process. “I don’t particularly enjoy writing solos,” he said. With two other guitarists in Periphery – Mark Holcomb and Jake Bowen – that shouldn’t be a problem… but it is. “Noone wants the glory,” Mansoor explained. “Everyone just wants someone else to have it, so the guys are gonna fight me. And they’re going to be like, ‘No, we’ve taken the solos on this one, so you need to do one on this one – we’re not gonna do it!’”

NIGER’S MDOU MOCTAR GIVES BACK

Niger guitar star Mdou Moctar has explained why he’s paying it forwards to support young musicians in his home country. “I think the key thing is just giving them gear to play with – just instruments, you know? Decent guitars,” he told Music-Radar. “And the only way to get that in Niger is for someone who’s travelling to bring it back. You can’t even buy strings in the country. And we don’t have music schools here. You need all these things.”

EVH’S SON KEEPS THE JOY ALIVE

As his debut album, Mammoth WFH, is released, Wolfgang Van Halen shared one overriding lesson he learned from his father Eddie: “Just to keep smiling and enjoy it,” he told Metal Hammer. “The music is what matters. Being up there and playing is what it’s all about.”