SHEER HEART ATTACK! SHEER HEART ATTACK!
WE AIN’T GETTIN’ OLDER WE’RE GETTIN’ SHREDDER. FORMER EDITOR BRAD TOLINSKI ATTEMPTS TO RECALL 40 YEARS OF GUITAR WORLD HISTORY: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE RIDICULOUS WE AIN’T GETTIN’ OLDER WE’RE GETTIN’ SHREDDER. FORMER EDITOR BRAD TOLINSKI ATTEMPTS TO RECALL 40 YEARS OF GUITAR WORLD HISTORY: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE RIDICULOUS
WITHOUT GLAMORIZING alcohol too much, would it surprise anyone reading Guitar World that getting blitzed is a time-honored tradition among rock guitarists? I didn’t think so. And while it is admittedly somewhat unprofessional to drink five, six or seven beers and have a couple of shots while conducting an interview, I would argue that without the assistance of Mr. Jack Daniels, it’s doubtful that Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi would’ve told me about the time he lit drummer Bill Ward’s beard on fire, sending him screaming to an emergency room.
“He went up like a Christmas tree!” I believe were Iommi’s exact words.
The legendary Sabbath guitarist told dozens of wild stories that evening, some that were completely unprintable and at least one that almost got us sued (I’ll save that for another time). But we had a great evening, and as a result, he gave me a terrific interview and agreed to do several columns for Guitar World, allowing our readers months of unprecedented access to his greatest playing secrets. Sure, the process of getting the heavy metal maestro to write the columns was unorthodox, but, as we shall see, Guitar World was never a run-of-the-mill publication.
IN THE BEGINNING
for the first decade of , but I know the story well. In 1980, Stanley Harris, a successful and canny New York publisher who specialized in magazines about hair care and guns (and circle-the-word puzzle books), decided to launch a guitar publication. The California-based magazine already existed and was successful, but it was a bit academic, to say the least.
