The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

Singer-songwriter John Craigie joins us this week to talk about his new album, 'I Swam Here.' https://johncraigie.com We also talk about Craigie's unique humor during his sets, his Beatles covers, album covers, and so much more. Plus...a really exciting Fretboard Summit update. Our next Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Register today: https://fretboardsummit.org We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Mike & Mike's Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

Ramsey Thornton, a Tulsa-based multi-instrumentalist and banjo scholar with an MA in banjo history and a debut album on the way. He discusses tracing the banjo’s roots, swapping drumming instincts into right-hand picking, adapting banjo techniques to guitar, recording in Brooklyn with collaborators, and the gear and tunings behind his new songs.

Portland, Oregon-based musicians Eric Skye and Jonah Sissoyev join us this week to talk about Jonah's beautiful new EP, 'A Place Called Nowhere.' The EP's origin story begins with Jonah asking Eric, an acclaimed fingerstyle guitarist and Santa Cruz Guitar Co. signature model artist, for guitar lessons. Once he heard Jonah's songs, Eric offered to produce and record this project. During our chat, we hear all about their collaboration, Eric's recording techniques (including some DIY home recording advice), the Stew-Mac kit guitar that Jonah built for himself, and so much more. Listen to Jonah's EP here: https://jonahsissoyev.hearnow.com/a-place-called-nowhere Follow Eric: https://www.instagram.com/eric.skye.guitar/ Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Register today: https://fretboardsummit.org We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Mike & Mike's Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

Mark Stutman, proprietor of Folkway Music and acclaimed vintage guitar restorer, returns. He talks about building his repair shop, becoming a vintage-guitar expert, and the economics of repair versus retail. They dig into quirky early Gibsons, preservation-minded restoration, fret and re-top challenges, and Mark’s love of photography as a creative outlet.

Seth Lorinczi, writer known for deep reporting on guitars and music history and author of Death Trip, tells the quirky tale of Micro-Frets—their space-age design, the Calibrato vibrato, and odd features like an intonatable nut. He recounts the brand’s Maryland roots, a short-lived revival and its business failures. Seth also shares memories from the D.C. punk scene and how psychedelic therapy changed his life.

In what has become an annual tradition, Evan Gluck (NY Guitar Repair) hosted a guitar repair roundtable at the 2025 Fretboard Summit. This year, he brought Ceil Thompson (StewMac); TJ Thompson (Pro Luthier Tools); Mamie Minch (Brooklyn Lutherie); and Mark Stutman (Folkway Music) onstage. It's an insightful (and often hilarious) talk about the realities of running a guitar repair business. Very quickly, these five guitar repair experts go deep on customers, the surprise revelations they've had in their careers; the tasks (and people) they avoid; and much more. Give it a listen. It may just make you a better customer the next time your guitar needs to be repaired. Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Register today: https://fretboardsummit.org Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it. We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Mike & Mike's Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

Sam Skinner (Pinegrove) joins us this week to talk about his work as a guitarist, producer and engineer. https://www.samskinner.com We also get Fretboard Journal and Fretboard Summit updates! Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it. Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Mike & Mike's Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

Fingerstyle guitar authority John Stropes joins us this week to talk all about his new two-volume book featuring transcriptions of every track on Leo Kottke's monumental '6 & 12 String Guitar' album! Get the book here: https://www.stropes.com/product/leo-kottke-6-and-12-string-guitar-a-companion-by-john-stropes-and-benjamin-kammin/ During our chat, we hear about Stropes love for fingerstyle, how the Old Town School of Folk Music (home of the Fretboard Summit) shaped his playing, collaborating with Kottke and Michael Hedges, and so much more. Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it. Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com Mike & Mike's Substack: https://mmguitarbar.substack.com

Philip Weinrobe, musician, producer, and recording/mixing engineer behind work with Big Thief and Adrianne Lenker, and founder of Sugar Mountain. He talks moving upstate and building a new studio. He explains his live, no-headphones recording approach. He reflects on take selection, mixing his own records, favorite guitars, and advice for aspiring engineers.

Guitarist/composer/improviser Shane Parish is about to release a truly astounding project, Autechre Guitar. The Athens, Georgia-based guitarist has transcribed and recorded an entire album of acoustic guitar arrangements featuring the music of electronic music duo Autechre. This is no small feat. Autechre's atmospheric compositions were made with layered synths and drum machines. Shane has somehow distilled them to their essence and arranged them for solo guitar. Best of all, they sound great. On the podcast, we hear all about this Mt. Everest of a project, the Taylor 214-GE he used for the task, Shane's background as an arranger and so much more. The full Autechre Guitar album comes out on February 27, 2026 via Bandcamp: https://shaneparish.bandcamp.com/album/autechre-guitar-2 Watch Shane play Aphex Twin's "Avril 14": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC49znc2Swc Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org Our 58th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it. We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout). Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com