100 FOR 100

PART 5

Posted: 25th July 2023

Our history is built on alternative music created by artists. Without these genre-defining guitarists pushing the boundaries of what can be done, welding a wall of Marshall amps behind them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

As we celebrate Jim Marshall's 100th birthday we’re showcasing 100 artists, 10 a month for the rest of the year. Artists, who have made the music scene what it is today, breaking through defiantly into the industry that Jim helped shape.

Read time: 16 mins

Paul Weller

Revered guitarist, Paul Weller, first found fame as part of the 1970’s band, The Jam. The influential punk rock band had multiple hit singles and sold out many concerts. He also had success with The Style Council before embarking on a phenomenal solo career, spawning critically acclaimed albums like the multiplatinum ‘Stanley Road’. Affectionately nicknamed ‘the Modfather’, Paul has been awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the Brits.

His first guitar was a Rickenbacker 360 model purchased by his mother for him, when he’d had this guitar for a little while he began to tinker with it and modified his own design of a single coil pickup and the pickup to fit it. Paul originally began learning to play the guitar from Beatles songs and The Who and Small Faces tunes. As he began playing more, his influences grew to include Yardbirds, Kinks, and Led Zeppelin, among others. His influences have had a direct on his guitar style which is often characterised by its melodic and rhythmic style, as well as being described as “jangly” and “reverb-drenched”. His tone is both warm and bright, and he often uses a combination of clean and overdriven tones to create his signature sound.

With Paul’s roots deep within the British music scene, it was only natural that he would use Marshall amps. The amp that Weller is best associated with is a rather rare Lead and Bass 2100, which was only available via mail order for a short period in the 70s, and now these 50w combos are very much sought after.

Image credit: Paul Weller, CC BY 2.0, Marcelo Costa, via Wikimedia Commons

In 2008, to celebrate this partnership and Paul Weller’s 50th birthday, Jim Marshall decided to do a limited run based on the original amps’ schematics. The crowning glory of this limited run was the white vinyl covering and Royal Air Force roundel, tying the amp in perfectly with the Mod-Father’s style.

The 1987X-PW came along with a certificate of authenticity, and all profits from this amp were donated to the charity Childline, as this is a cause that Paul and Jim were passionate about.

Alisha Yarwood

After first meeting through mutual friends in Manchester's alternative music scene, the self-described doom punk band Witch Fever formed in 2017. Taking their name from the hysteria that accompanied the witch trials in Salem and throughout Europe in the 1600s, Witch Fever are on a mission to dismantle the patriarchy.

Known for channelling their frustrations and trauma into their songwriting, Witch Fever guitarist Alisha Yarwood delivers the heavy riffs that complement the bands' lyrical themes, bringing the words to life.

Having played with the likes of My Chemical Romance and Surfbort, Witch Fever released their debut album 'Congregation' in October 2022, with the themes of the album influenced by lead vocalist Amy Walpole's upbringing in a church and the patriarchal structure. The band have also performed at some of the UKs major festivals including Reading and Leeds, Outbreak fest and The Great Escape.

Witch Fever are continuing to empower women and gender non-conforming people everywhere and have even begun writing their second album alongside touring.

bibi mcgill

Bibi McGill began playing guitar after her father witnessed her pretending to play guitar with a pool stick, causing him to enrol her in private lessons aged 12. Bibi went on to attend and graduate University with a degree in music scoring and arranging. It was then that she noticed that there were limited opportunities in the music scene in Denver – this meant Bibi made the decision to move to Los Angeles where she was able to begin playing gigs in small clubs.

In the late 1980s, McGill was a part of a Christian metal band called Ezra. In 1988, they released a demo titled The Choice. In 2001, she was hired by Pink for her promotional tour and appeared with her on many popular TV shows. After this, Bibi went on to tour with the Chilean Rock group La Ley. It was with La Ley that she was given the opportunity to perform at the Vina del Mar International Song Festival in 2005.

When performing with Beyoncé, Bibi used Line 6 modeller amps which allowed for a clean stage to make room for big, choreographed shows. More regularly, Bibi uses Quilter amps and analogue pedals, including a Chase Bliss Tonal Recall delay, Strymon Blue Sky reverb and TC Electronic Corona chorus when in the studio.

Bibi McGill has always had a recognisable aggressive, funky and soulful rock style of guitar playing that has been often compared to Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads.

Bibi cites some of her biggest inspirations came from listening to Earth, Wind, and Fire and The Isley Brothers, when she was growing up before branching out into rock. As she grew up, Bibi began listening to bands such as Led Zeppelin, Heart, The Eagles, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden, which can be heard in her playing and her ability to effortlessly switch between differing styles.

yvette young

Yvette Young began her musical journey playing piano and grew up playing classical music. Her parents are both musicians and she began taking lessons at the age of four. Yvette gave up playing music for a while until, in high school, she ended up in hospital. It wasn’t until this time that she found the guitar and rediscovered her passion for music.

Yvette ended up graduating from the University of California with a Bachelor of Fine Art - her art style can be found on her custom guitar designs and also in her album artwork. In 2014 she released her Acoustics EP followed by another in 2017. These two EPs began to showcase Yvette’s unique playing style which involves alternative tuning, multiple hammer ons, pulls offs and tapping throughout. Alongside her solo projects Yvette also plays in the math-rock band Covet where she features with David Adamiak and Forrest Rice.

Yvette already had a strong foundation of musical knowledge from learning classical music and theory, but her playing style was later influenced primarily by the sound and alternative tunings used by the bands Toe and American Football. She also used her inspiration from polyphonic melodies found in Baroque music to create her recognisable fuller sound. Another way that she creates music is by starting out with an idea for a vocal melody, then chasing that melody for hours on the fretboard, trying to accompany it with simpatico harmonies on the guitar.

If you’re trying to create your own Yvette inspired sound, take a look at her two-handed taps, slides, hammer-on and pull-off techniques. After you’ve mastered these, try combining them with her use of open tunings such as FACGAE, DADF#AE, FACGBE.

Corey Taylor

Frontman for iconic heavy metal band Slipknot, Corey Taylor began singing when he was just 10 years old. First introduced to rock music by his grandmother, Corey often listened to bands such as Black Sabbath growing up, and when he was a teen, his grandmother helped him purchase musical equipment. Corey taught himself how to play the guitar so he could hone his craft and begin to write songs, explaining that this stemmed from a love of singing.

In 1992, Corey founded rock band Stone Sour as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Despite being formed in the 90s, Stone Sour’s self-titled debut album was released in 2002 after Corey left the band while recording demos to become the vocalist for Slipknot. The band's album peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard 200 and the song ‘Bother’ even featured on the Spider-Man soundtrack. Their second album ‘Come What(ever) May’ debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and the single ‘30/030-150’ received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.

Corey has also explored being a solo artist, and in 2020 released his debut solo album ‘CMFT’ which peaked at No. 2 on the OCC UK Rock and Metal Albums chart. The first solo single ‘Black Eyes Blue’ from the album also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

Known for writing almost all his songs acoustically, Corey has previously used the Marshall AS50D. When on stage Corey has been seen to use the 100W JCM800 2203, alongside using an Eastwood Rivolta Mondata VIII guitar.

Corey has played on some of the biggest stages in the world, including Download, Ozzfest, Rock On The Range and even Slipknot’s own festival Knotfest which was created in 2012.

Adam Kerr

From an early age, Adam Kerr showed an interest in music and began playing guitar around the age of 11. Adam was inspired to create music after listening to 'Clouds Over California' by DevilDriver, explaining that he was blown away by the song and wanted to make songs that did the same to other people.

In 2013, Adam formed an acoustic duo in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England before the duo transformed into the five-piece metal band As Everything Unfolds. The band consists of Adam as lead guitarist, Charlie Rolfe as the lead vocalist, George Hunt on bass, Jon Cassidy on synth/programming and drummer Jamie Gowers.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the band played their last show to 20 people and the next show they played outside of lockdown was to 10,000 people on Day 2 of the Download Pilot. The band played alongside the likes of Creeper, Enter Shikari and Bleed from Within.

Inspired by guitarists John Petrucci of Dream Theater, Misha Mansoor from Periphery and Aaron Marshall of Intervals, Adam is known for his crunchy riffs and melodic tones. Following their nomination for 'Best Breakthrough Live Artist' at the 2023 Heavy Music Awards, the band released their sophomore album 'Ultraviolet' in April 2023, of which Adam's groovy guitar riffs and breakdowns can be heard throughout.

The band have graced the stage of several UK festivals including Download, 2000trees, Impericon Festival and Burn It Down Festival, and are taking off on their 'Ultraviolet' headline tour September 2023.

As Everything Unfolds continues to be a heavy hitting band, turning crowds into a pit of carnage, and there's no doubt that they will remain a staple in the metalcore scene.

Lzzy Hale

Described as the ‘Ambassador for Rock’, superstar Lzzy Hale formed rock band Halestorm alongside her brother Arejay in 1997 aged 13. Lzzy initially played the piano and keyboard with Arejay on drums, before picking up guitar lessons when she was 16.

It wasn’t until 2009 that Halestorm released their self-titled debut album. The lead single from the album ‘I Get Off’ peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart, and the album itself, full of aggressive riffs and solos, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard US Top Hard Rock Albums chart.

In 2013, Halestorm made history with their song ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ after it won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance – the band were the first female-fronted band to be nominated in this category and the first to win the award.

Alongside her trusty custom Kramer Gunstar Voyager, designed to look like it would have been played in 1987, Lzzy has been known to use a Marshall 100W JCM800 2203.

A force to be reckoned with, Halestorm play as many as 250 shows a year with bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, Shinedown and Stone Sour. A jack of all trades, Lzzy also lends her voice to music by Black Stone Cherry, Machine Gun Kelly and Lindsey Stirling.

Known for bringing light to conversations surrounding mental health and being a role model for younger artists, especially girls, Halestorm's fifth album ‘Back from the Dead’ focuses on Lzzy’s mental health journey throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Lzzy continues to be a champion for those within and outside the music industry, campaigning for gender equality and acceptance of others' sexual orientation.

Scott Carey

Gigging since he was a teen, Scott Carey was part of the original line up for the melodic hardcore band Falling In Style, prior to joining Welsh rock band Holding Absence in 2018.

Inspired to start playing guitar by Metallica rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and his ‘down-picked rhythm’, Scott often plays bright extended chords which can be heard on songs such as ‘Your Love’ from the band self-titled album and ‘Curse Me With Your Kiss’ off the album ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’.

Since joining the band, Holding Absence have won Best Breakthrough Band at the Cardiff Music Awards and were nominated for Best UK Breakthrough Band at the Heavy Music Awards. Their self-titled debut album was released the following year in 2019 and was named one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019 by Loudwire.

Scott and Holding Absence have graced the stage with bands such as Being As An Ocean, Counterparts, and Sleeping With Sirens. The band are prepping to set off on the UK and Europe tour to accompany their most recent album ‘The Noble Art Of Self Destruction’ due to be released in August 2023, which will see the band playing some of their biggest venues to date in the UK.

eric clapton

Eric Clapton was born in Surrey, England and received his first guitar on his thirteenth birthday. After a few years of trial and error he found a love for blues music and began practising many hours of the day. After finishing school Eric began busking and later performing around pubs in Surrey and in 1963 joined The Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock and roll band.

When The Yardbirds began moving towards a more commercial pop sound, Eric swapped his Telecaster out for a Les Paul and a Marshall and joined John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. Eric wanted a combo amplifier that would fit in his car, which after a conversation led our founder Jim Marshall to create a more portable JTM45 amp. This resulted in the creation of our 1962 combo amplifier which was affectionately given the nickname Bluesbreaker. Eric later went to create music history with his Marshall amp thanks to memorable solos on tracks such as Steppin' Out and Hideaway.

After leaving his second band, Eric was invited by drummer, Ginger Baker to play in his new band Cream alongside Jack Bruce. Cream gained huge commercial success and went on to sell millions of records around the globe.

Looking at Eric Clapton’s musical history evidently shows that his playing is genre-spanning and multi-faceted. His biggest inspiration and playing influence are blues music, citing Muddy Waters Robert Johnson and B.B. King as some of his biggest influences. His playing style has often been referred to as ‘smooth’ as he is able to always brilliantly go between phrases in an effortless fashion.

Image credit: Eric "slowhand" Clapton, CC BY 2.0, F. Antolín Hernandez via Wikimedia Commons

Eric’s steady, precise phrasing and choice of using vibrato and bends at exactly the right times are key reasons behind him being recognised as a guitar hero. One common technique Eric would also implement is a mixture of major and minor pentatonic scales in a lick - he commonly mixes them together by adding a major second interval into a minor pentatonic scale.

Over the years, Eric has used a wide variety of gear, starting his journey with a telecaster and later a Les Paul. In later years Eric became closely connected to Stratocasters, and most played his 1950’s edition which was made using parts from four different guitars. Eric had a good relationship with Jim Marshall and used a 1962 Bluesbreaker as well as a JTM45/Super Lead 100 during his years in Cream.

Eric has always been very minimal with his use of pedals, focusing mainly on wah and fuzz pedals. If you’re looking to create classic Clapton tone, we suggest using a JTM-45 or 'Plexi' amp and pushing the volume to create real valve saturation.

Simon Neil

Simon Neil is the lead singer and guitarist from Scottish three-piece, Biffy Clyro. Biffy Clyro originally started when the boys were in high school together, aged just 13 or 14 years old. However, it wasn’t until 2007 and their platinum-selling album ‘Puzzle’ that the band were launched into the mainstream which consequently involved support slots with Muse, The Who and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Their success has continued with subsequent albums and the band continue to draw in crowds at festivals like Sonisphere, Download and Reading and Leeds. Over 15 years on from their formation Simon Neil says that the band is still very much that same teenage band that they’ve always been.

Simon often refers to two big influences in his guitar music, the first being Slash. Growing up he would always see videos of Guns N’ Roses and thought of them as “rock and roll wizards”! Whilst he always thought that he’d never be as good or as technical as Slash, he was still influenced by how he played. His second influence was Kurt Cobain, who inspired Simon’s emotion and intensity to show in his playing without worrying too much about technique. The blend of the two styles has allowed Simon to develop his own unique sound and style that makes Biffy Clyro instantly recognisable.

Throughout his musical career Simon has used a range of guitars – spanning from standard Fender Stratocasters to Gretsch G2420T’s. Simon’s sound involves the use of a lot of pedals so much so that in 2020 alongside his guitar tech, Churd, created a hand-built limited-edition pedal. The Boom Blast pedal, was a distortion on one side and a fuzz pedal, designed to be the loudest pedal on the market!

Like his guitars, Simon has used a range of different amplifiers from a Kemper Profiling Amplifier PowerHead to the Marshall 1959SLP head. This 100W head features four EL34 power valves and three ECC83 preamp valves, helping Simon to boost his sound and like his pedal, is designed to be cranked up.