No Cover Charge Podcast

Looking for the perfect gift for the guitarist in your life? In this holiday-themed episode of the No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols are joined by very special guest Marty Schwartz to share genuinely useful, fun, and inspiring guitar gift ideas at every price point.From must-have pedals and practice tools to clever stocking stuffers and tone-shaping essentials, this is not your typical guitar gift guide. Expect real talk, great stories, live playing, and thoughtful recommendations that guitar players will actually use.Perfect for beginners, serious players, and anyone shopping for a guitarist who already “has everything.”Thank you to the sponsor of our show, Roswell Pro Audio!0:00 - Holiday Episode Kickoff0:43 - Our first sponsor, Roswell Pro Audio2:45 - Why This Isn’t a Typical Guitar Gift Guide5:15 - Our VERY Special Guest Marty Schwartz Joins Us6:34 - Worst Guitar Gifts Ever (And Why They Miss)12:32 - Gift #1: Joe Bonamassa Guitar Back Scratcher14:57 - Gift #2: Guitar Technique & Exercise Books17:53 - Gift #3: This Precious Guitar Pick20:32 - Gift #4: Stylish Capos That Don’t Suck22:58 - Gift #5: Source Audio C4 Synth Pedal25:24 - Gift #6: Gristle King Dual-Gain Overdrive27:23 - Gift #7: Walrus Audio Jupiter Fuzz28:52 - Gift #8: D’Addario Micro Headstock Tuner31:09 - Should You Ever Buy a Guitar as a Gift?Wrap-Up & Reflections32:15 - Marty Schwartz on Gratitude and Teaching Guitar34:21 - The Real Impact of Guitar Education36:57 - Final JAM SessionGIFT LINKS!Source Audio C4 SynthGristle King Dual-Gain OverdriveWalrus Audio Jupiter FuzzD’Addario Micro Headstock TunerJoe Bonamassa Blues Rock BackscratcherSubscribe on Apple PodcastsThe No Cover Charge Podcast on SpotifyInstagramTikTokFacebookThe No Cover Charge Podcast with Tyler Larson & Jared James Nichols is your all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar—and there's never a cover at the proverbial door. Hosted by two of the most passionate guitarists you'll find, Tyler and Jared deliver a mix of electrifying interviews with legendary guitarists, laugh-out-loud tales from the road, deep dives into guitar culture, and no-holds-barred gear talk.Whether you're a lifelong shredder or just love music, you'll find something unexpected in every episode—a hidden gem, a new perspective, an epic jam, or a story that'll stick with you. It’s always a good time, and best of all? No cover charge.Plug in and hang out.

In Episode 15 of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols break down every phase of a guitarist’s life — from the first moment music grabs you to the highs, lows, gear spirals, plateaus, breakthroughs, and the reality of becoming a career musician. Expect hilarious stories, inspiring advice, honest struggles, and spontaneous riffing as Tyler and Jared reveal the universal stages all guitar players experience.Whether you’re in the pre-guitar awakening phase, deep in the obsession phase, stuck in the plateau phase, overwhelmed by gear acquisition syndrome, or pushing through the practice and discipline phase, this episode will feel like therapy… with more overdrive.Sit back, plug in, and enjoy a guitarist’s journey we all share.⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The No Cover Charge Podcast on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠TIMESTAMPS0:12 – Opening Jam in D, the People's Key1:37 – Introducing today’s topic: the phases of a guitarist’s life3:13 – PRE-GUITAR AWAKENING PHASE4:06 – Wanting to be a drummer first5:23 – Getting talked into guitar instead6:07 – Early sounds that “unlocked” the instrument7:28 – Discovering open-string magic9:03 – The Incubus/Mike Einziger influence10:03 – OBSESSION PHASE begins12:17 – Learning why players sound different13:35 – Unlocking nuance and tone16:20 – PLATEAU PHASE — when everything feels wrong21:15 – Rut-busting tricks and new tunings24:24 – Entering the GAS PHASE26:50 – First pieces of gear that changed everything29:20 – Gear expectations vs. reality31:13 – PRACTICE & DISCIPLINE PHASE33:55 – Berklee stories & formative experiences37:01 – Leaving the comfort zone39:01 – Jared’s Guitar Center “Horror Story”43:37 – The phase of becoming a CAREER MUSICIAN46:16 – Why we keep playing: the same feeling from day one47:53 – Walrus Audio Melee joystick pedal demo49:18 – Final jam & wrap-upBuy a Walrus Audio MeleeThe No Cover Charge Podcast with Tyler Larson & Jared James Nichols is your all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar—and there's never a cover at the proverbial door. Hosted by two of the most passionate guitarists you'll find, Tyler and Jared deliver a mix of electrifying interviews with legendary guitarists, laugh-out-loud tales from the road, deep dives into guitar culture, and no-holds-barred gear talk.Whether you're a lifelong shredder or just love music, you'll find something unexpected in every episode—a hidden gem, a new perspective, an epic jam, or a story that'll stick with you. It’s always a good time, and best of all? No cover charge.Plug in and hang out.

Join Tyler Larson ( ⁨@MusicisWin⁩ ) and Jared James Nichols ( ⁨@JJNicholsMusic⁩ ) as they dig deep into the strangest, wildest, most unexplainable guitar gear they've collected over the years. From synth pedals that instantly break your brain to haunted stompboxes, octave chaos machines, forgotten vintage oddities, and micro-guitars that refuse to stay in tune, this episode is pure gear-nerd comedy gold.If you love guitar tone experiments, unpredictable sounds, and two friends losing it on camera over bonkers gear… this is the episode for you.Expect laughs, real tone talk, surprising discoveries, and some truly cursed noises. And if you wanna buy any of the gear in this episode, you can actually find some of it below...Wanna buy one of these pedals?Source Audio C4 SynthKorg MIKU: good luck finding oneBoss Enhancer: good luck finding oneMXR La Machine (is unavailable now but...)Boss Metal Zone, babyCopper Sound Pedals Triplegraph: good luck finding oneFender mini StratocasterTIMESTAMPS0:00 – The funniest episode yet begins1:45 – Introducing the Weird Gear Episode 2:28 – The mysterious Dark Planet guitar appears 3:06 – Jared admits he’s scared of synth pedals 4:30 – The FUNNIEST moment in the history of the show5:59 – Discovering legitimately cool tones by accident 7:13 – Linking all pedals below (and why you’ll want the C4) 7:30 – The infamous MIKU pedal makes its entrance 8:52 – “We’re getting censored for sure” – the pedal screams at us 9:16 – The Enhancer pedal: what exactly is it?11:10 – Seriously… is this thing doing anything? 11:34 – The sea-monster pedal emerges12:43 – Pure chaos tones: “This pedal might be broken… nope.” 14:09 – The Metal Zone test, 2025 edition 15:44 – Isolated metal tones: so bad it’s good? 17:47 – Why weird tones actually inspire better riffs 19:00 – Jared tries to channel James Hetfield with no pick 20:57 – The Triplegraph, tap-dancing into madness 23:02 – The German chaos delay pedal takes over the room 26:25 – The tiny guitar that refuses to stay in tune 30:51 – Wrapping up + should we do Weird Gear Part 2?The No Cover Charge Podcast with Tyler Larson & Jared James Nichols is your all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar—and there's never a cover at the proverbial door. Hosted by two of the most passionate guitarists you'll find, Tyler and Jared deliver a mix of electrifying interviews with legendary guitarists, laugh-out-loud tales from the road, deep dives into guitar culture, and no-holds-barred gear talk.Whether you're a lifelong shredder or just love music, you'll find something unexpected in every episode—a hidden gem, a new perspective, an epic jam, or a story that'll stick with you. It’s always a good time, and best of all? No cover charge.Plug in and hang out.

Guitar phenom Angel Vivaldi ( ⁨@AngelVivaldi⁩ ) joins Tyler Larson ( ⁨@MusicisWin⁩ ) for Episode 13 of The No Cover Charge Podcast — and this one is packed with tone talk, tour stories, creative philosophy, and plenty of laughs. From joining the Steve Morse Band, to never having used a pedalboard (wtf?!), to carving out space as a genre-bending artist, Angel opens up about growth, humility, tone chasing, and what truly matters in a musician’s life. Expect deep insights, inspiring stories, killer playing, and a whole lot of guitar geekery.If you love guitar tone, creative evolution, progressive metal, Steve Morse, or Angel Vivaldi’s incredible artistry, this episode is for you.For all things Angel VivaldiAngel's artistic management service, Xenith CounselCheck out Jared on tour!TIMESTAMPS0:00 – Where’s Jared? (UK tour update)0:24 – Why Steve Morse wanted Angel in his band0:54 – Angel plugs into a pedalboard for the first time1:48 – The Frusciante tuning method4:05 – Angel joins the Steve Morse Band5:49 – Tone, frequency targeting, and crafting patches on tour8:05 – Angel’s Latin, jazz, funk, and acoustic background9:00 – Growing up with salsa, dancing, and church music10:46 – Why many metal musicians don’t listen to metal12:48 – Conversation on grind culture and creative hiatus14:53 – How gear, fashion, and symmetry communicate identity16:01 – Why Angel moved from Ibanez to Charvel19:57 – Perspective: what if you couldn’t play anymore?25:03 – Angel & Tyler SHRED BATTLE26:03 – How guitar scenes have merged into one digital world27:13 – What Angel learned from Steve Morse about adapting28:55 – Angel’s upcoming tours, records, Charvel 7-string, and Xenith Counsel⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The No Cover Charge Podcast on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠The No Cover Charge Podcast with Tyler Larson & Jared James Nichols is your all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar—and there's never a cover at the proverbial door. Hosted by two of the most passionate guitarists you'll find, Tyler and Jared deliver a mix of electrifying interviews with legendary guitarists, laugh-out-loud tales from the road, deep dives into guitar culture, and no-holds-barred gear talk.Whether you're a lifelong shredder or just love music, you'll find something unexpected in every episode—a hidden gem, a new perspective, an epic jam, or a story that'll stick with you. It’s always a good time, and best of all? No cover charge.Plug in and hang out.

Join Tyler Larson ( ⁨@MusicisWin⁩ ) and Jared James Nichols ( ⁨@JJNicholsMusic⁩ ) as they sit down with blues titan Josh Smith ( ⁨@JoshSmithGuitar⁩ ) for one of the most inspiring guitarist deep-dives we’ve ever filmed, for real! In this episode of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Josh opens up about tone chasing, creativity, gear myths, BB King’s 100th birthday album, insane string gauges (yes… 13s in standard tuning), improvisation, career evolution, and the mindset required to survive as a lifelong musician. Expect jaw-dropping playing, hilarious moments, killer stories from the road and studio, and some of the most honest guitar philosophy you’ll hear anywhere. If you love guitar, blues, tone, Telecasters, or just watching masters talk shop—this episode is for you.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠The No Cover Charge Podcast on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠The No Cover Charge Podcast with Tyler Larson & Jared James Nichols is your all-access backstage pass to the world of guitar—and there's never a cover at the proverbial door. Hosted by two of the most passionate guitarists you'll find, Tyler and Jared deliver a mix of electrifying interviews with legendary guitarists, laugh-out-loud tales from the road, deep dives into guitar culture, and no-holds-barred gear talk.Whether you're a lifelong shredder or just love music, you'll find something unexpected in every episode—a hidden gem, a new perspective, an epic jam, or a story that'll stick with you. It’s always a good time, and best of all? No cover charge.Plug in and hang out.TIMESTAMPS0:00 - Welcome to the first NIGHT pod!1:29 - The jam warm-up4:50 - Tyler predicts the World Series5:27 - Who is the Shohei Ohtani of guitar?7:30 - Electronic drums, The Who, and live performance quirks9:05 - MIDI guitars and gear rabbit holes10:30 - Improvisation vs. noodling12:14 - Playing in time: the secret almost everyone learns late13:26 - Following intuition and musical breadcrumbs15:02 - What makes great solos connect16:01 - Three-way rhythmic improvisation experiment17:27 - Josh’s year producing the BB King 100th album18:34 - Tracking 33 songs and wrangling 40 guest artists20:56 - Paul Rodgers tracks Night Life on the BB King sessions23:28 - Josh Smith uses 13 GAUGE STRINGS24:40 - Trying Josh’s guitar out… ouch27:36 - Roy Lanham and forgotten guitar influences32:14 - Josh demonstrates how his style evolved35:36 - Becoming yourself instead of copying your heroes38:43 - Why the Telecaster unlocks Josh’s true voice40:14 - The Telecaster is the ultimate apocalypse-proof guitar41:44 - Tone is personal—and your gear should inspire you44:45 - Amp vs. guitar: the eternal debate47:29 - Josh’s new signature Ibanez Flat V256:12 - Life updates and reevaluating the dream