Dose anyone remember 1985? Unlike the previous year, when one album clearly topped our collective “guitar album of the year” charts (a little something called 1984 by Van Halen), 1985 was more of a smorgasbord.
For alarmingly young me, it was all about Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; I saw them a few times that year, including their famous September 21 show at the Capital Theatre in Passaic. I even wrote to Guitar World that summer, and they mentioned me on page 73 of the Vaughan-fronted November ’85 issue (pictured on page 54 in this very issue).
But there was so much more than SRV in 1985, and we’ve tried to capture a bit of that year’s “anything goes” vibe by revisiting albums by Run-D.M.C., Megadeth, the Dead Milkmen, Heart, Kiss, Aerosmith, Simple Minds, Talking Heads and more.
We’ve also got a transcription of Dire Straits’ 1985 hit, Money for Nothing, which – believe it or not – has never been transcribed in a U.S. guitar mag. And keep in mind that the 1985 festivities continue in Power Tools, where we celebrate the ’85 birth of the eternally stylish PRS Custom 24.
In terms of bands that have nothing to do with 1985, check out our feature on Boston’s GA-20. Our headline, “GA-2.0,” refers to the fact that they’re kicking off a new era, complete with a new guitarist and drummer. I saw them in Brooklyn in December 2023, and I look forward to seeing version 2.0 in action.
Anyway, don’t just sit there. Dig in!
>>> Class of ’85: After a summation of 1985’s opulent guitar scene by Mr. Brad Tolinski, we launch into a relentless series of brand-new interviews, including:
Joe Perry on Aerosmith’s Done with Mirrors, Chris Poland on Megadeth’s Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good, Nancy Wilson on Heart, Yngwie Malmsteen on Marching Out, Double Trouble on SRV’s Soul to Soul, Jerry Harrison on Talking Heads’ Little Creatures, Eddie Martinez on Run-D.M.C.’s King of Rock, Billy Duffy on the Cult’s Love, Paul Jackson Jr. on Whitney Houston, Charlie Burchill on Simple Minds’ Once Upon a Time, J mascis on Dinosaur Jr.’s Dinosaur, Bruce Kulick on Kiss’s Asylum, Robert Cray on Showdown!, Bob Mould on Hüsker Dü’s New Day Rising and more.
>>> A Smashing Pumpkin: Kiki Wong on her life, gear and technique before and since teaming up with Billy Corgan and James Iha.
>>> GA-2.0: GA-20 – everyone’s favorite bass-guitar-free Boston-based blues trio – debut a new guitarist and drummer on the latest EP.
>>> The Smithereens’ Jim Babjak: The beloved guitarist talks A Girl Like YouNew Jersey rock loretouring with Tom Petty and his guitar tone’s impact on Nirvana.
>>> Third Man Hardware: Yeah, that’s right – GW checks in with Jack White’s pedal company!
This issue – aka the shockingly breathtaking June 2025 issue of Guitar World – is available right here, right now!
Hold on, now! There’s also this other stuff…
>>> Jimmie Vaughan’s life in three guitars: The co-founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds reveals the three guitars that have meant to most to him.
>>> Dead Kennedys: East Bay Ray discusses the making of 1980’s Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.
>>> This is Cracker Soul: Rare GW interview with Cracker guitarist Johnny Hickman.
Plus new interviews with King Diamond’s Andy LaRocque, the Night Flight Orchestra’s Sebastian Forslund, Field Music’s Peter Brewis, Jonathan Hultén, Bonnie Trash’s Emmalia Bortolon-Vettor, the Cradle of Filth guys, the Fleshtones’ Keith Streng and the Cars’ Elliot Easton.
Gear-wise, we explore the history and allure of the PRS Custom 24, and we review all this cool stuff:
>>> Gibson Victory and Victory Figured Top
>>> Mxr Rockman X100 Analog Tone Processor
>>> SOMA Harvezi Hazze
>>> Solodallas SVDS Boost
>>> Shure MV7i Smart Microphone & Interface
We have new columns by Joe Bonamassa, Jared James Nichols, Sue Foley and Cory Wong, plus transcriptions of Money for Nothing by Dire Straits, Idle Hands by Kerry King and Better Man by Pearl Jam.
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