Adam Neely is a musician and youtube creator who has a great perspective on the future of music in social media, the fear and responsibilities of having a large online audience and why we love and hate certain types of music. In this episode I sat down with Adam (via Skype) and we discussed a wide range of topics, making this one of my favorite episodes of the podcast to date. 

Follow Adam on instagram @its_adamneely

This episode sponsored by DistroKid use the URL DistroKid.com/vip/rhett to save 7% off you first year's membership

The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious issue, and one that I wasn't sure I wanted to talk about publicly, but after seeing how the social distancing is affecting musicians and other professional working creative people I thought we should have a dialogue on what the next few weeks/months could look like for musicians. My wife Tilly and I are discussing the outbreak, and looking at some of the silver linings in this current situation. 

This episode is brought to you in part by DistroKid & Sweetwater.

Tomo Fujita is one of my favorite guitar players to follow on social media, he has an incredible feel for not only playing, but teaching as well. In this interview I learn more about Tomo's history, how he got into teaching and what it was like having a you John Mayer as a guitar student. 

Follow Tomo on Instagram @tomojustfunky

This episode is sponsored by DistroKid

When I first heard from Kenny Greenberg, I was slightly star struck. He's almost exactly the musician I want to be "when I grow up" He does everything from tour the world playing stadiums with the likes of Kenny Chesney & Bonnie Raitt to scoring films and TV shows as well as producing albums for some of Nashville's best. In this episode, we talk about how he got to where he is today, what its like playing for thousands of people, and some of his favorite gear.

Brett Papa started teaching lessons on YouTube in the very early days of the platform, since then he's gone on to influence millions of players and work with some of the best players in the business. In this episode we talk about the future of Guitar youtube and why we both love Divided By 13 amps. 

Mark Agnesi has been the face of more than one important guitar institution, his time at Norman's Rare Guitars lead him into his new role at Gibson guitars starting this past year. In this episode we talk about Mark's journey to where he is today, as well as the ups and downs of trying to rescue a company from bankruptcy. 

Rod Castro grew up in Los Angeles and his career as a session and touring guitarist has taken him to some pretty amazing places. In this interview, Rod drops some serious knowledge on life as a working musician and what it takes to make it in the world of pop music as a guitarist. 

Follow Rod on instagram @iamrodcastro

My wife Tilly and I sit down to wrap up season 1 of the Backstage Journal Podcast by looking back on the last 20 episodes, rambling about random topics and answering a few listener submitted questions. 

I sit down with Rick Beato and discuss the past 6 years working together, how the music industry has changed and how YouTube has changed how we make a living as musicians. We also discuss what it takes to get into music professionally today. 

Dave Onorato is a good friend of mine, and the most knowledgeable person I've ever met when it comes to any and all things guitar related. He has taught me so much over the years and in this episode we talk about how he got into music, why he loves Atlanta and why tube amps may become a thing of the past sooner than you think.

Follow Dave on Instagram @dojoguitarrepair