ERIC STECKEL

What does blues mean to you?

My love affair with the blues began over 20 years ago when my father brought home Family Style by the Vaughan Brothers. From that point forward, I was hooked on any music that has feeling and is played from the heart. The blues is all about making people stop in their tracks and feel an emotional and visceral reaction to the groove.

Who are your blues guitar heroes?

The ones that pushed the envelope and opened eyes and ears to the greatness of the genre. At the top of that mountain for me is Gary Moore. I also grew up listening to SRV, EVH, Dann Huff, Zakk Wylde, Duane Allman, Warren Haynes and many others.

What was the first blues song or lick you learned?

The classic 12-bar, 1 - 4 - 5 blues turnaround was the first thing I played on a guitar at only eight years old.

What do you try to achieve in your playing to make your style and sound unique?

I incorporate ’80s hard rock and modern metal elements into my blues guitar playing, which makes my approach quite progressive, even in 2021. The way I dial in my tone and my choice of gear — high-gain amps, zero pedals — are also rather unique to blues. My righthand technique also comes from more of a metal and hard-rock background, which adds pinch harmonics and attack to my blues playing.

How do you interpret the blues for a modern audience?

My live performance style and the way my albums are mixed/mastered is modern and progressive.

What are your favorite pieces of gear?

It’s been an absolute dream come true for the last three years to have my own signature model with one of the finest boutique guitar brands on the scene today: Knaggs Guitars. I also love my Mezzabarba amplifiers from Italy and my recently launched signature “Candy” humbuckers from Seymour Duncan.

What song in your catalog best exemplifies your approach to the guitar?

“Solid Ground” from Grandview Drive is the quintessential blues-metal track that sums up my approach, tone, vibe and style in one song.

CHRIS BUCK

What does blues  mean to you?

Music with soul and heartfelt expression. I’ve never understood the urge some feel to patrol a genre’s borders. If it’s real, sincere and comes from a place of genuine longing for self-expression, let it in. Any genre would be better for it.