No Cover Charge Podcast

Join the NCC App for free! Sign up free for early access to podcasts, giveaways, backing tracks, lessons, and more. What do you get a guitarist who already has everything? Tyler sets out on a mission to find the perfect housewarming gift for Jared James Nichols, leading to the discovery of one of the wildest vintage guitar pedals ever made—the legendary Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser. After putting the pe...

🎸 Learn more, get early podcast access, free backing tracks, giveaways, and exclusive lessons at  ⁠nocovercharge.com⁠ What happens when you sit down and actually  learn  from some of the greatest guitar players on the planet? In this episode of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols revisit unforgettable lessons and licks from guests like Greg Koch, Paul Gilbert, Mary S...

Join the NCC App for free! Sign up free for early access to podcasts, giveaways, backing tracks, lessons, and more. Tyler Bryant joins Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols for one of the most unique No Cover Charge episodes yet. Instead of a traditional interview, the guys head to Tyler Bryant's incredible Crosstie Studio in Nashville and build a brand-new song from scratch. Watch the songwrit...

Join the NCC App for free! Sign up free for early access to podcasts, giveaways, backing tracks, lessons, and more. In Episode 42 of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols talk life on the road, the reality of being a modern touring musician, writing riffs that actually work on stage, and why live rock music is still thriving in 2026. Jared breaks down riffs from his new...

Join the NCC App for free! Sign up free for early access to podcasts, giveaways, backing tracks, lessons, and more. Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols hit the road for a full-on Nashville guitar safari, exploring some of the coolest guitar shops in Music City in search of weird vintage guitars, hidden gems, legendary amps, and dangerously tempting gear. From rare Flying Vs and double-necks to He...

Join the NCC App for free! Sign up free for early access to podcasts, giveaways, backing tracks, lessons, and more. Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols trade their favorite guitar licks, riffs, bends, tapping ideas, and “how did you DO that?” moments in one of the most fun episodes of the No Cover Charge Podcast yet. From Metallica and Zeppelin to Jerry Donahue, Satriani, blues phrasing, harmonic...

Join us in the NCC App for free Sign up free for early access to podcasts, lessons, backing tracks, and more. In episode 39 of the No Cover Charge Podcast, Paul Gilbert stops by, straight off the tour bus... and gives us everything. Guitar legend Paul Gilbert sits down with Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols for an unfiltered hour of guitar wisdom, tone talk, and live playing. Paul breaks down h...

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Mary Spender joins Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols for a deep dive into songwriting, touring, performance anxiety, fingerstyle guitar, and the realities of building a music career online. Mary performs a brand-new unreleased song from her upcoming album, shares wild open mic stories from New York City, talks about finding her authentic voice as an artist, and s...

Want early access to episodes, free backing tracks, community forum, giveaways, lessons, and more? ⁠Join us in the NCC App for free at nocovercharge.com On this episode of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols sit down with legendary guitarist and tone guru Pete Thorn to talk touring with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, the art of guitar tone, auditioning for icons like Don...

Join the brand new NCC App for free! Visit the Backstage community forum in the NCC App to enter to win cool stuff every month, starting with this sweet new Danelectro guitar! Big things are happening! In this episode: we launch the new No Cover Charge App, paired with a glorious guitar giveaway, announce Jared's new partnership, and a huge career milestone: landing on the cover of one of the...

Guitarists need backing tracks. Get yours for free in the No Cover Charge app! In this episode of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols dive deep into the art of creating inspiring backing tracks—from groove, feel, and timing to chord movement and tone. You’ll watch them build tracks in real time, jam over them, and break down what makes certain tracks push your playing...

Don Felder, legendary guitarist formerly of the Eagles, joins us at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville for an unforgettable episode of The No Cover Charge Podcast. 🎸 In Episode 34, Don shares the inside story of writing Hotel California, from its original key to the iconic dual guitar "deedily's" with Joe Walsh. We dive into his songwriting process, vintage gear, and the wild jo...

This spontaneous hang yielded some short clips that broke the guitar internet recently, like this one . While this is a mini episode, it's too good not to share this extra footage of an impromptu B Bender jam with Episode 33's guest, Trey Hensley. Make sure to check out that episode if you missed it, and thanks for supporting The No Cover Charge Podcast! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠...

In Episode 33 of  The No Cover Charge Podcast , Trey Hensley joins Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols for an in-depth conversation on acoustic guitar mastery, bluegrass roots, and life as a modern guitar virtuoso. Trey shares incredible stories—from playing the Ryman Auditorium at age 11 with Earl Scruggs to winning a Grammy alongside Taj Mahal—while breaking down his right-hand technique, flatp...

Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers joins Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols on  The No Cover Charge Podcast  for an honest, hilarious, and deeply insightful conversation about guitar, songwriting, and life on the road. Zach shares stories from touring with Shinedown, working alongside Brent Smith, and learning firsthand from legends like B.B. King. They dive into tone vs. feel, why “less is more” st...

By popular demand, the Weird Gear episode is back! In this episode of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols explore bizarre, experimental, and downright confusing guitar gear—from MIDI guitars and synth pedals to phone-based effects and mutant fretboards. Expect unexpected tones, hilarious trial-and-error moments, and a reminder that weird gear is where creativity lives...

Step inside Nerdville East with Joe Bonamassa for one of the most in-depth guitar conversations with the guitar legend yet. In Episode 30 of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols talk vintage tone, legendary Les Pauls, rare Fender finds, and the real truth behind guitar collecting. From pristine 1959 bursts to historic road-worn Strats, Joe breaks down what actually mat...

The cosmic country king Daniel Donato joins Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols on Episode 29 of the No Cover Charge Podcast for a deep dive into guitar, tone, and the philosophy behind his genre-blending sound. Daniel shares stories from his early days playing Nashville’s Broadway circuit, the players who shaped his style, and how rhythm guitar, Telecaster tone, and improvisation all play a role...

In Episode 28 of The No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols sit down with Nashville guitarist and educator Kent Crawley for an inspiring deep dive into guitar technique, musicality, and creative improvisation. Kent breaks down his unique approach to the fretboard, from chromaticism and voice leading to gospel and jazz influences that shape his playing. Along the way, the con...

What happens when you plug a real 1959 Gibson Les Paul into  Gary Moore’s actual 1966 Marshall Bluesbreaker JTM45 … in a Nashville garage? In Episode 27 of  The No Cover Charge Podcast , Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols crank up Gary Moore’s original amp and Guv'nor pedal, pair it with a legendary ’59 Burst, and chase the iconic tones of Jimmy Page, Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons...

Please enjoy this bonus mini episode featuring one of the godfathers of rock 'n roll, George Thorogood. Lonesome George has cultivated a 50+ year career through talent, hard work, and an incredible energy that you can't help but be magnetized to, and even though this short interview is only 15 minutes, you can rewind it back again to pick up new pieces of gold that may have gotten overshad...

In Episode 26 of the No Cover Charge Podcast, Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols recap their wild trip to the NAMM Show: 6 a.m. flights, surprise jam sessions, insane vintage guitars, creator run-ins, booth takeovers, and some of the most unhinged (and hilarious) moments we’ve had yet. We jammed our way through California, from LA to Anaheim, and ended up running into YouTube heavyweights, testi...

What happens when  Dweezil Zappa  opens the vault? 🤯 In Episode 25 of  The No Cover Charge Podcast , Tyler Larson and  Jared James Nichols  step inside Dweezil’s studio to explore his wildest, weirdest, one-of-one guitars — including a half-fretless SG experiment, microtonal monsters, the heavily-modded "Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar" Les Paul from  Frank Zappa , and the Kramer gifted to...

Legendary Los Angeles session guitarist Tim Pierce joins Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols for a deep, honest conversation about feel, pocket, creativity, and surviving a lifetime in music. Tim has spent decades recording for some of the most iconic artists and albums of all time, including Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Elton John, and countless others. From playin...

Joe Bonamassa returns to The No Cover Charge Podcast for a jaw-dropping episode featuring one of the most legendary guitar amps of all time: Gary Moore’s original 1989 Soldano SLO-100. Tyler Larson and Jared James Nichols head to Nerdville in sunny Los Angeles to hear this historic amp cranked, discuss its provenance, tone, and wild journey from the UK to the U.S., and geek out over Gary Moore, Wa...