OFFICAL ILX JOE BONAMASSA CELEBRATION THREAD

fuckin' love this guy

never knowingly heard him play a note but just look at him, he's a treasure

i ask you this in all seriousness: has anyone ever looked less cool playing a guitar

i ask you this in all seriousness: has anyone ever looked less cool playing a guitar

Yes

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-us-president-george-hw-bush-and-political-advisor-lee-atwater-play-78473204.html

TONE MACHINES

https://www.guitar.com/sites/guitar.com/files/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/joe_bonamassa_guitar_rig_2010.jpg

Here, watch him violently shit all over ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" for twelve minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSQwj3s8Y4s

xxpost

http://c7.alamy.com/comp/EFJNAC/us-president-george-hw-bush-and-political-advisor-lee-atwater-play-EFJNAC.jpg

I had Joe autograph my JBLP gold top last year. When Joe hefted it up by the neck he quipped "That's about the weight of a nice sized walleye". (It weighs in at 9 lbs, 3 oz.) I guess you need to be a sport fisherman to appreciate that!

A true story from Joes` recent Bridlington gig.
My mates wife had an empty seat to her right. A dapper little gent in his sixties sat down next to her and was talking on his mobile(cell-phone to our friends across the pond).
"Yes I`m at Brid Spa, some guy called Joe Bonamassa, don`t know anything about him."
We thought he won`t be here for long. After the second song he was jumping about shouting "Joe, Joe, Joe."
To cut a long story short this old chap was now hooked and said," This guy`s better than Clapton and Well

I talked to Joe after a show here in Atlanta several years ago and asked if he would like to spend the following day riding motorcycles with me and some buddy’s here in the Georgia country side. I am a dealer and could have hooked him up for a nice afternoon of riding. His response to me was “No Way” I am not coordinated at all and can hardly drive a car.
I find that pretty funny considering he sounds like 2 guys playing guitar and singing all at the same time.

Joe Bonamassa announces Blues Explosion tribute shows

"Solos are basically 16-to-24-bar marathons. If you run a marathon, you can’t start sprinting, but at the start people need a little fireworks to grab their attention. Then you have to back off and say something with a melody before you start barnstorming." — Joe Bonamassa

I really have to hand it to someone who is the only person in the world who thought the Blueshammer sequence was completely serious.

I made it two minutes into "Just Got Paid," that's all I could do.

He's a Tim Heidecker character, right?

No wait, André Rieu gone electric.

This wiki bit is comedy gold:

Bonamassa went to Nashville and collaborated with three songwriters there: Jonathan Cain, who has written for Journey; James House, known for his work with Diamond Rio...; and Jerry Flowers, who has written for Keith Urban. Bonamassa explained to the writers that he wasn't interested in creating three-minute radio hits, but just wanted to write some serious blues rock.

He's a Tim Heidecker character, right?

nailed it

how the fuck does that 'just got paid' video have nearly eight million views

here's a pacy seven-minute tear through 'taxman' at the cavern club, featuring a decloaked death from bill and ted's bogus journey on bass guitar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgaM43KCqT4

Death played a stand-up if I recall correctly

death was inspired to go electric by the sheer power of bonamassa's tone iirc

I believe that

Thank god. I knew the thread for discussion of guitarists i have only heard of because i read guitar magazines in the late 90s couldn't contain this guy.

Oh, and as far as mainstream music magazines go, well, they've pretty much ignored Bonamassa. In a 2011 American Blues Scene interview, when asked why he wasn’t featured on the Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitar Players of All-Time list, Joe replied, "Have you seen who’s on the cover this week? (It was Snooki.) Rolling Stone has about as much credibility as The National Enquirer."

At this point, it surprises almost nobody that when Joe plays guitar, it’s a “masterclass from a force of nature” as the Lancashire Telegraph said.

Bonamassa was performing at the Brady Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on December 9, when he saw a bouncer harassing an audience member. The blues guitarist took his rare 1951 Fender No-caster in hand and gave the guard a whack.

Afterward, he shared a photo of the incident on his Instagram, along with the following note:

“And to the bouncer who harassed one of our fans up front... That is why you can now tell your family and friends what a 51 Fender No-caster to the head feels like. Don’t ever put hands on my fans again. Consider that a love tap reminder.”

Bouncer otm

oh so standard tuning then. Thank god for that gear rundown!

Listening to Bonamassa for the first time
It's like I got new ears

Are they still doing the Roadhouse reboot? He totally has to be the Jeff Healey character

WTF

Before he reached 18 years old, Bonamassa was playing in a band called Bloodline with the sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger, and Berry Oakley.

https://media.giphy.com/media/WriRAEzCFF9HG/giphy.gif

I strongly dislike this person's clenched anus blues rock

just a regular joe and his axe

https://media1.fdncms.com/connectsavannah/imager/u/original/4055961/bonamassa_--_rick_gould.jpg

Joe Bonamassa is known for his collection of incredibly rare sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standards. But his own signature Gibson Les Paul is a goldtop, created for him by the company in 2008.

Bonamassa recently traded in the prototype of the model at Norman’s Rare Guitars. In the video below, he talks about the guitar and how he felt when the prototype was delivered to him.

“When you’re a kid and you see a Gibson Les Paul, and then something that you’ve idolized over the years shows up at your door and it says [your name] on the truss-rod cover—it was a very special day,” he recalls.

Bonamassa immediately put the guitar to work on the recording of his 2009 album, The Ballad of John Henry, which hit Number One on the Billboard Top Blues chart.

The guitar features Gibson Burstbucker pickups and a black back. “I was trying to make like an early ’57,” he explains. It also has mismatched volume and tone knobs. Bonamassa explains that the different feel of the knobs allows him to know which one he’s grabbing without having to look, which is vital when he’s performing and singing.

Bonamassa explains that Gibson was nervous about the guitar, not knowing if his name had enough clout to carry a signature guitar. “This represented a risk on their part, and it represented a journey for me,” he says.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQWcD5YO8Cw

His favorite guitar is a ’59 Les Paul Sunburst, a “Holy Grail” that he actually takes on the road with him.

“I tour nine months a year,” Bonamassa told Gibson.com, in a 2011 interview. “What am I going to do, come home and noodle with it on the couch? Go, ‘Wow look at this, I’ve got a ’59 Les Paul that never gets used, maybe on a recording here and there.’ I’d rather get a nice case for it--which I did--hire an ex-secret service agent as my security guard--which I did (laughs)--and take it on the road.” In an interview with AmericanBluesScene.com, Bonamassa praised the ‘59’ Les Paul’s extraordinary tone. “I have over 300 guitars, but out of all of them, that one is definitely my favorite.”

Those trademark shades he wears vary with the seasons.

“I have four sets of them,” Bonamassa once told GuitarMessenger.com. “I have the 'hot summer show' ones–called Silhouettes, because they wrap around your ears. That prevents them from sliding off. Then, when you get into the wintertime and the theater’s not that hot, I wear a set of Pradas. I also have a set of Ray Bans and a set of Revos. I’m sure I’ve bought enough sunglasses to put somebody’s kid through college.”

The place you’re most likely to find him, when he’s not on tour, is The Home Depot.

“I’m deep into home improvements,” Bonamassa told a fan forum, in 2006. “I love The Home Depot. I'm good at walking in and picking things out, buying the supplies for the deck or whatever other project is on the list. But I leave the work to the pros. I’m just good at the buying part.”

people really only know joe as a guitarist, they don't realise just how complete a musician he is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXm79DTIw9w

FUCK YEAH

I can't pick which of these quotes is better

I appreciate anyone whose life appears to be a fake documentary.

joe bonamassa: the normcore nigel tufnel

"This one doesn't go anywhere."

"This is Steve he's my guitar's security guard"
"You mean your security guard?"
"Nope. Just the guitar."
"..."
"He also keeps an eye on my sunglasses, but I don't pay him for that."

"Oh my god Joe's been kidnapped! Steve you were right there why didn't you do anything!"
"Hey, I work for the guitar not the player!"

if the ads i see on the sides of local buses are to be believed, his performance here will be the 'guitar event of the year'

shot this at a stop sign the other day

https://s17.postimg.org/qyrlbd1j3/Guitar_Eventofthe_Year.jpg

TACO VS BONAMASSA

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/08/b1/02/08b1026e3c3f42afb36c79a8832683c5.jpg

http://fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/medium/1/bonamassa-mania-miki-de-goodaboom.jpg

http://theguitarbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Tom-Noll-Painting-of-Joe-Bonamassa.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/7d/15/60/7d156032052b9ddbb736c88c79a6196a.jpg

i did not realize that James Burton was still alive

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CRFomx2NqH36MqvcNXwrJR-1200-80.jpg

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nKvhB7AwV5B4hJ5yHLvBBh-1200-80.jpg

https://jbonamassa.com/features/2017/chicago-sun-times-feature/img/article-img2.jpg

https://c7.alamy.com/comp/H2MNYM/joe-bonamassa-in-concert-playing-a-gibson-twin-neck-guitar-H2MNYM.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tP1wV-0Rj3M/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLBJr3IeW0xkkFIe8ENmWElJpbHMEw

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/2044911346479943681/neCT2Whw?format=jpg&name=medium

is that motherfuckin deryck whibley up there??

you're goddamn right it's deryck whibley up there

Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley has started a new YouTube series to show off his electric guitar collection – and the first episode features a holy grail Les Paul that was once owned by Joe Bonamassa.

Whibley is something of a guitar aficionado. Over the past few years, he played Steve Jones’ Sex Pistols Les Paul, recovered the long-lost Gibson that was stolen in 2003, and was reunited with his beloved Iggy Pop Telecaster after it spent 20 years behind glass.

Now, Whibley has revealed he recently purchased one of the most storied Gibson Les Pauls in Bonamassa’s collection.

The Les Paul in question is Lazarus – the 1959 Les Paul Standard ’Burst that was brought back from the dead after a previous owner had treated it to a rather questionable mod job.

Whibley says he bought the guitar a few months ago, after he was given the opportunity to try out a few potential acquisitions from a dealer. Before that, it had been one of Bonamassa’s prized possessions.

Back in 2021, it was recreated as an Epiphone signature guitar. At the time, JoBo explained how he first crossed paths with it, and how it originally landed on his lap with a Cherry Red finish in 2019 after a “guitar geek” hang.

Despite the weird finish, there were telltale signs it was something special – including the frets and hardware – and after the finish was removed, Bonamassa realised he had stumbled upon a holy grail Gibson. It became one of his main guitars, and was played almost every night with him on stage.

Why Bonamassa decided to part ways with such a beloved Les Paul is unclear – he did imply he’d be winding down his collection, so maybe this is a symptom of that – but Whibley is now its rightful owner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc9trwBlwqc

of all the people I'd never expect to appear in the Joe fuckin Bossamanna thread

in the future, everyone will purchase one of the most storied gibson les pauls in bonamassa’s collection for 15 minutes

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i865btT-PkY/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLBaPF9Ubqkk33ARksClk5dmc_NoJg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BMu8VQ_aaEA/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLBqIKuPwNhmfNO_nfgGvJjyFXMXUg

https://ticketswap-image-cdn.b-cdn.net/public/202509/joe-bonamassa-rotterdam-ahoy-24-april-2026-1759213422.image.jpeg?width=750&height=420&format=webp&aspect_ratio=16%3A9

https://img.resized.co/hotpress/eyJkYXRhIjoie1widXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL21lZGlhLmhvdHByZXNzLmNvbVxcXC91cGxvYWRzXFxcLzIwMjVcXFwvMDdcXFwvMDIxMTE5NTJcXFwvSm9lLUJvbmFtYXNzYV9MSVZFLWF0LXRoZS1NYXJxdWVlLUxPVy1SRVMtMjYuanBnXCIsXCJ3aWR0aFwiOjY0NyxcImhlaWdodFwiOjM0MCxcImRlZmF1bHRcIjpcImh0dHBzOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LmhvdHByZXNzLmNvbVxcXC9pXFxcL25vLWltYWdlLnBuZz92PTlcIixcIm9wdGlvbnNcIjpbXX0iLCJoYXNoIjoiZDIzNTllYjU2MWQ2NDBiZDc2NjQzMjkxYTFmOGNiZGFlYWM3OGQ4MSJ9/joe-bonamassa-live-at-the-marquee-low-res-26.jpg

https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c8040bc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1100x825+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff7%2Fc0%2F4106b24b460798726d1bd6a6ac40%2Fbb-and-12-year-old-joe-credit-debra-bonamassa.jpg

https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdTdmYWppNHJrcnF1c2ZjenczbjBodWVrdGltb3kwMGQwbGtieHR6dyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xkF2oiu4cf5JVCzDMO/giphy.gif

https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExc2lhNWowM20xZ3ozaGw1MXlyd3Z5cjFvZTcwNHF2bG50eGtqMmVrdyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/rfdePeF1ssO0A8bfBG/giphy.gif

https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdnd6eGJ0cnNpcXRsejFpN3B5NW5pbzhmZzFhcHQ4cncwdTAzYTFhdiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/X3OkTEBDlhkAfmc33F/giphy.gif

https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNmthdm52dTZjZXV4cnQ1bmVhcjRjazA0cnlvdWw5Y2h0b3ZqdDF3biZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/kAQ27NnW8FnoOLjwwA/giphy.gif

https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExN2Z3N3ptZmJ1Y3d3Nzc4dXZlYXl3dHFpYnVlN3RwaG45a25uNjJtaiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/Bc9NPbRFo1WagqBmnL/giphy.gif

https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExbXI3YjJkcnVrczU0Mmlhc3hrY2x3cGltdWN3ajRjdGU1N2dtY2I3eSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/wd6zJMk6qjN6c3aS9w/giphy.gif

so is there a Joe Bonamassa meme community?

He is a popular topic on r/guitarcirclejerk

https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarcirclejerk/s/RaVe5KnlMI

“I wonder if he has more Spotify listeners than George Thorogood?” I was just pondering to myself. One of them has about twice as many listeners as the other, and I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised which was which.

you guys prompted me to ask my pal who used to work at the company that put out the top guitar mags what edit staff thinks of Boner Master. Only a few as such like him, but he said that his music is what the readership of the mags, or whatever form presently constitutes what used to be known as the readership of Guitar World and Guitar for the Practicing Musician, would make if they had the resources.

I do kinda give the guy credit in that he says that blues music made by black people in the 1940s-1950s is boring to him, and that his shit is Clapton, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green and Humble Pie. This is surely true for most dumbfucks in his position, but most dumbfucks know it's a bad look to admit such a thing and lie about it, and he doesn't.

lol i mean i guess that's a take. i don't think he would ever come right out and say it, but across the board he has a preference for white blues musicians over black ones, it's just so weird. the few times i've bothered to listen to his music it has sounded identical to blueshammer. idk it's like he is some kind of tim heidecker creation or something

i mean i'm not saying anything new or that we don't all know already, i guess that's just his enduring appeal is how he is able to achieve these stunning heights of douchebaggery and it's apparently not a bit

I do kinda give the guy credit in that he says that blues music made by black people in the 1940s-1950s is boring to him, and that his shit is Clapton, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green and Humble Pie. This is surely true for most dumbfucks in his position, but most dumbfucks know it's a bad look to admit such a thing and lie about it, and he doesn't.

― veronica moser, Monday, April 20, 2026 12:24 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

just to be clear, i have seen quotes about how he was influenced by british blues (wouldn't be the first or last modern blues player to say that) but he definitely reveres BB King, Albert King, etc and I can't seem to find evidence that he has said disparaging things about 40s or 50s blues?

maybe not disparaging but i've heard him say something to the effect of "not for me" -- i.e., just sort of dismissive like it was obviously not as compelling as Eric "God" Clapton. but i'd be hard pressed to track it down

"But those guys were my guys – Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page. There's a certain sophistication to their approach to the blues that I really like, more so than the American blues that I was listening to. B.B. King's a big influence – he's probably my biggest traditional influence. I love Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and T-Bone Walker and stuff like that, but I couldn't sit down. I was always forcing myself to listen to whole records by them, where I'd rather listen to Humble Pie do "I'm Ready" than Muddy Waters, you know? I think, the English interpretation of the blues just hit me a lot better, you know?"

I think Joe would be good at SHOCKING ILM confessions.

― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, November 8, 2017 10:07 AM (eight years ago) bookmarkflaglink

ah oh thanks

holy shit i did not realize that henry kaiser has a guitar instructional video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcS1ZvsB-IU