Daisy Rock's Ruthie Bram has been passionate her entire life about bringing positive messages about overcoming obstances to others through entertainment modes such as singing, guitaring, dancing, and songwriting. Check out our interview with Ruthie below.

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Bibi McGill, Beyoncé's guitarist and musical director, was interviewed for Soundcheck – where women are heard on Ultimate Guitar.

UG: Tell us about your early beginnings in music: What drew you to playing the guitar? Who were your early girl guitar player influencers?

Bibi McGill: I was about 12 years old when I was able to really single out the guitar parts in music. My older brothers and sisters listened to a lot of retro ‘70s soul and funk, which I really like. One of my first concerts I went to was The Isley Brothers when I was about 10, and I saw them about 3 times before I started playing the guitar. I started gravitating more towards rock music because I could hear more of the guitar in it a little better. My parents were really supportive and they used to catch me playing air guitar with brooms and pool sticks. They asked if wanted to play guitar and responded “yeah, sure!” So, I started playing and quickly realized that I was pretty good at it - especially in picking things up by ear - and I was always progressing a little quicker than the rest in my classes.

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Played guitar on Michael Jacksons 3 world tours over 10 years, followed by 3 years with Jeff Beck. She's authored 2 music books.

Batten played lead and rhythm guitar on Michael Jackson's Bad, Dangerous and HIStory world tours, as well as in Jackson’s 1993 Super Bowl half-time performance.

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Here is our latest interview for Soundcheck with Gretchen Menn.

UG: Listening to your debut album, Hale Souls, you obviously have a love for musical composition and a spirit of orchestration that transcends any one instrument. Why did you choose the guitar as your principal tool of expression? What drew you to it?

Gretchen Menn: I originally fell in love with the guitar through guitar-centric music: Led Zeppelin, Eric Johnson, The Dixie Dregs, Frank Zappa, etc. I love the versatility of the instrument. It is one of the only instruments at home, and often featured, in virtually any genre: pop to punk, classical to country, blues to be-bop. Guitars are chameleons—they are intimate in a living room, yet commanding a stadium. They can sound transcendentally beautiful as well as downright brutal. Because of this tremendous flexibility, they allow for a huge expressive palette.

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Share Ross is well known as the bassist from Vixen. Tish Ciravolo, President and Founder of Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, comments: "One of the things I want to mention is that Share Ross was the second artist I signed after Wanda Jackson. She really helped me promote and establish the Daisy Rock brand back in 2001 because she was in Hollywood where I started Daisy Rock Guitars and a huge influence on my playing in the ‘80s. I respectfully sought her opinion and guidance in the beginning of ideas and passions for women in music. Share has never been one to complain... she was always the one trying to help find the answer, the future. She is and always will be a guiding light for women in music."

Check out Share Ross's interview for Ultimate Guitar here.

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There are a handful of things about Viva Voce that lend themselves to a just-the-facts presentation: This songwriting team - Kevin and Anita Robinson - met and married in rural Alabama over a decade ago and made their first four-track demo as Viva Voce in 1998. Since then, they have relocated to Portland, OR, released a number of critically acclaimed recordings and toured extensively including stints with the Shins and Jimmy Eat World.

As for describing the music the Robinsons make-well, that's a difficult proposition. Indie rock? Too polite. Psychedelia? Too old-school. Black-light soul with a heavy-metal heart? Um, is that even a thing? Says Anita, "Basically, with each record we're just trying to find a way to create the music that's been living in our heads since the last one." The couple will release their fifth full length album "The Future Will Destroy You" on June 21st and UG had the opportunity to catch guitarist Anita just a week before the release!

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You may not have heard of her yet, but she’s on her way to becoming a household name. Kristen Capolino has shared the stage and recorded with Les Paul, James Burton, Michael Schenker, Al DiMeola, Earl Slick, Steve Lukather, Jennifer Batten, Doug Pinnick, Wycleff Jean (to name a few).

She’s performed at the "Experience PRS" event and the James Burton International Guitar Festival, she’s been on the Steve Wilkos Show as the lead guitar for Megan McCauley, and she’s featured in two upcoming documentaries, Tone and The Axe Factor about guitar’s great players, alongside Slash, Orianthi, and others! She has guitar endorsements from Gibson, Paul Reed Smith and now DRG who is creating a custom "V" for her! Ultimate Guitar had the pleasure of catching up with her, here’s how it went…

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UG: After re-emerging from the depths of your woodshedding, and configuration of you, can you sum up the description of yourself in one word?

Arielle: Future. Aerial. New. Real.

All of those things describe different spectrums and sides to me. In the end, they all merge to become this new life force that is about to blow everyone’s head off. (in a good way)

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How did you become a part of the punk scene in Los Angeles with bands like X and The Germs; Was this pre-Go-Go’s?

Jane Wiedlin: In 1976 I was in college, in LA studying fashion design. I read about the punk rock scene happening in London and got very excited.

I started making punk rock clothes, and when I went to a store on the Sunset Strip to sell them (Granny Takes A Trip) I met Pleasant Gehman, who informed me that there was a whole scene happening in Hollywood. She gave me a flier for a show at The Masque, and I was hooked! Just over a year later, I formed my first band, The Go-Go's!

I’ve read that you’re “drawn to what frightens you.” Does this apply to your musical style—do you like to challenge yourself as a musician and songwriter?

When I write lyrics I'm often compelled to talk about things I am frightened to admit. I can be quite a fearful person and I really fight it.

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You were one of the founding members and bass player of White Zombie. How long had you been playing bass before the band and how did you learn?

Sean Yseult: I had picked up my first bass one year before meeting Rob and starting White Zombie - but I attribute my ability to learn it quickly to my many childhood years of violin! The tuning of a violin and a bass is the same, as far as the relationship of the notes, and learning to play violin makes bass easy – you no longer have to play by ear, the frets are like a cheat sheet!



Is there any particular reason why you play with a pick instead of finger-style?

I always wanted more attack, and more clarity of the notes. I like writing notey riffs, like the ones I wrote for Black Sunshine, and that kind of bass line is not going to come through without a pick.

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