“Eric Clapton played with a stately authority. It’s missing in guitar today. It seems every great player has to play very fast. It can be distasteful, honestly”: Scott Holiday says Slowhand’s slow hand is still the gold standard for expressive playing

Eric Clapton and Scott Holiday.

As a young guitarist on the way to carving out his own gutsy blues rock sound in Rival Sons, Scott Holiday was heavily influenced by Eric Clapton.

Like so many of his peers, Holiday cut his teeth learning rite-of-passage riffs such as Sunshine of Your Love by Cream and Steppin’ Out from Clapton’s brief but hugely significant tenure with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.