“The crowd went crazy. Somebody threw a 9-volt battery, and it hit me right above my eye”: Ricky Byrd on charged encounters onstage with Joan Jett and how Jeff Beck turned him onto smaller amps

Ricky Byrd wears a weathered biker jacket and throws a pose as he plays a Telecaster on the stoop of a NYC apartment.

Ricky Byrd has a new album out, NYC Made, and the session ace and former Blackheart is feeling pretty good about all things guitar right now. Yes, he admits, he should practice more – he should have learned to read music, too.

But in this quickfire interview with Guitar World, reflecting on the first songs he learned, first electric guitar, and the one he would save if the house went on fire, he says he has done all right. And it’s hard to argue with that.