King Crimson affiliates Beat release live video for classic Frame By Frame Starring Steve Vai, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Danny Carey, Frame By Frame comes from the upcoming album Beat Live, out next month Louder · Aug 8, 2025
“I wound up joining Spinal Tap in Phoenix and played bass along with Adrian Belew on Big Bottom. It was a huge comedy honor”: The chance encounters that led Abby Travis to play bass with Beck, Elastica, The Bangles and The Go-Go’s The “pinch-hitter of bassists” explains why she prefers groove over technicality, how she approaches joining an established band, her Spinal Tap audition, and why she can’t release her next solo album Guitar World · Aug 4, 2025
“My hand started getting numb and it would stay numb from the moment that I woke up, all the way until soundcheck. It was a little scary”: Adrian Belew reflects on having his left hand repaired – and how his playing is recovering Belew was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome during his BEAT tour alongside Steve Vai, Tony Levin, and Danny Carey Guitar World · Jul 24, 2025
“Asked if Going For The One was about God, spirituality or the oneness of all people, he said no – it was about putting a tenner on a horse race. You’re almost better off not knowing that!” Steve Hogarth on his hero Jon Anderson The Marillion man was so moved by the experience of hearing Yes for the first time that he wrote a song about it Louder · Jul 9, 2025
BEAT share live clip of Neal And Jack And Me as they announce new live release King Crimson-related quartet BEAT will release BEAT LIVE in September Louder · Jul 2, 2025
“The band had already drifted from its original vision. The group broke up…Somehow we absorbed the fact and kept going”: The story of King Crimson’s remarkable Beat era What happened when the eternally unpredictable prog machine returned in the 80s with an Anglo-American line-up and delivered Discipline, Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair Louder · Jun 18, 2025
Watch pro-shot video of a full King Crimson set from Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Steve Vai and Danny Carey The 100-minute video features pro-shot, multi-camera footage of BEAT playing highlights from King Crimson's eighties catalogue Louder · Jun 6, 2025
“They can steal pretty much everything. They haven’t figured out a way of stealing the live experience. And they still have to pay for that!” Adrian Belew on survival, orchestra music and Frank Zappa Now touring with King Crimson offshoot Beat, the Bowie, Shatner and Hancock collaborator has long been confident that the future is secure on the road – which pleases him because he loves it Louder · Apr 23, 2025
“With deference to everybody in Beat, my function is to amuse myself and hopefully you. I can’t do music from 45 years ago”: Why Bill Bruford demoted himself from the King Crimson, Yes and Genesis league Bill Bruford retired in 2009 and later sold most of his equipment to Tool’s Danny Carey. Then he found he wasn’t finished on stage – and he’s come back re-energised Louder · Apr 1, 2025
“It is beautiful... it’s clean and it works great, and it does everything I need”: Steve Vai shows us just what’s needed to play ‘80s King Crimson as he offers tour of his custom-built BEAT rig If the Fractal Axe-Fx III is doing the heavy lifting for the effects, Vai's indomitable tech, Doug MacArthur is the power behind the tone MusicRadar · Feb 27, 2025
“Jesus, that was hard! But I got it. I welcome the challenges”: Guitar hero Steve Vai reveals the difficulties of playing King Crimson music - and how he gets by with a little help from Robert Fripp “I’m a fan and want to play the exact notes,” Vai says MusicRadar · Feb 18, 2025
“Try playing Three Of A Perfect Pair without feeling your fingertips!”: Adrian Belew has carpal tunnel surgery following tour with prog supergroup BEAT The former King Crimson guitarist was operated on by the surgeon responsible for the first successful human hand transplant in America MusicRadar · Jan 30, 2025
“Throughout the Beat tour, my left hand kept going numb and burning like fire”: Adrian Belew recovering after undergoing carpal tunnel surgery The “world-renowned” surgeon who took charge of the surgery is a King Crimson fan Guitar World · Jan 30, 2025
“Adrian and I connected on everything – we even went to the Whisky and paid $5 to see Van Halen play in a one-third full room”: Cult guitar hero Rob Fetters on his friendship with Adrian Belew – and the time they raced home to try tapping after seeing EVH The Raisins co-founder has returned to making his own music after years of commercial work. He looks back on his fruitful friendship with Zappa sideman Belew – but can’t predict if they’ll reboot their former band Guitar World · Jan 27, 2025
Guitar World · Jan 15, 2025 “We get past our second show and I get an email from Robert. At the end, he said, ‘Can I make a suggestion?’” How Robert Fripp helped Steve Vai tailor his King Crimson playing on the BEAT tour with one piece of advice After watching clips of one of the early BEAT shows, the King Crimson guitarist had some words of wisdom for his stand-in regarding an especially tricky track
Louder · Jan 13, 2025 "After a lifetime listening to hard rock and heavy metal I discovered Talking Heads and realised how good music could really be": Talking Heads open up new worlds on Remain In Light In which Talking Heads seamlessly merged funk, afrobeat and early hip-hop rhythms with their more abrasive art-rock ideas
MusicRadar · Jan 7, 2025 “A lot of the guitar parts were totally within my ability, but there were a couple that I just couldn’t navigate”: Steve Vai reveals the King Crimson riff that had him beat and the tip from Robert Fripp that helped him nail it Celebrating the ‘80s material of prog trailblazers King Crimson, the BEAT Tour gave Vai a welcome fix of “high-information music” but some of Fripp’s material pushed him to the limit
Guitar World · Jan 6, 2025 “This is a guy who worked for Frank Zappa. Frank said to him, ‘Whatever you do, don’t learn how to read music.’ He's all-creative –he's a miracle, really”: Steve Vai on BEAT, being a virtuoso in his 60s – and the Fripp riff he just couldn’t master He reflects on how Frank Zappa helped him and Adrian Belew, the value of learning from rather than competing with other players and changing rig for his tour with Joe Satriani. But who’s going to be in the SatchVai band?
Guitar World · Dec 28, 2024 “Anti-colonialist anguish, hope, joy and the search for connection, all through his guitar. That’s what makes a guitar hero”: Guitarists of the Year 2024 – the players who took 2024 by storm Slash made a blues record. St. Vincent boggled our minds again. And Grace Bowers blew everyone away… Here we take a look at the players who made 2024 a banner year for the instrument
Guitar World · Dec 27, 2024 “You can rehearse until you’re blue in the face, but once you hit the stage, all bets are off”: How King Crimson was reborn at the hands of Steve Vai and Adrian Belew 2024 Year in Review: The all-star Beat tour brought King Crimson’s music to thousands of eager prog fans
Guitar World · Dec 23, 2024 “My stock answer was, ‘No.’ Most people who approach me to do something like that are looking to relive the glory days of ’80s rock”: Why Steve Vai dropped his anti-supergroup stance to help revive some of King Crimson’s most celebrated work BEAT has been celebrating King Crimson’s 1980s albums, with Adrian Belew and Steve Vai’s new guitar partnership at its core
Louder · Dec 23, 2024 “I can’t say what it will feel like…I’m wise enough to know I’ve got to hear this before judging”: How King Crimson offshoot BEAT moved from an all-star dream to reality When Adrian Belew failed to persuade the 80s line-up to reunite, he had to come up with another way of bringing that decade’s three albums back to life – and he did it
Louder · Dec 23, 2024 The official film of King Crimson's legendary 1982 Munich show is now free to watch online Watch Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew and Tony Levin unleash the King Crimson beast
Guitar World · Dec 21, 2024 “He stuck his head out and said, ‘Can you give me a ride home?’ Next thing I know, I’m driving Frank Zappa to Laurel Canyon”: When cult guitar hero Rob Fetters went to pick Adrian Belew up from a Zappa rehearsal – and ended up giving his idol a lift In the late 1970s, Fetters swung by the studio to pick up Belew, but ended up picking up a rather famous plus one for the journey home
Louder · Dec 21, 2024 “He said he reflected the craziness around him – he’d see other people go nuts and write about that”: Frank Zappa’s talent for using popular music to sell unpopular music, by people who helped him Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Mike Keneally and Don Preston discuss dealing with the filthy freak’s genius up close – and what you’re missing if you haven’t investigated his catalogue