“My main recording guitar is a 1959 Jazzmaster. I haven’t changed the strings in eight years! They’re completely dead, but I just love the sound of it”: Grant Nicholas on why he doesn’t mind Feeder being called the UK Foo Fighters – or Smashing Pumpkins

When Feeder released Polythene back in 1997, their debut album which produced five singles that remain fan favourites to this day, the Welsh group were hailed as the UK’s answer to The Smashing Pumpkins. 

In similar ways to Billy Corgan and co., it was Feeder’s mix of heavy metal and dream pop that made them stand out of the crowd, appealing to rock fans of almost every kind. It’s why, in the decades since, they’ve shared stages with everyone from U2 and The Rolling Stones to Queens Of The Stone Age and Slipknot.

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Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He’s worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he’s played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).