Brad Tolinski is the Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World Magazine (1989–present). He also serves as Editorial Director of Future US’s music division, which also includes Guitar Aficionado and Revolver.
Contents |
Tolinski was born in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He studied Journalism and Philosophy at Wayne State University (1976-1981). In 1985, Tolinski moved to New York City and started working at We Buy Guitars, a guitar shop on 48th Street. He left after a few months and started working at the Digital Music Center, one of the first recording studios in New York that used Apple computers to sample, sequence and record.
While working at the studio, Tolinski started writing for an independent music magazine called Music, Computers and Software. He interviewed musicians such as Roger Waters, Stewart Copeland and Joe Jackson. In 1986, Tolinski became the Managing Editor of the magazine. In 1988, he was recruited to work on a short-lived electronic music publication called Modern Keyboard that folded after just a few issues.[1]
In September 1989, Tolinski joined Guitar World as Associate Editor to help straighten out circulation problems. When the Editor-in-Chief Joe Bosso left in March 1991 to pursue a record industry A&R job, Tolinski was installed into his position.
“I wanted the magazine to convey to readers that we understood what it means to play guitar and be in a band,” said Tolinski in an interview with Rockcritic.com, “And that, above all, it is fun. Taking a dry, technical approach to things has its place, and we certainly are committed to teaching the guitar, but Guitar World wouldn’t be as popular as it is if that’s all there were to it. Our readers relate to us – so much so that when they complain about something in a letter or an email, it’s with the kind of vehemence you usually reserve for a relative. That’s a good sign. We work together like a band – everyone feels like they play important roles in a creative collective, not like some industrial cog. There’s lots of pressures at times, but it’s also fun – and I believe our readers are intuitively hip to that, because it shows up in our writing design, headlines and photographs.” [1]
Tolinski is also the Editorial Director of Future US’s music division, which includes Guitar Aficionado and Revolver. He was heavily involved in the launch of Revolver in the spring of 2000, when it was launched as a general interest rock magazine. After that was discontinued by then-owner Harris Publications, Tolinski decided to turn Revolver into a heavy metal magazine. He says, “My reasoning was that there would be less cost, it would be a more focused audience and there would be more endemic advertising. There was also a gap at the newsstand for an entertaining, well-designed, well-edited hard rock magazine. I wasn’t particularly overjoyed at pulling the plug on the original Revolver – Tom [Beaujour] and I loved making those first issues – but I think Revolver Mach II turned out well, and current editor Brandon Geist is doing really good work." [2]
Tom Beaujour, Greg Di Benedetto, and Tolinski were deeply involved in creating Guitar Aficionado. He says, “[We] noticed that as players matured, their tastes in music and how they viewed the instrument changed. Guitar Aficionado is just a reflection of that. It’s not necessarily ‘high-end.’ You don’t have to be a millionaire to be interested in travel, food, fashion or beautiful guitars.” [2]
Tolinski’s primary instruments are guitar, violin and mandolin. He taught himself to play guitar in the ‘70s. He studied and played classical and jazz violin through college and beyond. He spent a couple years working at a folk and bluegrass music store called The Gitfiddler in Northville, MI, where he taught fiddle and mandolin. He has also played in many bands. Early bands include the progressive rock five-piece October, a new wave trio called The Picture Phones, an industrial rock band called Crash. He currently plays occasionally with Australian singer-songwriter Phillip Foxman. He played the mandolin and violin on Foxman’s album West 4th & Charles.[3]
Tolinski appears in the documentary Classic Albums: Deep Purple – Machine Head.
He hosts a special interview Guitar World Sessions with Slash.[4]
Tolinski is interviewed at Revolver's Golden God Awards in 2011.[5]
Tolinski was on the panel of judges for Guitar Center’s King of the Blues Contest in 2011.
Tolinski wrote program notes for the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
| Date | Title | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 1995 | Guitars That Shook the World: A Star Studded Collection of the World's Most Famous Guitars | Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt, Tom Beaujour |
| Sept 1, 1997 | Guitar World Presents Stevie Ray Vaughan | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt |
| Nov 1998 | Guitar World Presents Alternative Rock | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt |
| Jun 1, 1999 | Guitar World Presents Classic Rock | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt |
| Apr 1, 2002 | Guitar World Presents Nu-Metal | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski |
| Jun 1, 2002 | Guitar World Presents Pink Floyd | Alan Di Perna, Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski |
| Oct 1, 2002 | Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski |
| Sept 30, 2004 | Classic Hendrix: The Ultimate Hendrix Experience | Sally Crick, Brad Tolinski |
| Apr 15, 2010 | Guitar World Presents Metallica | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt |
| Apr 15, 2010 | Guitar World Presents Van Halen | Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski, Harold Steinblatt |
| Sept 27, 2011 | The Faces, 1969-75 | Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, Brad Tolinski |
Tolinski's latest book is Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page for Crown Publishing and is due out in September 2012.[2]