Stephen Perkins

Guitar Center Senior Manager of Content Max Lauer-Bader joins the company’s CEO Gabe Dalporto to reflect on the biggest moments from Inside the Noise Season 3, including the return of Drum-Off and conversations with artists such as Stephen Perkins, Jimmy Eat World, Dave Kushner and others. Dalporto also shares how these interactions with artists are helping to shape Guitar Center's future—from creating better in-store experiences and supporting emerging musicians to building stronger creative communities for players.

Episode 9 of Inside the Noise season 3 keeps things close to home, as Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto talks to Velvet Revolver guitarist, Emmy-nominated composer and Guitar Center Senior Director of Artist Relations Dave Kushner. In a warm, honest, funny and instructive discussion, Kushner shares stories of perseverance, surviving setbacks, his longtime friendship with Slash and building a sustainable career in the music business.

Hoobastank guitarist Dan Estrin joins Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to revisit the band’s origins at Agoura High School, where the local scene also produced future members of Incubus and Linkin Park. Estrin also recalls writing “stupid” songs with singer Doug Robb on a Tascam four-track and growing up in Agoura Hills before the area had a Guitar Center or other attractions.

Backstage at the Vans Warped Tour 2026, Mayday Parade guitarist Alex Garcia spoke with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto about the band sneaking into early Warped Tours, making friends with artists while on the road, why he obsessively “Shazams” unknown music while shopping and the changing “stage-scape” of guitar gear.

Taking a break from their Vans Warped Tour set, Jimmy Eat World—lead guitarist/vocalist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind—joins Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto backstage to discuss the 25th anniversary of the alternative-rock band’s platinum-selling Bleed American album, collaborating on songwriting and how the business of making music has changed.

Gibson Vice President of Product Mat Koehler hangs out with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to discuss the undeniable attraction of vintage guitars, the company’s Murphy Lab recreations of nearly unobtainable vintage classics, and how Epiphone allows the team to play around with new and more contemporary franchises. Koehler also dives into how the Gibson Custom Shop and Murphy Lab continue closing the gap between vintage originals and modern recreations, and explains how Gibson balances its historic legacy with the needs of today’s players and artists.

Drummer Stephen Perkins sits down with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to talk about his contributions to Jane’s Addiction, Porno for Pyros and other bands. Perkins also shares the musical philosophy that has made him one of rock's most inventive drummers and reveals how his approach to drumming evolved to synthesize rock, alternate rock, jazz, African, Latin, swing, Indian and other styles.

Gibson Director of Brand Experience Mark Agnesi talks with Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto about enthusiastically looking through the Musician’s Friend catalog when he was ten years old, his experiences working with vintage instruments at Norman’s Rare Guitars and how Gibson Custom Shop replicas are getting more and more like vintage originals.

Good Kid guitarists Jacob Tsafatinos and David Wood talk to Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto about how they forged ahead when the band had thousands of listeners, but no booking agent would touch them. Now an indie-rock success story, the Canadian band reveals how it grew its massive audience by mostly ignoring old-school media, relying instead on finding listeners through gaming culture, Spotify playlists, Twitch, TikTok, YouTube, anime fans, Reddit threads and social-media shares.

Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman joins Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto to share the story behind how the music festival grew from a risky idea into a cultural phenomenon that helped launch acts such as No Doubt, Sublime, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Katy Perry, Simple Plan and Sum 41.