Artur Menezes

Hands gripping the fretboard like his life depends on it, Artur Menezes channels passion, aggression, love, and truth without filter into his music. The Brazilian-born and Los Angeles-based guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer walks a fine line between soulful scorching blues and rip-roaring rock ‘n’ roll. It’s why Guitar Player hailed him as one of the “Top 25 New Blues Guitarists.” It’s why he’s earned honors such as the Blues Foundation’s Gibson/Albert King Award for “Best Guitarist,” a coveted spot on Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, and a Top 3 placement on the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. It’s why he’s left crowds awestruck everywhere from Doheny Blues Festival and Walla Walla Guitar Festival to clubs throughout Europe, South America, and North America. It’s why he’s become the rare presence equally comfortable on a track with Joe Bonamassa or on stage for his own TEDx talk. 

Now, he ignites another era with his 2023 EP, AM/FM [Black Hill Records].

“My vision is to get better on every album,” he states. “This project has some blues elements, but it also has heavy rock and psychedelic elements. Lyrically, I tried to get deeper and more personal. It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before. The decision to go into rock territory was intentional. It happened naturally, and I love it.”

It’s the next seamless step on his journey. Born in Brazil, his mom sang and recorded albums in between her job as a university professor. “I remember watching my mom, she was a huge influence on me. Also my older brother who started bringing rock albums home,” he recalls. Artur developed an obsession with vinyl and religiously listened to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Along the way, he taught himself how to play guitar, performing professionally at just 14-years-old. He made a pilgrimage to Chicago where he jammed blues nightly. Returning to Brazil, he continued to buckle down and hone his chops, opening for the likes of Joe Satriani and Buddy Guy in South America and playing anywhere and everywhere. Eventually, he made his way to Los Angeles and took a gig as an instructor at Musicians Institute. Along the way, he built a fan base by way of albums such as #2, Drive Me, Keep Pushing, and 2020’s Fading Away. The latter boasted fan favorites “Come On” [feat. Joe Bonamassa] and “Fading Away.” 

Kicking off his next era, he recorded AM/FM with producer Doug Boehm. He tracked everything live, giving the music a shot of gusto.

“Doug pushed me to play differently and be myself,” he goes on. “I was really expressing where I’d been in the past few years. It’s definitely honest.”

He unleashes a torrent of feelings on “Change.” On the track, a gritty distorted riff and steady beat underline his coarse cadence as he urges, “Something’s gotta change, had enough.”

“It’s about life change in general,” he observes. “It shows I’m tired of doing everything by myself like I have my whole life.”

His fluid and fiery fretwork ignites “Hurts Like Hell” at an inflection point where dynamic ripping, psychedelic overtones, and robust vocals collide.

“One day, you think things are going to be okay and you’re finally going to be able to breathe, but time passes and you don’t feel better,” he sighs. “You can lose your mind depending on how you feel, so it’s about the fight we have with ourselves.”

The upbeat “She Cold” breaks with blues tradition, and “It’s a song for the badass women out there making the world better,” as he puts it.

Then, there’s the emotionally charged “Abuse Me.” Unfurling as a slow burn, he laments, “Why did it take so long for me to finally see that she was the nicest thing that ever happened to me?”

“Time” stretches past the seven-minute mark and finds him flexing his creativity with evocative lyrics and entrancing phrasing.

“It’s the most personal track,” he notes. “It’s about the realization we’re all going to die. I like to meditate, and I use it as a mantra. Our time on earth is so short. This is all temporary. The instrumental is deep and scary, matching the vibe of the song.”

He chose the title AM/FM as an acronym for “Artur Menezes Fuzz Machine.” Rocking fuzz pedals for “a psychedelic, nasty, and vintage sound,” the name became a joke in the studio when Doug asked Artur to name the ProTools session. He lives up to this moniker with the unmistakable and undeniable fuzzy distorted tone.

In the end, Art’s music is exactly who he is.

“The message is to be yourself and never give up,” he leaves off. “When things aren’t moving or changing the way you want them to, keep going. Don’t stop. No matter what, you’ve just got to do what you love, and it works out. I feel like I’m proof.”