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Artists
Joey Molland
The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was part of a quartet signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, yielding glorious AM hits like “Come and Get It,” “Day After Day,” and “No Matter What.” The foursome fell into obscurity and tragedy a few
Rockin’ Independence Day
Vintage Guitar has put together a Rockin’ 4th of July playlist. Listen and enjoy! Spotify is free or available without ads via a paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search…
Alexander Dumble 1944-2022
Recalling an Eccentric Genius
Howard Alexander Dumble, iconic amp designer and builder, passed away January 16, 2022, after suffering a stroke. He was 77 and had been dealing with heart issues including Atrial fibrillation…
Walter Strauss
Right-Hand Man
West Coast fingerstylist Walter Strauss has a remarkable picking technique – powerful and surprisingly percussive – as heard on his latest release, For Melody, Wherever She May Find Me. Strauss…
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Duke Robillard – Lowdown
Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set for release February 20 on Nola Blue Records. “When thinking about a powerful song to launch the album, I chose a hard-rocking Tom Waits tune
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David Bowie’s Young Americans
David Bowie was always creatively restless. The English musician decided to step away from the glam rock he’d recorded for a few albums concluding with 1974’s Diamond Dogs, which included a few songs with tinges of soul, R&B, and funk. On tour promoting the album, he played a handful of soul covers. Bowie had long
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Fretprints: Cream’s Disraeli Gears
Supergroup Alpha
Jack Bruce claimed Cream was two bands – live trio and studio group. Live, bassist Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker were renowned for their highly improvisatory, powerful performance that was unprecedented in rock. Moreover, they were actually a jazz group (“…we just didn’t tell Eric,” Bruce said), as exemplified by their excursions
Rocco Prestia
The Power of Tower
Rocco Prestia Photo: Neil Zlozower. Bass great Jeff Berlin calls him “my all-time favorite groove player.” The equally formidable John Patitucci proclaims, “The guy has not only been a serious…
Steve Stevens
Moxy at the Roxy
Steve Stevens earned stardom as Billy Idol’s songwriting partner and guitarist in the ’80s. The Grammy-winning New York City native has also recorded with other major artists and released his…
Kenny Burrell
Playing It, Meaning It, Living It
Few can claim the title of living legend. Kenny Burrell is just such a person. In fact he’s more – he’s living history, past, present and future. His credentials are…
Six-String Kicks
Wood from Famed Bowling Alley Set to Sing
Few things scratch America’s cumulative itch for nostalgia like Route 66 – the famed wagon-trail-cum-highway that offered passage to those migrating west from Chicago in the mid 19th century, then…
Pop ’N Hiss: The Black Crowes’ Shake Your Money Maker
Hard To Handle
At the dawn of the ’90s, rock and roll was not in a good place. MTV had spurred a craze of dance videos and arena-rock acts, while shredders and hair-metalists…
Have Guitar Will Travel 088 – Kevin Bernier and De’Wayne
In Ep 88 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Kevin Bernier of the Suffers, and with power-pop singer De’Wayne. Kevin tells how the Suffers…
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Check This Action: Up Jumped Elmore
When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never heard a bad Elmore cut, and I’ve heard nearly everything he recorded. Everybody knows that he set the standard for slide guitar in electric blues, but he was also a fantastic singer and wrote some
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Javier Batiz
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80. Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John
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Josh Meader
Jazz Evolution
Josh Meader is a jazz and fusion player who breaks ground with virtuosity that’s never flashy for its own sake. On his new album, Tide of Times, the young Aussie ace blends styles on a dime, hybridizing music before our eyes; videos online include an especially stunning non-album rendition of “Misty.” It’s fascinating, seeing Meader
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Chris Walz
Debut, Long Time Coming
Chris Walz has done his share of performing. He played young Woody in the stage production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song. From the late ’90s to 2001, Walz toured and recorded with banjo player Greg Cahill’s Special Consensus bluegrass band. And for 10 years he took the role of guitarist Fred Hellerman in Weavermania, a
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Greg Koch
Way Of The Gristle
On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love for Muddy Waters. Flying V blues master Larry McCray drops by with the Memphis Horns, and the result is a passionate pentatonic party with soul and fireworks. How did this album come about?Devon Allman had
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Rik Emmett
Canadian Custom
Rik Emmett is a master of many guitar styles and other artistic endeavors. As co-lead vocalist/guitarist in the hard-rock trio Triumph from 1975 to ’88, he experienced life as a rock star, then released a string of solo albums, a book of poetry, and an autobiography. His latest project, Ten Telecaster Tales, is a book
Foghat’s Scott Holt And Roger Earl Go “Drivin’ On”
Latest Lick From Legends Of Boogie-Rock Foghat guitarist/frontman Scott Holt and founding drummer Roger Earl peeled off this exclusive take on “Drivin’ On,” the first single from the band’s…
Carlos Santana
Musical Outreach
Carlos Santana’s creative drive is obsessive, restless – and relentless. For his latest album, Blessings and Miracles, he pooled the cosmic energy of his wife (renowned drummer Cindy Blackman Santana),…
Lightnin’ Malcolm’s One-Man Wizardry
First-Rate Blues with Juke Joint Swagger Lightnin’ Malcolm learned blues first-hand from legends of the genre, and it shows! Here, he plays “Jungle” from his new album, “Eye Of The…
Chris Thomas King
Bluesman For The New Millennium
Me, My Guitar And The Blues is the uncompromising new release from acclaimed guitarist, bluesman Chris Thomas King. The album echoes inspired, atmospheric, authentic Delta/Bayou blues journeys from King as…
Wayne Kramer
You Don't turn in your card
I hadn’t seen Wayne Kramer, lead guitar for Detroit’s legendary MC5, in 25 years, yet there we were shaking hands and hugging each other, trying to get in as much…
Marshall JMP50 “Plexi”
Kids wanna rock? Plug into your plexi and bow to the mighty crunch. Marshall amps of the company’s first 10 years are interesting for having thrown up classics of different…
Freddie Salem
Freddie Salem, who joined The Outlaws as they were rising to headliner status in 1978, died September 23 from complications of cancer. He was 70. Born in Akron, Ohio, Salem…
Phil DeGruy
Laughin’ Matters
Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that. His flashy, inventive playing is complemented by amusing asides and…
Phil Collen
Diamond Mine
Few groups radiate the sheer joy of being a famous, hard-working rock band than Def Leppard. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers recently released their 12th full-length album, Diamond…
Pop ’N Hiss: Wishbone Ash’s Argus
Twin-Lead Loadstone
Founded in 1969, Wishbone Ash attained fast fame in the U.K. with its meshing of intricate twin-lead-guitar passages and harmony vocals. With their third album, Argus, Andy Powell and Ted…
Ty Tabor’s Six-String Meditation!
King’s X Guitarists’s solo work is mindful, complex Ty Tabor used his Player Strat (with a JB Jr. pickup at the bridge) to play this cool rendition of “Insane,” from…
Jon Butcher
Back to Barefootin'
Photos courtesy Jon Butcher. A little more than a decade ago, guitarist/vocalist Jon Butcher described his affiliation with the then-new quartet Barefoot Servants as, “The best thing I ever did.”…
John Scofield and his Trio!
Fusion Legend Offers Sample From Latest Album, “Uncle John’s Band” John Scofield and his trio, bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Bill Stewart, jammed this exclusive take on “How Deep,” during…
Les Sabler
Long-Distance Jazz
Like many musicians, guitarist Les Sabler’s life has been turned topsy-turvy by the worldwide pandemic. Originally from Montreal, Sabler now resides in Nashville, but work on his newest album, a…
Jim McCarty
Detroit Rock Royalty
Playing Detroit in 2013, Joe Bonamassa had a special treat in store for the crowd. “The best, most badass guitar legend that ever came out of this town,” he declared.…
Bob Seger and the Borneo Band
Lakeview High School, St. Clair Shores, Michigan, April ’73
If you were a Detroit kid in the 1960s, it was impossible to cruise Woodward Avenue and not hear a Bob Seger song rattling someone’s dashboard speakers. Perhaps more than…
P.K. Dwyer
Doing something different
P.K. Dwyer didn’t take the normal route to the blues. It wasn’t until he was in his late 40s that his obsession started. “I was looking for a Jimmy Reed…
Ron Wood
Stone Solo
“I’ve always wanted to rock,” gushes 63-year-old Ron Wood, whose journey from the shy 10-year-old washboard player in older brother Ted’s ’50s skiffle group to the renowned veteran guitarist in…
Singing Cowboys
…and Beautiful Guitars
In his interview in the October ’06 issue of VG, David Lindley talked about what grabbed his attention prior to rock and roll. “There was cowboy music,” he said. “I…
Doc Watson
1923-2012
Over a career spanning 52 years, the passage of time only enhanced Doc Watson’s stature. His virtuosity and musical range, merged with an abiding sense of tradition, entertained, amazed, and…
Sue Foley
Femme Flamenco
In a time when pop-music performers rely heavily on post-recording fix-ups and pre-recorded tracks onstage, it’s refreshing – even admirable – when someone takes the “honest road.” Singer/guitarist Sue Foley…
