Jonny Wickersham

Social D Guitarist Does ’70s Cali Rock

Best known as the Les Paul Junior-slinging guitarist stage left of Mike Ness in Social Distortion, Jonny “Two Bags” Wickersham speaks with a laid-back SoCal drawl and peppers his conversation…

Chris Duarte

Texas Guitar Makes a Comeback

Chris Duarte photo courtesy Carol Howell/Loophole Entertainment. Blue Velocity, the latest record from the Chris Duarte Group, is a rarity in today’s music world – a knock-down, drag-out, “crank ‘er…

Steve Lukather

Sun Shine

Steve Lukather has been a busy professional guitarist for 45 of his 63 years, as a founding member of Toto, revered session musician who played on countless hits, and solo…

Fretprints: Johnny Meeks

Rock-and-Roll Guitar Pioneer

In the 1950s, “rock” music was a melange of blues, country, and hillbilly that also snared elements from boogie-woogie, gospel, Western swing, doo-wop, and prototype R&B. Called “rockabilly,” its emissaries…

Mick Mars

Different Flavors, Different Way

Guitarist Mick Mars’ long-discussed solo album is finally done. The Other Side of Mars is crushing modern metal with gothic touches, violins and violas, prog-like soundscapes, and more. If you’re…

Jussi Jaakonaho

Sunburst Finnish

There’s a vibrant instro-guitar scene in Finland and among its chief architects is Jussi Jaakonaho. Well known as a producer and engineer, his first solo album, Ghost Riot, is a…

Remembering Vic Flick

From Bond to the Beatles

The music world lost session legend Vic Flick on November 17, at age 87. While not a household name, Flick’s soundtrack riff in James Bond movies became one of the…

Blackberry Smoke

Beyond Southern Musical Borders

Comparisons between Blackberry Smoke and earlier Southern-rock bands may be inevitable, but the Atlanta-based quintet takes such observations in stride. “That’s way better than being compared to the Bay City…

Oz Noy

Dishing Out More Twisted Blues

Oz Noy is talented enough to pay the bills not only as a first-call New York session cat, but also as a prolific creative force in contemporary fusion. His current…

Tony Gilkyson: Country-Rocker, Punk

Tasty licks On A Vintage Kay An alumnus of country-rock’s Lone Justice and punk-rockers X, Tony Gilkyson plugged his vintage Kay Sizzler into a ’64 Fender Princeton Reverb for a…

Robert Randolph

The Sacred Steel, Family, and SRV

Living testament to the versatility of the pedal-steel guitar and a rarity in pop music, Robert Randolph adroitly addresses the challenge of acting as front man of the Family Band…

Charlie Ballantine

Midwest Expressive

Befitting a guitarist from America’s heartland, Charlie Ballantine’s mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot of guitar sound and style. His instrumental work is beautiful…

Michael Manring

Bass Convergence

Most music fans who learn that the eclectic trio 3Below is all bass players will react with, “You gotta be kiddin’!” However, musicians who appreciate the unusual will stay for…

Ralph Towner

Fifty Years and Counting

As a young musician, Ralph Towner wrote “Icarus,” a revolutionary jazz piece that became a crossover hit for the Paul Winter Consort. Later, the classically trained guitarist (also a fine…

Joe Negri

Royal Handyman, Jazz Legend

Long before becoming Handyman Negri on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” he had already been a teen guitar prodigy, first-generation bopper, and a peer of the giants of jazz guitar. Though New…

Aldo Nova

Fully Engaged

I did a lot of disappearing acts in my career. And when I disappear, I disappear,” Aldo Nova says with a chuckle. “You don’t hear anything about me.” The Canadian…

Jol Dantzig

Back to Hands-On at Hamer

Jol Dantzig with a Hamer Monaco III. Photos courtesy Jol Dantzig. When the Hamer Standard first appeared in an unassuming black-and-white ad in a guitar magazine in the mid 1970s,…

Zakk Wylde

Stripped Down BLS for Unblackened

When Zakk Wylde was asked to record a new DVD/CD package, he decided to give his Black Label Society fans something different – Unblackened, a live acoustic/electric performance featuring Wylde…

Joe Satriani

Satch's Surfin' Turns 20

Photo: Lisa Sharken. It’s been 20 years since the release of Joe Satriani’s landmark album, Surfin’ with the Alien , the instrumental platter that put “shred guitar” on the map…

Michael Schenker

Rocking Reunion

Michael Schenker has been part of many live releases over the years, and one of the most intriguing is his latest, Michael Schenker Fest Tokyo, which sees the man known…

Jake E. Lee

The Legend Returns

Jake E. Lee found fame replacing Randy Rhoads to co-write two of Ozzy Osborne’s most popular albums – Bark At The Moon and Ultimate Sin. It cemented his place in…

Billy F Gibbons

Return of the Revvvv

Every time Vintage Guitar sets up an interview with the redoubtable Billy F Gibbons, lead guitarist/vocalist of the legendary Texas trio ZZ Top, it’s always a matter of “expect the…

Hannu Könönen: Surf Stirred with Rautalanka

From Finland’s Icy Fjords Hannu Könönen used his home-assembled guitar to play “Lets’s Surf to the Dawn,” a track from “Sound Recycle Machine,” the latest album by his band, The…

John Fogerty

The Life and Times of John Fogerty

It would seem that, for decades, John Fogerty has had his finger on the pulse of the record-buying public. After all, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the band he formed as the…

Philip Sayce

Proactive Perseverance

Philip Sayce is a living, breathing, godmonster beast on the Stratocaster. But his chops, tone, feel, and great songs don’t come out of thin air. The man works hard. His…

Darryl Jones

Stones’ Side Man, Ron Wood Fan

“Unofficial” Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones, who replaced Bill Wyman in 1994, readily admits that playing with the carousing rockers has been a revelation compared to working with stern jazz…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz

Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like “Kashmir,” “Little Wing,” and a classical spin through Joni Mitchell’s…

Tommy Castro

A Penchant for the Blues

Tommy Castro is known as a hard-working musician with a penchant for the blues. The rep is well-deserved. “One year we had 350 gigs,” Castro notes. But his attitude took…

Jimmy Nalls

1951-2017 Guitar Stars Honor a Fallen Hero

On June 22, the musical journey of guitar great Jimmy Nalls ended due to the effects of Parkinson’s Disease and injuries sustained in a fall at his Nashville home. He…

Dan Auerbach

Black Keys’ Road Map Back to Blues, British Rock

Forget about the classic quartet. Forget the power trio. Forget any preconceived shortcomings you may have concerning a rock-and-roll duo. There’s no denying it – the Black Keys crank out…