Steve Howell Fingerpicks “Stocking Feet Blues”

Solo acoustic homage to rural-blues great Steve Howell is a veteran of blues, rock, and jazz. Here, he fingerpicks a terrific rendition of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Stocking Feet Blues” using…

Lloyd Loar

An Alternative View

The Master Model instruments created at Gibson in the early 1920s are famous for their sound and build. Credit for their design is often laid at the feet of “acoustic…

Jules Leyhe

Bottleneck Breakout

Forget everything you know about slide guitar. Jules Leyhe just upended the genre on Your First Rodeo, an instrumental set that gleefully mixes styles with riveting results. On top of…

Pop ’N Hiss: Hawkwind’s Space Ritual

Primal Cosmic Rock

Among the evolutionary tangents of London’s pop-music scene in the late ’60s were the original stylings of progressive rock, psychedelia, and what came to be known as “space rock.” Bands…

Shane Speal

King of the CBG

In an era of high-tech musical toys, there’s some irony in the fact that the cigar-box guitar – most primitive of homemade stringed instruments – is alive and well.  The…

Nalle Colt

Keeping Old-School Alive

Vintage Trouble has emerged as one of the hardest working bands on the music scene. Laced with an ultra-cool visual style and a soulful vision, singer Ty Taylor and guitarist…

Chris Cain

Tales to Tell

Armed with a new deal with Alligator Records and producer Kid Andersen (of Rick Estrin & The Night Cats), Chris Cain recently recorded Raisin’ Cain, an impassioned blues masterpiece full…

Status Quo’s Francis Rossi

On Guitars, Music, and Elusive Success

“I’m only as good now as I should have been when I was 25,” laughs Francis Rossi, the 64-year-old lead guitarist, singer, and co-composer in Status Quo. “That’s why I…

Kevn Kinney

Small 'N Happy

As any fan of Drivin ’N Cryin can attest, Kevn Kinney at his creative best surrenders little to the greatest singer/songwriters in pop – his message is delivered in succinct,…

Mike Zito

Reemerging with Resurrection

It’s obvious why guitarist Mike Zito’s 2020 album was titled Quarantine Blues, but he’s compelled to clarify the reasoning behind his new release being dubbed Resurrection. “‘Resurrection’ was a song…

Warren Haynes

Gov’t Revolution

Digging through the Gov’t Mule catalog recalls a legacy of great music. More than just another jam band, the group spent the last 22 years not only mining the Southern-blues-based…

Fender Competition Mustang

Souped-Up Starter

So it’s no surprise that Fender built the Competition Mustang, a guitar marketed to players who might also be excited by the thrill of Monte Carlo and Formula One. Fender…

Ritchie Blackmore

Machine Head at 45: Tone Secrets of Deep Purple’s Masterwork

In any conversation about the dawn of hard rock and metal, several bands rise up –  Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Mountain, Grand Funk Railroad, and Uriah Heep. But you simply…

Musical tag-team – Anika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers

Award-Winning Blues, and Beyond! Individually, the husband-wife team of Anika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers have won blues awards, but together they expand the repertoire. Here, Paul uses his ’60 Gibson…

Ted McCarty

I'm Not a Musician

…but the innovations wrought during his tenure with the Gibson guitar company from 1948 to 1965 forever changed the musical landscape for fretted instrument players. As President of Gibson during…

Carl Filipiak

Knack for Jimi

After 20 years of play-ing and recording his blistering fusion of jazz and rock, Carl Filipiak’s latest record, I Got Your Mantra, mixes his mastery of the instrument with his…

John Mayall

1933-2024

Drummer Mick Fleetwood was only briefly a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, but that was enough to launch his platinum career. With the passing of the 90-year-old Mayall on July…

Andrew Hyndryx Gears Up with Kellen Boersma and Phil Faconti

Andrew Hyndryx Gears Up with Kellen Boersma and Phil Faconti Andrew Hyndryx caught up Kellen Boersma and Phil Faconti for a behind-the-scenes look at the gear they played at the…

Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele Hero

It’s one of the most unlikely success stories in music. Armed with a four-string tenor ukulele, a young Hawaiian videos himself playing solo in Central Park. His dynamic instrumental arrangement…

Have Guitar Will Travel 140 – Iain Matthews

In episode 140 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer-songwriter Iain Matthews. During their conversation, Iain shares insights about his…

Ace Frehley dies at 74

As Kiss reached its apex in the mid/late ’70s, “Space Ace” Frehley became the quintessential guitar hero. Supremely influential to a generation of rock players who followed, he died unexpectedly…

Premiere of Seth Lee Jones’ new 110 video!

Filmed at one of our favorite local dive bars, Tin Dog, this is “110.” I played my main guitar, a battle scarred Tele style I built from scratch in 2006.…

Jeff Healey

Musical Renaissance Man

  Since his breakthrough debut in 1988 with the release of his platinum-selling See The Light, Jeff Healey has garnered acclaim as one of Canada’s most renowned six-string exports. Known…

Kenny Neal

Back in the Game

Photo courtesy Kenny Neal. Recent times have been tough for veteran bluesman Kenny Neal. After recently contracting Hepatitis C and undergoing treatment, for the first time in 30 years he…

Nancy Wilson

Beautifully Unbroken

Responsible for guitar-laden classics such as “Crazy On You,” “Love Alive,” and “Devil Delight,” Nancy Wilson has been inspiring musicians for decades. Nancy and her sister, Ann, have churned out…

Snowy White

One Man, One Guitar

Snowy White, one of the finest blues and rock musicians to come out of the U.K., built a career on near-anonymity. Deliberately. “It is my nature,” he explains. “If the…

Reb Beach

There’s no two waysabout it – thanks to MTV dunces Beavis and Butthead, Winger gets no respect. But the band knows how write killer pop-rock tunes, has one of the…

Fretprints: Foghat

Slow Ride to Boogie Wonderland

If the ’70s were the era of good times and excess following the tumultuous ’60s, the boogie band would be its champion. Boogie was a leveler – a style, feeling,…

Roine Stolt

Transatlantic Crossing

Thirty years into a stellar career, progressive-rock wizard Roine Stolt can be heard on the latest – and perhaps final – work from Transatlantic, a supergroup featuring past and present…

John Wetton

1949-2017

Born June 12, 1949, British bassist and front man John Wetton died of colon cancer on January 31 at the age of 67. In a career lasting more than four…