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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
J.D. Simo
Playing for Elvis
Psych-blues guitar maestro J.D. Simo was the wizard behind the guitar work heard on Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann film starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler. Unlike the actors who…
Alex Masi
Danger Zone
Grammy-nominated guitarist Alex Masi has been maneuvering his way through the shark-infested waters of the music industry since the 1980s. With an impressive catalog that includes everything from high-intensity instrumental…
Steve Vai
Crafting Musical Illusions
Steve Vai photo: Lisa Sharken. Considered one of the most talented musicians on the planet, Steve Vai constantly strives to better himself as a player and musician. He enjoys experimenting…
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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
Brian Tarquin
Shreddin’ for Veterans
For guitarist Brian Tarquin, helping military veterans is part of life. The son of a World War II vet, he grew up hearing stories about the camaraderie and fellowship shared…
Bruce Hall
A quarter century with REO Speedwagon
It has been more than 25 years since bassist Bruce Hall ascended to the low-end stringed instrument position in the platinum-selling band REO Speed
George Lynch
Mr. Scary’s New Empire
George Lynch is one of the premier axe men to emerge in the ’80s. His melodic hard-rock riffs were the driving force behind Dokken and he later launched Lynch Mob…
Lee Ritenour
Lee Ritenour has forged a path as a preeminent session player in the kaleidoscopic Los Angeles studio scene, and a respected solo player. He has been active for decades, and…
Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez
Blues Is Everywhere
6’2″/300-pound Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez is an international emissary of the blues. The French-born son of a Bosnian mother and Spanish father is a favorite at European blues clubs and…
Chris Thile
Thile's New Loar
Photo: Steven Stone. While Chris Thile may well be the best mandolin player in the world, he couldn’t care less. Other musicians might worry about their place in the hierarchy…
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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
One Unforgettable ’60s-Oddity Magnatone
Monster Mash
Drew Moniot and his band, The Sequins, were on top of the world, playing Gibson SGs through endorsement-deal amp stacks as 16-year-olds in 1967. Among their many favorite memories was…
Gwenifer Raymond
Fierce Fingerstyle
Expect the unexpected from Gwenifer Raymond. Born in Wales, England, she was inspired by underground bands like the Pixies and Nirvana, while her deft fingerpicking style was shaped by Mississippi…
Oz Noy & Andrew Synowiec
Musical Combustion
New from Oz Noy and Andrew Synowiec is a guitar team-up highlighting hot licks, high energy, and strong songwriting. The album is Recreational Substance, and post-bop note density is the…
Ryan McKay
Swingin’ Jazz Cat
After five records with his glam-rock-inspired band Crash Street Kids, guitarist Ryan McKay has settled in with Louis Prima, Jr. and the Witnesses. Fronted by the son of a jazz…
Shane Fontayne
Cool Under Pressure
Shane Fontayne has held down the guitar hot seat for top artists including Bruce Springsteen, Ian Hunter, Sting, Joe Cocker, and now, Graham Nash on the Woodstock legend’s new Live…
The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part One
There are many ways for an advertiser to attract attention, and in the history of 19th- and 20th-century print hucksterisim there have been few stones left unturned in the battle…
Have Guitar Will Travel 100 – Brian Venable (Lucero)
In episode 100 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with Brian Venable from the alternative band Lucero. In their conversation they…
Lance Lopez
Hard-Time Music
Several years after being liberated from Supersonic Blues Machine, Lance Lopez is back and better than ever. Wielding hard lessons from the road and the influence of players named Billy,…
Allen Hinds
Flowing
On The Good Fight, guitarist Allen Hinds finds the sweet spot between melodic fusion and good, earthy music for the soul. Joined by a stellar rhythm section, Hinds is a…
Brad Gillis
Weekends and Warriors
Night Ranger came to prominence with the advent of MTV; guitarist Brad Gillis has played with Ozzy Osbourne and accumulated an admirable collection of vintage guitars to use in his…
Kirk Douglas
Music In a Blender
As guitarist on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” “Captain” Kirk Douglas has an enviable gig. He also performs on albums and stages around the world while backing everyone from…
Jared James Nichols
P-90 Proponent
Ladies and gentlemen, Jared James Nichols is bringing savagery back to rock and roll. His weapon of choice – vintage Les Pauls. His latest self-titled album bristles with ferocity where…
Jon Butcher
Beyond the Axis
One of the most-influential guitarists to emerge from Boston, Jon Butcher has just released his 14th album, 2Roads East. We caught up with Butcher as he prepared to tour. 2Roads…
Luther Dickinson
Acoustic Odyssey
When Luther Dickinson isn’t writing and performing with the North Mississippi Allstars or on the road with The Black Crowes, he plays the acoustic guitar – and lots of it.…
Arv Garrison
Forgotten Hero of Bebop Guitar
American music history is fraught with tales of forgotten heroes. In the ’40s, jazz guitarists like Tiny Grimes, George Barnes, Chuck Wayne, and Arv Garrison occupied the space between Charlie…
Warner Hodges
Ahead of His Time, Two Times
Photo: Rusty Russell. Jason and The Scorchers hit the stage with bombast, conveyed true rock-and-roll punch in the studio, and was massively influential. But it never attained superstardom. The band’s post-/neo-rockabilly…
Moeller, Moore, and Dayton serve up a Texas jam
Texas Headhunters gonna getcha! Johnny Moeller and his buds in the Texas Headhunters gathered to jam a bit on “The Headhunters Theme,” from their self-titled album. Johnny is playing a…
Larry McCray’s R&B-Blues Meld
Rust Belt Veteran does “Arkansas” Larry McCray and his bodacious Custom Shop Flying V show us the hard-drivin’ guitar parts from “Arkansas,” one of the songs from his new album,…
Uwe Kruger
Swiss Precision for Americana
Uwe Kruger’s professional musical career began at age 15, when he and his brother, Jens, left their small town home in Switzerland to busk in the cities of Europe. Quickly,…
Elvin Bishop
Havin' the Cake…
Ventura Fairgrounds, Ventura, California – is Elvin Bishop the infamous Pigboy Crabshaw? Well, many agree he is the guitar and the soul behind the birth of country rock – and…
Shedding Light on the Genius…
Mick Taylor
Taylor strums a flat-top with The Rolling Stones in early 1973. Photo copyright Marty Temme. The mid/late 1960s were a fertile and progressive time for rock guitar, with “Swinging London”…
