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Artists
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Timm Kummer
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a legendary figure in the world of collectible guitars with a passion for unearthing, restoring, and dealing in rare instruments. Over his 45 years in the industry, Timm has built a reputation for specializing in “true…
Jim Kweskin
Where Jazz Meets Folk
Jim Kweskin grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and in 1958 entered Boston University, placing him near coffee houses at the height of the Folk Boom. Mixing early jazz with folk,…
James Elkington
Windy City Diversity
James Elkington tweaked the paradigm when he began working at a luthier shop before hitting his stride as a guitarist. Born and raised in a small English village northwest of…
John5
Rocker’s new album not what you might think
Don’t let John5’s stage persona fool you. Underneath that peroxide-white hair, sinister colored contact lenses and high-priest-of-evil wardrobe breathes one impressive and versatile guitarist. True, the Michigan-born guitarist (real name…
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Reeves Gabrels’ Newest Reverend Spacehawk
For his gig with The Cure, Reeves Gabrels needed a guitar that could cover a lot of sonic territory. The folks at Reverend helped him create the Spacehawk; the latest version is the Spacehawk Supreme he uses here to play an instrumental take on “Two Chords And A Lie” running through an MXR Super Compressor,…
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Tommy Castro
Circling Back
In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…
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Classics: Tommy Castro’s ’66 Fender Stratocaster
Tommy Castro has never been much for sitting with a guitar teacher, preferring instead to rely on good ol’ time in the saddle to hone his craft. But this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a couple lessons. The guitar entered Castro’s universe in the hands of San Francisco music legend John Newton – known on…
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…
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…
Frank Gambale
Thunder From Down Under
Frank Gambale is enjoying a busy life these days. He recently spent a week playing the Blue Note, in Las Vegas, with Vital Information in support of the recently released…
Michael Bruce
Eighteen Again
Before there was an Alice Cooper, man and solo artist, there was the band called Alice Cooper. From 1969 to ’74, it cranked out seven influential albums with the dual-guitar…
Reunited
Bruce Forman Honors Barney Kessel
From 1957 to ’60, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne recorded four LPs for Contemporary Records as a group called Poll Winners, a byproduct of each…
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…
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Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps
Mad Maxed
As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach to big power, however, would follow several paths. The stories of the high-powered amps introduced by Fender, Marshall, and Vox through the ’60s have been…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Freeman Arthur
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.8 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Freeman Arthur, who is known worldwide for boosting the profile and appeal of the pedal-steel guitar. He is an active session musician and has performed/recorded with artists across diverse genres. Subscribe to our “Overdrive” newsletter for the latest…
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Alan Gogoll
Harmonic Convergence
Hailing from the Australian island state of Tasmania, Alan Gogoll is reshaping acoustic guitar before our eyes. Sure, you’ve heard artificial harmonics, but Gogoll has refined it into a fluid technique that is, quite simply, breathtaking. Heard on his latest, Lioness Lullabies, bell-like notes cascade like a waterfall over each song – truly, it’s something…
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Eric Lindberg
“I’m always trying to do things I haven’t done before,” says guitarist/banjoist Eric Lindberg, who has toured and recorded for a decade with wife Doni Zasloff as the bluegrass duo Nefesh Mountain. “A lot of folks know us as a bluegrass/mostly acoustic band, but I really have been getting back into my personal roots –…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across the face. The band reminded people that melodic hard rock steeped in ’70s influences was supposed to be catchy, fun, and sometimes outrageous. Guitarist Dan…
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Joe Satriani
The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy Hagar, and is now supporting an album co-written with Steve Vai. Does Satch ever rest? The G3 Reunion Tour sent everyone back to the guitar…
Marian Hall
First Lady of the Steel Guitar
There are very few, If any, women mentioned amidst the often discussed legends of the steel guitar, but Marian Hall is one to remember. Marian was part of the West…
Leo Nocentelli
A Meter Keeps Running
The Meters are universally accepted as one of the great funk bands. Their rhythm section work is legendary for its ability to jump on a groove and stay put. One…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Timm Kummer
Season 03 Episode 08 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a legendary figure in the world of collectible guitars with a…
Fretprints: Paul Simon
Postmodern Troubadour: The Simon & Garfunkel Years
Troubadours – poet/musicians active in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, played a defining role in Western civilization. The original singer/songwriters, their trade was telling stories of popular culture…
Reinier Voet’s double-up demo
Gypsy jazz, direct from Amsterdam Reinier Voet shows us bits of “Swing 49” and the solo-guitar piece “Bagatelle Nr1,” both from “Images,” the new album by the Reinier Voet Quartet.…
Ronnie Earl
Stratocaster Royalty
For someone who has been a professional musician for more than 30 years, Ronnie Earl is going through a remarkable production period in his career. In just the last three…
Trey Gunn
Touch-Guitar Tip of the Hat
When profiled by Vintage Guitar in 1992, Trey Gunn was playing a Chapman Stick alongside guitarist Robert Fripp in a band called Sunday All Over the World. Gunn’s two-handed tenacity…
Bob Page
Bob Page, co-founder of the vintage-instrument shop Buffalo Brothers, died December 24 after falling and suffering a head injury at his home in Faial, in the Portuguese Azores. He was…
Vahdah Olcott-Bickford and the Martin Style 00-44G
Special Signature
Of the nearly 200 artists who have been granted a “signature” Martin guitar, only one was given their own style number. It wasn’t Clapton. It wasn’t Cash. Rather, it’s Vahdah…
Jimmie Vaughan
Full Plate, New Strats
After trading football for guitar at age 13, Jimmie Vaughan forged a remarkable career as a blues-roots guitarist, first with The Fabulous Thunderbirds then with a string of solo records…
Mark Lettieri
Baritone Funk
Snarky Puppy’s Empire Central was recorded in front of a live audience and pays homage to the city of Dallas. Deep within the bowels of the band’s sophisticatedly funky 19-piece…
Pete Anderson
Disciple of the Hook
Detroit native Pete Anderson made a name for himself in the ’80s, playing a ton of twang while Dwight Yoakam sang. In the last 20 years, though, he has become…
Revealing Jesse Ed Davis
Douglas K. Miller
Jesse Ed Davis was an unsung guitar hero – unless you were a legend like Eric Clapton, John Lennon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Conway Twitty, Taj Mahal, Jackson…
Joel Shapira
Solo Flight
Guitarist Joel Shapira has released a string of fine recordings, but his latest, In Essence, is his first stab at solo guitar. While the concept has been percolating in his…
Joe Long’s “stack-knob” Fender Jazz Bass
If you’re a fan or aficionado of vintage instruments, odds are that any early-’60s Fender Jazz Bass catches your eye. And “lefty” versions are especially intriguing, given their rarity. The…
Seth Lover
Humbuckers and Other Lover innovations
The history of the musical instrument business is full of stories, from the drab to the miraculous. Some bean counters will busily push their way to the forefront, grabbing for…
Ty Tabor
Digging Deep
King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor’s latest solo album is a guitar-centric meditation on mindfulness and the complexities of existence. With a break from touring, he had time to whip out…
Carl Verheyen
Well-rounded and busy
Carl Verheyen says it all came to him when he heard the Eagles’ album called The Long Run. At that point, he was heavily into jazz, and practicing eight hours…
Roman Bulakhov’s Radical Stew
Ukrainian guitarist fuses…. everything Inspired by Pat Metheny, Greg Howe, Guthrie Govan and others, guitarist Roman Bulakhov fuses rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop – and everything else into a radical, acrobatic…
Pop ’N Hiss: Led Zeppelin’s IV
Heaven Sent
It’s impossible to overstate the influence Led Zeppelin’s “untitled” fourth album – call it IV, ZoSo, Runes, Four Symbols, whatever – has had on musicians of all stripes. Released November…
Pop ’N Hiss: Dio’s Holy Diver
Divine Metal
Vocalist Ronnie James Dio was on a roll as he formed the band that would record his 1983 album Holy Diver. Coming off a successful run in Rainbow and an…
