Joe Bonamassa

Betting On Yourself

The British effect on American blues is undeniable. From the wicked guitar stylings of Paul Kossoff and Mick Taylor to the supernatural resonance of Peter Green and Gary Moore, the…

Mick Ralphs

Good Company

In 1972, one of Britain’s best bands, Mott The Hoople, still hadn’t made any impact on the charts. Its record company, Island Records, was getting impatient. Then, a future rock…

Paul Barrere

The Feats and Famous Friends

Barrere onstage at a recent show with his trusty ’72 Fender Stratocaster. Photo: J. Kosack. It’s been well over a decade since Vintage Guitar talked with Little Feat’s Paul Barrere,…

Del Casher

Checking in with L.A. studio stalwart

Casher with actress Brooke Shields at a soundtrack recording session. He’s called “The Papa of the Wah-Wah Pedal” and has been a top session cat since the early 1960s, introducing…

Trevor Rabin

Return with Rio

It’s hard to believe that 34 years have passed since Trevor Rabin issued a solo album featuring his vocals. But it’s true – Can’t Look Away was released in 1989.…

Steve Morse

Already busy touring and recording with Deep Purple, axe virtuoso Steve Morse has added another dish to the menu – Flying Colors. Featuring well-known aces like drummer Mike Portnoy and…

Have Guitar Will Travel 089 – Liily’s Sam De La Torre and Wild Rivers

In Ep 88 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with Liily’s guitarist Sam De La Torre, and with members of Wild Rivers. Sam De La Torre…

Richard Lloyd

Still Broadcasting

Television always seemed to be from another planet. Alien-like, the band was an anomaly: a dichotomy of punk attitude and intellectual musicianship. To put it another way, they hated hippies,…

Dave Alvin

Return of the Battlin’ Brothers

“The title says it all,” explains Dave Alvin of his reunion with older brother Phil on Lost Time. Known for a long-standing sibling rivalry, they hadn’t recorded new music together…

Robben Ford

Sky Above The Note

 The new album from Robben Ford is packed with beautiful music and the indelible ingredients that for decades have made him a force on guitar. Night In The City was…

Phil Kubicki 1948-2013

Philip Kubicki, a renowned guitar designer and builder who was active in the musical-instrument industry for more than 50 years, died March 18, 2013, at his home in Laconia, New…

Happy Birthday Paul Gilbert

Birthday congrats to Paul Gilbert, who today hits the big 5-0! Paul and his Trio are on tour in support of his album, “I Can Destroy.” They’ll play the U.K.…

Nick Perri

Constant Creator

The elements of life that mold a person are constant and ever-evolving. Influence is all about perspective. Philadelphia-born Nick Perri grew up in a strict Catholic household where pop music…

The Steepwater Band

Taking a spin with Chicago sons The Steepwater Band and their latest CD, Revelation Sunday, is an experience akin to traversing the backroads of American blues and rock, then maybe…

Vivian Campbell

Blues Beyond Belfast

Considering his lengthy resumé, one might expect Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell would have released a solo album long before September of 2005. And Campbell’s efforts in bands such as Dio,…

Classics: January 2024

Bill Woodward's 1953 Gibson Les Paul

Gravitational heavyweights in our culture, beyond baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie, few things say “American” more than music and road trips. This guitar is symbolic of both. One of…

Fretprints: Van Halen

Birth of the Brown Sound

In the late 1970s, hard rock was on the ropes. Always a guitar-dominated form of music, it had been diluted to the point of near extinction. But with the 1978…

Aldo Nova’s 2022 “Paradise”

Rock legend’s thunderous return Forty years after “Fantasy,” Canadian rock legend Aldo Nova has returned with two new projects. One is a semi-autobiographical rock opera called “The Life and Times…

Return Of The Prodigy

Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker is back with an album covering the music of his early days. My Years With UFO is a tribute to his time in that band and features some…

Neal Schon

Spacesaver Sale

Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But don’t dial 9-1-1 for Neal Schon. Holder of 800 instruments…

Nils Lofgren Shines Solo – Again

Star Grabs Vintage J-50 for “Ain’t the Truth Enough? An in-demand sideman for more than 50 years, guitar wizard Nils Lofgren has worked with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street…

Lord Bizarre

Bedlam in Belgium: Electric Guitar & Amp Museum

Ivan “Lord Bizarre” Symaeys with a 1965 Wandré Bikini and an assortment of guitars. All photos by Joe Bigley. When most Americans think of Belgium, it’s usually beer, chocolate, or…

Ricky Byrd

Cool and Greasy

“I wanted to make the type of album I would’ve liked to have heard when I was 13 – cool and greasy,” said ex-Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd of his debut solo…

Mark Sebastian

Hometown Noir

Mark Sebastian’s new album, The Real Story, is a paean to his musical roots in the Big Apple. “About a year ago, I realized I had almost an album’s worth…

Fretprints: Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Blues Man’s Jazzy Side

Stevie Ray Vaughan is the uncontested blues champion of the new age. Though he’s been gone more than 30 years, his music still reverberates and much continues to be written…

Dale Watson

Honky-Tonk Hammerin’

Dale Watson remembers well a conversation he once had with Leo Fender. “Leo gave me a guitar, and it was so shiny and new, I said, ‘Well, I just hate…

Travis Tritt

Studio Snap-Back

It’s not often a superstar performer willfully steps away from creating new music for a decade. For country singer/songwriter/guitarist Travis Tritt, though, it was a move with purpose. “I decided…

Eric Gale

Crystal Vision

Eric Gales’ new release, Crystal Vision, is an autobiographical blues-rock tour de force with inspired twists and turns. Long labeled by myopic music critics as a Hendrix knock-off, Gales actually…

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”…

Howard Leese

Heart-less But Guitar Laden

Guitarist/ producer/ entrepreneur Howard Leese has come a long way since his early days with Heart in the 1970s. He was onboard when the band’s first hit single, “Barracuda,” swam…