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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
Robert Cray
Four Nights Of 40 Years
Five-time Grammy winner Robert Cray has always played serious blues. But, early on, he sidestepped a genre that would descend into pentatonic hackery in favor of brilliant songs, soul-drenched vocals,…
Alex Hall
Pandemic Re-Think
Six Strings, the debut EP by 26-year-old Alex Hall, establishes the Georgia native as one of the new generation of guitar-slinging country vocalists. The work is different from the album…
Joanna Connor
Blue-Collar Virtuoso
Joanna Connor’s latest is her most-potent album to date. Best Of Me serves up a feast of guitar styles and genres, all under the banner of the blues. Special guests…
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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
Bill Pitman
The Man From The Wrecking Crew
On a recent episode of his TV talk show, David Letterman mentioned to guest Cher that he’d just seen the new documentary, The Wrecking Crew, which chronicles the coterie of…
Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell is a legend in the annals of jazz guitar history. Emerging from Detroit in the 1950’s with a background in organ trios, he has done just about everything…
Zac Schulze gets straight to it!
If you’re a fan of Cream, Zeppelin, and Rory Gallagher (who isn’t?), you’ll dig Zac Schulze Gang, a British power trio that’s carrying the torch with both hands; they’ve played…
2Frontiers’ Authentic Appalachian Sounds
Exclusive run at “Long Dead Man” When you’re in the mood for old-timey Appalachian music done very well, grab “New Old West,” the latest album by 2Frontiers. Here, Sjoerd Van…
Scott Gorham
Heavy Fire
It’s hard out there for a ’70s guitar hero. With the struggles of keeping older fans happy verses the challenge of presenting new material, it can be an arduous battle…
Jimi Hendrix
Into the New Rising Sun – Speculating on Jimi's Later Career Move's
It has been 40 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix. In his honor, this month we will look at two unexplored aspects of his life and work, including the…
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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
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,…
In Memoriam: John Teagle
Guitarist, historian, and author John Teagle passed away March 26 in New York at age 66 after battling cancer. Teagle recalled being “Born at the height of the original rock-and-roll…
Brad Paisley
Two Vital Guitars From the Collection of a Modern Superpicker
Brad Paisley’s 2011 book, Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, is essentially an autobiography. But really, it’s not so much about…
Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks
Minds Made Up
Collaborations have rendered some of the greatest tunes in the history of music. Whittle the subject to “just” guitarists, and the truth remains – two are often better than one.…
Sam Williams
Sinister Surf
Sam Williams is known as the guitarist for the roots-punk band Down by Law, but now he’s shaking it up with his surf outfit, Black Moon Valley. Their album, Songs…
Pop ’N Hiss: The Black Crowes’ Shake Your Money Maker
Hard To Handle
At the dawn of the ’90s, rock and roll was not in a good place. MTV had spurred a craze of dance videos and arena-rock acts, while shredders and hair-metalists…
Muireann Bradley, Old Soul
Vintage Blues, Vintage L-50 Direct from Ireland, 17-year-old Muireann Bradley indulges us (and tugs at our Led Zep heartstrings) with a rendition of Memphis Minnie’s “When the Levee Breaks.” She’s…
Javier Batiz
The Mexican Mentor
The profile subject’s ingles was definitely better than the writer’s espa
Brad Gillis
Hard Rock, High Profile
Brad Gillis. Photos by Pat Johnson. Bay-area guitarist Brad Gillis has led something of a storied life. He was only 19 years old when he transitioned from playing guitar in…
Phil Collen
Diamond Mine
Few groups radiate the sheer joy of being a famous, hard-working rock band than Def Leppard. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers recently released their 12th full-length album, Diamond…
Fretprints: George Benson
At the height of the disco era, 1976 marked a transition as funk went pop and became the prevalent dance form in clubs and on record. It was also the…
1940- 2024
Phil Lesh
The rock world was saddened to learn of bassist Phil Lesh’s death on October 25, at age 84. Perhaps the definitive jam-band bassist, he was a founding member of the…
Vintage Visionary
The First Golden Age of Ibanez 1973-1982
Thirty-Five years ago, Ibanez was a scrappy upstart guitar company that dared to challenge the big boys at Gibson and Fender. Today, is a dominant force in the guitar universe.…
Whitey Kirst
Life After Iggy
Whitey Kirst is known for smoldering lead-guitar tone and collaborating with punk-rock pioneer Iggy Pop. After four albums and hundreds of shows, Kirst’s 13-year tenure with Iggy went on hiatus…
Paul Gilbert
"How Pat Travers Saved My Soul!"
Any guitarist who can play Emerson Lake & Palmer’s “Karn Evil 9” and nail the keyboard solo is a bad motor scooter. Paul Gilbert is one such guy. From his…
Nicolas Meier
Jeff Beck Sideman Steps Out
If you’ve been to a Jeff Beck concert in the past few years, you may have said to yourself, “Who’s that other guy onstage?” It happens to be Nicolas Meier,…
Tyler Morris and a 1953 Gibson Les Paul model
Tyler Morris and a 1953 Gibson Les Paul model Tyler Morris showcases his 1953 Gibson Les Paul goldtop and GA-70 amp. Keep up with Tyler at www.tylerdmorris.com.
Raul Malo’s Instrumental Side
Mavericks frontman with a vintage Jazzmaster Though he is renowned and beloved for his vocals in the Mavericks, Raul Malo’s new album, “Say Less,” is a showcase for his…
Gretchen Menn
Abandon All Hope
Every musician aspires to create music that will resonate through the ages and Abandon All Hope, by Zepparella guitarist Gretchen Menn, is an ambitious effort based on Dante’s Alighieri’s Inferno.…
Sebastià Gris’ flavorful Two-for One
Fresh from Barcelona Sebastià Gris used his Gibson SG as eye-candy to play a sample of “Clickbait,” from his latest album, “Oli, All i Julivert.” It was custom-finished by…
Burlison & Sugg
Demon Eye, At Your Service
Demon Eye mixes the best elements of ’70s hard rock and ’80s metal, and delivers the goods in tight, dark fashion. The North-Carolina-based quartet recently unleashed its second album, Tempora…
