Happy Traum

Folk Guru: 1936-2024

On July 17, folk music lost one of its guiding lights with the death of Happy Traum at age 86. A major player in the Greenwich Village and Woodstock scenes,…

Lemmy Kilmister

Lessons in Longetivity (and Loud Music)

Motörhead bassist/vocalist and heavy metal icon Lemmy Kilmister will, in a few years, be 70. But the enthusiasm for his craft – and the decibel level at which his music…

J.D. Simo

Remembering Duane Allman

Chicagoan J.D. Simo began playing professionally at age 10 and just five years later was on the road full-time, eventually ending up in Nashville. He faced tough times while making…

Pat Martino

1944-2021

Music suffered an incalculable loss with the passing of Pat Martino, who died in his sleep on the morning of November 1. An icon of the jazz world, he leaves…

Classics: June 2022

David Hood’s Alembic Bass

Like the engineers and musicians who, in the ’60s and ’70s, helped create legendary songs at FAME Studios and its offshoot, Muscle Shoals Sound, Frank Manno is a diehard music…

Peter Stroud Keeps His Feet, and Keeps Movin’

On “10,” As Always

He has played with Dreams So Real, Pete Droge, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow. It’s the latter gig that occupies his playing time these days, while much of his “down”…

Brent Rowan

The Right Tool for Every Studio Job

“Nashville Cats play clean as country water” according to John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful. He might as well have been referring to Brent Rowan. One of a select few…

Tom Guerra

Rock and Roll Swagger

After 15 years and four albums with Connecticut trio Mambo Sons, Tom Guerra just released his first solo album, All of the Above. The CD is a collection of hook-laden…

Chris Bishop

Wizards and Technology

Riff rockers Crobot have been promoting their first album, Something Supernatural, with a live show offering full-bombast rock, contagious funk, and science fiction. The band’s success is owed in part…

Jay Jay French talks Freddie King!

Guitarist/author Jay Jay French grabbed his ’53 goldtop and friend/bassist Bobby Held for this run-through of Freddie King’s “The Stumble.” Read our interview with Jay Jay and review of his…

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…

Rik Emmett

Triumphant Return

Triumph was one of the leading arena-rock acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Striking gold and platinum with albums including Allied Forces, Never Surrender, and Thunder Seven and…

Charlie Starr

Celestial Guide

“It’s hot! 77 degrees,” exclaims Charlie Starr from a hotel room in Augusta, Georgia, a few hours before the third date of his band’s latest tour. Even better than winter’s…

Charles Moothart

Fuzz: Sons of Sabbath

While ’80s metal is past its heyday, the proto-metal of the late 1960s and early ’70s is making a huge comeback, thanks to younger bands re-imagining the saturated sounds of…

James Mastro

All Texture, No Clutter

As one of the guitarists in Ian Hunter’s Rant Band for the past 17 years, James Mastro is responsible for providing some of the texture that gives the legendary singer’s…

Have Guitar Will Travel 091 – Kenny Vaughan

In Episode 91 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, host James Patrick Regan circles back with Kenny Vaughan, guitarist in Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives. Kenny talks about how he started playing…

Dave Stewart

Six-Strings, Studios, and Songs

Guitarists often cite instruments as sources of inspiration. For musician, songwriter, and producer Dave Stewart, it wasn’t a ’57 Strat or a ’Burst that recently caused a creative flurry, but…

Blu DeTiger

Funk-Pop Pioneer

When she was seven years old, sibling rivalry spurred Blu DeTiger to get a bass so she could play along with her brother on his new drum kit. After honing…

Randy Meisner

Randy Meisner, bassist and co-founder of the Eagles, died July 26. He was 77 and suffered complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on March 8,…

Blackberry Smoke

Beyond Southern Musical Borders

Comparisons between Blackberry Smoke and earlier Southern-rock bands may be inevitable, but the Atlanta-based quintet takes such observations in stride. “That’s way better than being compared to the Bay City…

Jim Weider

Shinin’ On

Few American guitarists have roots in Americana as deep as those of Jim Weider. For 15 years following The Band’s reformation in 1983, he was the sole guitarist, contributing heavily…

Nick Moss – clean and tasty on “Scratch N Sniff”

Instro-rock, fully greased Get ready to have your funtime socks knocked off, ‘cuz this exclusive Nick Moss run through “Scratch N Sniff” is dangerous! A track from his latest album,…

Hands On

Lenser Twists Musician Portraiture

In 2012, photographer Marc Mennigmann conceived of shooting musician portraits in a very different way – looking beyond faces and instruments. The result is the Hands Project, a growing collection…

Tom Feldmann

No Need to Sell Your Soul

“And the Oscar goes to…” If they gave out Academy Awards for the best guitar instructional film, Tom Feldmann’s latest on Robert Johnson would be a shoe-in. We rarely review…

Snowy White

British Blues Deluxe

There’s a reason Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, and Roger Waters secured the services of Snowy White – his extraordinarily soulful playing. White’s latest solo album, Driving On the 44, is…

Greg Howe

A New Wheelhouse

Greg Howe is a globe-trotting, guitar-clinic-teaching, concert-performing fusion monster. He’s known for taking risks and pushing his playing into fresh environments. His latest album, Wheelhouse, shows the guitarist coming full…

Jerron Paxton

Country-Blues Scholar

Hailing from Los Angeles, Jerron Paxton is a remarkable bluesman, able to conjure sounds of the rural, interwar South through his voice and fingerstyle guitar, as well as banjo, harp,…

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…

Sunny War

Love and Nothingness

Eclectic folk-punk stylist Sunny War’s latest album, Anarchist Gospel, is a break-up album mixing black folk, acoustic gospel, and symphonic trappings. She’s backed by ethereal moods, rustic textures, talented guests…

Ronnie Earl

Redemption, Reconciliation, and Reinvention

Ronnie Earl is one of the most prolific blues guitarists working today. And though his solo career now spans almost three decades, he shows no signs of slowing down. While…