Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into a ’68 Super Reverb) play “Lady Love Divine,” one of the fine tunes from his latest album, “The Wolves Are Coming.” Catch our interview with Philip in the April issue. Read Now!
Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into a ’68 Super Reverb) play “Lady Love Divine,” one of the fine tunes from his latest album, “The Wolves Are Coming.” Catch our interview with Philip in the April issue. Read Now!
One of the least un-derstood aspects of American guitar history is the role of musical instrument distributors. It’s one thing to be able to manufacture guitars, but quite another to get them to customers, especially in an era when your purchase was likely to be from a local store or teacher (excepting mail order). Enthusiasts […]
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Calling Steve Dawson a “roots” artist seems a disservice to a musician so eclectic and wildly talented. On Eyes Closed, Dreaming, he effortlessly mixes earthy rock and roll, soul, Hawaiian, country, and blues highlighted by dextrous slide and superior acoustic fingerpicking. When he’s not recording and touring, Dawson hosts a podcast called “Music Makers and […]
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Jamie Kime’s first solo record, Alleys, displays a mix of lush guitar tones, poignant soundscapes, and evocative panoramas. We recently sat with him to discuss it, and his recent gig touring with Zappa Plays Zappa project, featuring Franks Zappa’s son, Dweezil. Was there a theme when you started recording Alleys? A lot of the tunes […]
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Extreme’s sixth studio album – their first since 2008’s Saudades de Rock – was a long time coming. With only a live album released in 2016 to satiate disciples, Six is a recording that will satisfy the devout, yet pique interest from late-to-the-party fans. Vocalist Gary Cherone, bassist Pat Badger, and guitarist supreme Nuno Bettencourt […]
In no apparent hurry, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter just released his first solo album – at age 73. The guitar flash from Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers brings his six-stringing to the fore, even having the chutzpah to cover “My Old School.” Here, it’s a raucous jam, full of the wild-ass licks Skunk used so […]
To properly perform the music composed by his father, Frank, Dweezil Zappa had to revamp his playing style. The fruits of his labors can be heard on his new solo record, Via Zammata, where Zappa steps from the shadow of his father with compelling melodies, interesting juxtapositions, and a compositional style all his own. Via […]
When Epic Records dropped Steve Earle in ’85 after a series of fiery but commercially unsuccessful recordings, Nashville was in panic mode. The frothy, easy listening mainstream country of Kenny Rogers and others had finally bored fans to the point they quit buying and listening. The industry desperately needed new blood. Within a year they […]
Though he is today largely forgotten, blues aficionados recognize Pee Wee Crayton as a legend. “The little man with a big sound” dominated the charts briefly in the years between T-Bone Walker and B.B. King. Though his legacy could rest solely on the guitar break in 1954’s “Do Unto Others” (the first significant recording made […]
Flavorful Jazz on “Dedicated to You” Jazz guitarist Jorge Garcia brings many flavors to his musical table. Here, his ’77 Ibanez Artist helps him exhibit a bit of “Dedicated To You,” the tasty title track from his latest album. Read our review in the August issue. Read Now!
The Fishman Loudbox Mini is just what its name says – a small amp that delivers the company’s renowned audio in a loud, portable, non-hernia-inducing package. Weighing just 21 pounds, the two-channel Mini packs 60 watts, one channel with a 1/4″ jack for guitar, the other an XLR jack for microphone or preamp. There’s also […]
Sure, we all drool over Fender Custom Shop axes, but those instruments are sometimes out of wallet’s reach. Coming to the rescue is Fender’s new American Vintage II series, which attempts several things at once: on the surface, it offers period-accurate re-creations of classic planks, down to tiny details, but more importantly, delivers them in […]
In 1953, Leo Fender started planning a new standard guitar – the Stratocaster. His partner, Don Randall, who headed Fender Sales, Inc., came up with the name before the design was even completed. Of course, the new Fender would compete with Gibson and Epiphone professional models. But Leo intended even more. He believed his continued […]
When it comes to identifying guitars, basses, amps, and effects, nobody knows it all. Anyone save for the true specialist, whose interest is focused on a particular model, make, or era, knows there’s an impossible mountain of detail concerning materials, specs, and luthiery techniques for the thousands of vintage models. By itself, the heralded triad […]
In his decades of playing, Walter Trout has served as lead guitarist for John Mayall and Canned Heat, and forged a respectable solo career. But to say he’s been “living the blues” in recent times is putting it mildly. VG recently interviewed Trout, who just three months prior had undergone a liver transplant. He was […]
In 1950, Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster. The first solidbody electric Spanish guitar to bear his soon-to-be-famous name, its thin profile, light weight, and utilitarian dual-pickup configuration combined to make the guitar an immediate success. Gibson, which had dominated the electric-guitar market for years with its archtops, entered the emerging electric solidbody market after approaching […]
For Paul Gabriel, the opportunity to work with fellow guitarist Duke Robillard happened decades after they’d met and first played together, but Gabriel finally garnered Robillard’s production and playing services for his latest album, What’s the Chance. Gabriel has recorded with Harry Chapin and Rory Block, and toured with Michael Bolton, but it was get-togethers […]
Given his busy career as a player and in-demand producer, it’s not surprising that singer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson needed more than three years to complete his new album, Rare Birds. When you’re in the studio with the likes of Father John Misty and Roger Waters, well, your own stuff is bound to take a backseat. For […]
In contrast to her last few, politically-focused albums, Eliza Gilkyson considers this a “love letter to the Old West.” Revisiting her folk roots through originals, covers, and traditional favorites fits her lineage well – her late dad, singer Terry Gilkyson, was one-third of the ’50s folk trio The Easy Riders and a successful composer in […]
What good was selling a newfangled electric guitar back at the dawn of the revolution if you didn’t have an electric guitar amplifier to go along with it? Any significant brand that offered a lap steel or electro-Spanish model in the early days of rock and roll also needed to offer an amp in order […]
This lineup reunites Carlos Santana with guitarist Neal Schon and other members of the 1970–1973 Santana band, reigniting their unique mix of Latin-rock, soul, jazz-rock fusion, and heavy Afro-Cuban beats. Listen to “Shake It” for a modern spin on old-school Santana, Carlos jamming on the wah-wah for the main track, while Schon is let off […]
