• Classics: Norman Harris

    Artists

    Classics: Norman Harris

    Rare Pioneer

    As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band weren’t going to be millionaires anytime soon. So he did what musicians do – side-hustled. But when most were manning the counter at a music shop or serving tables, Harris was up at the crack

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Rick Nielsen

Vintage Phenomenon Forefather

Considered by many guitar aficionados to be one of the “founders” of the vintage collecting phenomenon, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen has long been a sage among those with an…

Fretprints: Ronnie Montrose

America’s Metallic Answer

The cultural and musical hotbed that was San Francisco in the ’60s produced numerous important bands – Santana, Grateful Dead, Steve Miller, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother, and…

Dale Watson

Dale Watson

Keep On Truckin’

The seeds of the latest album from Dale Watson were sown in 1998, when he released The Truckin’ Sessions . The Truckin’ Sessions 2 followed in 2009, and now he…

Phil Chen

1946-2021

His business card read “Phil Chen De Bassman,” and his picks had “OD” after his name, standing for the Order of Distinction award he received in 2014 for his contributions…

Jim Heath

A Reverend By Any Other Name

Photo courtesy of Atomic Music Group. Jim Heath is better known to most folks as psychobilly guitar fiend The Reverend Horton Heat. But on his latest release, he morphs into…

Jol Dantzig

Back to Hands-On at Hamer

Jol Dantzig with a Hamer Monaco III. Photos courtesy Jol Dantzig. When the Hamer Standard first appeared in an unassuming black-and-white ad in a guitar magazine in the mid 1970s,…

Uwe Kruger

Swiss Precision for Americana

Uwe Kruger’s professional musical career began at age 15, when he and his brother, Jens, left their small town home in Switzerland to busk in the cities of Europe. Quickly,…

Jack Bruce

Shadows and (Erstwhile) Short-Scale Basses

Veteran bassist Jack Bruce is back in action with a new album and tour. Best known for his membership in the legendary British trio, Cream (with Eric Clapton and drummer…

Jerry Kennedy

A-Team Guitarist, A-List Producer

Jerry Glenn Kennedy, a 13-year-old who recorded for RCA Victor as “Jerry Glenn,” got the shock of his young life when he walked into a Nashville recording studio in September…

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Rodrigo Sanchez

Cuban Orchestra Helps Create Area 52

Rodrigo Sanchez is one half of the fiery acoustic duo known as Rodrigo Y Gabriela. They have evolved from a stripped-down dual-acoustic-guitar sound to catapult their music in new directions.…

Rob Fleming

From Bowie to KillerStar

KillerStar is no David Bowie cover band. Instead, it’s an uncanny project from U.K. guitarist Rob Fleming and drummer James Sedge, who brought in musicians from many of Bowie’s bands…

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Nancy Wilson

Sister Act

After the release of the acclaimed Red Velvet Car in 2010, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band, Heart, could have rested on their laurels. Instead, the sisters went…

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin

Homage to Ray Price

Vince Gill and longtime friend, collaborator, and pedal-steel giant Paul Franklin share a love of country music history. Bakersfield, their 2013 collaboration, paid homage to the timeless, twang-heavy music of…

Adam Levy’s Wistful Elegance

Vintage ES-335 on “And They All Sang” Famous for supplying charismatic guitar parts while backing Nora Jones and Tracy Chapman, Adam Levy’s latest solo album, “Spry,” is music laden with…

Prodigal Sunburst

Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard

A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything Joe Walsh does brings an undeniable charisma. For decades, Walsh…

Johnny A.

Beck-Ola: Johnny Plays Jeff

The passing of Jeff Beck affected few people as much as it did Johnny Antonopoulos. “It had the same impact as when I heard John Lennon died,” said the Grammy-nominated…

Muireann Bradley

Eire Apparent

The term “old soul” is overused, yet Muireann Bradley effortlessly lives up to it. Just 17 years old, her debut album, I Kept These Old Blues, channels interwar/rural blues into…

Walter Trout

Walter Trout

Battling Back

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…

Classics: Harold “Sonny” Wright’s 1965 Gibson J-45

Growing up 10 miles from Earl Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina with a music-loving father and two older sisters who could impress on the piano, it makes sense that Harold…

Have Guitar Will Travel 079 – Tim Dugger, Ray Fulcher and Drew Castle

Host James Patrick Regan talks with Tim Dugger, Ray Fulcher and Drew Castle for episode 79 of “Have Guitar Will Travel.” Dugger hails from Alabama and grew up listening to…

Steve Morse

Blazing Ahead with Deep Purple

While many classic British bands have hung up their spurs, Deep Purple is not only fully active after 45 years, but absolutely thriving. The group regularly tours around the planet…

Bryan Lee

Have Blues Guitar, Will Travel

One night when Bryan Lee was opening for New Orleans legend Snooks Eaglin at the city’s Rock ‘N’Bowl, Snooks called Bryan up to jam during his set. Lee recalls, “He…

Johnny Winter

Still Alive and Well

John Dawson Winter has been a troubadour for the blues for over 40 years, plying his razor sharp licks from the Texas roadhouses where he first cut his teeth in…

Letritia Kandle

and the Magnificent Grand Letar

Run down the list of early electric-guitar innovators and an all-male group typically comes to mind – Les Paul, Alvino Rey, Charlie Christian, Merle Travis, and the like. However, Letritia…

Marty Stuart

Too Country for Country

Let’s say you’ve been on the country music scene for around 30 years, even though you’re only in your early 40s. And let’s say you’ve served as an instrumentalist for…

King, Landon Visit the Delta

Bucket (List) Full ’O Blues

Five decades after their bands first charted with hit singles, two guitar legends recently reunited for a sojourn to the Mississippi Delta, birthplace of the blues. Mark Landon was a…

Moeller, Moore, and Dayton serve up a Texas jam

Texas Headhunters gonna getcha! Johnny Moeller and his buds in the Texas Headhunters gathered to jam a bit on “The Headhunters Theme,” from their self-titled album. Johnny is playing a…

Jimmy Crespo

Rock Journeyman

The career of Jimmy Crespo has spanned three decades, from his stellar five-year stint with Aerosmith to his recent work on Rod Stewart’s recent world tour. He has also gigged…

Seth Lee Jones

Pedal Pusher

Thanks to giants like Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Sonny Landreth, we’re living in a golden age of bottleneck guitar, with exceptional young sliders arriving regularly. Tulsa guitarist and builder…

Dan Wilson

Akron’s Finest

On Things Eternal, jazz-guitar wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical journey. The album is a celebration of those who have…