Tommy Smith

Leogun’s Led Zep Connection

Some of the loudest buzz – literally and figuratively – in music surrounds the London-base power trio Leogun, fronted by guitarist/vocalist Tommy Smith. The band’s neo-retro sound has drawn comparison…

Fretprints: Pee Wee Crayton

Tiny Titan of Blues Guitar

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…

Michael Sweet

Frontman, Shredder

The yellow-and-black attack of the Christian-metal band Stryper has returned. The band’s new album, Second Coming, helps mark 30 years of preaching their metal gospel and selling more than 10…

Donald “Duck” Dunn

Memphis Blues Legend

Click Here to view Donald “Duck” Dunn Obit. In the history of popular music, the story of Memphis-based Stax Records stands as a unique, enduring legacy. Memphis was the focal…

J.J. Cale

Up Close & Personal

J.J. Cale is the last person you’d expect to get the up close and personal “Behind The Music” treatment. Interviews with him are rare, and for years most of his…

Steve Morse

Return of the Dixie Dregs

Steve Morse has been revisiting the past. A member of Deep Purple since 1994, this year he reunited with the original lineup of Dixie Dregs, a band that was key…

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…

Chuck Loeb

“Most Wanted” For Melody

From its terrific melodies to the meat-and-potatoes playing that makes him a mainstay of smooth jazz radio, guitarist Chuck Loeb’s latest CD, Presence, is full of the stuff for which…

NGM Hosts “Medieval to Metal” Exhibit

String Spectacle

The National Guitar Museum, which has toured the U.S. for more than a decade, recently opened an exhibition titled “Medieval to Metal: The Art & Evolution Of The Guitar.” We…

Dennis Dunaway

Earwigs, Alice, and Beyond

Lungs burning, sweat soaking their shaggy hair in the Arizona sun as miles passed beneath their feet, Dennis Dunaway and Vince Furnier shared endorphin highs along with an appreciation for…

John Pisano

The Godfather of Jazz Guitar

He’s a straight-ahead jazz guitarist who wrote a smash-hit pop song that’s still yielding handsome royalties. In addition, he has recorded and toured the globe with artists such as Tony…

Jim Weider

A Big Step with Big Foot

If you know of Jim Weider, it’s likely from his work with The Band. He took over the post held by Robbie Robertson when Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson,…

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…

Randy Bachman

Even More Business (to take care of)

Of the legendary rock guitarists who also have admirable guitar collections, it’s hard to imagine anyone who’s been more busy gathering than Randy Bachman. In the decade since his first…

Jim Weider

Telecaster Master, Camp Counselor

Ever dream of hanging out with a couple handfuls of guitar legends while breathing fresh mountain air and (mostly) unplugging from the world? If so, Jim Weider has something you’ll…

Steve Vai

Taming The Hydra

After finishing a sold-out tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson for the G3 Reunion concerts, Steve Vai joined Adrian Belew and Tony Levin to perform interpretations of the ’80s…

Jeff “Jabo” Bihlman

Grinder Blues

Guitarist Jeff “Jabo” Bihlman has joined forces with King’s X bassist Dug Pinnick to release a gritty record that incorporates the blues influences of Texas and Chicago. Grinder Blues is…

Pepper Keenan

Down with CoC

It’s difficult enough to be a member of one metal band, let alone two. But Pepper Keenan is pulling double-duty as a member of both Corrosion of Conformity (as singer/guitarist)…

Fab Four’s Big Three

The Beatles’ “Ed Sullivan Show” Guitars, 50 Years On

For Americans, the legend of the Beatles has a very specific starting moment: 8 p.m., February 9, 1964. That Sunday evening 50 years ago, the group appeared for the first…

Robben Ford

Crystal Visionary

Pure is Robben Ford’s first instrumental album since 1997’s Tiger Walk. A work of complex simplicity, it’s also a singular sonic statement on which Ford guides every aspect of melody…

Wishbone Ash

Powell, Manninen, and <em>Elegant Stealth</em>

Fans of Wishbone Ash will consider the group’s newest release, Elegant Stealth, the type of innovative guitar music they’ve grown to expect. Since 2004, guitarist/vocalist Andy Powell and his V-shaped…

John 5

Return of the Tele Terror

Photo: Neil Zlozower. Best known as the scary-looking guitarist for metalmen like Rob Zombie, Rob Halford, and Marilyn Manson, John 5 is also regarded as a country twanger and namesake…

Greg Martin’s ’65 Fender Stratocaster

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online features where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. The latest installment of…

Tinsley Ellis’ new dimension

Unplugged, and Worth the Wait! A prominent blues artist since the late ’80s, Tinsley Ellis grabbed the ’37 National Style O heard on several tracks from his new album, “Naked…

Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts

Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers Band “At Fillmore East.” Like so many guitarists, for Martin,…

Jimmy Leslie

From the Bay to the Swamp and Back

“My intention was to do more of a singer/songwriter thing,” Jimmy Leslie says of his new CD, Surfin’ the Swamp. “The rhythm section I’d lined up in San Francisco bailed…

Greg Howe

Solving the Mystery

Photo: Neil Zlozower. Rock-Jazz guitar virtuoso Greg Howe thought he had it all figured out by his mid teens. “It seemed relatively easy. The first solo I ever learned was…

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…

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…

Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!

Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV, but his new album, “Livin’ My Best Life,” is more…