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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
Michael Lee Firkins
Meditations in Southern Rock
Michael Lee Firkins began his career as the ’80s shred era wound down and grunge began to boom. His out-of-the-box guitar style showcased a blend of country, blues, and hi-tech…
Brian Kahanek
Studio Savvy
Brian Kahanek is a guitar-slinging southerner whose style sits firmly within blues and southern rock. With a perfectionist’s ear for detail, his albums communicate soulful melodies over rich American soundscapes.…
Mick Mars
Different Flavors, Different Way
Guitarist Mick Mars’ long-discussed solo album is finally done. The Other Side of Mars is crushing modern metal with gothic touches, violins and violas, prog-like soundscapes, and more. If you’re…
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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
Jack Casady
Hot Tuna, Part II
Jazz bass great Anthony Jackson once told Bass Player magazine he was drawn to Jack Casady’s “big, rich, metallic sound with a full bottom and a curious, guitaristic way of…
Rex Brown
Still Smoking
Throughout his career, Rex Brown has delivered the low-end as the bassist for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill. But for his new (and first-ever) solo album, Smoke on This,…
Scotty Moore
One of the King's Men
It was our annual Christmas party, closing out 1996. I work for Nashville recording artist Ronnie McDowell. Because we often work with Scotty Moore, D.J. Fontana and The Jordonaires, they…
Vinnie Moore’s Pandemic Musical Inspiration
Instrumental Whiz Adds Vocalists Neoclassical/metal guitarist Vinnie Moore’s latest music features vocals for the first time. Here, though, he sticks to hard-rock instrumental funkiness mingled with melodicism in a passage…
Paul Gilbert
One-Man Electrical Jam
Paul Gilbert’s 16th solo album, Werewolves of Portland, is an ambitious DIY project where he plays all the instruments. From The Beatles to Pat Travers to Brian May, Gilbert’s fretboard…
Joe Perry
Rockin' On Bobo
Although Honkin’ On Bobo has been labeled by some as a blues record, Aerosmith views its new release as being a true rock record – and perhaps the most rockin’…
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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
Jack Petruzzelli
Fab Sideman For Osborne, Wainwright, Smith
“The first time the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, I was in my mother’s womb,” says Jack Petruzzelli. “That was February ’64, but then when they appeared the second time…
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,…
Dave Wyndorf
Tab of God
In the early ’90s, a handful of bands were trailblazers in the realm of “stoner rock”; Kyuss, Sleep, Fu Manchu, Clutch, and especially Monster Magnet. Led by singer/guitarist Dave Wyndorf,…
Woody Harris: Fingerstyle a la Fahey, Basho
Reemergence With a Rare Guitar Woody Harris used his ’76 John Mello guitar (“It has dimensions of a classical guitar, but made for steel strings.”) to play a piece of…
Rocco Prestia
The Power of Tower
Rocco Prestia Photo: Neil Zlozower. Bass great Jeff Berlin calls him “my all-time favorite groove player.” The equally formidable John Patitucci proclaims, “The guy has not only been a serious…
June Millington
Rock-Guitar Hero
Fanny, the legendary all-girl quartet from the early ’70s, kicked to the curb the notion of “they play good… for girls.” Acknowledgement was slow to come for their musical excellence…
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Evolution
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram’s latest album shows the 22-year-old blues prodigy flourishing with maturity and tone for days. Titled 662, the digits reflect the area code of his North Mississippi home.…
Steve Miller
Some People Call Him Rock Icon
Not until after he turned 40 did it occur to Steve Miller that he never really needed to fear whether he’d “make it” in the music business. That may sound…
Scott T. Jones
Midwest Fusion Ace
A lot of guitarists aspire to play jazz-rock, but it’s a high bar. Based in St. Louis, Scott T. Jones hits the mark – and then some, heard on his…
North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson
Smooth Sounds from a Vibratone Luther Dickinson sat with his new Vibratone V2 (being built with friend Chris Roberts) to fingerpick. Catch our review with Luther and our review of…
Poison Ivy
Psychobilly Queen
Formed by guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach and frontman Lux Interior, the Cramps emerged in the spring of 1976, offering up a unique and infectious sound that blended the early roots…
Janne Haavisto
Finnish Instro Auteur
There’s a long history of instro and surf-rock from Scandinavia, perhaps none deeper than that of Janne Haavisto, formerly with Laika & the Cosmonauts. Based in Helsinki, Haavisto is a…
Robben Ford
The One and Only
There’s never been a shortage of young guitar hotshots, but in recent years, particularly among blues players, these phenoms seem to be promoted more for their age than their playing.…
Popa Chubby
Live and Dangerous
Like all great rock and roll, Popa Chubby’s new double album, Live at G. Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC, invokes a sense of danger and attitude, powered by the exceptional playing…
Dave Davies
Personal Songs and Power Chords
For more than a half-century, the world has known of guitarist Dave Davies and his raucous electric sound, thanks to the earliest hits of the Kinks. The band’s third single,…
Warren Haynes
Back on the Mule
Given his work ethic, it makes sense that Warren Haynes plays in a band called Gov’t Mule. A strong contender for Workaholic Guitarist of the Year, Haynes is active in…
ZZ Top
The First 20 Years, Un-Remixed
Usually, the hook with boxed reissues is that they include previously unreleased songs, alternate takes, live material, and maybe some extra tchotchkes like rare photos, revisionist essays, or poster reproductions.…
Graham Clise
Bay Area Blaster
Graham Clise is one of the most-heralded underground rock guitarists of the past 15 years. A mashup of Chuck Berry, BOC’s Buck Dharma, and Black Flag’s Greg Ginn, his style…
Chris Poland
Metal Fusion Equinox
Chris Poland’s signature legato was born from tragedy. As a teen, his left hand accidentally punched through a plate-glass window and cut tendons in his fingers. He lost the ability…
Kim Simmonds
1947-2022
The British blues movement of the late ’60s lost one of its original proponents and practitioners when Savoy Brown lead guitarist Kim Simmonds died December 13, following a year-and-a-half bout…
It was 27 years ago today
27 years ago today the first issue of your favorite guitar mag came off the presses of a weekly newspaper in New Salem, North Dakota, a town 25 miles west…
