Ally Venable

Connection

On Money & Power, Ally Venable wields the power of wisdom and emotional connection. It’s an album about empowerment and comeuppance, but there’s plenty of playtime with guest stars Shemekia…

Brad Paisley

Country's Newest Star Keeps Nashville Tele-tuned

If you need proof that few popular music stars are as comfortable as Brad Paisley wearing the “star hat,” watch his video for his latest single, “Celebrity,” a comedic jab…

Al Di Meola

Still Elegant

For close to 45 years, Al Di Meola’s career has brimmed with guitar virtuosity, taking him from red-hot fusion to enchanting Latin and world-music textures. After a few years touring…

Gary Moore

Back to the Rock

Irish guitarist Gary Moore first came to prominence in an combo called Skid Row and played with Thin Lizzy when his friend, Phil Lynott, fronted that aggregation. He was also…

Ron Asheton

Revisits the fun house

what more must be said about the Stooges and guitarist Ron Asheton’s role in crafting the molten landscapes of their albums, The Stooges (1969), Funhouse (1970), and Raw Power (1973)?

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,…

Carl Filipiak

Knack for Jimi

After 20 years of play-ing and recording his blistering fusion of jazz and rock, Carl Filipiak’s latest record, I Got Your Mantra, mixes his mastery of the instrument with his…

Wolf Hoffmann

Mean Business

Traditional heavy metal is still a thriving beast thanks to bands like Accept, whose latest studio album, Too Mean to Die, is full of rugged songs with wicked guitars commanded…

Carl Verheyen

The Tools of Trading 8s

Carl Verheyen is a member of that elite (and shrinking) group of musicians known as “session guitarists.” Super-qualified pickers, they’re the hired guns brought in for the most demanding and…

Have Guitar Will Travel 093 – Martin Simpson

Features In this episode, host James Patrick Regan speaks with Martin Simpson, discussing his new duet record with Thomm Jutz, “Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and…

“Big” Al Anderson

Nashville By Way of Connecticut

Ask people what they know about “Big Al” Anderson and you’ll probably hear very different responses. Rockers will say that for 22 years he was the Tele-driving force behind New…

Don Felder

Six-Stringed Summer Stock

Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder is spending the summer with a few friends. On an extended tour with Styx and Foreigner in a package billed as The Soundtrack of Summer,…

Whitey Kirst

Life After Iggy

Whitey Kirst is known for smoldering lead-guitar tone and collaborating with punk-rock pioneer Iggy Pop. After four albums and hundreds of shows, Kirst’s 13-year tenure with Iggy went on hiatus…

Dominic Miller’s Tasty “Mi Viejo”

Sting Guitarist’s Serene Harmonic Expressionism Using his new artist tribute model classical (the label says “1/1”!) made by K. Yairi, Dominic Miller plays “Mi Viejo,” a track from his new…

John Hammond

Ripe to Write

John Hammond has been in the music business for 44 years and is respected and revered by colleagues everywhere. So it may be a surprise to hear that he has…

Ray Bonneville

Easy Groove

Ray Bonneville’s latest album, Easy Gone, glides on a steady groove. “I really like the way it sounds with these guys,” he said of drummer Geoff Arsenault and bassist Gurf…

Pop ’N Hiss: The Rolling Stones’ Black and Blue

Groove-Heavy

By the mid ’70s, rock and roll had matured into a big business, with top acts including Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Rolling Stones earning millions of dollars on record…

Jeff Kollman

Validating Versatiltiy

A perusal of guitarist Jeff Kollman’s resumé forces a double take. Alongside decades of studio work and live gigs with artists like Chris Isaak, Lou Gramm, and Glenn Hughes are…

Classics: Arena-Rock Alternative Amps

Mad Maxed

As rock started hitting the big time in the mid ’60s, it became clear to guitar-amplifier manufacturers that 100 watts or more was the way to go. The best approach…

Gary Moore

Remembering Phil Lynott

Moore with his signature model Gibson Les Paul. Photo: Rob Verhorst/Redferns Music Picture Library. Irish guitarist Gary Moore is a man in perpetual motion, onstage and in the studio. A…

Vinnie Moore

Between Then and Now

Vinnie Moore emerged in the 1980s as one of the decade’s premier rock guitarists, earning recognition for his extraordinary technique and melodic style. Following the release of his debut album,…

Tagore Grey

British Steel

If you’ve been starving for good old-fashioned hard rock, the Treatment has your number. The British band has been building its reputation for more than a decade, delivering in-yer-face guitar…

Darin and Brooke Aldridge’s Family Album

Picture Perfect

The husband-and-wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge are one of the hottest acts on the traditional bluegrass/Americana scene. The couple’s sixth release, Snapshots, is a musical scrapbook of contemporary bluegrass,…

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…

Tom Petersson

Lower-End Innovator

It’s been a long time comin’… Like his longtime bandmate, Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick bassist/songwriter Tom Petersson collects classic stringed instruments. Now a resident of Nashville, Petersson still plays the…

Dennis Kager

Techy’s Brain, Musician’s Heart

Amplifiers became a passion for Dennis Kager 45 years ago. And through the years, he has witnessed the zeitgeist surrounding the combination of guitar and amp. A guitarist as a…

Humble Pie At the Fillmore

Frampton Reflects

By the time Humble Pie reached “breakthrough” status in the U.S. thanks to its live album, Performance – Rockin’ the Fillmore, Peter Frampton had departed and begun to beat the…

Doobies, Brothers

A Discussion with Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons

American music rarely is more pure than when it comes from the minds, hands, and mouths of the Doobie Brothers. An uncommon mix of talent, the Doobies have, since their…

Fretprints: Led Zeppelin

One of the truly classic rock albums, Led Zeppelin’s IV brought together the band’s towering advances achieved with its first three releases. An extraordinary amalgam of blues-rock, progressive aspirations, heavy-metal…

In Memoriam: Kal David

Blues/rock guitarist Kal David died August 16, 2022, in Palm Springs, California. He was 79 and struggled with pneumonia just before his passing. Born David Raskin, in 1961 the Chicago…