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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
Tom Guerra
Rock and Roll Swagger
After 15 years and four albums with Connecticut trio Mambo Sons, Tom Guerra just released his first solo album, All of the Above. The CD is a collection of hook-laden…
Keb’ Mo’
Hearts and Ears
Keb’ Mo’s latest is folksy, endearing, and called Good To Be. Co-produced by Vince Gill and with Darius Rucker onboard, Keb’ draws listeners in with a warm smile and earthy…
Thomas Nordegg
Indispensible
At certain large-scale rock shows, there’s often a white-haired gentleman running onstage to hand guitars to artists like Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, or Dweezil Zappa. That man is Thomas Nordegg,…
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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
J Mascis
Heavy Steps : Dinosaur Jr. Journey
Fans recognize the first three albums by Dinosaur Jr. – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug – as alternative-rock touchstones. Propelled by J Mascis’ dynamic, alternating clean/distorted guitar…
Andy Timmons
Back to the Bread ’N Butter
After a decade pushing his craft to new creative realms, Dallas-based guitarist Andy Timmons is once again purveying original instrumental guitar rock. His 2006 album, Resolution, was his band’s last…
Tyler Morris and a 1953 Gibson Les Paul model
Tyler Morris and a 1953 Gibson Les Paul model Tyler Morris showcases his 1953 Gibson Les Paul goldtop and GA-70 amp. Keep up with Tyler at www.tylerdmorris.com.
Jerry Miller
Back to Basics
Jerry Miller is back. For many he never left – especially admirers of his innovative playing with the legendary Moby Grape. Clapton, Page, and Stills are on that list, as…
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…
Mark Tremonti
Three-Band Man
The odds of any guitarist being in a highly successful rock band are long. Chances of being in two are slim. Three? Virtually unheard of. But guitarist Mark Tremonti is…
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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
R.L. Burnside
North Mississippi Blues Legend
R.L. Burnside is a truly original blues artist and an American treasure. He hails from the hill country of North Mississippi. And in the hills, they play a different style…
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…
Geddy Lee
Bass Conservator
In its 40-plus years, Rush evolved on its own terms. Mixing rock and jazz influences, the band’s 19 studio albums fostered a cultish fan base of prog-rockers, headbangers, and others…
Mike Campbell
Got Lucky
Mike Campbell is one of the most-heard guitarists on earth thanks to his work in the legendary Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and their catalog of hit singles (“American Girl,”…
Remembering Jeff Beck
The Guitar Hero, Defined
Jeff Beck, the guitarist who pushed the ’60s British Invasion band the Yardbirds from its electric-blues roots to a contemporary rock-and-roll sound before becoming one of the most-influential musicians of…
Robert Quine
Prime Time
His name rhymes with “wine” and it’s not as well-known as others, but Ohio-born guitarist Robert Quine played a crucial role in the New York punk scene of the 1970s;…
Tomas Janzon
From Stockholm With Love
On Tomas Janzon’s Nomadic, the Stockholm transplant based in New York channels his inner Wes Montgomery to unveil fresh compositions with clever harmonic twists, all supported by lush hollowbody tones…
Arlen Roth
Flourishing After Adversity
By any measure, Arlen Roth’s recent spate of creativity would be impressive. It began with his solo acoustic CD, Drive It Home, in 2001, and was followed by an eclectic…
Uli Jon Roth
Return to Tokyo
In the 1970s, rockers were cranking out now-classic live sets with stunning regularity – Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys in 1970, the Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East in ’71, Deep…
Geezer Butler
Sab Aside
Known for holding down the low-end for Black Sabbath, Terence “Geezer” Butler is usually busy with his band GZR whenever the Sabs go into stasis. A quartet with a sound…
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…
John Leventhal
Ready to Rumble
“I’ve been lucky enough to make a career co-writing and producing records with great singers and lyricists, John Leventhal explains. “But I’ve always had all this other music in me.…
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…
Jerry Miller
Back to Basics
Jerry Miller is back. For many he never left – especially admirers of his innovative playing with the legendary Moby Grape. Clapton, Page, and Stills are on that list, as…
Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale
Blowin Down the Road
It’s fitting that The Road To Escondido, the long-awaited collaboration between Eric Clapton and J.J. Cale – a concept that seems, on the surface, to be so obvious, at least…
John Jorgenson
John Jorgenson’s Gypsy Jazz Orchestra
Call it a “Gypsy jazz wall of sound.” John Jorgenson’s new album, Istiqbal Gathering, features the master guitarist backed by the full Orchestra Nashville – strings, woodwinds, brass, even percussion.…
Martin Barre
Tull axe man solos agian
Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre’s new album, Stage Left, is his third solo effort, and not only does it contain great riffs and tones (every track but one is an…
Saucerful of Strats
Pink Floyd Catalog Gets a Massive Reissue
By any standard, Pink Floyd has one of the mightiest catalogs in rock and roll – a 14-album pantheon dating from 1967 to ’94 that has few rivals. Every so…
Gwenifer Raymond
Fierce Fingerstyle
Expect the unexpected from Gwenifer Raymond. Born in Wales, England, she was inspired by underground bands like the Pixies and Nirvana, while her deft fingerpicking style was shaped by Mississippi…
Sunny War
Art & War
Sunny War’s latest album, Simple Syrup, digs deep into the complexities of the human experience. As an acoustic fingerstylist who draws inspiration from the world, being quarantined has been a…
Dave Stewart
Six-Strings, Studios, and Songs
Guitarists often cite instruments as sources of inspiration. For musician, songwriter, and producer Dave Stewart, it wasn’t a ’57 Strat or a ’Burst that recently caused a creative flurry, but…
