Remembering Ronnie

Phillips Finishes Guitarist’s Final Recordings

Ricky Phillips has many fond memories of his friendship and musical association with Ronnie Montrose (1947-2012). The bassist is finishing a recording project by the late guitarist on which he…

Fretprints: The Beatles’ Revolver

Sonic Floodgates

If any rock album can be labeled “groundbreaking,” it’s the Beatles’ Revolver. A sweepingly innovative masterpiece, it divides the ’60s in half, evades categorization, anticipated Sgt. Pepper and the “white…

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…

Rory Gallagher’s Photo-Finish

Legend’s Best

The year 1977 saw upheaval in rock and roll, from the death of Elvis Presley and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash to the emergence of new music styles including disco, new…

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…

Don Latarski

Electrifying

Don Latarski is well-known in the Pacific Northwest as a player, author, teacher, and composer. His acoustic playing is revered, but on his latest, Audiography, Latarski brings in a full…

Geddy Lee

Rush RX for my Favorite Headache

Geddy Lee is a man who needs very little introduction. With just over three decades as the unmistakable lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist in Rush, Lee has forged a potent…

Lightnin’ Malcolm’s One-Man Wizardry

First-Rate Blues with Juke Joint Swagger Lightnin’ Malcolm learned blues first-hand from legends of the genre, and it shows! Here, he plays “Jungle” from his new album, “Eye Of The…

Fingerpicked Country-Folk, Malcolm Holcombe-Style!

Redoubtable singer/songwriter and a beloved ’58 Gibson Malcolm Holcombe shows us how he does “Good Intentions,“ from his new album, “Tricks of the Trade.” That’s his prized ’58 Country Western…

Mick Taylor

Shedding Light on the Genius of Mick Taylor

The mid/late 1960s were a fertile and progressive time for rock guitar, with “Swinging London” serving as the birthplace and incubator for the blues-rock idiom, in particular, as budding English…

Oz Noy

Dishing Out More Twisted Blues

Oz Noy is talented enough to pay the bills not only as a first-call New York session cat, but also as a prolific creative force in contemporary fusion. His current…

Robin Trower

Trancendental Blues

A bonafide British rock guitar great, Robin Trower needs little introduction. His career began in the '60s, and he's one of a handful of artists from his generation who has…

Javier Batiz

The Mexican Mentor

The profile subject’s ingles was definitely better than the writer’s espa

Andrew Synowiec

Pyrotechnics and Substance

Andrew Synowiec’s latest album, Fun, is loaded with ferocious pentatonics, muscular grooves, and the kind of instrumentals that harken to the good ol’ days when guitar ruled the airwaves. But…

The Rolling Stones

Buffalo Civic Auditorium, June 28, 1966

The Rolling Stones were the ultimate bad boys of rock – with leather jackets and arrests for peeing on a service station in England, these guys were anti-establishment. Most kids…

Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

The Chicago resident has been exciting blues audiences worldwide for decades. But he built his reputation working the local club circuit, playing for African-American audiences and Chuck Berry-inspired rock for…

The Collins Kids

Mostly-Moseley Memories

Siblings Lorrie and Larry Collins sprang into the public eye in the mid 1950s – dawn of the television era – on a program called “Town Hall Party.” The big-sister/little-brother…

Ace Frehley

Back From Space

Ace Frehley’s first solo album was released in 1978, when each member of Kiss simultaneously released solo albums. As it turned out, Frehley’s was the runaway favorite among fans and…

Elliot Easton

Lefty Goes to the Left Coast Part 1

Last month, former Cars guitarist Elliot Easton conversed with Vintage Guitar about his experiences prior to the formation of the platinum-selling quintet that cruised out of Boston in the mid-Seventies,…

The Reverend Horton Heat

Bringin' it home for a <I>Revival</I>

Photo courtesy of Yep Roc Records. After two decades of constant touring, Jim Heath decided it was time to go home. Guitarists who put out half the energy he expends…

Les Sabler

Long-Distance Jazz

Like many musicians, guitarist Les Sabler’s life has been turned topsy-turvy by the worldwide pandemic. Originally from Montreal, Sabler now resides in Nashville, but work on his newest album, a…

Charlie Gracie

Rock’s Unsung Pioneer

“…as I went from London to Liverpool to Manchester to Birmingham to Scotland, in the audience were all these young kids coming up – the Stones, the Beatles, Joe Cocker,…

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…

Russell Malone

Jazz lost one of its six-string luminaries when Russell Malone died on August 23, after suffering a heart attack in Japan while touring with bass legend Ron Carter. According to…

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,…

Joe Messina

Joe Messina, guitarist with the famed Funk Brothers studio band at Motown Records, died April 4 at his home in Northville, Michigan. He was 93 and suffered kidney disease the…

George Cotsirilos – Jazz Sans Cliché

Deft work on an L-5 for “The Three Doves” George Cotsirilos grew up listening to Bloomfield, Hendrix, and Clapton, then studied jazz guitar. Here, his influences are on full display…

RnR Hall of Famer Richie Furay and his gorgeous ’53 Gibson J-200!

Buffalo Springfield/Poco Founder Covers a Country Favorite Richie Furay and his ’53 SJ-200 share a glimpse of their bucolic space and a solo acoustic rendition of “I Hope You Dance,”…

Tim O’Brien

Trailblazing Triple-Threat

If Tim O’Brien was a ballplayer, he’d be at least a “triple threat.” He’s a superb songwriter, a stellar mandolin player, a unique singer, and a powerful live performer. Born…

John Ellis

John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo before his family moved to California when he was a…