• Classics: Jeremy Graf’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster

    Artists

    Classics: Jeremy Graf’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster

    A lifelong vintage-guitar nut who has had “a million guitars,” Jeremy Graf’s all-time favorite is this 1961 Stratocaster. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Graf was just seven when, for reasons he doesn’t remember, he asked for an Elvis Presley record. His mother obliged and brought home Elvis’ Golden Records, a compilation of ’50s hits. “That

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Andy Powell

The Wishbone Forges on

Wishbone Ash guitarist Andy Powell isn’t caught in a time warp. True, he’s the sole remaining member of the English foursome that proffered a twin-lead guitar sound that took the…

Scott Holiday

Unrivaled Son

Regardless of the state of pop or rock music, it’s invigorating when a group comes along to remind us what rock and roll sounds like when it’s written from the…

In Memoriam: Bruce Hastell

Bruce Hastell, guitarist and vintage-instrument dealer, passed away October 24, after a 10-year battle with polycystic kidney disease that led to kidney failure. He was 68. Hastell performed and recorded…

Jon Butcher

Beyond the Axis

One of the most-influential guitarists to emerge from Boston, Jon Butcher has just released his 14th album, 2Roads East.  We caught up with Butcher as he prepared to tour. 2Roads…

Reunited

Bruce Forman Honors Barney Kessel

From 1957 to ’60, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne recorded four LPs for Contemporary Records as a group called Poll Winners, a byproduct of each…

Have Guitar Will Travel 070 – JJ Wilde and J.D. Smigelski

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” finds host James Patrick Regan speaking with indie rocker JJ Wilde and her guitarist, J.D. Smigelski. JJ grew up listening to her…

Lemmy Kilmister

Lemmy Kilmister

Lessons in Longetivity (and Loud Music)

Motörhead bassist/vocalist and heavy metal icon Lemmy Kilmister will, in a few years, be 70. But the enthusiasm for his craft – and the decibel level at which his music…

Buddy Emmons

Buddy Emmons

1937-2015

Buddy Emmons, who revolutionized the pedal-steel guitar both musically and technically, died July 21 in Nashville after suffering a heart attack. He was 78. Emmons did extensive session work in…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 031 Featuring John Notto

The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” has host James Patrick Regan speaking with guitarist John Notto from Dirty Honey, a band that harkens to the glory days of…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Labor of Love

Kenny Wayne Shepherd called his latest record, Goin’ Home because, he says, “It was another opportunity for me to share with music fans my love and appreciation for the genre…

Mike Campbell

Fat-Free Rock and Roll

On External Combustion, Mike Campbell pours on the boogie, pens spellbinding ditties, and leans into a live sound. With ancestral links to his former band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,…

Bruce Kulick

Transorming to Solo artist

Bruce Kulick gained his reputation as a top-notch axeman working with a variety of major artists such as Kiss, Meatloaf, Michael Bolton, Billy Squier, as well as his own band,…

Seymour Duncan Sails Into VG Hall of Fame

Vintage Guitar today announced that Seymour Duncan has been inducted to its Hall of Fame. Each year, the magazine’s staff and readers select inductees in three categories – Player, Innovator,…

Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka

Heavy Steps : Road Ready

“Rock and roll is a young man’s game.” Once upon a time, it was the genre’s calling card. A half-century later, though, young bands playing bombastic guitar rock often trod…

Ty Tabor

On A Roll

King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor is on a roll. Despite the band being on hiatus due to bassist Dug Pinnick’s health issues, Tabor stays busy with side projects like Jelly…

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)?

Kirk Fletcher

The Mid-life Crisis Sessions

Back from barnstorming the globe, blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher’s latest is music for the people. Heartache by the Pound is about love, sorrow, joy, and pain, driven by freakishly excellent…

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…

Dave Jenkins

Cruisin’ Again

Anyone who listened to Top 40 radio in the late ’70s and early ’80s is familiar with Pablo Cruise. The band recorded two Top 10 hits and five that broke…

Alligator Greats

Bruce Iglauer Recalls 50 Years of Blues Guitar

Anyone wondering why a young Bruce Iglauer was so impassioned about recording the raw, high-energy blues of Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor can find context in the artists that captivated…

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…

Fretprints: Yngwie Malmsteen

Alcatrazz and the Birth of Bach and Roll

Los Angeles, 1983. The rock community was a land devastated by the bombast of L.A. metal – Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Mötley Crue, Ratt, and their minions. Nothing, however,…

Orianthi Lights It Up

New Music, Signature J-200 With her still-newish signature Gibson J-200, Orianthi strums and sings a chill version of the hard-rocking “Light It Up,” from the just-released “Rock Candy” album. Catch…

Fretprints: Kim Thayil

The Grungy Flowering of Soundgarden

In 1991, a movement emerged from Seattle that shook the musical world to its core. Seemingly overnight, a cadre of unlikely “grunge” bands from the Northwest rose quickly to attain…

Tim Sult

Heavy-Duty Metal

With a new Clutch recording, the listener always knows what lies in store – colossal riffing, valley-deep grooves, and manly-man vocals – and the band’s 11th studio album, Psychic Warfare,…

Mike Zito

Reemerging with Resurrection

It’s obvious why guitarist Mike Zito’s 2020 album was titled Quarantine Blues, but he’s compelled to clarify the reasoning behind his new release being dubbed Resurrection. “‘Resurrection’ was a song…

George Lynch

The Return Of KXM

Musical chemistry is a rare thing. It’s not easily attainable, but when you have it, the fruits are magical. If you haven’t heard the project featuring George Lynch, drummer Ray…

Henry James Schneekluth

Psychedelic

Henry James Schneekluth handles the groovy guitar parts in Robert Jon & The Wreck. While impassioned Southern rock might be an easy category to pigeonhole this killer band, there’s more to…

Keith Richards’ 1963 Gibson SG Custom

Ready to Ramble

In 1961, Gibson introduced the double-cutaway Les Paul to replace the original version, which had been endorsed by guitarist Les Paul since being developed in 1952. Redesigned in response to…

Will Ackerman

Acoustic Artisan

A defining idiom of ’80s guitar, the Windham Hill label captured a certain audio sound and style of understated acoustic music, lamentably categorized as “new age.” One of its founders…