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Artists
The Doobie Brothers
Road Rules
If you’re making a list of beloved bands with a long string of hook-heavy hits, the Doobie Brothers will surely be on it. Their new album, Walk This Road, features the creative core of vocalist/guitarist Patrick Simmons, vocalist/guitarist Tom Johnston, multi-instrumentalist John McFee, and vocalist/keyboardist Michael McDonald. The news of Walk This Road generated significant
Billy Sheehan
New Music, Old-School Basses
Among rock bassists, Billy Sheehan has been a standout in four decades. Whether with Talas in the ’70s, tapping toe-to-toe with Steve Vai in the ’80s incarnation of David Lee…
Ryan Carraher
Night Music
Jazz guitarist Ryan Carraher defines “vocturnal” as “a portmanteau of the words ‘nocturnal’ and ‘voyage.’ It’s a fitting title for his first album given that most of its songs were…
Carl Verheyen
On <em>Mustang Run</em> and Making a CD that Lasts
Fresh off a 42-show/13-country European tour with his own band, Supertramp guitarist and L.A. studio ace Carl Verheyen has just released his 12th studio CD, Mustang Run. Following 2010’s live…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from the golden age of electric-guitar innovation to the modern world. Beyond simply studying the history, he lived it, documented it, and played alongside giants who
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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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John Sykes 1959-2025
Remembering a Heavy Hero
The guitar universe was rocked on January 20 by the announcement of John Sykes’ death from cancer, at age 65. Forty years ago, the British guitarist rocked with high-volume bands like Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, establishing himself before “shred” guitar had a name. Blazing on a Les Paul Custom, he was as fast as any
Dave Haskell
Wings and Strings
Plenty of improbable stories involve guitarists making first records amid peculiar circumstances. But few match Dave Haskell’s journey to Pivot Point. A retired airline pilot who dallied in music professionally…
“Monster” Mike Welch
“Monster” Mike Welch digs deep on “Walking to You Baby” “I was thinking about my late friend, Luther ‘Guitar Junior’ Johnson, and how his records were always direct, full-throttle,…
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Passion and Soul
British blues-rock guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor is leaving her mark on the classics. With The Blues Album, Taylor’s husky vocals and bold playing are bringing new life to songs by…
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.…
Tim O’Brien
Trailbrazing 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…
Kristian Borring – post-bop wizard
Danish jazzer’s transcendent style on “Persian Hills” Kristian Borring plays a fabulous version of “Persian Hills,” from Number Junky’s latest album “Earth Matters.” Check out his custom-made Victor Baker…
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The Supro Thunderbolt S6420
Lightning Strikes
Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the preferred workhorse. It’s been a long time since Supro amps were any kind of secret find or hidden gem; players have long recognized the eccentric splendors of certain mid-sized examples, with their thumping tremolo and
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Rickenbacker’s Electric 12-Strings
Double-bound for Glory
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success came early and their lap steels set standards of quality, performance, and tone. On the other hand, the company’s electric bass viols and violins excited segments of the industry but never sold well. Same for
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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
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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
Adam Levy
Staying Spry
As an accomplished sideman, Adam Levy is famous for supplying charismatic guitar sounds for Nora Jones and Tracy Chapman. On his latest solo album, Spry, Levy positions his trusty 335…
Rory Block
Keeping The Blues Alive
From her first album appearance, at age 12, with her father’s string band, to guesting on Stefan Grossman’s 1971 album, How To Play Blues Guitar, and her 1975 solo debut,…
Jazz Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel: Deep, Rich, Sparkling on a Baritone
Moody, Introspective, Intimate Kurt Rosenwinkel’s new album features him improvising solo on nine tracks like this one, “Peace Please.” That’s his Collings Baritone SoCo16 LC running through a Pure Tone…
Allen Woody
Of Short-Scale Basses and Long, Long Songs
Like his bandmate, Warren Haynes, bassist Allen Woody is burning the proverbial candle at both ends, around the middle, and in between; he pulls “double duty” in the same two…
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…
Greg Koch
Making It Work
The latest release from guitar master Greg Koch is From the Up’Nuh with his son, Dylan, on drums and B3-whiz Toby Marshall on organ. Collectively, they’re the Koch Marshall Trio,…
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…
Jon Butcher
Back to Barefootin'
Photos courtesy Jon Butcher. A little more than a decade ago, guitarist/vocalist Jon Butcher described his affiliation with the then-new quartet Barefoot Servants as, “The best thing I ever did.”…
Scott Metzger
Spontaneous Composition
“We started as three side men scheduled to back a singer who was a no-show at this bar in Brooklyn,” said Scott Metzger, recalling the origins of the trio Wolf!.…
Jeff Senn and Crazy Aces
Dealing Out Twang
When you build guitars for a living, you might unwind with another hobby – say, beer-can collecting or crochet. Not Jeff Senn, mastermind behind Original Senn Guitars. He started a…
Scott Holiday
Reflection and Escapism in Rival Sons
On the new album by Rival Sons, guitarist Scott Holiday brings a power punch to the band’s most-potent album to date. Darkfighter contains songs that rock with imagination, smothered in…
Jorge Glem: Cuatro Mastery
Brooklyn-Cumaná Jorge Glem uses his Venezualan cuatro to show us some of “Matapalo y Fuga,” from his new duet album with Sam Reider, “Brooklyn-Cumaná.” Their music mixes flamenco with Irish…
Marah
The Kids Are Back in Philly
The south-Philly band Marah, led by brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko, has always danced to the backbeat of its own drummer. Now, they’re releasing a remastered and expanded version of…
The Supro Thunderbolt S6420
Lightning Strikes
Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the preferred workhorse. It’s been a long time since Supro amps…
Have Guitar Will Travel 075 – Sam Weber
On Ep 75 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan interviews singer/songwriter Sam Weber who grew up in British Columbia and moved to work with a few of…
Peter Stroud and Audley Freed
Two Guys, Many Guitars, One Big Hat
Many a noteworthy rock and roll band from the Cotton Belt has been propelled by guitar-playin’ good ol’ boys with names that ring through music lore in (sometimes) poetic-sounding tandems…
Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale
Blowin' Down the Road
Photo: David McClister, courtesy Reprise Records. Blowin’ Down the Road With Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale by Dan Forte It’s fitting that The Road To Escondido, the long-awaited collaboration between…
Dean DeLeo and Tom Bukovac unite on the trip the witch
Cosmic Convergence
At a glance, there’s little reason to connect a guitarist like Dean DeLeo to one like Tom Bukovac. One is ’90s-rock royalty, the other a modern-day Nashville studio legend. Strange…
Tommy Castro
A Penchant for the Blues
Tommy Castro is known as a hard-working musician with a penchant for the blues. The rep is well-deserved. “One year we had 350 gigs,” Castro notes. But his attitude took…
Have Guitar Will Travel 101 – Keola Beamer
In episode 101 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine! Host James Patrick Regan speaks with slack key guitarist Keola Beamer, the two of them cover Keola’s…
Bryan Bassett
Foghat’s Slide Secret
A half-century after its inception, Foghat has just one original member – drummer Roger Earl – yet the quartet is cranking out British blooze better than ever. Part of this…
