• The Doobie Brothers

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    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

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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

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…

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…

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

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…