Ewan Currie

Hairy Tones in The Sheepdogs

There are a lot of retro bands, but few get the sonics correct. Hailing from central Canada, The Sheepdogs conjure an authentic vintage sound right down to guitar tones once…

Kid Ramos’ Raunchy Slide

Kid Carves it up! Proving that tone is less about fancy gear and more about feel, Kid Ramos used his home-modded Fender Squier Mini Strat with pickups from an Epiphone…

Chris Spedding

Convergence of Legends and Friends

The career of guitarist Chris Spedding has spanned more than four decades and included a commendable solo career, a stint in bassist Andy Fraser’s first post-Free venture (Sharks), and later,…

Guitarist/Producer Yates McKendree Shines on “Wise”

 New album reflects array of influences Though just 21, Yates McKendree is already a veteran of storied stages, and his debut album, “Buchanan Lane,” has been nominated for a…

Walter Strauss

Right-Hand Man

West Coast fingerstylist Walter Strauss has a remarkable picking technique – powerful and surprisingly percussive – as heard on his latest release, For Melody, Wherever She May Find Me. Strauss…

Rich Robinson Re-Launches

Solo Again

Ah, glorious cohesion. For guitarist Rich Robinson – who today records and tours solo after serving as co-founder and musical driving force in the Black Crowes – it’s been too…

Bob Brozman

World Instruments, World Music

Photo courtesy Bob Brozman. To many, the terms “musician,” “artist,” and “entertainer” are rarely applicable to one person en masse, but Bob Brozman fits the category. What’s more, the term…

Spencer Kirkpatrick

Jammin’ Southern Hero

In the ’70s, Hydra was a Southern-rock band that owed more to the heavy British blues of Cream and Free than Skynyrd. Its secret weapon was lead guitarist Spencer Kirkpatrick,…

Jim Lauderdale

Harder Country

Jim Lauderdale has had three busy years. 2021’s Hope, which he calls “a very uplifting album,” emerged from the pandemic. The follow-up, Game Changer, took a more-country/honky-tonk direction, and last…

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;…

Mike Keneally Makes the Gravy

Dig his Meaty “Celery” The track is called “Celery,” but Mike Keneally sure makes it meaty! With a splash of distortion, chorus, and delay courtesy of plug-ins (“No actual amps…

Ray Benson

Where There’s a Wills, There’s a Wheel

Asleep At the Wheel’s latest album is the band’s third tribute to Bob Wills. Long-time leader Ray Benson recently talked about it with Vintage Guitar. How did Still the King…

Charlie Musselwhite’s blues chops on a vintage J-45

See it Here: “Blues Gave Me a Ride” Charlie Musselwhite and his ’54 Gibson J-45 do it up (so) right on “Blues Gave Me A Ride,” from his latest album,…

Johnny A.

Beck-Ola: Johnny Plays Jeff

The passing of Jeff Beck affected few people as much as it did Johnny Antonopoulos. “It had the same impact as when I heard John Lennon died,” said the Grammy-nominated…

Arv Garrison

Forgotten Hero of Bebop Guitar

American music history is fraught with tales of forgotten heroes. In the ’40s, jazz guitarists like Tiny Grimes, George Barnes, Chuck Wayne, and Arv Garrison occupied the space between Charlie…

Fretprints: Mick Ralphs

Delivering in Bad Company

Unabashedly British and irresistibly swaggering, Bad Company personified ’70s arena rock. Detractors denounced them as machismo, but fans have bought more than 40 million albums, 20 million in America alone.…

Dudley Taft

Raucous, Righteous Blues

With the recent release of his third solo album, Screamin’ in the Wind, guitarist Dudley Taft is serving notice that for all of his years of experience, his guitar playing…

Jim Heath

A Reverend By Any Other Name

Jim Heath is better
known to most folks as psychobilly guitar fiend The Reverend Horton Heat. But on his latest release, he morphs into Reverend Organdrum and, as you’d expect, with…

Fretprints: Earl Hooker

Unsung Blues-Guitar Legend

Chicago, 1959. Ask any blues musician where to go, and the answer was likely, “Wherever Earl Hooker is playing.” Earl was the blues-guitarist’s guitarist, a commanding presence on the city’s…

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.”…

Rex Brown

Still Smoking

Throughout his career, Rex Brown has delivered the low-end as the bassist for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill. But for his new (and first-ever) solo album, Smoke on This,…

Storied Board

The Tale of Bobby Whitlock’s D-35

Plenty of musicians personalize instruments with their names or initials. So, it’s easy to assume that Robert “Bobby” Whitlock commissioned someone to inlay the “RW” in the fingerboard of his…

Big Al Anderson

Pawn Shop Guitars

Since last spoke to him, songwriter and master of the Telecaster Al Anderson has been extremely productive. More than a dozen of his songs appear on Vince Gill’s new These…

Gypsy jazz master Christophe Astolfi plays “La Valsajo”

Traditionalist offers standout new album Christophe Astolfi offers an exclusive rendition of Jo Privat’s “La Valsajo” using a guitar made by Jean-Pierre Favino, son of Jacques Favino. On his new…

Jonathan Wilson

Rare Bird

Given his busy career as a player and in-demand producer, it’s not surprising that singer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson needed more than three years to complete his new album, Rare Birds. When…

Pop ’N Hiss: Wishbone Ash’s Argus

Twin-Lead Loadstone

Founded in 1969, Wishbone Ash attained fast fame in the U.K. with its meshing of intricate twin-lead-guitar passages and harmony vocals. With their third album, Argus, Andy Powell and Ted…

Danny Gatton

Unfinished Business

The reality is obvious to any aspiring musi-cian, especially when another gig’s not guaranteed: compromise adds zeroes to paychecks. But anyone who saw Danny Gatton on his Washington, D.C./rural Maryland…

Rusty Young

1946-2021

Rusty Young, the versatile pedal-steel guitarist, guitarist, singer/songwriter, and original member of the pioneering country-rock band Poco, died at his home after suffering a heart attack on April 14. He…

Steve Boone

Low-end with the Lovin’ Spoonful

 The iconic quartet known as the Lovin’ Spoonful germinated in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the mid ’60s and crafted hit songs that embraced folk, blues, country, and jug-band…

Carol Kaye

Think "Extensive"

Contrary to what some aspiring bass players might think, the world’s most recorded electric bassist isn’t some modern-day L.A. dude purveying “NAMM chops” (to quote John Pattitucci) aplenty with the…