•  Joey Molland

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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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Mike Morgan

Back With the Blues (and More)

On Mike Morgan and the Crawl’s tenth album and first new release in 15 years, 63-year-old Morgan shows maturity, command, and vision. The singer/guitarist grew up in Hillsboro, Texas, between…

Nancy Wilson

Fire in the Heart

In the early ’70s, women didn’t play rock guitar. Nor did they front bands. Nancy Wilson was an exception. Few guitarists present as memorable an onstage image as does Wilson…

2025 June Issue on Spotify

This month, we feature The Meters’ George Porter, Tommy Emmanuel, Jedd Hughes, Dudley Taft, Lari Basilio, Ally Venable, The Police, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Dave Mason, Kenny Burrell, and more! Spotify…

Anthony Gomes

Blues, Rock, and Joy

Blues-rock connoisseur Anthony Gomes stays on point with his latest, High Voltage Blues. Leaning into the heavier side, Gomes’ feisty recipe of catchy tunes, smokin’ licks has gained him a…

Festive Frets

Suggested Listening for Your “Guitholidays”

Listen to VG’s “Festive Frets Holiday Play List” on Spotify! From the two-string refrain that kicks off Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” to the rejuvenated acoustic blues of John Fahey…

Unsung: The Story of Marlo Henderson

The creation of great music is almost always a collaborative effort. From session players to engineers, producers, arrangers, and marketing teams, many talents meld in the fulfillment of a performer’s…

Peter Stroud Keeps His Feet, and Keeps Movin’

On “10,” As Always

He has played with Dreams So Real, Pete Droge, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow. It’s the latter gig that occupies his playing time these days, while much of his “down”…

Bryan Beller

Bass Aristocracy

If you love daredevil musicians, you’ll dig The Aristocrats. A contemporary-fusion trio, the band includes guitar monster Guthrie Govan (VG, September ’21), drummer Marco Minnemann, and Bryan Beller, a wizard…

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Joe Walsh

Life’s Still Good

Whether coughing up the #2 talk-box lick of the ’70s, kicking the Eagles into overdrive, or wryly expressing his views on subjects ranging from rock-and-roll excess to lawn mowers to…

Mark Elf

Mark Elf

After the Storm

The latest album from guitarist Mark Elf shot to the top of the jazz charts, but the route to success for Mark Elf Returns 2014 wasn’t so easy. “I was…

Mark Farner

Mark Farner

Keen to Collaborate

Spiritual beliefs and the power of music have helped Mark Farner deal with life’s inevitable highs and lows. The singer/songwriter/guitarist achieved astonishing success fronting Grand Funk Railroad in the ’70s;…

Randy Rhoads

Diary of an Axeman, 30 years Later

(RIGHT) Rhoads’ polka-dot guitar was built in 1979 by Karl Sandoval, with a mahogany body, modified ’60s Danelectro non-adjustable maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and bow-tie inlays, two DiMarzio…

Vic Johnson

At Your Service

Music fans might remember Vic Johnson as the wickedly eclectic guitarist from the ’80s band The Busboys; it thrived in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV, appeared in…

Frank Ford

Frank Ford, a renowned guitar builder and co-founder of Gryphon Stringed Instruments, passed away December 17. He was 79 and suffered complications due to congestive heart failure. A native of…

Ernie Hawkins

Pittsburgh's own acoustic bluesman

For a guy who’s released several of the best country blues albums in the past decade, Ernie Hawkins is relatively unknown. Ernie caught the blues bug back in his teens,…

Luther Dickinson

Luther Dickinson

Acoustic Odyssey

When Luther Dickinson isn’t writing and performing with the North Mississippi Allstars or on the road with The Black Crowes, he plays the acoustic guitar – and lots of it.…

Kenny Brown

Mississippi Slide

The Black Keys’ latest album, Delta Kream, is a collection of blues standards from the Mississippi Hill Country. Drummer Patrick Carney and guitarist Dan Auerbach expanded their duo with a…

Wally Stocker

A Baby Grows Up

After decades away from the music scene, guitarist Wally Stocker is back on his feet again and back where he belongs, playing lead guitar with a new lineup in The…

Richie Kotzen

Venn Master

If a Venn diagram reveals a surprising truth between overlapping concepts, Richie Kotzen is the Venn core of heavy rock, fusion, and soul-funk guitar. This multiple-threat instrumentalist plays almost all…

John McFee

Standing in the Shadows

John McFee John McFee isn’t a household name in music, but he has been a major player for more than 35 years. But his attitude (“I never really wanted to…

John Notto

Dirty Deeds

The “Is rock dead?” debate rears its head every few years. But with the emergence of new bands like Dirty Honey, good ol’ rip-roaring rock and roll is still very…

Chris Thomas King

Bluesman For The New Millennium

Me, My Guitar And The Blues is the uncompromising new release from acclaimed guitarist, bluesman Chris Thomas King. The album echoes inspired, atmospheric, authentic Delta/Bayou blues journeys from King as…

Punk-Rock Pioneer Ivan Julian

NYC Luminary Goes Avant-Garde! Ivan Julian does an experimental take on “Misty” before going into the solo from “Love Is Good,” followed by some of the title track from his…

Eli “Paperboy” Reed

“Always” Music

Guitarist/producer Eli “Paperboy” Reed understands the emotional thread between blues, gospel, R&B, and country music. He has created his own lane doing what he loves – bonding poignant elements of…

Pop ’N Hiss: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom

There were innovative Stratocaster records before Ah Via Musicom, but Eric Johnson’s 1990 opus changed the rules of the game – this was not your father’s funky quack-toned Fender. After…

Marty Friedman

Unleashed in the East

Marty Friedman made his mark as one of the foremost shredders of the ’80s when he teamed up with guitarist Jason Becker in Cacophony. He achieved greater celebrity after joining…

Billy Gibbons

On The Move

Before ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons launched his career as guitarist and front man with a Texas-based group called the Moving Sidewalks. The band also included bassist Don Summers, keyboardist Tom…

Chris Poland

Reaching Nirvana with Ohm

Chris Poland is perhaps best known among heavy metal fans for his work with Megadeth as the group’s original lead guitarist, applying his tasty riffs to the first two discs…

Dave Wyndorf

Cover Up

Like most rock bands, the men of Monster Magnet found themselves with a lot of time on their hands once Covid effectively ended tours in 2020. But instead of going…

Hints of Benson and Martino – Eric Zolan plays “D.D.L.O.D.”

NYC Jazzer Brings Tasty Jazz/Blues/R&B Confection Guitarist Eric Zolan knows jazz guitar has been cool, and his new album, “Calder’s Universe” proves it. Here, he and drummer Mike Camacho lay…