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Artists
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
Rodney Crowell
Same Roots, New Branches
Rodney Crowell arrived in Nashville in 1972, bent on finding a niche for himself in the country music he’d loved since his childhood in Houston. He wrote songs for Jerry…
Paul Burlison
Train Keeps Rollin'
Paul Burlison does not know how to make a long story short, but that’s just fine because his stories are such great ones. Like a slow-movin’ freight, a milk train,…
Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz
Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like “Kashmir,” “Little Wing,” and a classical spin through Joni Mitchell’s…
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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
Rick Stockton
All Roads Lead to the ’60s
Working under the nom de plume T. Malcolm Oxford, Rick Stockton is the leader, producer, and guitarist for the Strolling Scones, a band that, according to its own bio, “sank…
Pat Travers
Full Blast
It’s an elite class – rock guitarists who crossed the Atlantic to achieve their rock-star dreams. Somewhere between the mid-’60s sojourn of Jimi Hendrix and that of Brian Setzer in…
Carlos Santana
Holding That Tone
Carlos Santana is illustrating a point. “Most people play like this – around the note,” he says, making a fist with his left hand and rolling his right hand around…
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…
Greg Martin
Elder Statesman
Albums by Kentucky Headhunters have a history of making guitar players shake their collective heads at the great sounds made by Greg Martin. The band’s latest, On Safari, is another…
Jim Campilongo
Back to the Country
A misconception of his own making led to Jim Campilongo’s latest effort with the band Honeyfingers. “I enjoy my trio and its evolution, but it has gotten less and less…
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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 he recorded. Everybody knows that he set the standard for slide guitar in electric blues, but he was also a fantastic singer and wrote some
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Javier Batiz
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80. Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John
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Josh Meader
Jazz Evolution
Josh Meader is a jazz and fusion player who breaks ground with virtuosity that’s never flashy for its own sake. On his new album, Tide of Times, the young Aussie ace blends styles on a dime, hybridizing music before our eyes; videos online include an especially stunning non-album rendition of “Misty.” It’s fascinating, seeing Meader
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Chris Walz
Debut, Long Time Coming
Chris Walz has done his share of performing. He played young Woody in the stage production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song. From the late ’90s to 2001, Walz toured and recorded with banjo player Greg Cahill’s Special Consensus bluegrass band. And for 10 years he took the role of guitarist Fred Hellerman in Weavermania, a
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Greg Koch
Way Of The Gristle
On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love for Muddy Waters. Flying V blues master Larry McCray drops by with the Memphis Horns, and the result is a passionate pentatonic party with soul and fireworks. How did this album come about?Devon Allman had
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Rik Emmett
Canadian Custom
Rik Emmett is a master of many guitar styles and other artistic endeavors. As co-lead vocalist/guitarist in the hard-rock trio Triumph from 1975 to ’88, he experienced life as a rock star, then released a string of solo albums, a book of poetry, and an autobiography. His latest project, Ten Telecaster Tales, is a book
Brian Tarquin
No Idle Hands
Brian Tarquin is more than keeping busy. In the space of six weeks, he recently released two very different instrumental CDs centered on his playing with a multitude of guests,…
Pete Huttlinger
A Narrative (and album) From the Heart
To call Pete Huttlinger a survivor is an understatement. The notable Nashville fingerpicker has fought back from a major stroke and end-stage heart failure to record the most important album…
Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks
Minds Made Up
Collaborations have rendered some of the greatest tunes in the history of music. Whittle the subject to “just” guitarists, and the truth remains – two are often better than one.…
Woody Harris: Fingerstyle a la Fahey, Basho
Reemergence With a Rare Guitar Woody Harris used his ’76 John Mello guitar (“It has dimensions of a classical guitar, but made for steel strings.”) to play a piece of…
John Notto double-up
Dirty Honey guitarist shares riffs from “Can’t Find the Brakes” John Notto used his road-dog Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul ’58 reissue on pieces of two tracks – “Won’t Take…
Nancy Wilson
Sister Act
After the release of the acclaimed Red Velvet Car in 2010, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band, Heart, could have rested on their laurels. Instead, the sisters went…
Molly Martin
D-35 Savior
Sometimes, it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Such was the case with singer/songwriter Molly Martin. As the summer of 2005 came to an end, Martin left her hometown…
Ace Frehley
Back From Space
Ace Frehley’s first solo album was released in 1978, when each member of Kiss simultaneously released solo albums. As it turned out, Frehley’s was the runaway favorite among fans and…
Jeff Kollman
Validating Versatiltiy
A perusal of guitarist Jeff Kollman’s resumé forces a double take. Alongside decades of studio work and live gigs with artists like Chris Isaak, Lou Gramm, and Glenn Hughes are…
Have Guitar Will Travel 083 – Martin Guitar: Thomas Ripsam, Chris Martin and Rich Robinson
The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” digs deep into the story of – and latest happenings at – C.F. Martin. Host James Patrick Regan talks with Thomas Ripsam,…
Marty Friedman’s Melodic Grandeur
Vintage Strat, new style on “Illumination” A devout Jackson user with a longstanding signature model, Fender Strat that’s also heard on the record. Read our cover feature and a review…
Lee Ritenour
Lee Ritenour has forged a path as a preeminent session player in the kaleidoscopic Los Angeles studio scene, and a respected solo player. He has been active for decades, and…
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…
Dennis Dunaway
Earwigs, Alice, and Beyond
Lungs burning, sweat soaking their shaggy hair in the Arizona sun as miles passed beneath their feet, Dennis Dunaway and Vince Furnier shared endorphin highs along with an appreciation for…
Classics: Harold “Sonny” Wright’s 1965 Gibson J-45
Growing up 10 miles from Earl Scruggs’ birthplace in North Carolina with a music-loving father and two older sisters who could impress on the piano, it makes sense that Harold…
Walter Trout
The Reluctant Expatriate
Guitarist Walter Trout resides in California, but the acclaim for his ferocious, blues-based playing tends to resound from the right side of the North Atlantic. Trout’s albums and tours are…
Fretprints: Larry Carlton
Revisiting Room 335
In 1978, Larry Carlton was atop the unforgiving environs of L.A.’s music studios, where technical prowess, precision, creativity, tone, and groove are minimum requirements and mere competence promises a short…
B.J. Baartmans shares his “Cabin Fever”
The Space Age Travellers: Eclectic Instro B.J. Baartmans’ trio, The Space Age Travellers, defies genre labelling. Here, he uses his ’73 Fender Strat (tuned down a full step) with a…
Joe Satriani
Shockwave Supernova
Joe Satriani’s latest record is a concept album that bridges the gap between traditional blues guitar techniques, and the fiery yet accessible compositions that made him famous. For Satriani it’s…
Have Guitar Will Travel 083 – Martin Guitar: Thomas Ripsam, Chris Martin and Rich Robinson
The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” digs deep into the story of – and latest happenings at – C.F. Martin. Host James Patrick Regan talks with Thomas Ripsam,…
In Memoriam: Rusty Russell
Rusty Russell, a Nashville-based guitarist, songwriter, photographer, and writer who accompanied notable country and jazz musicians in studios and on stages for 35 years and was a Vintage Guitar contributor…
