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Artists
Ally Venable
Connection
On Money & Power, Ally Venable wields the power of wisdom and emotional connection. It’s an album about empowerment and comeuppance, but there’s plenty of playtime with guest stars Shemekia Copeland and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. An audio bluesfest, it’s songwriting brings substance carried by guitarists swinging for the fences. What does the albums title represent?What
Ted McCarty
I'm Not a Musician
…but the innovations wrought during his tenure with the Gibson guitar company from 1948 to 1965 forever changed the musical landscape for fretted instrument players. As President of Gibson during…
Steinar Karlsen
Nordic Surf Slinger
Scandinavia is no stranger to good “instro” music. The past 60 years have produced guitar-fueled legends like the Spotnicks (Sweden), Jørgen Ingmann (Denmark), and Laika & the Cosmonauts (Finland). Hailing…
Ty Tabor
On a Roll
King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor is on a roll. Despite the band being on hiatus due to bassist Dug Pinnick’s health issues, Tabor stays busy with side projects like Jelly…
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Sean Chambers
Shoulders Of A Legend
When Hubert Sumlin sideman Sean Chambers played a gig with Savoy Brown bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm, the result was blues-rock ecstasy. Live From Daryl’s House Club is the next best thing to being there. Fans of incendiary slide playing and Rory Gallagher, look no further. How did you meet Pat and Garnet?I
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Lari Basilio
The Artist’s Way
On Lari Basilio’s latest record, Redemption, art and life collide to make beautiful music. Effortless instrumental guitar techniques merge with rib-sticking melodies to captivate and astonish. Bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta are back to add rhythmic fire, but Basilio’s muse is life’s challenges and, of course, super cool gear. You became a mother.
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Dudley Taft
Life At Full Speed
A songwriting blues-rocker in the purist sense, Dudley Taft is succeeding in an era when nothing comes easy for his ilk. His new album, The Speed of Life, required a departure from the norm; while his previous three were recorded at his own studio in Cincinnati, this one used down time during a European tour
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…
Charlie Starr
Celestial Guide
“It’s hot! 77 degrees,” exclaims Charlie Starr from a hotel room in Augusta, Georgia, a few hours before the third date of his band’s latest tour. Even better than winter’s…
Rik Emmett
Triumphant Return
Triumph was one of the leading arena-rock acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Striking gold and platinum with albums including Allied Forces, Never Surrender, and Thunder Seven and…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Willie G. Moseley
Season 03 Episode 01 In Episode 3.1 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by longtime VG contributor Willie G. Moseley, who describes himself as a “stereotypical Babyboomer…
Del Casher
“Papa of the Wah-Wah” Marks Its 50 Years
The wah pedal is one of the most widely used effects in popular music, employed by artists playing rock, blues, funk, disco, and other genres. One of the most expressive…
Carlos Santana
Musical Outreach
Carlos Santana’s creative drive is obsessive, restless – and relentless. For his latest album, Blessings and Miracles, he pooled the cosmic energy of his wife (renowned drummer Cindy Blackman Santana),…
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Jonas Reingold
Bass Mechanic
Acclaimed as bassist for The Flower Kings, Jonas Reingold is a master four-stringer. He’s recorded with many artists, including Jon Anderson (of Yes), and has become an integral part of Steve Hackett’s band, re-creating the complex bottom of early Genesis. Twenty years ago, Reingold started the prog group Karmakanic (repeat it slowly a few times),
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Tommy Emmanuel
One-Man Orchestra
Tommy Emmanuel is a real guitarist in its truest sense. On Live At The Sydney Opera House, he stands onstage with only an acoustic guitar, and mesmerizes a packed house. His virtuosity employs country, Celtic, and folk fingerpicking styles that lift the spirit. The set is loaded with fan favorites, but a song suggestion from
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Jedd Hughes
More Personal
After landing on American shores in 2002 to study bluegrass, then shifting into a career as a country singer/songwriter/picker, Jedd Hughes has spent 20 years on an alternate – but rewarding – path as A-list session player and touring sideman. While being busy tempered his flow of original music, in 2014, he returned to songwriting.
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Classics: Norman Harris
Rare Pioneer
As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band weren’t going to be millionaires anytime soon. So he did what musicians do – side-hustled. But when most were manning the counter at a music shop or serving tables, Harris was up at the crack
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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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“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
Brian Tarquin
Shreddin’ for Veterans
For guitarist Brian Tarquin, helping military veterans is part of life. The son of a World War II vet, he grew up hearing stories about the camaraderie and fellowship shared…
Classics: June 2022
David Hood’s Alembic Bass
Like the engineers and musicians who, in the ’60s and ’70s, helped create legendary songs at FAME Studios and its offshoot, Muscle Shoals Sound, Frank Manno is a diehard music…
Al Stewart
Cat’s Meow
Year of the Cat, singer/songwriter/guitarist Al Stewart’s 1976 smash, is being celebrated with a 45th anniversary three-CD/DVD box set. The album has been remastered by producer Alan Parsons, and the…
Albert Castiglia
Righteous and Raucous
Guitarist Albert Castiglia’s blues-based music has gone through a lot of changes since VG first interviewed him in 2008. In that span, he has released five more albums, including this…
Neil LeVang
Six Strings Behind — and Beyond — Champagne Music
Neil LeVang was about to get a lecture. Days earlier, the A-list studio guitarist’s new boss, Lawrence Welk, had golfed with a couple well-known singers who mentioned that LeVang had…
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Blues From the Backroads
Stepping into the spotlight to play the blues with the classic bands that backed Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, most guitarists would sweat bullets. Not so Kenny Wayne Shepherd. He…
Eric Clapton in Mayall’s Blues Breakers
A God is Born
John Mayall Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton casts a long shadow in the annals of modern music. Released in 1966, it was dubbed “The Beano Album” to portray its transcendent…
Johnny Smith
An American Treasure
Jazz guitarist Johnny Smith died at his home June 11, 2013, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Arguably the most respected and revered guitarist of the modern era (1950…
Bob Page
Bob Page, co-founder of the vintage-instrument shop Buffalo Brothers, died December 24 after falling and suffering a head injury at his home in Faial, in the Portuguese Azores. He was…
Alex Lifeson
Fresh Sonic Horizons
What do you do when you’re the beloved guitarist in a legendary band whose career was ended by the premature passing of a core member? When you’re Alex Lifeson, you…
Marcin
Birth Of The Dragon
Marcin wields classical, flamenco, percussion, and two-handed tapping to create jaw-dropping music. Dragon In Harmony is his first full-length album, and it’s a stunner. Combining accessible tunes with guests Delaney…
Dave Alvin
Blast Back to the Ashgrove
The Ashgrove was more than a club; it was a legend. Tucked away on Hollywood’s Melrose Avenue, founder Ed Pearl booked bands from Lightnin’ Hopkins to Bill Monroe and everything…
Tony Iommi
Heaven and Hell: This Mob Still Rules!
Toni Iommi photo: Rick Gould. There is an undeniable power generated when certain musicians join forces. That is most definitely the case with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Vinny Appice, and…
Jim Peterik
The Ides of a Century
Most dictionaries define “ides” as the middle of a month, based on the Roman calendar. The most famous are the Ides of March, which is also the name of a…
Jussi Jaakonaho
Sunburst Finnish
There’s a vibrant instro-guitar scene in Finland and among its chief architects is Jussi Jaakonaho. Well known as a producer and engineer, his first solo album, Ghost Riot, is a…
Blackberry Smoke
Beyond Southern Musical Borders
Comparisons between Blackberry Smoke and earlier Southern-rock bands may be inevitable, but the Atlanta-based quintet takes such observations in stride. “That’s way better than being compared to the Bay City…
Bobby Eli
Philly-Soul Pioneer
With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records, the spotlight is on the songwriting team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. Founded in 1971, PIR was the…
Mick Ralphs
The Original is Still the Greatest
The only guitarist to appear on every Bad Company album is the redoubtable Mick Ralphs, whose on-the-money sledgemhammer riffs were already known by serious fans of rock guitar prior to…
How Ron Wood’s New Barbarians Saved the Stones
Ear-to-Ear Violence
Today, the Rolling Stones continue to perform live, more than 50 years since their first gig. But few realize how an unsung side project formed and funded by Ron Wood…
Duke Levine, solo guitar on a ’70s country stalwart!
Classic licks on a ’60s Teisco and blackface Princeton Reverb” Boston native Duke Levine’s impressive career has included stints with Otis Rush, Del Fuegos, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and others. Now…
J.R. Cobb
Classic Bands, Classic Songs
When he joined Atlanta Rhythm Section in early 1972, J.R. Cobb and Barry Bailey had more in common than simply being the band’s co-guitarists. Like Bailey (VG, December ’16), Cobb…
