• Webb Wilder’s take on “Beautiful Delilah”

    Artists

    Webb Wilder’s take on “Beautiful Delilah”

    “Hillbilly Speedball” sample Since the mid ’80s, Webb Wilder has cranked out consistently fine roots-rock. His latest is “Hillbilly Speedball,” and here he grabs his ’61 Gibson ES-330TD plugged into a narrow-panel Fender Vibrolux to…

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Slash

Life is Grand After Guns N' Roses

Bursting onto the rock scene in 1987, Guns N’ Roses overthrew the shred and pop kings who’d previously ruled the decade. The group’s contrasting blues-based style revitalized classic rock and…

Tom Keifer

Thick and Thin

Tom Keifer is a tad young to be on the (very) long list of musicians inspired first and foremost by the Beatles’ “arrival” in the U.S. in 1964. But he’s…

Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!

Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV, but his new album, “Livin’ My Best Life,” is more…

Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez

Blues Is Everywhere

6’2″/300-pound Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez is an international emissary of the blues. The French-born son of a Bosnian mother and Spanish father is a favorite at European blues clubs and…

Charlie Daniels

Same Ol' CD

There are more facets to veteran Charlie Daniels’ entertainment enterprises than many of his fans may realize. Not only has the affable guitarist released 29 albums since 1971, he’s also…

Cliff Goodwin, Solo

Joe Cocker alum plays “Leap of Faith,” Cliff Goodwin was Joe Cocker’s guitarist for a decade and has also backed Robert Palmer. For this VG exclusive, he grabbed his early-’80s…

  • Adrian Vandenberg

    MK II

    If you played rock guitar in the ’80s, you likely paid attention when Vandenberg videos/songs played on MTV or the…

  • Marc Ford

    Tone King Flies Solo

    Marc Ford: Matt Wignall. Whenever Marc Ford has held down the guitar chair in a band, whether it’s with the…

  • Duane Allman

    Duane Allman in 1970. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. Though he stood in the limelight a scant three years, Duane Allman…

  • John Fogerty

    Ol' Flannel Shirt is Back

    John Fogerty’s music has always been unique. As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist that has been in the international spotlight…

  • Walter Strauss

    Right-Hand Man

    West Coast fingerstylist Walter Strauss has a remarkable picking technique – powerful and surprisingly percussive – as heard on his…

  • Scott Henderson

    Scott Henderson

    Vibe Station

    On his new album, Vibe Station, Scott Henderson once again redefines fusion within a groove-heavy power trio format. As always,…

  • Eli Cook

    All Over the Map

    Eli Cook’s seventh album, High-Dollar Gospel, is an Americana-style showcase of sounds, instrumentation, and varied tunings played on an interesting…

  • Alex Lifeson

    Three at 30

    The legendary Canadian rock trio Rush certainly knows how to market a birthday celebration for its fans. The deluxe version…

  • Ray Benson

    Swing Ambassador: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel

    “Why are you all playin’ that modern music?” Asleep at the Wheel guitarist Ray Benson fielded the question from Harry,…

  • Six-Strings, 60 Years Ago

    A Likely First

    Had he survived to this day, Elvis Presley – cultural icon extraordinaire – would be 80 years old. The man…

  • Tom Petty and Mike Campbell

    Guitars at Heart for 30 Years

    Remember the first time you strummed a D chord or fumbled your way oh-so-slowly through “Walk Don’t Run”? Chances are…

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    Chris Isaak

    Sun Worship

    Most pop-music fans became aware of Chris Isaak through his 1991 hit “Wicked Game” and its uber-high-profile video, directed by…

  • Reunited

    Bruce Forman Honors Barney Kessel

    From 1957 to ’60, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne recorded four LPs for Contemporary Records…

  • Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

    Heart & Soul Blues

    Born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi – homeland of the Delta blues – Christone Ingram learned gospel music in the…

  • Gretchen Menn

    Abandon All Hope

    Every musician aspires to create music that will resonate through the ages and Abandon All Hope, by Zepparella guitarist Gretchen…

  • Chris Tapp

    Heavy Adversity

    Unphased by knee-jerk comparisons to rock duos like the White Stripes, Royal Blood, and Black Keys, The Cold Stares have…

  • Fretprints: Dave Grohl

    Beyond Grunge

    “Alternative rock” – more descriptor than genre – was a reaction to hair bands, technical excess, and pop-metal formulae. It…

  • Ray Cummins – I’ll See You In My Dreams

    Ray Cummins Plays the 1956 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 prototype “Dark Eyes” VG ace online tutor Ray Cummins uses the…

  • Adrian Legg

    A Moment with the Fingerstyle Wizard

    Adrian Legg isn’t your typical gearhead. Oh, he’s a gearhead, alright – he even authored a book entitled Customizing Your…

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    Mike Matthews

    The Special Effect at Electro-Harmonix

    As a child of four, Mike Matthews’ mother taught him how to play classical-style piano. Formal lessons followed; the child…

  • Paco de Lucia

    Paco de Lucia

    1947-2014

    Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia died February 26 after suffering a heart attack in Cancun, Mexico. He was 66.…

  • Todd Park Mohr

    Steady Base

    The latest album from Colorado’s Big Head Todd and the Monsters, New World Arisin’, delivers what fans have come expect…

  • Slash

    Vintage "Contraband" and Velvet Revolver

    There once was a time when pointy headstocks, locking vibratos, and refrigerator-sized effects racks were the norm. Fast players with…

  • Steve Turner

    The March To Fuzz

    Thirty-five years after Steve Turner and Mudhoney became forever linked with two legendary pedals by coining their debut EP Superfuzz…

  • 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…