Kay-Ta Matsuno
Few – if any – other guitarists claim a movie character as their first musical inspiration, as is the case for Kay-Ta Matsuno.
“My Dad...
W.C. Clark
After seeing a member of country band Jimmy Heap and the Melody Makers playing a homemade washtub bass, W.C. Clark recalled, “I made a...
Richie Faulkner
Making good music isn’t easy, even for bands with a boatload of iconic albums under their studded-leather belts. Judas Priest has weathered many a...
Rick Vito
Surveying a small sample of Rick Vito’s resumé, versatility is a given. From the early ’70s, he has been tapped by John Mayall, Bonnie...
Buck Dharma
It’s not often that a band releases a full album recorded 40-plus years earlier. But 11 of the 12 cuts on Blue Öyster Cult’s...
Charlie Starr
There was a time when Blackberry Smoke would have been tagged a Southern-rock band, but today they sit at the crossroads of many styles...
The Mystery Lights: Garage Punk Meets Musicianship
Influences From the Kinks to Beefheart
The Mystery Lights’ Mike Brandon used his ’60s Silvertone 1429 plugged into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for this...
Mark Sampson: Back Cat
The epitome of a restless designer/tinkerer, Mark Sampson has co-founded four guitar-amplifier companies, two of which – Matchless and Bad Cat – are indelible...
Thom Rotella’s Wes Flashback!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=066t0iSVmFs?si=FInBSXUI9a9LhaRD]
Fretboard brilliance from a studio master
Guitarist Thom Rotella is a protégé of the legendary Tommy Tedesco and lists heroes including Montgomery, Green, Benson,...
Ronnie Baker Brooks: Windy City Blues Hero
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0SFtaxXbYU?si=axN4PDNrbhgKoWsZ]
Chicago Sound, Fresh Attitude
Second-generation blues master Ronnie Baker Brooks grabbed his a custom Gibson ES-336, a Tube Screamer, and his reissue Fender Super...