Arliss McMinn and the California Playboys

The "Fenderized" Teens

“What started in California?” you ask. The list includes a broad range of inventions, fads, pop culture, and social movements. The Golden State brought forth Levi’s, iPhones, surf music, hot…

Blake Aaron

Melodic Passion

Blake Aaron’s fifth solo release, Soul Stories, features eight originals and a couple of covers that have at least one thing in common. Each instrumental relies heavily on the listener…

Elvin Bishop

Gettin' his groove back

Most blues fans are aware of the good-time party side of Elvin Bishop. And there’s plenty of that on his latest record, Gettin’ My Groove Back (Blind Pig). But on…

Big Al Anderson

Pawn Shop Guitars

Since last spoke to him, songwriter and master of the Telecaster Al Anderson has been extremely productive. More than a dozen of his songs appear on Vince Gill’s new These…

Will Ray

Gets the blues and Pays Homage to his inspirations

The life and times of country/rock/blues/allstylesinone guitar genius Will Ray are well-documented. Born in Virginia, raised on the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Ian and Sylvia, Elvis, and Ray…

Tony Gilkyson

Tony Gilkyson photo: Markus Cuff. You’d expect a guy who spent time in bands like Lone Justice and X to be boisterous and outgoing, but Tony Gilkyson’s personality is better…

Alex Haddad and Kyle Lewis

Two Times the Vibes

Nashville’s Them Vibes hearken to the two-guitar teams of yesterday. Established by the songwriting duo of front man Brother Love and guitarist Alex Haddad, the band added second guitarist Kyle…

Steve Dawson

 Channeling Sol Hoopii in “Singin’ the Blues” Steve Dawson used his unplugged Celtic Cross Weissenborn model lap steel and gathered his friends Gary Craig (drums), Jeremy Holmes (bass), and…

Billy Sheehan

Big Bottom

Bass virtuoso Billy Sheehan made his mark in the rock world as a member of Talas. He left the group in 1985 when he was courted by former Van Halen…

Greg Martin plays “Shotgun Effie”

Fresh Headhunters riff Greg Martin co-founder and lead guitarist in Kentucky Headhunters, shows us the opening riff to “Shotgun Effie” from the band’s new album, “That’s A Fact Jack.” That’s his gorgeous…

In Memoriam: Kal David

Blues/rock guitarist Kal David died August 16, 2022, in Palm Springs, California. He was 79 and struggled with pneumonia just before his passing. Born David Raskin, in 1961 the Chicago…

Phil DeGruy

Laughin’ Matters

Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that. His flashy, inventive playing is complemented by amusing asides and…

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…

Check out Micki Free’s bad-boy swagger!

Rockin’ with conviction on “Heavy Mercy” Take in allll the vibes as Micki Free uses his Fender Monterey Strat to play “Heavy Mercy” using just one of his Marshall 1974x…

Steve Howe

Fill in the Blanks

In our preliminary discussion with respected British guitarist Steve Howe prior to going “on the record,” the interviewer noted that the main focus of the questions he’d prepared were oriented…

Fareed Haque

Worldly Jazz Virtuoso

Photo courtesy Fareed Haque. Fareed Haque is a jazz-fusion and classical player who’s known for stunning guitarmanship, yet for one reason or another, his name often flies under the radar.…

Chris Hillman

Bluegrass, Bass, and Back Agian

American music legend Chris Hillman is an accomplished guitarist. He has wielded a variety of stringed instruments in a number of notable bands, as exemplified by his tenure as a…

Andy Summers

Fresh Harmonics

Guitarist in the megastar band the Police, author, photographer, and solo artist Andy Summers can never be accused of having false modesty. His dedication to music led to being in…

Malcolm Brickhouse

Free As You Wanna Be

Malcolm Brickhouse was excited but confident after his band, Unlocking The Truth, recently performed its first headlining gig, at The Troubadour, in Hollywood. The 13-year-old guitarist has seen his Brooklyn-based…

Larry Campbell

All-Americana Multi-Instrumentalist

You’ve probably seen his face, and maybe even watched his hair and beard go from black to gray. Whether it’s fiddling with Bob Dylan, supplying steel at the Americana Music…

Alan Parsons

New World Record

With his latest album, From The New World, legendary musician/producer Alan Parsons continues a string of lushly orchestrated progressive rock, this time featuring guests such as Joe Bonamassa and Styx’s…

Mick Ralphs

Good Company

In 1972, one of Britain’s best bands, Mott The Hoople, still hadn’t made any impact on the charts. Its record company, Island Records, was getting impatient. Then, a future rock…

Adam Hawley’s Joyous Jazz

Adam lays it down on “Escape” Jazz hitmaker Adam Hawley, who has backed Jennifer Lopez, Natalie Cole, and played in the “American Idol” house band, used his fetching PRS Hollowbody…

Mark Bosch

New York State of Mind

As the longtime lead guitarist for Garland Jeffreys and Ian Hunter, Mark Bosch’s resumé reads like a who’s who of the rock and roll world. Over the past four decades,…

Travis Tritt

Studio Snap-Back

It’s not often a superstar performer willfully steps away from creating new music for a decade. For country singer/songwriter/guitarist Travis Tritt, though, it was a move with purpose. “I decided…

Johnny Marr

Brit Gets a Git

When pop-music fans in the U.K. talk about guitar heroes, they tend to put more stake in the way a player’s work fits, contextually, into that of his band. To…

Storied Board

The Tale of Bobby Whitlock’s D-35

Plenty of musicians personalize instruments with their names or initials. So, it’s easy to assume that Robert “Bobby” Whitlock commissioned someone to inlay the “RW” in the fingerboard of his…

Roger McGuinn

Head Byrd Looks Back

Few ’60s rockers have had the lasting influence of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, whose 12-string Rickenbacker “jangle pop” sound influenced the likes of Tom Petty and REM, and helped blaze…

The (Way) Back Beat: Top O’ The Line, For Only $150!

The Immortal Danelectro Guitarlin

Having looked at the most expensive electric guitars offered in 1960s – over 50 years ago. Traditional makers – Gibson, Guild, and Gretsch – concentrated on flashy amplified archtops that…

Larry McCray’s R&B-Blues Meld

Rust Belt Veteran does “Arkansas” Larry McCray and his bodacious Custom Shop Flying V show us the hard-drivin’ guitar parts from “Arkansas,” one of the songs from his new album,…