•  Joey Molland

    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

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Steve Lukather

Solid-Gold Guitar Slinger

Photo: Rick Gould. He’s a chops monster – the epitome of taste and understatement. An international pop star and a hard-rocking muso. A gifted songwriter and arranger, in a career…

Pop ’N Hiss: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom

There were innovative Stratocaster records before Ah Via Musicom, but Eric Johnson’s 1990 opus changed the rules of the game – this was not your father’s funky quack-toned Fender. After…

Dan Wilson’s celebration of jazz legends

Homage with Superb Musicality On his latest album, “Things Eternal,” jazz wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical journey. Here, Dan…

John Ellis

John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo before his family moved to California when he was a…

Allen Hinds

Finding His Spot

Allen Hinds has spent a considerable amount of his 60 years playing guitar, and has kept busy lately with two new releases while also teaching at Musicians Institute, doing session…

Anthony Phillips

Anthony Phillips

Progressive 12-String Master

Ant Phillips was a founding member of Genesis and, along with guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, created the signature 12-string acoustic sound that marked the band’s classic albums. Phillips left the group…

Donald “Duck” Dunn

Memphis Blues Legend

Click Here to view Donald “Duck” Dunn Obit. In the history of popular music, the story of Memphis-based Stax Records stands as a unique, enduring legacy. Memphis was the focal…

Andrew Hendryx on a ’64 Fender Mandocaster

 Andrew Hendryx Demoing ’64 Fender Mandocaster On a recent mandolin safari, Andrew Hendryx visited a shop in Asheville, North Carolina, and had a go on a ’64 Fender Mandocaster.…

In Memoriam: Guitar Shorty

David Kearney, a.k.a. Guitar Shorty, passed away April 20. The award-winning blues guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who brought joy to the world with his showmanship, humor, and emotional artistry was…

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…

Joe Osborn photo: Ed Hirsch.

Joe Osborn

A Few (Hundred) Hits

Ed. Note: Joe passed away December 14th, 2018, he was 81. Joe Osborn. His face has never been on a record jacket or album cover. Odds are most have heard…

Ewan Currie

Hairy Tones in The Sheepdogs

There are a lot of retro bands, but few get the sonics correct. Hailing from central Canada, The Sheepdogs conjure an authentic vintage sound right down to guitar tones once…

Eric Gale

Crystal Vision

Eric Gales’ new release, Crystal Vision, is an autobiographical blues-rock tour de force with inspired twists and turns. Long labeled by myopic music critics as a Hendrix knock-off, Gales actually…

John Brinkmann, 1937-2013

Pioneering Promoter of the Vintage-Guitar Market

John Brinkmann, an innovator of the guitar-show concept and pioneer in the vintage-guitar market, passed away October 8. He had been battling diabetes and a heart condition. Brinkmann was one…

Foghat’s Scott Holt And Roger Earl Go “Drivin’ On”

 Latest Lick From Legends Of Boogie-Rock Foghat guitarist/frontman Scott Holt and founding drummer Roger Earl peeled off this exclusive take on “Drivin’ On,” the first single from the band’s…

Fearless Guitar Heroes

Metallica’s Hammett and Hetfield Stage Legendary Solidbodies

Metallica emerged as the antithesis to corporate rock and the “hair metal” that dominated L.A.’s Sunset Strip in the ’80s. Proudly separated from that scene, the band often famously ventured…

Damon Fowler Brings the Blues

Slow and Tasty on “Taxman” Damon Fowler has shared stages with Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks, so it makes sense that his music is loaded with guitar jams and sweet…

Mike McCready

Strat Swap: Fender CS Mark Anniversary of Ten

“I smashed a lot of guitars!” says Mike McCready of his nights onstage as Pearl Jam rode the crest of ’90s grunge – a time when hard rock returned to…

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…

Thom Rotella

Chart Topper

Sitting with his TV Jones custom archtop, exploring “Unit 7” – the tune made famous by Cannonball Adderley and Wes Montgomery – Thom Rotella says, “For years, I played everything…

Buck Dharma

Steinbergers and stilts

In the hyped-up worlds of entertainment and professional sports, most so-called “comebacks” usually aren’t. Often, veterans stay in the public eye (or attempt to) much longer than they should, subjecting…

Reinier Voet’s double-up demo

Gypsy jazz, direct from Amsterdam Reinier Voet shows us bits of “Swing 49” and the solo-guitar piece “Bagatelle Nr1,” both from “Images,” the new album by the Reinier Voet Quartet.…

Wendy Melvoin

Beyond Controversy

As a guitarist backing Prince on the world-dominant Purple Rain along with Parade and Around The World In A Day, Wendy Melvoin helped crystallize a musical vision known as The…

Dennis Jones

Beautiful Simplicity

On Soft Hard & Loud, Dennis Jones combines the guitar-centric sounds of the blues, reggae, R&B, and hard rock. The album is a finely tuned emotional thrill ride through contemporary…

Steve Vai

Taming The Hydra

After finishing a sold-out tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson for the G3 Reunion concerts, Steve Vai joined Adrian Belew and Tony Levin to perform interpretations of the ’80s…

Mike McCready

Strat Swap: Fender CS Mark Anniversary of Ten

“I smashed a lot of guitars!” says Mike McCready of his nights onstage as Pearl Jam rode the crest of ’90s grunge – a time when hard rock returned to…

Larry Reinhardt

Waxes Sufficiently

Larry Reinhardt’s world nearly collapsed in 1991, when a car accident mangled his left hand. The former guitarist for Captain Beyond and Iron Butterfly hadn’t known anything else since the…

Alvin Youngblood Hart

Alvin Youngblood Hart

Electric Gutbucket

Alvin Youngblood Hart surfs the musical landscape of blues-based music to make his own great art. His influences range from Howlin’ Wolf, Link Wray, Thin Lizzy, and Skip James, to…

Rory Gallagher’s Photo-Finish

Legend’s Best

The year 1977 saw upheaval in rock and roll, from the death of Elvis Presley and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crash to the emergence of new music styles including disco, new…

Fretprints: Ty Tabor

X Marks the Spot

The turbulent 1980s ended with a tsunami of bands seeking new sounds. Trends like classic-rock redux, blues/roots revivals, nu-metal, grunge, and divergent alternative styles purveyed by Red Hot Chili Peppers,…