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Artists
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest J Mascis
Season 03 Episode 06 In Episode 3.6 of Buy That Guitar, presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Known for his “monolithic” riffs, extensive use of fuzz, feedback, and distortion, Mascis ranks #74 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists”. His guitar of choice has always been…
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, the blues informs his jazz-rock workouts with virtuosic jabs of…
Have Guitar Will Travel 087 – Rhys Lewis and Chase Mitchell
HGWT episode 87 has host James Patrick Regan speaking with singer/songwriters Rhys Lewis and Chase Mitchell. Rhys grew up in England and studied at the London Center of Contemporary Music.…
Tony Gilkyson
Inevitable Musician
Whether nature or nurture, it seems inevitable that Tony Gilkyson would become a musician. His father, Terry, was a folk singer who wrote hits for Dean Martin, Frankie Laine, and…
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Check This Action: A Year In Their Life
Recently, I stumbled onto one of those “reaction” videos by a New Zealander named Courtney, who wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen footage of the Beatles or even heard their songs. This shouldn’t be surprising. The video she watches of the Fab Four, playing “All My Loving” on Ed Sullivan in 1964, was created probably…
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Michael Manring
Bass Convergence
Most music fans who learn that the eclectic trio 3Below is all bass players will react with, “You gotta be kiddin’!” However, musicians who appreciate the unusual will stay for a listen, especially given the lineup – Michael Manring, Trey Gunn, and Alonso Arreola. Spearheaded by Alonso on his six-string or a hybrid ascoustic, their…
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David Hamburger
Top-Tier Tutorial
Whoever said, “Those who can’t do, teach” has never heard David Hamburger. Among his two dozen instructional books and videos, Beginning Blues Guitar, awarded Best New Educational Book or Video at NAMM in 1994, boasts more than 100,000 in sales. In addition to supplying music for advertising and TV, the 60-year-old has recorded with Freedy…
Mason Razavi – Masterful Jazz
Gibson L-5 on “You Stepped Out of a Dream” Mason Razavi is known in jazz circles for his superb comping, soloing, and chord melodies, informed by greats of the…
Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young on “The Mission”
Mars, Pluto… And Styx
Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents the group’s first new material in nearly 15 years. The…
Sam Kiszka
Ethereal Energy
Guitar rock in 2023 doesn’t get bigger or ballsier than Greta Van Fleet. A veritable steamroller since “Highway Tune” launched in 2017, the band’s second EP, From The Fires, won…
Wayne Nelson
Little River Anchor
Bassist/vocalist Wayne Nelson has decades of experience with the Little River Band and was the first American to join the band (in 1980). He’s seen numerous changes in personnel, including…
Christopher Thorn
Alt-Rocker/Studio Guru
Best known as half of the guitar tandem in the ’90s alternative-rock band Blind Melon (that’s his rhythm on “No Rain,” using his Gibson J-30), Christopher Thorn has since recorded…
Six-String Kicks
Wood from Famed Bowling Alley Set to Sing
Few things scratch America’s cumulative itch for nostalgia like Route 66 – the famed wagon-trail-cum-highway that offered passage to those migrating west from Chicago in the mid 19th century, then…
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Midge Ure
The Unexpected Retrospective
While guitarist Midge Ure was a member of Visage and was briefly in an early version of Thin Lizzy, he’s best known as the front man of the British power-prog band Ultravox. Ure has enjoyed an active solo career since Ultravox split three decades ago, and the recent three-CD/three-LP Royal Albert Hall 04-10-23 is a…
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Allen Hinds
Flowing
On The Good Fight, guitarist Allen Hinds finds the sweet spot between melodic fusion and good, earthy music for the soul. Joined by a stellar rhythm section, Hinds is a black-belt legato master and slide stylist with an ear for excitement. Strong songs prevail, but his influences go much deeper than your run-of-the-mill jazz guitarist.…
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Steve Hackett
No Limits
Steve Hackett is one of the busiest guitarists around, regularly issuing new studio and live albums. His latest, Live Magic at Trading Boundaries, focuses on his classical/acoustic compositions. Included are solo guitar pieces and group performances featuring music from his time in Genesis during its beloved ’70s “progressive” era. Trading Boundaries is an intimate venue…
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Mark Sampson
Back Cat
Epitome of the restless designer/tinkerer, Mark Sampson has co-founded four guitar-amplifier companies, two of which – Matchless and Bad Cat – are indelible figures in the trade whose original builds draw perpetual interest from collectors, especially the Matchless DC-30 and SC-30, which are prime examples of “boutique.” Sampson started Bad Cat in 2000 with Rick…
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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 King Crimson albums Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. The band is called Beat, and the result is mind-altering. All this, and there’s…
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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 play a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Beautiful Delilah.” He’s joined by George Bradfute (on a ’50s Epiphone upright) and Bob…
The Sebastian ‘Burst
Inspirational Icon
The mere mention of a Gibson Les Paul Standard made between 1958 and 1960 commands attention. But one like this, made famous in the hands of John Sebastian in the…
Check This Action: A Year In Their Life
Recently, I stumbled onto one of those “reaction” videos by a New Zealander named Courtney, who wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen footage of the Beatles or even heard their…
Grit & Glory
Gilby Clarke and His Guitars
The drive to succeed – along with certain workaholic tendencies – revealed themselves early in rock guitarist Gilby Clarke. On the brink of becoming a “problem child,” he turned the…
John Notto
L.A. Burner
Dirty Honey is one of the most-exciting bands to emerge in the past few years. The Los Angeles quartet stands out by playing straight-up guitar-based rock and roll with a…
Have Guitar Will Travel – 031 Featuring John Notto
The latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” has host James Patrick Regan speaking with guitarist John Notto from Dirty Honey, a band that harkens to the glory days of…
Tim O’Brien
Trailbrazing Triple-Threat
If Tim O’Brien was a ballplayer, he’d be at least a “triple threat.” He’s a superb songwriter, a stellar mandolin player, a unique singer, and a powerful live performer. Born…
J Mascis
Heavy Steps : Dinosaur Jr. Journey
Fans recognize the first three albums by Dinosaur Jr. – Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug – as alternative-rock touchstones. Propelled by J Mascis’ dynamic, alternating clean/distorted guitar…
Kristian Borring
Up From Down Under
Born in Denmark, Kristian Borring now lives in one of the most-remote major cities on earth – Perth, on the far western coast of Australia – yet is making international…
Steve Stevens plays “77”
Steve Stevens plays “77” Live from the dressing room at Wembley Arena just before a sold-out performance with Billy Idol, Steve Stevens uses his signature Ciari Guitars Ascender Premier in…
Mike Vernon
Surf-Guitar Ace Mike Vernon Chills on “Lucky Boy” Surf-instro revivalist Mike Vernon grabbed his (semi-hollow) Gretsch Tennessee Rose (with flatwounds) plugged into his Roland 77 to play “Lucky Boy.” Named…
Ray Gomez
A Time for Honor
One of the hottest guitarists to emerge from the mid-’70s fusion scene was Ray Gomez, who first became known through his virtuosic performance on Stanley Clarke’s landmark School Days album.…
Butch Walker
Hummingbirds and Ghosts
Butch Walker readily admits that when it comes to his life as a musician, performer, and producer, he has some decidedly “first-world problems,” like when a guitar he’d like to…
Robert Lockwood, Jr.
1915-2006
With the death of Robert Lockwood, Jr., the blues world lost one of the few direct links to Robert Johnson as well as one of the studio kingpins of Chicago…
Steve Boone
Low-end with the Lovin’ Spoonful
The iconic quartet known as the Lovin’ Spoonful germinated in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the mid ’60s and crafted hit songs that embraced folk, blues, country, and jug-band…
Tommy Shaw
Styx Strikes Back!
“About 10 years ago, we stopped being a rock band,” Tommy Shaw opined from the stage. After a pregnant pause, the Styx guitarist/vocalist announced, “We’re a classic rock band!” To…
Johnny A.
On the fast track
When VG first caught up with guitarist Johnny A. in 2001, his instrumental release, Sometime Tuesday Morning, was perking ears all over the place. Before he signed to Steve Vai’s…
Fretprints: Walter Becker
Steely Dan’s Unsung Guitar Great
Steely Dan to this day occupies a unique place in music history. Laying claim to an unexplored intersection of jazz, R&B, pop, rock, blues, and world sounds, they redefined fusion…
João Erbetta: Eclectic instrumentalist
Five-guitar run on “Bubbles” João Erbetta’s all-instrumental album, “Los Angeles,” is eclectic and quirky. Here, the guitarist/banjoist/bassist/keyboardist/steel-guitarist plays five guitars made by fellow Brazilians to blend jazz with country for…
Denny Laine 1944-2023
Denny Laine, best known for his affiliations with the Moody Blues and Paul McCartney and Wings, died December 5 after an extended battle with interstitial lung disease. He was 79.…
Samantha Fish
Moving Faster
Barely over 30, Samantha Fish already has more than a decade’s worth of writing and performing in life’s rearview mirror. Her new album, Faster, is the latest step in a…
