Gypsy jazz master Christophe Astolfi plays “La Valsajo”

Traditionalist offers standout new album Christophe Astolfi offers an exclusive rendition of Jo Privat’s “La Valsajo” using a guitar made by Jean-Pierre Favino, son of Jacques Favino. On his new…

Fretprints: John Abercrombie

Modern-Jazz Innovator

John Abercrombie operated in four dimensions. A guitarist of unbounded breadth and depth, he redefined space in long, improvised flights and bent time like a rubber band. Jazz is too-narrow…

Ana Popovic

Memphis via Belgrade

Ana Popovic was but a toddler when she started to absorb major musical mojo through her father’s love of the blues, classic rock, and most importantly, thanks to the rec-room…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robben Ford and Yellowjackets

Inside Story

In 1975, 24-year-old Robben Ford was making a name for himself on the Los Angeles music scene, where competition was fierce. As a blues-guitar prodigy, Ford had played behind Charlie…

Warner Hodges

Ahead of His Time, Two Times

Photo: Rusty Russell. Jason and The Scorchers hit the stage with bombast, conveyed true rock-and-roll punch in the studio, and was massively influential. But it never attained superstardom. The band’s post-/neo-rockabilly…

Eliza Gilkyson

Not Your Typical Folkie

“My dad was my biggest influence, especially melodically. He loved dark melodies,” says Eliza Gilkyson of her father, the late Terry Gilkyson. As the title of her latest CD hints,…

Bryan Bassett

Foghat’s Slide Secret

A half-century after its inception, Foghat has just one original member – drummer Roger Earl – yet the quartet is cranking out British blooze better than ever. Part of this…

Charlie Baty

Through the course of almost 20 years on Alligator Records, Charlie Baty of Little Charlie and the Nightcats has proven himself to be a one of his generation’s best blues…

Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka

Heavy Steps : Road Ready

“Rock and roll is a young man’s game.” Once upon a time, it was the genre’s calling card. A half-century later, though, young bands playing bombastic guitar rock often trod…

Mike Campbell

Still Thrilled

Boiled down, the music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is defined by a handful of essential elements: their leader’s character-filled voice, songs about life and its toils, swirling B-3…

Mark Tremonti

Three-Band Man

The odds of any guitarist being in a highly successful rock band are long. Chances of being in two are slim. Three? Virtually unheard of. But guitarist Mark Tremonti is…

Have Guitar Will Travel 082 – Drew Holcomb, Foy Vance and Christophe Paubert

In the latest episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan connects with three artists – two musicans and a winemaker! Drew Holcomb talks about growing up in…

Sylvain Sylvain

Finds his Subway Rhythm

Subway Rhythm is an apt name for Sylvain Sylvain’s music publishing company. The former New York Doll’s train of thought makes all the stops, a tendency he often acknowledges in…

Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize”

Austin Great Goes Full Steam for “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews makes a VG-social-media curtain call by playing “Eyes On The…

Aldo Nova

Fully Engaged

I did a lot of disappearing acts in my career. And when I disappear, I disappear,” Aldo Nova says with a chuckle. “You don’t hear anything about me.” The Canadian…

Jake E. Lee

The Legend Returns

Jake E. Lee found fame replacing Randy Rhoads to co-write two of Ozzy Osborne’s most popular albums – Bark At The Moon and Ultimate Sin. It cemented his place in…

Joe Bouchard

Blue Öyster Cult and Beyond

Joe Bouchard was the powerhouse bassist for Blue Öyster Cult during its heyday, playing on classic stompers like “Cities on Flame,” “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” and “Godzilla.” Since leaving the…

Elvin Bishop

Cultivating the Blues

Photos: Preston Gratiot. The first album Elvin Bishop played on wasn’t a chart-topper – it was a life-changer. For the raised-on-rock generation that credits 1965’s Paul Butterfield Blues Band for…

Aerosmith

A Retrospective

Aerosmith was formed in the summer of 1970 in Sunapee, New Hampshire, when Jam Band bassist Tom Hamilton and guitarist Joe Perry got together with vocalist Steven Tyler. Shortly after,…

Bill Kirchen

Telemaster Offers A Word To The Wise

Trying to top 2006’s Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods, Bill Kirchen’s eighth solo album, would seem a mighty tall order. Then again, he set what would have been a surprisingly…

Carl Verheyen

Riverboat Music

On his new album, Riverboat Sky, Carl Verheyen combines passionate musicality, spellbinding virtuosity, and ebullient rock and roll. It’s also a tone fest, as Verheyen morphs chicken-fried banjo rolls with…

Dave Edmunds

Full Solo Circle

The career of Welsh guitarist Dave Edmunds has included hits and collaborations with other notable musicians, including Rockpile, with bassist Nick Lowe. First, though, he drew notice in his home…

Mike Campbell

Little Movies

Longtime Tom Petty right-hand man Mike Campbell’s new album, Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, is a cinematic, guitar-heavy offering with irresistible hooks, gritty tales, and special guests. His third album as…

Alan Gogoll

Harmonic Convergence

Hailing from the Australian island state of Tasmania, Alan Gogoll is reshaping acoustic guitar before our eyes. Sure, you’ve heard artificial harmonics, but Gogoll has refined it into a fluid…

Martin Turner

Low-End Unorthodoxy

When he transitioned from playing guitar, former Wishbone Ash bassist Martin Turner kept a pick in his right hand and developed a style that combined fluid, melodic lines with an…

John 5

Return of the Tele Terror

Photo: Neil Zlozower. Best known as the scary-looking guitarist for metalmen like Rob Zombie, Rob Halford, and Marilyn Manson, John 5 is also regarded as a country twanger and namesake…

Carl Verheyen

Well-rounded and busy

Carl Verheyen says it all came to him when he heard the Eagles’ album called The Long Run. At that point, he was heavily into jazz, and practicing eight hours…

Fretprints: Michael Schenker

The UFO Years

Underrated pioneers of melodic metal in the 1970s and ’80s, UFO’s music compared with contemporaries Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, AC/DC, and Whitesnake, yet they achieved only modest success – until uber-guitarist…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 2

The Black Bison Leads the Herd

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled the first three installments for a special edition of VG…

Letritia Kandle

and the Magnificent Grand Letar

Run down the list of early electric-guitar innovators and an all-male group typically comes to mind – Les Paul, Alvino Rey, Charlie Christian, Merle Travis, and the like. However, Letritia…