• Thomas Custom Guitars

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    Thomas Custom Guitars

    Rarities from the Pacific Northwest

    Certain makes and models of electric guitars are rightfully prized for their elegant physical designs and superior craftsmanship. Even better are those also revered for their playability and particularly rich tonal qualities. Thomas guitars, on the other hand, are usually noted for their odd (sometimes controversial) shapes and zany features. Built by the late guitarist/machinist/luthier/and

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Joe Satriani

Satch's Surfin' Turns 20

Photo: Lisa Sharken. It’s been 20 years since the release of Joe Satriani’s landmark album, Surfin’ with the Alien , the instrumental platter that put “shred guitar” on the map…

Paul Mehling

Fab Four Gypsy of Tone

One of the world’s foremost Djangophiles, Paul Mehling has for many years been at the forefront of Gypsy jazz in America. The new album by Hot Club of San Francisco…

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Randy Bachman

The Album Title Says It All

Canadian guitarist/guitar collector Randy Bachman is known worldwide for his classic licks in songs by the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, but he has also recorded jazz with the likes…

Earl Slick

Zig Zag Back to the Top

Earl Slick landed his dream gig back in 1974, when a friend referred him for a gig with David Bowie, replacing Mick Ronson.  During this period, Slick recorded three monumental…

Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

The Chicago resident has been exciting blues audiences worldwide for decades. But he built his reputation working the local club circuit, playing for African-American audiences and Chuck Berry-inspired rock for…

Frampton, Foreigner Join HoF

Rockin’ the Hall

Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Alexis Korner, and John Mayall became classmates during the 39th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held October 19 in Cleveland. Frampton, who is battling…

Leo Lyons

Fifty Years After

More than a half-century ago, Ten Years After sat at the vanguard of British FM rock, blending blues boogies with the solos of guitar star Alvin Lee. An essential part…

Dave Edmunds

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…

Ace Frehley

The Space Man’s Cover Plan

Few guitarists in hard rock have proven as influential as Ace Frehley; just about any guitarist interviewed after the mid ’80s listed the Space Man as an inspiration. Frehley is…

Adrian Vandenberg

Return Of The Flying Dutchman

On Adrian Vandenberg’s latest album, Sin, the Flying Dutchman joins forces with former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Mats Levén for the heaviest album of his career. Gothic riffs, Led Zep breakdowns,…

Rocky Athas

The Perfect Beast is a Matter of Tone

Ask what defines Rocky Athas’ sonic universe and the Texas-born guitarist will readily answer, “Tone,” which he best exploits in his weapon of choice, a 1962 Surf Green Stratocaster. The…

Fretprints: Ronnie Montrose

America’s Metallic Answer

The cultural and musical hotbed that was San Francisco in the ’60s produced numerous important bands – Santana, Grateful Dead, Steve Miller, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother, and…

Sebastian Nagel

Meditations in Funk

Germany’s Sebastian Nagel is a producer, composer, session guitarist, performer, and fan of the funk. His latest project finds him joining Colemine Records for an odyssey into the groovy world…

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…

Tyler Morris and a 1953 Gibson Les Paul model

Tyler Morris and a 1953 Gibson Les Paul model Tyler Morris showcases his 1953 Gibson Les Paul goldtop and GA-70 amp. Keep up with Tyler at www.tylerdmorris.com.

Leo Lyons

Fifty Years After

More than a half-century ago, Ten Years After sat at the vanguard of British FM rock, blending blues boogies with the solos of guitar star Alvin Lee. An essential part…

Punky Meadows

Heavenly Guitar

In the 1970s, glam-rockers Angel carved a niche with five albums of arena-rock anthems and an image that stood in antithesis to their Casablanca label mates, Kiss. After retiring from…

Dean DeLeo and Tom Bukovac unite on the trip the witch

Cosmic Convergence

At a glance, there’s little reason to connect a guitarist like Dean DeLeo to one like Tom Bukovac. One is ’90s-rock royalty, the other a modern-day Nashville studio legend. Strange…

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…

Whitey Kirst

Life After Iggy

Whitey Kirst is known for smoldering lead-guitar tone and collaborating with punk-rock pioneer Iggy Pop. After four albums and hundreds of shows, Kirst’s 13-year tenure with Iggy went on hiatus…

Stephen Ulrich

One-Man Band

New York-based guitarist Stephen Ulrich is known for the suspenseful “crime jazz” and surf-rock tones of his instrumental trio, Big Lazy, but he has a side career writing soundtrack music.…

Hellecasters

Hell Revisited

The hottest thing going in genre-bending music during the past year has been the award-winning Hellecasters, whose first album on Mike Nesmith’s Rio Records Return of the Hellecasters raised a…

Phil Campbell

Motöring Ahead

From 1984 through 2015, Phil Campbell was the guitarist in Motörhead, and for the last 20 years of the band’s existence was its sole guitarist, appearing on classic releases such…

Duke Levine

Bonnie’s New Guitar Man

After 29 years on the road, Bonnie Raitt guitarist George Marinelli decided to take a break. Stepping into the role will be Boston native Duke Levine. The youngest of five,…

Bill Nelson

Still Deluxe

Most people remember Bill Nelson as the front man/guitar hero in the English band Be Bop Deluxe. Since folding that outfit 35 years ago, he has led a fertile solo…

Have Guitar Will Travel 103 – Live In The Vineyard #2

In episode 103 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan is again at the “Live in the Vineyard” event in Napa and again…

Vince Gill

Picker's Pinnacle

These days, it’s pretty much the best of all worlds for singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Vince Gill. The Norman, Oklahoma, native has seen his career develop to the point where he can taper…

Andrew Synowiec

Pyrotechnics and Substance

Andrew Synowiec’s latest album, Fun, is loaded with ferocious pentatonics, muscular grooves, and the kind of instrumentals that harken to the good ol’ days when guitar ruled the airwaves. But…

Have Guitar Will Travel 139 – Buck Dharma from Blue Oyster Cult

In episode 139 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Buck Dharma from Blue Öyster Cult. In their conversation, Buck…

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…