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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
Javier Batiz
The Mexican Mentor
The profile subject’s ingles was definitely better than the writer’s espa
Jules Leyhe says “Start Your Engines”
Greasy, dirty slide on this VG exclusive Jules Leyhe takes his ’61-reissue SG for a slidin’ spin through “Start Your Engines.” He’s running through a Ceriatone Centura pedal into a…
Steve Cropper
Homage to Lowman Pauling
All but forgotten today, with his low-slung guitar, stylish rhythm licks, and tasty leads, Lowman Pauling was one of the great guitar heroes of the ’50s. Guitarist for the R&B…
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Duke Robillard – Lowdown
Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set for release February 20 on Nola Blue Records. “When thinking about a powerful song to launch the album, I chose a hard-rocking Tom Waits tune
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David Bowie’s Young Americans
David Bowie was always creatively restless. The English musician decided to step away from the glam rock he’d recorded for a few albums concluding with 1974’s Diamond Dogs, which included a few songs with tinges of soul, R&B, and funk. On tour promoting the album, he played a handful of soul covers. Bowie had long
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Fretprints: Cream’s Disraeli Gears
Supergroup Alpha
Jack Bruce claimed Cream was two bands – live trio and studio group. Live, bassist Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker were renowned for their highly improvisatory, powerful performance that was unprecedented in rock. Moreover, they were actually a jazz group (“…we just didn’t tell Eric,” Bruce said), as exemplified by their excursions
Ernie Hawkins
Pittsburgh's own acoustic bluesman
For a guy who’s released several of the best country blues albums in the past decade, Ernie Hawkins is relatively unknown. Ernie caught the blues bug back in his teens,…
Pop ’N Hiss: Bad Company
Powerful Purity
Bad Company’s self-titled 1974 debut album defines “classic rock” – no frills, just superb songs and performances from four gifted musicians. The British quartet was one of the first rock…
Jim Heath
A Reverend By Any Other Name
Photo courtesy of Atomic Music Group. Jim Heath is better known to most folks as psychobilly guitar fiend The Reverend Horton Heat. But on his latest release, he morphs into…
Greg Lake
Recalling the Music
Bassist/vocalist/songwriter Greg Lake came to notice in 1969 as member of King Crimson and his membership in Emerson, Lake and Palmer cemented his place in the pantheon of progressive-rock icons.…
Mitch Easter
The Let's Active Leader's Solo Debut
Photo courtesy Mitch Easter. When “Southern rock” became synonymous with jangly power-pop instead of Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, Mitch Easter was a pivotal figure. The Winston-Salem native formed the…
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,…
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Check This Action: Up Jumped Elmore
When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never heard a bad Elmore cut, and I’ve heard nearly everything he recorded. Everybody knows that he set the standard for slide guitar in electric blues, but he was also a fantastic singer and wrote some
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Javier Batiz
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80. Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John
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Josh Meader
Jazz Evolution
Josh Meader is a jazz and fusion player who breaks ground with virtuosity that’s never flashy for its own sake. On his new album, Tide of Times, the young Aussie ace blends styles on a dime, hybridizing music before our eyes; videos online include an especially stunning non-album rendition of “Misty.” It’s fascinating, seeing Meader
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Chris Walz
Debut, Long Time Coming
Chris Walz has done his share of performing. He played young Woody in the stage production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song. From the late ’90s to 2001, Walz toured and recorded with banjo player Greg Cahill’s Special Consensus bluegrass band. And for 10 years he took the role of guitarist Fred Hellerman in Weavermania, a
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Greg Koch
Way Of The Gristle
On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love for Muddy Waters. Flying V blues master Larry McCray drops by with the Memphis Horns, and the result is a passionate pentatonic party with soul and fireworks. How did this album come about?Devon Allman had
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Rik Emmett
Canadian Custom
Rik Emmett is a master of many guitar styles and other artistic endeavors. As co-lead vocalist/guitarist in the hard-rock trio Triumph from 1975 to ’88, he experienced life as a rock star, then released a string of solo albums, a book of poetry, and an autobiography. His latest project, Ten Telecaster Tales, is a book
Jared James Nichols’ glorious goldtop
Mods and pedals need not apply! Watch Jared James Nichols tear it up on “Dorothy,” his ’52 Gibson Les Paul, running straight into his Blackstar JJN20 signature amp. The guitar…
Shane Fontayne
Cool Under Pressure
Shane Fontayne has held down the guitar hot seat for top artists including Bruce Springsteen, Ian Hunter, Sting, Joe Cocker, and now, Graham Nash on the Woodstock legend’s new Live…
Bob’s Playboy Pickers
Bob Wills was, first and foremost, a fiddler. But he began his career in childhood, strumming guitar and mandolin chords at rural Texas parties and dances behind his father, ace…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Redd Volkaert
Season 03 Episode 03 In Episode 3.3 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Redd Volkaert, one of modern country’s foremost pickers. Any fan of Western swing and…
Marty Walsh
With a Little Help From Friends
Marty Walsh has plied his trade for decades, though relatively few may be familiar with his efforts. A Los Angeles native, the guitarist gravitated to his father’s old Martin when…
Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023
Lasting Legacy
It’s ironic that Robbie Robertson was famous mostly for his songwriting, because beneath the minimal, compositional style that marked his work with The Band hid a true guitar stylist and…
Django Reinhardt
Django!
A favorite photograph of Django Reinhardt pictures him standing alongside Stéphane Grappelli, the duo looking suave and sophisticated in white tuxedos. The photograph is steeped in the aura of 1930s…
Ally Venable
Fire and Honey
Ally Venable’s latest album, Real Gone, features excellent production, accessible songwriting, intense guitar playing, and guest spots by Joe Bonamassa as well as blues legend Buddy Guy. But, ardent blues…
Hall and Hoppen
Ongoing with Orleans
In the ’70s, the guitar-driven melodic rock of Orleans was all over the radio, with hits such as “Dance With Me,” “Still The One,” and “Love Takes Time” carried by…
Remembering Vic Flick
From Bond to the Beatles
The music world lost session legend Vic Flick on November 17, at age 87. While not a household name, Flick’s soundtrack riff in James Bond movies became one of the…
Johnny Nicholas
Musical Polyglot
Considering the varied musicality of Austin, Texas, it’s no wonder singer/songwriter Johnny Nicholas makes his home in the Texas capitol. A native of Rhode Island, he listened to R&B in…
Pop ’N Hiss: King Crimson’s Red
Commendable Coda
In the late ’60s, a new style of rock emerged in Britain, influenced by classical music and fronted by bands like Yes, Genesis, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Dubbed “progressive…
The Brothers Comatose Cover “Stickshifts and Safetybelts”
“Hardly Strictly Bluegrass” From San Francisco Here’s a dose of bluegrass flavor courtesy of The Brothers Comatose, playing a cover of Cake’s “Stickshifts & Safetybelts” from their “Ear Snacks” album.…
Robin Trower
Bridge of Skies
At age 78, Robin Trower remains at the top of his game, musically – still offering smoldering solos from his Strat on his latest offering, Joyful Sky. Featuring vocalist Sari…
Chris Avey’s cosmic riffs!
Sample from Avey Grouws Band’s “Tell Tale Heart” Chris Avey grabbed a very special PRS. DGT and plugged into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe to play this take on “Mariana,”…
Todd Rundgren
Rock’s True Renaissance Man
For 50 years, Todd Rundgren has been compiling one the most eclectic and impressive resumés in music. From forming the Nazz in 1967 to stints with Utopia, Runt, The New…
Bobby Black
Steel Before and After Commander Cody
When he got the invitation, Bobby Black wasn’t sure. The pedal-steel virtuoso, a 20-plus-year veteran of San Francisco’s music scene, had just been asked to join the long-hairs in Commander…
Scott Gorham
Still Dangerous!
Scott Gorham in the ’70s. Photo: Denis O’Regan. Thin Lizzy was formed in 1969 by bassist/frontman Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. Guitarists Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham joined in…
Bryan Beller
Bass Aristocracy
If you love daredevil musicians, you’ll dig The Aristocrats. A contemporary-fusion trio, the band includes guitar monster Guthrie Govan (VG, September ’21), drummer Marco Minnemann, and Bryan Beller, a wizard…
Howard Roberts
Howard Roberts and the Black Guitar
Webster’s Dictionary defines genius as “…a person gifted with extraordinary powers of intellect, imagination or invention.” The definition could as easily be applied to describe Howard Roberts – virtuoso guitarist,…
Charly Baty
Feelin' Good All Over
You really have to love a guy who smiles as much as Charly Baty does as he snakes his way across the stage, spurring his jump blues band, Little Charly…
