• Tommy Castro

    Artists

    Tommy Castro

    Circling Back

    In a career spanning four decades, Tommy Castro has crafted a commendable catalog and built a devout following with his soul-infused music, informed by the blues, R&B, pop, and rock and delivered with conviction. Beloved for his guitar work and vocal style, he has carved his own niche. Born and raised in San Jose, California,…

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Arlen Roth

Flourishing After Adversity

“I love the green on this ’68 Mosrite,” Roth noted. “It has great tone, butter-smooth action, a great whammy bar, and really hot pickups. Photos courtesy Rogers and Cowen.” “When…

Emmett Chapman

Emmett Chapman, inventor of the Chapman Stick, died at his home on November 1. He was 85 and had battled cancer. An innovative jazz guitarist, Chapman played a long-scale nine-string…

Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri

Empire Central: Funky homage to Dallas Snarky Puppy guitarist Mark Lettieri took a minute at soundcheck to use his PRS Fiore and lay down a piece of “Trinity,” a track…

Seymour Duncan

Story of an Electric Guitar Guru

Seymour Duncan is one of the most unassuming human beings on the face of the Earth, bar none. His name is held in high regard in many circles, especially those…

Kevin Comeau

Crowning Achievement

If you dig Rush, you may have heard of a duo from Canada that virtually channels the iconic trio. Known as Crown Lands, singer/drummer Cody Bowles and guitarist/bassist Kevin Comeau…

Paul Barrere

The Feats and Famous Friends

Barrere onstage at a recent show with his trusty ’72 Fender Stratocaster. Photo: J. Kosack. It’s been well over a decade since Vintage Guitar talked with Little Feat’s Paul Barrere,…

Shuggie Otis

Return Of The Prodigy

The son of bluesman Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis was born into a world of blues, R&B, nightclubs, and stages. As a guitar prodigy, he played in his father’s band, and…

Mike Morgan

Back With the Blues (and More)

On Mike Morgan and the Crawl’s tenth album and first new release in 15 years, 63-year-old Morgan shows maturity, command, and vision. The singer/guitarist grew up in Hillsboro, Texas, between…

Freddie Salem

Outlaw On The Trail

The Outlaws weren’t just a great Southern band, but also one of the most intense guitar experiences in all of rock. In 1977, they ratcheted things up by adding lead…

Bruce Kulick

Wielding Power On BK3

With his new album, BK3, Bruce Kulick brings out the big guns on what he calls his “…strongest solo disc ever.” Collaborating with friends old and new, he infused their…

Jeff Golub

Unfinished Business

The route taken by Jeff Golub in making Train Keeps A Rolling is unlike that followed by any other artist. Just as his previous record, Three Kings, was released, Golub…

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

Jack Bruce, an icon of electric bass, died October 25 in Suffolk, England. Best known for his work with Cream in the 1960s, he was born to musician parents in…

Pop ’N Hiss: Santana’s Caravanserai

Pageant of Enlightenment

By the summer of 1971, 24-year-old Carlos Santana and his band – Neal Schon on guitar, drummer Michael Shrieve, Gregg Rolie on keys, bassist David Brown, and percussionists Mike Carabello…

John Bullard

Banjo Baroque

Almost every instrument used in pop music has classical roots – with the exception of the banjo. Even the dobro or resonator guitar began as a device to make a…

Bruce Hall

A quarter century with REO Speedwagon

It has been more than 25 years since bassist Bruce Hall ascended to the low-end stringed instrument position in the platinum-selling band REO Speed

Steve Cropper

Friend, Legend

Even before he began to record seminal music using an Esquire plugged into a Harvard amp – creating one of the favorite pairings in history – Steve Cropper was the…

Steve Gunn

Steve Gunn

Folk Rock’s New Visionary

Steve Gunn’s Way Out Weather is a textured effort that takes cues from a diverse palette including John Fahey, Chicago blues, ’60s/’70s Americana, Philip Glass, world music, and improvisation. The…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Neal Shelton Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 6 of “Buy That Guitar” presented by Vintage Guitar mag, host Ram Tuli is joined…

Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda

Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda

The Un-Twisted Tale of <em>Stay Hungry</em>

Step back with us, please, to 1984; Paul McCartney gets dinged for possession of cannibis in Barbados, Carl Lewis collects four Olympic gold medals, Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first woman…

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…

Rick Richards

Bona Fide Sweet Southern Tone

Rick Richards exudes sweet, classic Southern Rock tone like finely distilled bourbon. From his work with the Georgia Satellites, former Guns ’N Roses guitarist/songwriter Izzy Stradlin, and now The Western…

Anne McCue

Comes Into Her Own

As impressive as 2004’s Roll was, the eclectic Koala Motel (on Messenger Records) represents a major step up in Anne McCue’s playing and especially songwriting. Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, John…

Prince

Rhapsody In Purple

A year after his death, VG remembers Prince, a musical revolutionary, whose emergence was jarring, even for the most youthful and open-minded. Supremely talented on several instruments, guitar was an…

Dave Stryker

Strings Meet Strings

When you say “jazz with strings,” many people imagine smooth, sugary instrumentals. But in the hands of guitarist Dave Stryker, it’s the perfect tool for serious post-bop improvisation, heard on…

Saucerful of Strats

Pink Floyd Catalog Gets a Massive Reissue

By any standard, Pink Floyd has one of the mightiest catalogs in rock and roll – a 14-album pantheon dating from 1967 to ’94 that has few rivals. Every so…

Zakk Wylde

Doomsayer

Best-known as Ozzy Osbourne’s longest-tenured guitarist, Zakk Wylde has also been the leader of Black Label Society since the late ’90s. With Ozzy off the road in 2021, Wylde has…

Robby Krieger

New Musical Directions

For all of his decades of noteworthy guitar work, Robby Krieger isn’t resting on his laurels. In 2002, Krieger and Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek formed Doors of the 21st Century…

Damon Johnson

Cooper to Country

Photo: Stephen Jensen. Damon Johnson is a working man’s player, honed on the chops of Skynyrd and Zeppelin. His technique and influence spawned the early-’90s rock band Brother Cane, which…

Noel Redding

Up to Date With

When Vintage Guitar interviewed bassist Noel Redding in the Fall of 1992, he recounted his musical and personal history in an eloquent and easygoing manner, focusing primarily on his adventures…

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.…