Steve Dawson

Deeper Roots

Calling Steve Dawson a “roots” artist seems a disservice to a musician so eclectic and wildly talented. On Eyes Closed, Dreaming, he effortlessly mixes earthy rock and roll, soul, Hawaiian,…

John5

Rocker’s new album not what you might think

Don’t let John5’s stage persona fool you. Underneath that peroxide-white hair, sinister colored contact lenses and high-priest-of-evil wardrobe breathes one impressive and versatile guitarist. True, the Michigan-born guitarist (real name…

Eddie Cochran’s Gretsch 6120

Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got that Twang

One night in the late 1950s, Eddie Cochran set the world alight onstage in the City of Angels. Though the details are lost to history, The Los Angeles Times reported,…

Steve Morse

Blazing Ahead with Deep Purple

While many classic British bands have hung up their spurs, Deep Purple is not only fully active after 45 years, but absolutely thriving. The group regularly tours around the planet…

Bob Brozman

World Instruments, World Music

Photo courtesy Bob Brozman. To many, the terms “musician,” “artist,” and “entertainer” are rarely applicable to one person en masse, but Bob Brozman fits the category. What’s more, the term…

Ray Benson

Swing Ambassador: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel

“Why are you all playin’ that modern music?” Asleep at the Wheel guitarist Ray Benson fielded the question from Harry, a regular at the Sportsmen’s Club in rural Paw Paw,…

Mo Foster

Michael Ralph “Mo” Foster, British bass stalwart who played with Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, and others, died July 3. He was 78 and battled cancer of…

Gregg Wright

King of the Rockin’ Blues

Gregg Wright is a force to be reckoned with. He took the top spot in the Southern California Blues Society’s annual Battle of the Blues Bands, and will move on…

Heavy Hitters Rock Crown Guitar Fest

Want a surreal experience? Try looking up from your oatmeal to see Robben Ford and Pat Metheny strolling past your table, Lee Ritenour and Daryl Stuermer grabbing waffles in the…

George Lynch

Mr. Scary’s New Empire

George Lynch is one of the premier axe men to emerge in the ’80s. His melodic hard-rock riffs were the driving force behind Dokken and he later launched Lynch Mob…

Charles Moothart

Fuzz: Sons of Sabbath

While ’80s metal is past its heyday, the proto-metal of the late 1960s and early ’70s is making a huge comeback, thanks to younger bands re-imagining the saturated sounds of…

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…

Jimmy Vivino

Showtime!

Growing up in New Jersey, Jimmy Vivino was in many ways a typical Italian-American kid. His life centered around family – his parents, siblings, and extended relatives – all of…

Fretprints: Kim Thayil

The Grungy Flowering of Soundgarden

In 1991, a movement emerged from Seattle that shook the musical world to its core. Seemingly overnight, a cadre of unlikely “grunge” bands from the Northwest rose quickly to attain…

Jeremy Popoff

Gettin’ Lit Again

After the gloom of grunge, the late ’90s saw a surge of energetic sounds, mixing hard rock, pop, and punk into an irresistible confection. Green Day, Weezer, and Blink-182 were…

John Fogerty

Ol' Flannel Shirt is Back

John Fogerty’s music has always been unique. As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist that has been in the international spotlight since the late ’60s (when his band’s cover of “Susie…

Brian Tatler

Still Evil

Though Diamond Head never achieved the same worldwide commercial success enjoyed by some of its fellow New Wave of British Heavy Metal compadres (namely Iron Maiden and Def Leppard), their…

Luther Allison

The Soul Fixin' Man

It’s Friday the 13th, but Luther Allison ain’t feeling superstitious. Halfway through a four-hour set in Minneapolis, he rolls into a rollicking version of his award-winning hit song “Cherry Red…

John Scofield

One Road Leads to Another

Photo: Nick Suttle. It’s no surprise John Scofield’s latest release, Piety Street, takes him down a different path than his contemporaries might follow. After all, this is a guitarist who…

Walter Strauss

Right-Hand Man

West Coast fingerstylist Walter Strauss has a remarkable picking technique – powerful and surprisingly percussive – as heard on his latest release, For Melody, Wherever She May Find Me. Strauss…

John Wetton

1949-2017

Born June 12, 1949, British bassist and front man John Wetton died of colon cancer on January 31 at the age of 67. In a career lasting more than four…

Davy Knowles

Manx Bluesman

  The Isle Of Man, which sits in the middle of the Irish Sea, measures 15 by 30 miles. The quaint Manx country’s claims to fame are the annual TT…

Steve Howell Fingerpicks “Stocking Feet Blues”

Solo acoustic homage to rural-blues great Steve Howell is a veteran of blues, rock, and jazz. Here, he fingerpicks a terrific rendition of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Stocking Feet Blues” using…

Tuck Andress

Fretboard wizard of Tuck and Patti

Since 1978, guitar virtuoso Tuck Andress, recognized as a premier player of jazz and contemporary standard music, has enjoyed one of the most enduring and creative musical partnerships accompanying wife…

Rick Vito’s Tale Of Two Grails

Find of a Lifetime

Whether it was by watching “Bandstand” on TV or learning the licks of Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry, or the Ventures, Philadelphia native Rick Vito’s inspirations are all legendary. And as…

Bill Kirchen

Seeds, Stems, and a Tele-fied Legacy

There’s ample revisiting in Seeds and Stems, Telecaster slinger Bill Kirchen’s third album for Proper America. Five of the 13 songs hearken back to his late-’60s/mid-’70s days with pioneer country-rockers…

Reunited

Bruce Forman Honors Barney Kessel

From 1957 to ’60, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne recorded four LPs for Contemporary Records as a group called Poll Winners, a byproduct of each…

Taj Mahal

Eighth Wonder of the Music World

  “I’ve never heard anybody come up and tell me that the music I’m playing don’t feel good,” says Taj Mahal. And it’s hard to imagine he ever will. Whether…

Johnny Winter

Returning To His Roots

In December, 1968, Mike Bloomfield asked Johnny Winter to perform at the Fillmore East in New York at a Super Session jam with Al Kooper. That night, Winter played B.B.…

Lightnin’ Malcolm’s One-Man Wizardry

First-Rate Blues with Juke Joint Swagger Lightnin’ Malcolm learned blues first-hand from legends of the genre, and it shows! Here, he plays “Jungle” from his new album, “Eye Of The…