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Artists
Alan Gogoll
Harmonic Convergence
Hailing from the Australian island 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 technique that is, quite simply, breathtaking. Heard on his latest, Lioness Lullabies, bell-like notes cascade like a waterfall over each song – truly, it’s something you…
The Soul of John Black
Living In The Sunshine
I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and playing acoustic guitar, and a couple of girls singing like…
Steve Miller
Some People Call Him Rock Icon
Not until after he turned 40 did it occur to Steve Miller that he never really needed to fear whether he’d “make it” in the music business. That may sound…
Tony Valentino
75, Still Rockin’
Most fans of classic-rock radio know The Standells garage-punk classic “Dirty Water,” which was listed in Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Songs That Shaped Rock Music.” The guitarist who created that…
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Eric Lindberg
“I’m always trying to do things I haven’t done before,” says guitarist/banjoist Eric Lindberg, who has toured and recorded for a decade with wife Doni Zasloff as the bluegrass duo Nefesh Mountain. “A lot of folks know us as a bluegrass/mostly acoustic band, but I really have been getting back into my personal roots –…
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Dan Hawkins
Toast of the Town
When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across the face. The band reminded people that melodic hard rock steeped in ’70s influences was supposed to be catchy, fun, and sometimes outrageous. Guitarist Dan…
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Joe Satriani
The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy Hagar, and is now supporting an album co-written with Steve Vai. Does Satch ever rest? The G3 Reunion Tour sent everyone back to the guitar…
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…
Have Guitar Will Travel 081 – G. Love
Host James Patrick Regan welcomes singer, rapper, and musician G. Love to episode 82 of “Have Guitar Will Travel.” They discuss his new solo album, “Philadelphia Mississippi,” recorded with a…
John McFee
Standing in the Shadows
John McFee John McFee isn’t a household name in music, but he has been a major player for more than 35 years. But his attitude (“I never really wanted to…
Eric Gale
Crystal Vision
Eric Gales’ new release, Crystal Vision, is an autobiographical blues-rock tour de force with inspired twists and turns. Long labeled by myopic music critics as a Hendrix knock-off, Gales actually…
Tony Valentino
75, Still Rockin’
Most fans of classic-rock radio know The Standells garage-punk classic “Dirty Water,” which was listed in Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Songs That Shaped Rock Music.” The guitarist who created that…
John McLaughlin
50 Years in Fusion
The name John McLaughlin is synonymous with jazz-rock fusion, the genre he helped invent and sustain for the past 50 years. At the end of 2017, the guitarist will be…
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Mike Campbell
Got Lucky
Mike Campbell is one of the most-heard guitarists on earth thanks to his work in the legendary Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and their catalog of hit singles (“American Girl,” “I Need to Know,” “Refugee,” “The Waiting”) and certifiably classic albums (Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises). He has also written for and played with many…
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Zac Schulze gets straight to it!
If you’re a fan of Cream, Zeppelin, and Rory Gallagher (who isn’t?), you’ll dig Zac Schulze Gang, a British power trio that’s carrying the torch with both hands; they’ve played Clapton’s Crossroads and the Rory Gallagher Tribute Fest. Here, Zac flies solo on “High Roller,” tearin’ it up on his ’54 Guild Aristocrat M75 through…
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Jon Butcher’s psychedelia mastery
Jon Butcher tales his Olympic White ’63 Strat for a rip on “Jam,” a track from his new album, “Nuthin’ but Soul.” The disc is an homage to sounds of Motown, Stax, James Brown, and Sly Stone highlighted by Butcher’s mastery of Hendrix-style psychedelia. It was recorded using a ’63 Princeton, a Vibrolux, and a…
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Reflecting on Steve Cropper: A Playlist
Steve Cropper was just 20 years old when his band, the Mar-Keys, began backing singers in the studios of Stax Records. They also scored a million-selling #1 hit with the instrumental, “Last Night” the scored a hit in ’62 as Booker T. & the MG’s with “Green Onions,” propelled by Cropper’s razor-sharp Esquire/Harvard licks. He…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Dave Hunter
Season 03 Episode 07 In Episode 3.7 of Buy That Guitar, presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined by renowned guitar historian and author, Dave Hunter. Dave is without a doubt the most prolific writer in the field of guitar and amplifier tone. He’s also a musician, and has graced the pages…
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“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest J Mascis
Season 03 Episode 06 In Episode 3.6 of Buy That Guitar, presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Known for his “monolithic” riffs, extensive use of fuzz, feedback, and distortion, Mascis ranks #74 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists”. His guitar of choice has always been…
Jim Lauderdale’s honkey-tonk toe-dip
Singer/Songwriter’s Stylistic Twist Jim Lauderdale paid a visit to one of his favorite Nashville hangs and grabbed a gorgeous 1940 Martin D-28 to play “Wishbone,” a standout track from his…
Fretprints: Walter Becker
Steely Dan’s Unsung Guitar Great
Steely Dan to this day occupies a unique place in music history. Laying claim to an unexplored intersection of jazz, R&B, pop, rock, blues, and world sounds, they redefined fusion…
Naia Izumi
Intuitive Artistry
It’s difficult to pigeonhole the music of Naia Izumi, a singer/songwriter who’s also one of the most uncanny guitarists around. “I make music I’m not hearing,” says Naia, who was…
Noshir Mody’s Elegant Flow
Contemporary-jazzer sets the mood with “The Yards” Noshir Mody’s new album, “A Love Song,” is highlighted by his elegant lines and flowing compositions. Here he offers a sample with…
In Memoriam: Jeff Cook
Jeff Cook, co-founder, lead guitarist, and fiddler in the ’80s-country megahit band Alabama, died November 7 at his home in Destin, Florida. He was 73 and had long battled Parkinson’s…
Marty Friedman’s Melodic Grandeur
Vintage Strat, new style on “Illumination” A devout Jackson user with a longstanding signature model, Fender Strat that’s also heard on the record. Read our cover feature and a review…
Pop ’N Hiss: Joe Satriani’s Surfing With The Alien
Spacey Hang Ten
The ’80s were teeming with music ranging from pop-metal to new wave, thrash metal, blues revivals, and the New Romantic movement. Mid-decade, an instrumental rock-guitar album improbably rode the tide.…
David Bromberg
Testifying for the Blues
Jerry Jeff Walker said it best. Describing David Bromberg’s contribution to Walker’s trademark 1968 song, “Mr. Bojangles,” he said simply that Bromberg was “the reason man created stringed instruments.” And…
Larry Carlton
Farewell, Mr. 335
As music becomes more unfamiliar and the past becomes a long reflection in the rear-view, veteran guitarists are increasingly mindful of artists who inspired and created timeless music. Larry Carlton…
Punk-Rock Pioneer Ivan Julian
NYC Luminary Goes Avant-Garde! Ivan Julian does an experimental take on “Misty” before going into the solo from “Love Is Good,” followed by some of the title track from his…
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…
Dale Watson
Keep On Truckin’
The seeds of the latest album from Dale Watson were sown in 1998, when he released The Truckin’ Sessions . The Truckin’ Sessions 2 followed in 2009, and now he…
Robert Cray
Live… at Last!
You’d think a guy who has been making great records since the early 1980s, puts on a great live show, and is respected by his peers would have released a…
Spencer Kirkpatrick
Jammin’ Southern Hero
In the ’70s, Hydra was a Southern-rock band that owed more to the heavy British blues of Cream and Free than Skynyrd. Its secret weapon was lead guitarist Spencer Kirkpatrick,…
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…
Sunny War
Love and Nothingness
Eclectic folk-punk stylist Sunny War’s latest album, Anarchist Gospel, is a break-up album mixing black folk, acoustic gospel, and symphonic trappings. She’s backed by ethereal moods, rustic textures, talented guests…
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…
John Ellis
John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo before his family moved to California when he was a…
Jerry Miller
One Guitar Man
Jerry Miller was part of one of the most unique rock groups of the 1960s, the West Coast’s own Moby Grape. The band’s first album delivered a staggering array of…
Seymour Duncan Sails Into VG Hall of Fame
Vintage Guitar today announced that Seymour Duncan has been inducted to its Hall of Fame. Each year, the magazine’s staff and readers select inductees in three categories – Player, Innovator,…
Gary Duncan
Millennium Mercury Man
One of the more respected musical aggregations to emerge from the fabled San Francisco “psychedelic music” era in the late ’60s was Quicksilver Messenger Service, a guitar-based quartet that offered…
