• Classics: Norman Harris

    Artists

    Classics: Norman Harris

    Rare Pioneer

    As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band weren’t going to be millionaires anytime soon. So he did what musicians do – side-hustled. But when most were manning the counter at a music shop or serving tables, Harris was up at the crack

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 Isaiah Mitchell

Crowe’s Feat

When not playing with the Black Crowes, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell works with Earthless, a power trio that just released Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. With just three tracks –…

Rex Brown

Still Smoking

Throughout his career, Rex Brown has delivered the low-end as the bassist for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill. But for his new (and first-ever) solo album, Smoke on This,…

Dave Davies

Reflections From A Kink

Twenty-seven years after their last performance, the Kinks still command a loyal following. The 60th anniversary of this fascinating British Invasion group is celebrated on the 38-track The Journey, Part…

Hilary Gardner’s jazz/country connection

Classic sounds on “Silver on the Sage” Hilary Gardner and her band are devout fans of classic cowboy (and other types of) songs that they deliver with intimate arrangements. Here,…

Steve Carr

Twenty-Five Years of Tonemaking

In the mid ’90s, Steve Carr was a guitarist playing weekends and working weeknights as a waiter in a swank French restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 1998, he…

Johnny A.

On the fast track

When VG first caught up with guitarist Johnny A. in 2001, his instrumental release, Sometime Tuesday Morning, was perking ears all over the place. Before he signed to Steve Vai’s…

Burton, Garrett, Lee, and Wilcox Join Forces

Burton, Garrett, Lee, and Wilcox Join Forces

Telecaster Summit

For guitar lovers and roots-music fans, the place to be in July ’13 was British Columbia. The Vancouver Island MusicFest held a true summit meeting of masters of the Telecaster…

Steve Dawson and his Tricone, “Singin’ the Blues”

Roots Artists Expands the Genren The wildly talented Steve Dawson uses a modern National Tricone for this take on “Singin’ the Blues,” then offers a look at his Celtic Cross…

Eleonora Strino’s old-school jazz

Italian jazzer lays it down on “It Don’t Mean a Thing” Eleonora Strino brings serious old-school jazz chops, put to great use on original compositions and interpretations like this take…

Johnny A.

On the fast track

When VG first caught up with guitarist Johnny A. in 2001, his instrumental release, Sometime Tuesday Morning, was perking ears all over the place. Before he signed to Steve Vai’s…

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…

Wayne Nelson

Wayne Nelson

Little River Anchor

Bassist/vocalist Wayne Nelson has decades of experience with the Little River Band and was the first American to join the band (in 1980). He’s seen numerous changes in personnel, including…

VG Q&A: A Gilded ’63 Jazz Bass

Plus, Swappable Pickups, Bartell Guitars, and a Mystery Lap Steel

I am the third owner of a 1963 Jazz Bass with a neck stamp “7Jan63A,” pots dated that May, and serial number from that spring. It also has original gold…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Binky Philips

Season 03 Episode 01 In Episode 3.2 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli engages with Binky Philips, a notable New York-based rock musician, guitarist,…

Jimmy Crespo

Rock Journeyman

The career of Jimmy Crespo has spanned three decades, from his stellar five-year stint with Aerosmith to his recent work on Rod Stewart’s recent world tour. He has also gigged…

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…

Don Felder

Don Felder

Six-Stringed Summer Stock

Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder is spending the summer with a few friends. On an extended tour with Styx and Foreigner in a package billed as The Soundtrack of Summer,…

Bruce Kulick

Transorming to Solo artist

Bruce Kulick gained his reputation as a top-notch axeman working with a variety of major artists such as Kiss, Meatloaf, Michael Bolton, Billy Squier, as well as his own band,…

Billy Flynn

True Chicago Blues

The phrase “electric blues” is a catch-all for many genres, but for aficionados it refers to a highly specific idiom from the Windy City. In fact, if you listen to…

“Telecaster Bob” Bain

Studio Immortal

For seven decades, he flexed his chops on more sessions than any living guitarist, laying down famous licks on Mancini’s “Peter Gunn” and a host of others, playing in The…

Chris Hillman

Bluegrass, Bass, and Back Agian

American music legend Chris Hillman is an accomplished guitarist. He has wielded a variety of stringed instruments in a number of notable bands, as exemplified by his tenure as a…

Tony Iommi

When Sabbath Rocked with Ronnie

Black Sabbath sounded reinvigorated and refocused on its first two albums of the ’80s – Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. The reason? The arrival of singer Ronnie James Dio,…

Brian Tarquin

Shreddin’ for Veterans

For guitarist Brian Tarquin, helping military veterans is part of life. The son of a World War II vet, he grew up hearing stories about the camaraderie and fellowship shared…

John Abercrombie

1944-2017

After a lengthy illness, jazz guitarist John Abercrombie died August 22 at a hospital outside Peekskill, New York. He was 72. Abercrombie was part of the first wave of jazz-rock,…

Chris Leuzinger

Country Crunch

Growing up in the tropical air of West Palm Beach, it’s little wonder that Chris Leuzinger’s first musical revelations had a Latin sway. “We had a big console record player…

Have Guitar Will Travel 075 – Sam Weber

On Ep 75 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan interviews singer/songwriter Sam Weber who grew up in British Columbia and moved to work with a few of…

Weymann Model 890 Jimmie Rodgers Special

Hey Hey, Tell ’Em About US

Jimmie Rodgers has been called many things; while active from 1927-’33 he was billed as “the Singing Brakeman” and ”America’s Blue Yodeler” but, in the decades since, the “Father of…

Jeff Plankenhorn

New Innovations For Lap Steel

Jeff Plankenhorn has always made music his way, using stringed instruments he created. He picked up guitar at age 10, influencd by his older brother who played bass and listened…

Cliff Goodwin, Solo

Joe Cocker alum plays “Leap of Faith,” Cliff Goodwin was Joe Cocker’s guitarist for a decade and has also backed Robert Palmer. For this VG exclusive, he grabbed his early-’80s…

Jim Campilongo

Sounds Abound

I’ve always loved sounds. Even before I became a ‘Tele guy,’ I had a Les Paul and loved making car horn sounds. I … go away from the fretboard, or…