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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
Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize”
Austin Great Goes Full Steam for “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews makes a VG-social-media curtain call by playing “Eyes On The…
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…
Ray Cummins
Pal of Chet, Friend of Les
Chester and Lester were enamored of his talent. Moreover, they called Ray Cummins a friend, and his journey includes turning adversity into a career as one of the country’s more-respected…
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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
Pop ’N Hiss: Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies
On The Money
Alice Cooper was on a steady upward trajectory when Billion Dollar Babies topped the Billboard chart for one week in 1973. Propelled by the title track along with “Hello Hooray,”…
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers Change Gears
It’s a brave new world for Drive-By Truckers and their latest album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Guitarist/songwriter Patterson Hood says the record flowed from the band. “Everybody finally got a…
Jonathan Wilson
Rare Bird
Given his busy career as a player and in-demand producer, it’s not surprising that singer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson needed more than three years to complete his new album, Rare Birds. When…
Lee Ritenour
Lee's Six-String Theory
Lee Ritenour’s career accomplishments are the stuff of greatness. With thousands of classic recording sessions and more than 40 albums bearing his own name, Ritenour continues to work his magic…
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Blues From the Backroads
Stepping into the spotlight to play the blues with the classic bands that backed Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, most guitarists would sweat bullets. Not so Kenny Wayne Shepherd. He…
John 5
Return of the Tele Terror
Photo: Neil Zlozower. Best known as the scary-looking guitarist for metalmen like Rob Zombie, Rob Halford, and Marilyn Manson, John 5 is also regarded as a country twanger and namesake…
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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
Tim Sult
Heavy-Duty Metal
With a new Clutch recording, the listener always knows what lies in store – colossal riffing, valley-deep grooves, and manly-man vocals – and the band’s 11th studio album, Psychic Warfare,…
2025 May Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature The Dobbie Brothers, Popa Chubby, Joey Molland, Carlos Alomar, Cream, David Bowie, Rush, Norman Harris, Greg Koch, Rik Emmett, Chris Walz, Elmore James, and more! Spotify…
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.…
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…
Steve Howe
Fill in the Blanks
In our preliminary discussion with respected British guitarist Steve Howe prior to going “on the record,” the interviewer noted that the main focus of the questions he’d prepared were oriented…
Greg Lake
Welcome Back, My Friends Part 1 and 2
Bassist/vocalist Greg Lake, a force in the advent of progressive rock in the early 1970s with Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), died December 7 following a battle with cancer. He was…
Michael Staertow
Gramm Backer
You may not recognize the name, but Michael Staertow has been playing some of classic rock’s most memorable riffs for Lou Gramm, the voice of Foreigner. Hailing from Gramm’s hometown…
Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize”
Austin Great Goes Full Steam for “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews’ video encore: “Eyes On The Prize” Jake Andrews makes a VG-social-media curtain call by playing “Eyes On The…
Tommy Skeoch
Rock and Roll Forever
Tommy Skeoch is revered for delivering guitar tone with equal parts attitude and guttural conviction. Since his departure from Tesla in 2006, he has kept busy teaching and recorded two…
Pepper Keenan
Down with CoC
It’s difficult enough to be a member of one metal band, let alone two. But Pepper Keenan is pulling double-duty as a member of both Corrosion of Conformity (as singer/guitarist)…
Jack Petruzzelli
Fab Sideman For Osborne, Wainwright, Smith
“The first time the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, I was in my mother’s womb,” says Jack Petruzzelli. “That was February ’64, but then when they appeared the second time…
James Elkington
Windy City Diversity
James Elkington tweaked the paradigm when he began working at a luthier shop before hitting his stride as a guitarist. Born and raised in a small English village northwest of…
Joanna Connor
Still Rising
Joanna Connor’s new album is a killer batch of tunes with a live feel infused by the spirit of Chicago’s Theresa’s Lounge. A slide guitar opus, 4801 South Indiana Avenue…
It was 27 years ago today
27 years ago today the first issue of your favorite guitar mag came off the presses of a weekly newspaper in New Salem, North Dakota, a town 25 miles west…
Fretprints: Paul Simon
Postmodern Troubadour: The Simon & Garfunkel Years
Troubadours – poet/musicians active in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, played a defining role in Western civilization. The original singer/songwriters, their trade was telling stories of popular culture…
Jake Shimabukuro Plays the Beatles “Something”
Silky-Smooth Shimabukuro Jake Shimabukuro’s playing is a silky delight on this run through the Beatles “Something.” That’s his Kamaka tenor koa uke and the tune is from his fantastic new…
Shawn Purcell’s Jazz from the East (Coast)
Influences Aplenty! A child of the ’80s, Shawn Purcell grew up listening to Stern, Scofield, and Metheny alongside Zeppelin, Van Halen, Yngwie, and Vai. Here, he shares a take on “Gentle…
Jon Butcher
Shifts Gears
Veteran guitarist Jon Butcher is changin’ with the times. Interviewed in Vintage Guitar‘s October ’95 issue, he was at the time recording, performing, and hoping for a sophomore effort from…
Paul Quinn
Ramming It
As one of the leading bands of the early-’80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Saxon is responsible for offering up such headbanging anthems as “Wheels of Steel,” “Strong…
Elliot Easton
Different Directions
Lefty guitarist Elliot Easton has chosen a different route for his most recent musical venture, but its sonic direction should come as no surprise to any fan who has followed…
Chris Cain
Tales to Tell
Armed with a new deal with Alligator Records and producer Kid Andersen (of Rick Estrin & The Night Cats), Chris Cain recently recorded Raisin’ Cain, an impassioned blues masterpiece full…
