•  Joey Molland

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     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

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Cheetah Chrome

The Dead Boys Live Again

As the punk rebellion exploded in 1977, the New York scene became dominated by the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, and (newly transplanted from Cleveland) a…

Fretprints: Steve Khan

Khan-sequential Guitar

Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him one of the 22 greatest jazz guitarists and Musico Pro’s…

Tom Principato

Bridging the Big Pond

Tom Principato’s 18th album, Live and Still Kickin’! portrays the energy of its title and was recorded on two continents. A follow-up to Live & Kickin’ (from 1999), the majority…

Richie Kotzen

Richie Kotzen

Fight For Familiarity

So he’s not burning up the Top 40, but Richie Kotzen has been a soul-crooning monster guitarist for a very long time. With almost 20 solo albums and group projects…

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…

Jimi Bell

Lord of Shred

Recognized worldwide as a master technician, southpaw shredder Jimi Bell first received widespread notoriety for his role sharing a nightclub stage with Joan Jett in the 1986 film Light of…

Buck Dharma

Regarding the Reaper and Other Recollections

During the hard rock decade of the ’70s, Long Island’s Blue Oyster Cult proffered a decidedly different approach to loud, guitar-based music. The combo’s dark ruminations garnered it a controversial…

John 5

In the Hands

On his latest album, John 5 stays true to himself as he dips into his famous bag of Tele tricks with mastery and humor. Mr 5 does it all, from…

Graham Clise

Bay Area Blaster

Graham Clise is one of the most-heralded underground rock guitarists of the past 15 years. A mashup of Chuck Berry, BOC’s Buck Dharma, and Black Flag’s Greg Ginn, his style…

Wendy Melvoin

Beyond Controversy

As a guitarist backing Prince on the world-dominant Purple Rain along with Parade and Around The World In A Day, Wendy Melvoin helped crystallize a musical vision known as The…

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…

Rose Sinclair Swings on a Stringmaster D-8!

Steel Guitar Beyond Country on “Secret Love” Rose Sinclair used her ’61 Fender Stringmaster D-8 to play this exclusive piece of “Secret Love,” from her new album, “Wave.” She calls…

Vic Flick

007 Guitar Man

You may not know the name Vic Flick, but you know his signature motif–that reverby lick from the James Bond theme, recorded in 1962 for Dr. No, the first in…

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…

Dave Amato

Collect 'Em and Smile

This year marks Boston-born Dave Amato’s 19th annum with REO Speedwagon. The guitarist moved to California in 1980 and became a working session player before gigging with Ted Nugent, Jimmy…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Into The Future

Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Dirt On My Diamonds Volume One finds the Strat-wielding blues-rocker blending the best elements of pop country, Southern rock, and the blues. Composed at FAME Recording Studios…

Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez

Blues Is Everywhere

6’2″/300-pound Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez is an international emissary of the blues. The French-born son of a Bosnian mother and Spanish father is a favorite at European blues clubs and…

Pop ’N Hiss: Be Bop Deluxe’s Live! In the Air Age

Atmospheric Axes

For a shining moment, the eclectic British quartet Be Bop Deluxe rose above an upheaval in rock and pop in the late ’70s, as fresh hard rock and Southern bands…

Foghat’s Scott Holt And Roger Earl Go “Drivin’ On”

 Latest Lick From Legends Of Boogie-Rock Foghat guitarist/frontman Scott Holt and founding drummer Roger Earl peeled off this exclusive take on “Drivin’ On,” the first single from the band’s…

George Lynch

The Return Of KXM

Musical chemistry is a rare thing. It’s not easily attainable, but when you have it, the fruits are magical. If you haven’t heard the project featuring George Lynch, drummer Ray…

Aaron Moreland

Where Zeppelin Meets Son House

Growing up in a small Kansas town, 38-year-old Aaron Moreland took up guitar at 15, and his first garage band played classic-rock throwbacks like “Tush” and “China Grove,” occasionally getting…

Nancy Wilson

One Heart

The Covid-19 pandemic halted much of our lives, but there was a silver lining. Many musicians who couldn’t tour or record normally were able to make new music, including long-dreamed-of…

Nils Lofgren Shines Solo – Again

Star Grabs Vintage J-50 for “Ain’t the Truth Enough? An in-demand sideman for more than 50 years, guitar wizard Nils Lofgren has worked with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street…

Travis Stever

Travis Stever

A Conceptual Break

Few rock bands have explored the “concept album” format as thoroughly as Coheed and Cambria; the band’s first seven full-length discs followed a sci-fi story line (known as “The Armory…

Alan Lancaster

Alan Lancaster, co-founder and longtime bassist in Status Quo, died September 26. He was 72 and had been living with multiple sclerosis. At age 13, Lancaster formed The Scorpions with…

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Music In a Blender

As guitarist on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” “Captain” Kirk Douglas has an enviable gig. He also performs on albums and stages around the world while backing everyone from…

Pop ’N Hiss: Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom

There were innovative Stratocaster records before Ah Via Musicom, but Eric Johnson’s 1990 opus changed the rules of the game – this was not your father’s funky quack-toned Fender. After…

Check This Action: Folk Festival of Blues

I heard blues records earlier than I can remember. My dad had Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee albums, and a family friend had records by Lead Belly and Jesse Fuller.…

The Steepwater Band

Taking a spin with Chicago sons The Steepwater Band and their latest CD, Revelation Sunday, is an experience akin to traversing the backroads of American blues and rock, then maybe…

Marcus King

Swamp Guide

Marcus King is a guitar slingin’ powerhouse barnstormer. Unlike most contemporary pop music – heavy on production, low on everything else – King’s new album, Young Blood, propels music fans…