“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest David Davidson

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest David Davidson Season 01 Episode 02 In Episode 2 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined…

Fretprints: The Beatles’ Revolver

Sonic Floodgates

If any rock album can be labeled “groundbreaking,” it’s the Beatles’ Revolver. A sweepingly innovative masterpiece, it divides the ’60s in half, evades categorization, anticipated Sgt. Pepper and the “white…

Nels Cline

Avant-jazz Punk terrosist

Avant noise terrorist with a jazz jones; improv worshipper; atomic flamethrower hurling molten punk-infused spit balls. Guitarist Nels Cline fits all three bills. And that’s barely scratching the surface. Working…

Neil Giraldo

Guitarist, Producer, Partner

Quiz time, guitarheads. What was the second video played on MTV? If you guessed “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar, you win. And, since there was no guitarist in the…

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Ruffian Riffs

Grown men wearing capes. Stadium concerts with self-indulgent instrumental solos. Lyrics that had nothing to do with reality. Rock stars living in castles. By the mid ’70s, all of it…

Duane Betts

Father to Son

It’s understandable if you detect a certain Southern-rock flare in the music of singer/guitarist Duane Betts. After all, his father is longtime Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts and he shares…

Buddy Whittington

Guitar-Lover’s Smorgasbord

Though his status as a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers has changed since VG last talked to him, guitarist Buddy Whittington has forged ahead with a solo career. In ’07,…

Mick Abrahams

This Was (And Still Is…)

British guitarist Mick Abrahams is best remembered for his work on Jethro Tull’s first album, This Was, followed by a stint as the founder/leader of Blodwyn Pig. Abrahams has stayed…

Guthrie Govan

Aristocratic Guitar

Guthrie Govan is at times more stunt pilot than conventional guitarist – his superhero skills mean he can play almost anything. Fortunately, with the Aristocrats, he deploys insane chops in…

Steve Winwood

Voice of a Guitar Great

It would seem contradictory to describe someone as both underrated and a virtuoso, but such is the case with Steve Winwood, particularly regarding his guitar playing. • The reaction of…

Donald “Duck” Dunn

"Duck’s" Gaggle: The Basses of Donald Dunn

Nearly every musician who plays popular music – be it soul, R&B, pop, or the others – has been influenced by Donald “Duck” Dunn. And certainly, every person who has…

Freddie Salem

Outlaw On The Trail

The Outlaws weren’t just a great Southern band, but also one of the most intense guitar experiences in all of rock. In 1977, they ratcheted things up by adding lead…

Ralph Towner

Fifty Years and Counting

As a young musician, Ralph Towner wrote “Icarus,” a revolutionary jazz piece that became a crossover hit for the Paul Winter Consort. Later, the classically trained guitarist (also a fine…

Snowy White

One Man, One Guitar

Snowy White, one of the finest blues and rock musicians to come out of the U.K., built a career on near-anonymity. Deliberately. “It is my nature,” he explains. “If the…

Have Guitar Will Travel 095 – Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids)

In episode 95 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Kenneth Pattengale from The Milk Carton Kids. Kenneth produced the band’s latest album, “I Only…

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…

McKinley James’ Blues

 Family Barn Jam! With his ’82 Gibson 335 running into a Headstrong Corduroy (20-watt/6V6) amp, McKinley James shares a taste of his new album, “Working Class Blues,” with this…

Albert Cummings

Genre-Free

Albert Cummings’ new album, Ten, carries a simple title while serving as an easy way to count discography entries, but it doesn’t capture all that’s on the line for the…

Chris Dreja

Yardbird Recall

Chris Dreja had a front-row seat to rock-and-roll history, playing rhythm guitar and bass in the Yardbirds behind Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Today, Dreja still plays with…

Les Claypool

Child’s Play

The words “concept album” conjure images of long-haired, cape-wearing prog musicians from the ’70s. On their ninth studio album, The Desaturating Seven, Primus satisfies part of that equation, but with…

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…

Shane Theriot

Diggin’ Daryl’s

What does it take to be the lead guitarist and musical director for one of pop’s most celebrated duos, transitioning between funk, rock, country, blues, and Cajun styles? Ask Shane…

Ronnie Earl

Redemption, Reconciliation, and Reinvention

Ronnie Earl is one of the most prolific blues guitarists working today. And though his solo career now spans almost three decades, he shows no signs of slowing down. While…

Phil DeGruy

Laughin’ Matters

Phil deGruy is the rare jazz artist who’s also a bona fide entertainer – and a funny one, at that. His flashy, inventive playing is complemented by amusing asides and…

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…

Donald “Duck” Dunn

Memphis Blues Legend

Click Here to view Donald “Duck” Dunn Obit. In the history of popular music, the story of Memphis-based Stax Records stands as a unique, enduring legacy. Memphis was the focal…

David Hamburger

Top-Tier Tutorial

Whoever said, “Those who can’t do, teach” has never heard David Hamburger. Among his two dozen instructional books and videos, Beginning Blues Guitar, awarded Best New Educational Book or Video…

Scott Holiday

Unrivaled Son

Regardless of the state of pop or rock music, it’s invigorating when a group comes along to remind us what rock and roll sounds like when it’s written from the…

Pop ’N Hiss: Led Zeppelin’s IV

Heaven Sent

It’s impossible to overstate the influence Led Zeppelin’s “untitled” fourth album – call it IV, ZoSo, Runes, Four Symbols, whatever – has had on musicians of all stripes. Released November…

Greg Howe

Best Of Both Worlds

Greg Howe enjoyed a somewhat overwhelming reception when he appeared in the Carvin booth at the January NAMM show. One of rock-fusion’s most forward-thinking guitarists, he was there to launch…