• Artists

     Jason Isbell

    New Vistas, Old Gear

    Jason Isbell’s powerful songs, compelling vocals, and formidable guitar skills have made him one of America’s most-respected singer/songwriters. A charismatic performer, his critically-lauded albums, solo and backed by the formidable 400 Unit, have earned six Grammys and nine Americana Music Awards. With an eclectic style melding country, blues, and Southern rock, his appeal transcends genres.

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Will Ackerman

Acoustic Artisan

A defining idiom of ’80s guitar, the Windham Hill label captured a certain audio sound and style of understated acoustic music, lamentably categorized as “new age.” One of its founders…

Michael Manring

Bass Convergence

Most music fans who learn that the eclectic trio 3Below is all bass players will react with, “You gotta be kiddin’!” However, musicians who appreciate the unusual will stay for…

Fender Competition Mustang

Souped-Up Starter

So it’s no surprise that Fender built the Competition Mustang, a guitar marketed to players who might also be excited by the thrill of Monte Carlo and Formula One. Fender…

One Unforgettable ’60s-Oddity Magnatone

Monster Mash

Drew Moniot and his band, The Sequins, were on top of the world, playing Gibson SGs through endorsement-deal amp stacks as 16-year-olds in 1967. Among their many favorite memories was…

Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts

Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers Band “At Fillmore East.” Like so many guitarists, for Martin,…

John Wetton

Back In Asia

Bassist/vocalist John Wetton has exhibited his solid chops and plaintive baritone voice through the decades in King Crimson, Asia, and several other successful British bands, including Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash,…

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Chris Isaak

Sun Worship

Most pop-music fans became aware of Chris Isaak through his 1991 hit “Wicked Game” and its uber-high-profile video, directed by famed photographer Herb Ritts and featuring the singer/guitarist gettin’ all…

Don’t Call it Fusion: Julien Kasper’s “Upon a Green Hill”

Beck (et al) Connection! The music made by Julien Kasper is connected to Miles, Beck, Hendrix, Mahavishnu, and Scofield, but brings its own sound. Need proof? Check this exclusive take…

Motörhead Bassist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister Passes

1945-2015

Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, founding bassist for the iconic heavy metal band Motörhead, died December 28, two days after reportedly being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and four days…

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,”…

Paul Mehling

Fab Four Gypsy of Tone

One of the world’s foremost Djangophiles, Paul Mehling has for many years been at the forefront of Gypsy jazz in America. The new album by Hot Club of San Francisco…

Earl Slick

Zig Zag Back to the Top

Earl Slick landed his dream gig back in 1974, when a friend referred him for a gig with David Bowie, replacing Mick Ronson.  During this period, Slick recorded three monumental…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Labor of Love

Kenny Wayne Shepherd called his latest record, Goin’ Home because, he says, “It was another opportunity for me to share with music fans my love and appreciation for the genre…

Robbie Robertson, 1943-2023

Lasting Legacy

It’s ironic that Robbie Robertson was famous mostly for his songwriting, because beneath the minimal, compositional style that marked his work with The Band hid a true guitar stylist 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…

Kirk Fletcher

The Mid-life Crisis Sessions

Back from barnstorming the globe, blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher’s latest is music for the people. Heartache by the Pound is about love, sorrow, joy, and pain, driven by freakishly excellent…

Jorge Glem: Cuatro Mastery

Brooklyn-Cumaná Jorge Glem uses his Venezualan cuatro to show us some of “Matapalo y Fuga,” from his new duet album with Sam Reider, “Brooklyn-Cumaná.” Their music mixes flamenco with Irish…

Steve Lukather

Bridges to Toto’s Past

Discussing his ninth solo album, Steve Lukather is a ball of energy – reflective, witty, ready with a joke. “I have the humor of a 16-year-old, shoved in an old…

Gregg Wright

King of the Rockin’ Blues

Gregg Wright is a force to be reckoned with. He took the top spot in the Southern California Blues Society’s annual Battle of the Blues Bands, and will move on…

Pat Martino

Redefined Jazzman

Pat Martino is a legend. He has been delighting the globe’s collective ear for more than 50 years, making an undeniable impact on guitarists across the spectrum; Pete Townshend, Carlos…

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…

Jorge Garcia’s FM Anthems, in Jazz

Fresh takes on revered classics Joge Garcia’s “Still Crossing” is a collection of stellar instrumental performances of familiar tunes like “Kashmir,” “Little Wing,” and a classical spin through Joni Mitchell’s…

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford and the Martin Style 00-44G

Special Signature

Of the nearly 200 artists who have been granted a “signature” Martin guitar, only one was given their own style number. It wasn’t Clapton. It wasn’t Cash. Rather, it’s Vahdah…

Vinnie Moore’s Pandemic Musical Inspiration

Instrumental Whiz Adds Vocalists Neoclassical/metal guitarist Vinnie Moore’s latest music features vocals for the first time. Here, though, he sticks to hard-rock instrumental funkiness mingled with melodicism in a passage…

John Sebastian

Lost Treasures From the Early '70s

Photo: Catherine Sebastian. “Musical style has such a short shelf life. In that year and a half, I lost vital time.” The timeframe John Sebastian is speaking of is the…

Hellecasters

Hell Revisited

The hottest thing going in genre-bending music during the past year has been the award-winning Hellecasters, whose first album on Mike Nesmith’s Rio Records Return of the Hellecasters raised a…

Dave Specter, Swimming in ’verb!

Twangy Texas blues via Chicago Dave Specter (no relation to Phil!) uses his reissue Jazzmaster plugged into a ’65 Vibrolux Reverb to show us the rippin’ lick from “Texas Top,”…

Larry Campbell

All-Americana Multi-Instrumentalist

You’ve probably seen his face, and maybe even watched his hair and beard go from black to gray. Whether it’s fiddling with Bob Dylan, supplying steel at the Americana Music…

Shuggie Otis

Return Of The Prodigy

The son of bluesman Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis was born into a world of blues, R&B, nightclubs, and stages. As a guitar prodigy, he played in his father’s band, and…

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.…