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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
Steve Miller
Some People Call Him Rock Icon, Part 2
Though obviously a familiar name given his hits from the 1970s and ’80s were FM staples and today are virtually ubiquitous on classic-rock radio, last month we talked with Steve…
Bruce Kulick
B-A-C-K to KKB
Most associate the name, face, and licks of Bruce Kulick with his 12-year stint in the non-masked Kiss. A busy pro player before and after, he’s yet another member of…
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…
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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
Brennen Leigh
Honky Tonk Woman
Country singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Brennen Leigh has no shortage of gifts, ably documented on her latest album, Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet, and it’s heart-yanking single “Running Out of…
Benson Set to Host Breezin’ With The Stars Retreat
In the December ’24 issue of Vintage Guitar, the legendary George Benson discusses his new album, the forthcoming sale of select guitars from his collection, and another new twist –…
Jackie King
From Willie to T-Bone and Others
Jackie King’s pretty much done it all. Born in Texas, the son of a guitar player, his path took him from playing in bars at age 13, to hanging out…
The Guitars of Gary Rossington
A Legend’s Legacy
When the time came for Gary Rossington’s family to decide what to do with his guitars and amps after his passing in March of 2023, daughters Mary and Annie along…
Larry McCray
Redemption Blues
Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like…
Joe Maphis
Rose Lee Talks About Joe Maphis
Virginia-born Otis Wilson Maphis was truly a one-of-a-kind individual. From his earliest days in the 1930s as a guitarist and piano player for The Railsplitters, to his experience with Blackie…
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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
Marty Walsh
With a Little Help From Friends
Marty Walsh has plied his trade for decades, though relatively few may be familiar with his efforts. A Los Angeles native, the guitarist gravitated to his father’s old Martin when…
Bobby Eli
Philly-Soul Pioneer
With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records, the spotlight is on the songwriting team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. Founded in 1971, PIR was the…
Have Guitar Will Travel 076 – Nashvillains
Ep 76 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Troy Johnson, Scott Lindsey, and Brett Boyette of the band Nashvillains. The guys have written and produced music for feature films, television…
Buddy Guy
Legend Steeped in the Blues
Buddy Guy, Bayfront Blues Festival, 1997. Photo by Ward Meeker. When referring to the all-time great legends of the blues and the guitar, the formidable Buddy Guy comes to mind…
How Ron Wood’s New Barbarians Saved the Stones
Ear-to-Ear Violence
Today, the Rolling Stones continue to perform live, more than 50 years since their first gig. But few realize how an unsung side project formed and funded by Ron Wood…
Pop ’N Hiss: The Rolling Stones’ Black and Blue
Groove-Heavy
By the mid ’70s, rock and roll had matured into a big business, with top acts including Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Rolling Stones earning millions of dollars on record…
Chris Avey’s cosmic riffs!
Sample from Avey Grouws Band’s “Tell Tale Heart” Chris Avey grabbed a very special PRS. DGT and plugged into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe to play this take on “Mariana,”…
Keith Urban
Down-Under Uber-Picker
For a guy born in New Zealand and reared in Australia, Keith Urban certainly knows how to grab the attention of Yankee music fans. The supertalented artist not only writes…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Timm Kummer
Season 03 Episode 09 In Episode 3.9 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Timm Kummer, a legendary figure in the world of collectible guitars with a…
Tagore Grey
British Steel
If you’ve been starving for good old-fashioned hard rock, the Treatment has your number. The British band has been building its reputation for more than a decade, delivering in-yer-face guitar…
Tom Keifer
Thick and Thin
Tom Keifer is a tad young to be on the (very) long list of musicians inspired first and foremost by the Beatles’ “arrival” in the U.S. in 1964. But he’s…
Pop ’N Hiss: Taste
Breakout Blues
The ’60s may have been the most musically significant decade in the history of popular music, but very few countries were represented then or in the years that followed. Fronted…
The Gringo Pistoleros’ Larry Wilson
Classic P-90 tones! The Gringo Pistoleros’ Larry Wilson shows us a bit of “I Can Still Remember When,” from the group’s album, “Echoes and Other Songs: The Rise And… Subsequent…
Oz Noy
Coming to America
When Oz Noy mov-ed to New York City at age 24 in 1996, he was an established guitarist in his homeland of Israel, having played jazz and studio work from…
Rocky Athas’ Texas ’Tude!
Genuine Lone Star Jams Dallas guy Rocky Athas built a career playing blues in the vain of T-Bone and SRV, but his new album, “Livin’ My Best Life,” is more…
Jules Leyhe
Bottleneck Breakout
Forget everything you know about slide guitar. Jules Leyhe just upended the genre on Your First Rodeo, an instrumental set that gleefully mixes styles with riveting results. On top of…
Kay-Ta Matsuno’s fluid fingerstyle
Raised on classical, inspired by movie music Lovers of fingerstyle likely know the music of Kay-Ta Matsuno. For the uninitiated, here’s a glimpse of his first-call work. Using his Godin…
Eric Clapton
A Return To The Crossroads
In many ways, 2004 marks a return to the crossroads for Eric Clapton. With his latest disc, Me And Mr. Johnson, the guitarist pays homage to one of his principal…
Sheryl Bailey’s “Homage”
Jazz star’s tribute to Pat Martino – “The Velvet Hammer” A leading proponent of modern jazz guitar, Sheryl Bailey has recorded with Alan Broadbent, Art Farmer, Urbie Green, Eric Kloss,…
R.C. Allen
1934-2014
R.C. Allen, a noted luthier who built archtops for local and regional players of note and was a fixture at vintage-guitar shows in Southern California, died March 2. Allen was…
Randy Napoleon’s Rust Belt Roots
Jazz prof brings spirit and feel Randy Napoleon plays the 2007 prototype for Benedetto’s Bravo Deluxe while doing this exclusive take on his original tune “The Man Who Sells…
