•  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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Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis, a longtime employee at Fender who most recently served as Vice President of Product Development in the company’s Custom Shop, died March 6. Lewis’ music career began in…

Les Paul

The Legend and a New Book

The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy, 1915-1963 Les Paul is an acknowledged musical icon who influenced so much and many in his 92 years, yet he still has…

Gilby Clarke - Grit & Glory

Grit & Glory

Gilby Clarke and His Guitars

The drive to succeed – along with certain workaholic tendencies – revealed themselves early in rock guitarist Gilby Clarke. On the brink of becoming a “problem child,” he turned the…

Mark O’Connor

Virtuoso Comeback

Some musicians are multi-instrumentalists, but Mark O’Connor is something else – a multi-virtuoso. Regarded as a master on guitar, violin, and mandolin, he’s also a noted classical composer and educator…

George Lynch

Mr. Scary’s New Empire

George Lynch is one of the premier axe men to emerge in the ’80s. His melodic hard-rock riffs were the driving force behind Dokken and he later launched Lynch Mob…

DAN ROSE AND HIS TASTY TAKE ON A CLASSIC

DAN ROSE AND HIS TASTY TAKE ON A CLASSIC! Dan Rose used his ’58 ES-175 (with a PAF at the neck) plugged into a Fishman Loudbox to play the Rodgers…

Bill Pitman

1920-2022

One of the last surviving members of the record industry’s famed Wrecking Crew, Bill Pitman died at his home in LaQuinta, California, on August 11, 2022. He was 102 and…

Trey Gunn

Touch-Guitar Tip of the Hat

When profiled by Vintage Guitar in 1992, Trey Gunn was playing a Chapman Stick alongside guitarist Robert Fripp in a band called Sunday All Over the World. Gunn’s two-handed tenacity…

Andy Timmons

Back to the Bread ’N Butter

After a decade pushing his craft to new creative realms, Dallas-based guitarist Andy Timmons is once again purveying original instrumental guitar rock. His 2006 album, Resolution, was his band’s last…

Doobies, Brothers

A Discussion with Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons

American music rarely is more pure than when it comes from the minds, hands, and mouths of the Doobie Brothers. An uncommon mix of talent, the Doobies have, since their…

Bryson Willoughby

Mojo Thunder’s Collective Consciousness

Kentucky’s favorite alternative Southern rockers, Mojo Thunder, extrapolate fresh ideas from disparate genres to produce an album as passionate as it is musically satisfying. The twin-guitar assault of Sean Sullivan…

Walter Trout

The Reluctant Expatriate

Guitarist Walter Trout resides in California, but the acclaim for his ferocious, blues-based playing tends to resound from the right side of the North Atlantic. Trout’s albums and tours are…

Steve Hackett

No pigeonholes, please!

Photo coutesy Steve Hackett. It’s been said that musicians often “follow their muse” at certain points in their careers, but Steve Hackett, who is entering his fourth decade as a…

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Buzz Feiten

Unsung Hero

An unsung hero, accomplished inventor, and builder possessing priceless musical knowledge, Buzz Feiten’s list of session credits could fill a phone book – from Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King to…

Thom Douvan

Thom Douvan

Motown and More

Released in April, guitarist Thom Douvan’s third album, All Over Again, is a mix of self-penned instrumentals (with one notable exception) that utilizes a plethora of classic guitars to embellish…

Fretprints: Tony Rice

Newgrass Fusion Master

The world lost one of its most innovative and defining guitar voices on December 25, 2020. Bluegrass maestro Tony Rice – singer, composer, supremely accomplished sideman, solo artist, and flatpicking…

Rob Fleming

From Bowie to KillerStar

KillerStar is no David Bowie cover band. Instead, it’s an uncanny project from U.K. guitarist Rob Fleming and drummer James Sedge, who brought in musicians from many of Bowie’s bands…

Marc Ford

The Vulture

Fans of The Black Crowes remember Marc Ford as the gifted guitarist who played on what many consider the band’s best albums, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, Amorica, and…

Gary Moore

Remembering Phil Lynott

Moore with his signature model Gibson Les Paul. Photo: Rob Verhorst/Redferns Music Picture Library. Irish guitarist Gary Moore is a man in perpetual motion, onstage and in the studio. A…

Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

The Chicago resident has been exciting blues audiences worldwide for decades. But he built his reputation working the local club circuit, playing for African-American audiences and Chuck Berry-inspired rock for…

Del Casher

Checking in with L.A. studio stalwart

Casher with actress Brooke Shields at a soundtrack recording session. He’s called “The Papa of the Wah-Wah Pedal” and has been a top session cat since the early 1960s, introducing…

VG Q&A: A Gilded ’63 Jazz Bass

Plus, Swappable Pickups, Bartell Guitars, and a Mystery Lap Steel

I am the third owner of a 1963 Jazz Bass with a neck stamp “7Jan63A,” pots dated that May, and serial number from that spring. It also has original gold…

The Story of Jay Gower

Startup in Music City

In Nashville today, there are enough professional luthiers to meet the need for guitar repairs, modifications, and custom builds. In the 1950s, though, musicians typically returned broken instruments to the…

Carl Filipiak

Knack for Jimi

After 20 years of play-ing and recording his blistering fusion of jazz and rock, Carl Filipiak’s latest record, I Got Your Mantra, mixes his mastery of the instrument with his…

Dennis Budimir

Renowned studio guitarist Dennis Budimir died in Los Angeles on January 10. He was 84. Early in his career, Budimir’s path to jazz stardom began when he started working with…

Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele Hero

It’s one of the most unlikely success stories in music. Armed with a four-string tenor ukulele, a young Hawaiian videos himself playing solo in Central Park. His dynamic instrumental arrangement…

Fretprints: Jeff Beck

The JBG: Birth of Heavy Metal?

The proverbial chicken-or-egg conundrum has an equivalent in the spirited debate over the Jeff Beck Group versus Led Zeppelin as progenitors of heavy metal. There’s a bit of truth in…

Louis Stewart

Irish Jazz Giant

Next to Jameson whiskey, Louis Stewart remains Ireland’s leading export – and his playing can be just as intoxicating. The consummate creative jazz artist, his soft-toned archtop sound reflected the…

Vinnie Moore

Heavy Melodic Shred

Vinnie Moore emerged in the mid ’80s, garnering praise for his work as a solo instrumentalist and for his contributions to Alice Cooper’s Hey Stoopid album and tours. In 2003,…

Stephen Ulrich

One-Man Band

New York-based guitarist Stephen Ulrich is known for the suspenseful “crime jazz” and surf-rock tones of his instrumental trio, Big Lazy, but he has a side career writing soundtrack music.…