Noah Zacharin

Simple Pleasures

While some regard folk guitar as a relatively simple style, Noah Zacharin is a seriously agile fingerpicker. Also a fine singer/songwriter, his album, Points of Light, uses his six-string dexterity…

Anthony Phillips

Progressive 12-String Master

Ant Phillips was a founding member of Genesis and, along with guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, created the signature 12-string acoustic sound that marked the band’s classic albums. Phillips left the group…

John Paul Jones

Before teaming up with Jimmy Page in 1968 to form the soon-to-become greatest and most influential hard rock band of all time, John Paul Jones was an arranger, composer, and…

Peter Stroud Keeps His Feet, and Keeps Movin’

On “10,” As Always

He has played with Dreams So Real, Pete Droge, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow. It’s the latter gig that occupies his playing time these days, while much of his “down”…

John Jorgenson

Continued Gypsy

John Jorgenson’s latest offering is French Gypsy jazz played by a California boy as recorded in Nashville and honed while touring the world over. Jorgenson’s fascination with the music of…

Singing Cowboys

…and Beautiful Guitars

In his interview in the October ’06 issue of VG, David Lindley talked about what grabbed his attention prior to rock and roll. “There was cowboy music,” he said. “I…

In Memoriam: Sammy Ash

Sammy Ash, COO of the family-run Sam Ash Music chain, died September 16, 2023, after a year-long battle with stage four melanoma. He was 65. Named after the grandfather who…

Fretprints: Led Zeppelin

One of the truly classic rock albums, Led Zeppelin’s IV brought together the band’s towering advances achieved with its first three releases. An extraordinary amalgam of blues-rock, progressive aspirations, heavy-metal…

Neal Schon

Driven Journey Man

It’s been 11 years since Journey released a new studio album, and its latest, Freedom, is packed with 15 arena-ready rockers and ballads. Lead guitarist/co-founder Neal Schon, keyboardist/guitarist Jonathan Cain,…

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…

Warren Haynes

Back on the Mule

Given his work ethic, it makes sense that Warren Haynes plays in a band called Gov’t Mule. A strong contender for Workaholic Guitarist of the Year, Haynes is active in…

Andy Powell

Setting the Record Straight

Wishbone Ash founder/guitarist Andy Powell has a new term for his resumé – “author.” Abetted by Colin Harper, he recently created Eyes Wide Open: True Tales of a Wishbone Ash…

Michael Schenker

Temple Of Rock

Michael Schenker has had the kind of stormy past that could give Keith Richards a run for his money. He will forever be tied to iconic bands such as The…

Brennen Leigh’s Heart-Tugging Honky-Tonk

Shades of Norman Blake and Dolly Parton A student of the “Carter Scratch” guitar technique – melody on the low strings, rhythm on the high – Brennen Leigh plays and…

Steve Wariner

The C.G.P. Connection

Steve Wariner is among the handful of guitarists designated as a certified guitar player (C.G.P.) by Chet Atkins. The last guitarist to receive the personal honor, Wariner served a pallbearer…

Catch Ron Bosse Rumblin’

Great jazz on a Strat Ron Bosse learned to play saxophone in grade school and was raised on classic rock, and in high school became a jazz guitarist. A Berklee…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part Two

Last month, we began looking at some of the more entertaining fretted instrument advertising of the 20th century, in what could be loosely called the “cheesecake” style! This term generally…

Barry Melton

Singular Fish

One of the most indelible images from “Woodstock,” the documentary of the legendary 1969 rock festival, is that of Country Joe & the Fish guitarist Barry Melton flashing a big…

Todd Park Mohr

Steady Base

The latest album from Colorado’s Big Head Todd and the Monsters, New World Arisin’, delivers what fans have come expect from a band that has spent slightly longer than three…

Alligator Greats

Bruce Iglauer Recalls 50 Years of Blues Guitar

Anyone wondering why a young Bruce Iglauer was so impassioned about recording the raw, high-energy blues of Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor can find context in the artists that captivated…

Geddy Lee

Rush RX for my Favorite Headache

Geddy Lee is a man who needs very little introduction. With just over three decades as the unmistakable lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist in Rush, Lee has forged a potent…

Bryan Lee

Have Blues Guitar, Will Travel

One night when Bryan Lee was opening for New Orleans legend Snooks Eaglin at the city’s Rock ‘N’Bowl, Snooks called Bryan up to jam during his set. Lee recalls, “He…

Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri

Empire Central: Funky homage to Dallas Snarky Puppy guitarist Mark Lettieri took a minute at soundcheck to use his PRS Fiore and lay down a piece of “Trinity,” a track…

Glenn Hughes

Golden-Voiced Bassist

In the past year, Glenn Hughes has experienced highs like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and lows like knee-replacement surgery. But he’s now back on…

J.D. Simo

Playing for Elvis

Psych-blues guitar maestro J.D. Simo was the wizard behind the guitar work heard on Elvis, the new Baz Luhrmann film starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler. Unlike the actors who…

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 Swampy grooves mix blues with rock Enjoy Bex Marshall and her Ozark 3515BTE Custom Cutaway resonator delivering superbly on an exclusive rendition of the title track from her latest…

Matthias Jabs

Still Got That Sting

It won’t be long before the Scorpions, a veteran hard rock aggregation from Hanover, Germany, celebrates its 30th anniversary of creating guitar-based music with memorable hooks for an untold number…

Robert Randolph

The Sacred Steel, Family, and SRV

Living testament to the versatility of the pedal-steel guitar and a rarity in pop music, Robert Randolph adroitly addresses the challenge of acting as front man of the Family Band…

Rik Emmett

Triumphant Return

Triumph was one of the leading arena-rock acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Striking gold and platinum with albums including Allied Forces, Never Surrender, and Thunder Seven and…

Ray Benson

Swing Ambassador: 50 Years of Asleep at the Wheel

“Why are you all playin’ that modern music?” Asleep at the Wheel guitarist Ray Benson fielded the question from Harry, a regular at the Sportsmen’s Club in rural Paw Paw,…