-
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
Blu DeTiger: Funk-Pop Pioneer
When she was seven years old, sibling rivalry spurred Blu DeTiger to get a bass so she could play along with her brother on his new drum kit. After honing…
Tyler Bryant’s “Bare Bones” and a vintage Duolian
Shakedown front man offers taste of “Shake The Roots” Tyler Bryant grabbed his super-cool 1934 National Duolian to play a solo version of “Bare Bones,” from “Shake The Roots,” the…
Pop ’N Hiss: Bad Company
Powerful Purity
Bad Company’s self-titled 1974 debut album defines “classic rock” – no frills, just superb songs and performances from four gifted musicians. The British quartet was one of the first rock…
-
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
-
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
-
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
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…
Brian Tarquin
No Idle Hands
Brian Tarquin is more than keeping busy. In the space of six weeks, he recently released two very different instrumental CDs centered on his playing with a multitude of guests,…
Mike Baggetta Brings the Morricone Sauce!
New Album Explores Styles with Keltner, Watt Check out Mike Baggetta and his Iris AB (serial number 46) playing the title track from the new album “Everywhen We Go,” his…
Joe Osborn
A Few (Hundred) Hits
Ed. Note: Joe passed away December 14th, 2018, he was 81. Joe Osborn. His face has never been on a record jacket or album cover. Odds are most have heard…
Classics: January 2024
Bill Woodward's 1953 Gibson Les Paul
Gravitational heavyweights in our culture, beyond baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie, few things say “American” more than music and road trips. This guitar is symbolic of both. One of…
Benjamin Kushner
Soul Patrol
Drawing from a vast well of American R&B and soul, Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal deliver powerhouse sounds from their home base in Nebraska. On its latest, Green Light, the…
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
Geezer Butler
Sab Aside
Known for holding down the low-end for Black Sabbath, Terence “Geezer” Butler is usually busy with his band GZR whenever the Sabs go into stasis. A quartet with a sound…
Diamond Rio’s Jimmy Olander
Sworn Gunslinger
Grand Ole Opry member, CMA, ACM, and Grammy winner Jimmy Olander is one of the most-admired players in country music. As co-founder of Diamond Rio, his dedication has always been…
Guy King
Finding Joy
Israeli-born guitarist/singer Guy King has become a triple-threat musician since moving to Chicago. The playing, singing, and songwriting on his latest, Joy Is Coming, showcase his skills and versatility. How…
Roman Bulakhov’s Radical Stew
Ukrainian guitarist fuses…. everything Inspired by Pat Metheny, Greg Howe, Guthrie Govan and others, guitarist Roman Bulakhov fuses rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop – and everything else into a radical, acrobatic…
Jon Butcher
Beyond the Axis
One of the most-influential guitarists to emerge from Boston, Jon Butcher has just released his 14th album, 2Roads East. We caught up with Butcher as he prepared to tour. 2Roads…
Have Guitar Will Travel 096 – Chad Kinchla (Blues Traveler) and Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters)
In episode 96 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with Chan Kinchla from Blues Traveler and Todd Park Mohr from Big Head Todd & The Monsters,…
Ty Tabor
Digging Deep
King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor’s latest solo album is a guitar-centric meditation on mindfulness and the complexities of existence. With a break from touring, he had time to whip out…
Tim O’Brien
Trailblazing Triple-Threat
If Tim O’Brien was a ballplayer, he’d be at least a “triple threat.” He’s a superb songwriter, a stellar mandolin player, a unique singer, and a powerful live performer. Born…
Nili Brosh
A Matter Of Perception
If you saw Tony MacAlpine on his early-2015 tour, you probably noticed a young woman accompanying him on a seven-string guitar. Berklee grad Nili Brosh effortlessly harmonized with MacAlpine, and…
George Lynch
New Roads
A lynch pin is a narrow shaft of metal that keeps a wheel from falling off – without it, the whole thing collapses. Same holds true for George Lynch, the…
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…
Rich Robinson and Marc Ford Of The Magpie Salute
Wiser Time
Musical chemistry is a special, sometimes flammable rapport between two musicians. It’s a rare thing – highly sought, difficult to attain – and you know it when you share it.…
Gwenifer Raymond
Fierce Fingerstyle
Expect the unexpected from Gwenifer Raymond. Born in Wales, England, she was inspired by underground bands like the Pixies and Nirvana, while her deft fingerpicking style was shaped by Mississippi…
Jane Getter
Jazz-Rock Premonitions
Jane Getter’s Anomalia is a mostly instrumental album that traverses the hypnotic seas of jazz-rock, with lyrics. A fusion of the bold, the ethereal, and the intense, her guitar is…
Lords of Atlantis: Cliché-Free Surf
Ivan Pongracic Lords of Atlantis includes members from a handful of high-profile surf bands, and its debut album is a collection of catchy instrumentals that steers clear of cliches. Here,…
Traynor YGM-4 Studio Mate
Behind The Eight Ball
Vintage-amp bargain hunters often compare the quality and features of smaller Traynor combos to Fenders and those of the larger heads to Marshall. The truth is these robust Canadian amps…
Neal Schon
Spacesaver Sale
Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But don’t dial 9-1-1 for Neal Schon. Holder of 800 instruments…
Danny Fender
Danny Fender was one of the great guitarists you may never have heard. He died December 3, 2024, at age 54. Fender was well-known among his people, the American Roma.…
Neal Schon
Spacesaver Sale
Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But don’t dial 9-1-1 for Neal Schon. Holder of 800 instruments…
Rik Emmett Fixes it for Us!
Triumph guitarist shows how to properly play four classic songs Plenty of players on socials post video showing how to play the “pretty” chords from classic Triumph songs, but…
Greg Martin
Facts of Life
The pandemic knocked the Kentucky Headhunters’ 2020 plans out of whack, just like every other artist. It’s the primary reason That’s a Fact Jack! is the boisterous, Grammy-winning Southern rock/country…
