• Outlaws

    Artists

    Outlaws

    Rising Tides

    By the mid ’70s, Southern rock emerged as one of the most-exciting and successful genres in pop music, thanks to the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another important early Southern-rock band making its mark with country influences was Outlaws – the Tampa group nicknamed “Florida Guitar Army.” Rhythm guitarist Henry Paul, lead guitarists Hughie…

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Joe Bonamassa

Young Gun, Old Guitars

Joe Bonamassa. Asked whether he gets philosophical at the thought of turning 30 (his birthday was May 8), Joe Bonamassa is reluctant. Maybe because since before his 14th birthday, he…

Bob Spalding

Latest Ventures

More than 60 years since their inception, The Ventures are still a rockin’ band, featuring longtime guitarist/bassist Bob Spalding and drummer Leon Taylor (son of original drummer Mel Taylor) plus…

Pop ’N Hiss: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Texas Flood

The Blues, Reborn

Music in the early ’80s was dominated by the shiny blips and bloops of keyboard-driven new wave and the first rumblings of fleet-fingered guitar explosions of glam metal. The blues,…

Multi-Generational Blues

Ronnie Baker Brooks

On Blues In My DNA, second-generation blues man Ronnie Baker Brooks continues the legacy of his father, Lonnie Brooks, by keeping the blues relevant and fresh. Funky chord work, incendiary…

Eric Clapton in Mayall’s Blues Breakers

A God is Born

John Mayall Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton casts a long shadow in the annals of modern music. Released in 1966, it was dubbed “The Beano Album” to portray its transcendent…

Dale Watson

Dale Watson

Keep On Truckin’

The seeds of the latest album from Dale Watson were sown in 1998, when he released The Truckin’ Sessions . The Truckin’ Sessions 2 followed in 2009, and now he…

Shredding and songcraft – Kire Najdovski

Talas guitarist offers taste of “1985” Kire Najdovski does a great take on “Close to the Killer,” from Talas’ new album, “1985.” “I’m playing the Custom Shop ’58 Les Paul…

Johnny A.

On the fast track

When VG first caught up with guitarist Johnny A. in 2001, his instrumental release, Sometime Tuesday Morning, was perking ears all over the place. Before he signed to Steve Vai’s…

Ethan Brosh

Ethan Brosh

Living The Dream

In case you were wondering, shred is not dead, and Ethan Brosh is determined to keep it that way. The Israeli-born Berklee grad is a young man with an old…

Pop ’N Hiss: The J. Geils Band’s “Live” Full House

Detroit Get-Down

You heard of the Boogaloo?” singer Peter Wolf bellows as the J. Geils Band roars through “Hard Drivin’ Man.” “You heard of the Boston Monkey? You heard of the Philly…

Joe Dan Petty

"Techin' It Twice"

It’s been “full circle more than once” for bassist/”guitar tech” Joe Dan Petty, of Macon, Georgia. I put “guitar tech” in quotes because during his first stint as a member…

Nils Lofgren

Great American Journeyman

Nils Lofgren’s resumé stretches 47 years and counting. He joined Neil Young’s band at age 19 and was a member of Crazy Horse before his own band, Grin, landed a…

Andy Gill

The Gang’s All Here

One of the most original-sounding guitarists to emerge from the post-punk/new wave movement of the late ’70s was Gang of Four’s Andy Gill. While he didn’t take many solos, his…

Frank Marino

Tools of the Trade

Photo: Willie G. Moseley. For most pro musicians, this is what it’s all about. While a collection of classic guitars can be respected or admired by lovers of the instrument,…

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…

Scott Gorham

Still Dangerous!

Scott Gorham in the ’70s. Photo: Denis O’Regan. Thin Lizzy was formed in 1969 by bassist/frontman Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. Guitarists Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham joined in…

Aaron Eisenberg

Tonal Dedication

L.A.-based rockers The Soft White Sixties prove you don’t have to be old to be classic. Originally from San Francisco, the quintet deftly blends early R&B influences with ’70s glam…

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,…

Pop ’N Hiss: Albert King’s Born Under a Bad Sign and Live Wire/Blues Power

Power, Indeed

In February of 1968, Albert King stepped onto the stage of San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium for the first time. With the Jimi Hendrix Experience headlining, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers featuring 19-year-old…

Tinsley Ellis’ “Devil May Care” attitude

Blues ace gets rowdy on his 345 through a tweed Champ The fiery Tinsley Ellis and his ’67 Gibson ES-345 show us the lead break from “One Less Reason” from…

Peter Stroud and Audley Freed

Two Guys, Many Guitars, One Big Hat

Many a noteworthy rock and roll band from the Cotton Belt has been propelled by guitar-playin’ good ol’ boys with names that ring through music lore in (sometimes) poetic-sounding tandems…

Duke Robillard

Doing Things His Way

Mix one part blues, one part jazz, one part swing, stir in some rock and soul, bring to a simmer, and you have Duke Robillard ala mode. In his 35…

Bill Carson

My LIfe and Times with Fender

Reveals good times and bad, the infamous CBS years, Fender’s remarkable resurgence to regain command of the industry, and much more! Price was: $14.95 plus Shipping. Now for a Limited…

Paul Quinn

Ramming It

As one of the leading bands of the early-’80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Saxon is responsible for offering up such headbanging anthems as “Wheels of Steel,” “Strong…

Bryan Bassett

Foghat’s Slide Secret

A half-century after its inception, Foghat has just one original member – drummer Roger Earl – yet the quartet is cranking out British blooze better than ever. Part of this…

Bakersfield twang from Nashville Honeymoon

Vintage Instruments, Traditional Sounds Nashville Honeymoon plays country music laden with Bakersfield influence – the best kind! Here, Hank Maninger plays his ’62 Guild Starfire III, while Lynne Maes sings…

Jimmy James

Unadulterated Guitar

Not even a pandemic can stop the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. After a successful European tour, they were lean, mean, and primed to jump back into the studio to create…

Scott Metzger

Scott Metzger

Spontaneous Composition

“We started as three side men scheduled to back a singer who was a no-show at this bar in Brooklyn,” said Scott Metzger, recalling the origins of the trio Wolf!.…

Joe Satriani Home Main Big

Joe Satriani

More Than Meets the Ear

When he emerged in the late ’80s, rock guitarist Joe Satriani stood apart from the hair-band crowd for several reasons. Like most of his contemporaries, his style was a mix…

Don Felder

Don Felder

Six-Stringed Summer Stock

Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder is spending the summer with a few friends. On an extended tour with Styx and Foreigner in a package billed as The Soundtrack of Summer,…