Richard Tozzoli: Underscore Overlord

Shark Week” Les Pauls, Flying V, et al Richard Tozzoli walks us through a guitar overdub session for Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week ’24,”  featuring drummer Omar Hakim and the Budapest Orchest*ra. Recorded…

Nalle Colt

Keeping Old-School Alive

Vintage Trouble has emerged as one of the hardest working bands on the music scene. Laced with an ultra-cool visual style and a soulful vision, singer Ty Taylor and guitarist…

“Big” Al Anderson

Nashville By Way of Connecticut

Ask people what they know about “Big Al” Anderson and you’ll probably hear very different responses. Rockers will say that for 22 years he was the Tele-driving force behind New…

Return of the Trashmen

Bird Is Still The Word

Surf’s up – again! Thanks to the prodding of guitarist/impresario Deke Dickerson, The Trashmen recently recorded their first album in 25 years. “I was an obsessed fan,” Dickerson says of…

Roman Bulakhov

Ukrainian Trailblazer

If there’s a 21st-century guitar style, Roman Bulakhov is a prime example, particularly how he fuses rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop – and everything else – into a radical stew. The…

Brian Setzer

Return to Rumble

Like any guitarist at his level, Brian Setzer lives life answering the call of music. Grateful for the gift, he’s able to instantly convert thoughts to riffs and songs, as…

In Memoriam: Leslie West

1944-2020

Leslie West, guitarist/frontman in the pioneering hard-rock band Mountain, died December 22, 2020, after going into cardiac arrest. He was 75 and had suffered a heart attack two days prior.…

Tinsley Ellis

Tougher Than Ever

After decades of roadhouses, bars, and international touring, bluesman Tinsley Ellis is still going strong. A 1979 graduate of Emory University, he always aspired to play blues guitar. “The first…

 Yasmin Williams

Art of Collaboration

Yasmin Williams turned heads a few years ago with her brilliant solo acoustic music, often playing the guitar flat on her lap and tapping on the neck, like a piano.…

Pat Travers

Full Blast

It’s an elite class – rock guitarists who crossed the Atlantic to achieve their rock-star dreams. Somewhere between the mid-’60s sojourn of Jimi Hendrix and that of Brian Setzer in…

Pete Huttlinger

A Narrative (and album) From the Heart

To call Pete Huttlinger a survivor is an understatement. The notable Nashville fingerpicker has fought back from a major stroke and end-stage heart failure to record the most important album…

Phil Campbell

Motöring Ahead

From 1984 through 2015, Phil Campbell was the guitarist in Motörhead, and for the last 20 years of the band’s existence was its sole guitarist, appearing on classic releases such…

Billy Mure

Supersonic Guitarist Remembered

Guitar great Billy Mure (born November 4, 1915) passed away September 25, at the age of 97. He last performed on August 2, playing Dixieland banjo at Squid Lips, where…

Beckley and Bunnell

America History Lesson

Few bands warrant a career-retrospective box set, let alone two. Then again, most don’t keep going after 50 years. America is an exception. Their new eight-disc collection, Half Century, compiles…

Fretprints: Pee Wee Crayton

Tiny Titan of Blues Guitar

Though he is today largely forgotten, blues aficionados recognize Pee Wee Crayton as a legend. “The little man with a big sound” dominated the charts briefly in the years between…

Brad Paisley

Keep Pushing Play

Ten years into what has become a stellar career, when Brad Paisley hits your town to play a show these days, it’s with nine semi tractor-trailer rigs and a fleet…

John McFee

Standing in the Shadows

John McFee John McFee isn’t a household name in music, but he has been a major player for more than 35 years. But his attitude (“I never really wanted to…

Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album

Pulverizing Performance

Brutish power chords and shrieking guitar lines abetted by pounding percussion, overdriven bass riffs, and wailing vocals – at the advent of the ’70s, the “Detroit Sound” was a precursor…

Fareed Haque

Worldly Jazz Virtuoso

Photo courtesy Fareed Haque. Fareed Haque is a jazz-fusion and classical player who’s known for stunning guitarmanship, yet for one reason or another, his name often flies under the radar.…

Fretprints: Mick Ralphs

Delivering in Bad Company

Unabashedly British and irresistibly swaggering, Bad Company personified ’70s arena rock. Detractors denounced them as machismo, but fans have bought more than 40 million albums, 20 million in America alone.…

Prodigal Sunburst

Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard

A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything Joe Walsh does brings an undeniable charisma. For decades, Walsh…

Jerry Douglas

Slide Ruler – Jerry Douglas’ Love Affair with the Dobro

You know, it’s the coolest-looking instrument that ever was made!” It should come as no surprise that Jerry Douglas is speaking about the Dobro and the various other resonator-equipped guitars…

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…

Cory Wong

Emperor Of The North

Cory Wong’s latest solo album, Striped, is a jubilant record and his eighth this year. Defying the temperature of the times with joy, fun, and positivity, Wong can also be…

Al Stewart

Cat’s Meow

Year of the Cat, singer/songwriter/guitarist Al Stewart’s 1976 smash, is being celebrated with a 45th anniversary three-CD/DVD box set. The album has been remastered by producer Alan Parsons, and the…

Remembering Jeff Beck

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. I didn’t know Jeff…

Steve Morse

Blazing Ahead with Deep Purple

While many classic British bands have hung up their spurs, Deep Purple is not only fully active after 45 years, but absolutely thriving. The group regularly tours around the planet…

Bruce Bouillet

From The Shadow Of Racer X

Former Racer X guitarist Bruce Bouillet overcame carpal tunnel syndrome to return to his first love – shredding. Now, he’s back with a third solo album The Order Of Control,…

Tom Feldmann

No Need to Sell Your Soul

“And the Oscar goes to…” If they gave out Academy Awards for the best guitar instructional film, Tom Feldmann’s latest on Robert Johnson would be a shoe-in. We rarely review…

Johnny Hiland

Nashville Schoolin'

In the wee hours of a July morning in 1996, Johnny Hiland made a crucial decision. He deleted the 52-page term paper he’d been working on, left college and his…