John Tropea

A Life in the Studios

John Tropea has spent much of his life in a studio, playing guitar, helping make hit records for people with names other than his own. Why? One reason is his…

Kristian Borring – post-bop wizard

 Danish jazzer’s transcendent style on “Persian Hills” Kristian Borring plays a fabulous version of “Persian Hills,” from Number Junky’s latest album “Earth Matters.” Check out his custom-made Victor Baker…

Steve Dawson

 Channeling Sol Hoopii in “Singin’ the Blues” Steve Dawson used his unplugged Celtic Cross Weissenborn model lap steel and gathered his friends Gary Craig (drums), Jeremy Holmes (bass), and…

Cheetah Chrome

The Dead Boys Live Again

As the punk rebellion exploded in 1977, the New York scene became dominated by the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, and (newly transplanted from Cleveland) a…

Alan Parsons

New World Record

With his latest album, From The New World, legendary musician/producer Alan Parsons continues a string of lushly orchestrated progressive rock, this time featuring guests such as Joe Bonamassa and Styx’s…

Del Casher

“Papa of the Wah-Wah” Marks Its 50 Years

The wah pedal is one of the most widely used effects in popular music, employed by artists playing rock, blues, funk, disco, and other genres. One of the most expressive…

Bill Kirchen

Tele Twang, Straight Up!

Bill Kirchen has had the good fortune to be associated with classic songs (“Hot Rod Lincoln”) and impressive sidekicks (Commander Cody, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Danny Gatton, etc.). Amongst guitarists,…

 Fretprints: Larry Carlton

Revisiting Room 335

In 1978, Larry Carlton was atop the unforgiving environs of L.A.’s music studios, where technical prowess, precision, creativity, tone, and groove are minimum requirements and mere competence promises a short…

The Rascals’ Gene Cornish

Wild Legacy

Gene Cornish is fond of the time he spent in the ’60s pop band The Rascals, which he credits for having never been sidetracked or making a bad decision… until…

Collection of Jonathan Kellerman

Talent for mysteries, passion for guitars, best-selling Novelist Jonathan Kellerman is a lifelong lover of the guitar. A player for 46 years, to him, the guitar is not only a…

Have Guitar Will Travel 104 – Pete Sears and Roger McNamee (Moonalice)

In episode 104 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host, James Patrick Regan. is at BottleRock and he’s speaking with the legendary bassist Pete Sears &…

Graham Parker plays “We Did Nothing”

Reflective take on the world In his review of Graham Parker’s “Last Chance To Learn The Twist,” Dan Forte recalls that the singer/songwriter emerged as part of the ’70s new-wave…

Status Quo’s Francis Rossi

On Guitars, Music, and Elusive Success

“I’m only as good now as I should have been when I was 25,” laughs Francis Rossi, the 64-year-old lead guitarist, singer, and co-composer in Status Quo. “That’s why I…

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…

Walter Trout

Battling Back

In his decades of playing, Walter Trout has served as lead guitarist for John Mayall and Canned Heat, and forged a respectable solo career. But to say he’s been “living…

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Heart & Soul Blues

Born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi – homeland of the Delta blues – Christone Ingram learned gospel music in the church where his family sang and played instruments. By age…

Kenny Lovelace

The Killer’s Axe Man

Playing behind the Killer, you wouldn’t want to hit a wrong note. Kenny Lovelace has picked his guitar with Jerry Lee Lewis for 47 years and counting, so he must…

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…

Paul Kossoff

The Story of the Back Street Crawler

For a scant few years beginning in the mid 1960s, Great Britain was responsible for producing arguably the finest crop of rock guitarists ever. It began with Eric Clapton, who…

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…

Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler

The Masters of Reality Return

In the late ’60s, in Birm-ingham, England, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and drummer Bill Ward first united as a group, calling themselves Earth. By ’69…

Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham and Vivian Campbell

Live and Still Dangerous!

Thin Lizzy has cemented its place in history as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Recognizable by its harmonized twin-guitar leads and a hard-edged sound, Lizzy…

The Pixies

Alternative Godfathers

In the late 1980s, the Pixies’ unique brand of punk, pop, and guitar rock almost singlehandedly created the alternative music movement that flourished in the early ’90s. Its sound served…

GA-20 Knows Bo

Duo does it right on “Crackin’ Up” GA-20’s Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty paused for a moment while touring Europe to shoot this VG exclusive video. Pat (left) is on…

Steve Hill

One-Man Band

Canadian guitarist Steve Hill is a flat-out rocker, smashing blues into rock and roll with terrifying force, as heard on his latest, Dear Illusion. Often playing as a genuine one-man…

Mike Keneally Makes the Gravy

Dig his Meaty “Celery” The track is called “Celery,” but Mike Keneally sure makes it meaty! With a splash of distortion, chorus, and delay courtesy of plug-ins (“No actual amps…

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols

Ruffian Riffs

Grown men wearing capes. Stadium concerts with self-indulgent instrumental solos. Lyrics that had nothing to do with reality. Rock stars living in castles. By the mid ’70s, all of it…

Samantha Fish: Slide-Blues Fury!

“I’m Done Runnin’” on a D-18 VG readers know Samantha Fish is the real deal. Here, she uses a Martin D-18 Modern Deluxe on an unplugged arrangement of “I’m Done…

Soul-jazz legend Calvin Keys

Exclusive spin on “Six to Seven” Calvin Keys has worked with Jimmy Smith, Ahmad Jamal, and Ray Charles. Here, he and his ’72 Gibson Johnny Smith play “Six to Seven,”…

Carl Verheyen’s Passionate, Ebullient virtuosity!

It’s about the song! Enjoy as Carl Verheyen and his ’58 Fender Strat glide through pieces of “Dragonfly,” “Electric Chair,” and the title track from his new album, “Riverboat Sky.”…