•  Joey Molland

    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

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Kim Simmonds

Kim Simmonds

Back to Basics with Savoy Brown

Under the aegis of founder Kim Simmonds, Savoy Brown has always been a band “subject to change.” Formed in 1965, some of its incarnations went on musical tangents, but the…

Zac Sokolow

LA LA Land

LA LOM rekindles of the sound of “psychedelic chicha” – a south-of-the-border reaction to the electrified 1960s. Picture the Ventures or Belairs with the hippest Latin percussion known to mankind.…

Band of Heathens’ Gordy and Ed: Low-Key and Tasty!

 Austin heroes play vintage-laden twofer Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi use a few of their favorite things to play “Heartless Year” and “Don’t Let the Darkness,” from the new…

Marty Stuart

A Country-Music Odyssey

Marty Stuart’s life is the stuff of movies. Just nine years old when he started singing and playing guitar in his own band, while his grade-school classmates in Mississippi were…

Mark Andes

Son of Straight Arrow

There probably aren’t too many fathers of rock stars who’ve had a song written about them, but such is exactly the case with veteran actor Keith Andes. His son Mark…

Brian Ray

Brian Ray

From Blues to Beatles

Brian Ray spent the last 11 years playing guitar as Paul McCartney’s side man. While such duty would be a career topper for pretty much any player, Ray is also…

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford and the Martin Style 00-44G

Special Signature

Of the nearly 200 artists who have been granted a “signature” Martin guitar, only one was given their own style number. It wasn’t Clapton. It wasn’t Cash. Rather, it’s Vahdah…

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…

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…

Eric Lindberg

“I’m always trying to do things I haven’t done before,” says guitarist/banjoist Eric Lindberg, who has toured and recorded for a decade with wife Doni Zasloff as the bluegrass duo…

Tony Gilkyson

Tony Gilkyson photo: Markus Cuff. You’d expect a guy who spent time in bands like Lone Justice and X to be boisterous and outgoing, but Tony Gilkyson’s personality is better…

Dweezil Zappa

Solo Sounds

To properly perform the music composed by his father, Frank, Dweezil Zappa had to revamp his playing style. The fruits of his labors can be heard on his new solo…

Gregg Wright

The Shackles Are Off

Gregg Wright’s latest album was forged with fire, intensity, and the music that molded him, from guitar-centric country ballads, boogie, and blues-rock to gospel and fire-breathing rock and roll. A…

Gary Moore

Just Play

Photo: Sam Scott Hunter. Gary Moore is a true veteran of the music “wars.” His career started in his native Ireland with the band Skid Row in the late ’60s…

Sebastian Nagel

Meditations in Funk

Germany’s Sebastian Nagel is a producer, composer, session guitarist, performer, and fan of the funk. His latest project finds him joining Colemine Records for an odyssey into the groovy world…

Saucerful of Strats

Pink Floyd Catalog Gets a Massive Reissue

By any standard, Pink Floyd has one of the mightiest catalogs in rock and roll – a 14-album pantheon dating from 1967 to ’94 that has few rivals. Every so…

Jake E. Lee

The Legend Returns

Jake E. Lee found fame replacing Randy Rhoads to co-write two of Ozzy Osborne’s most popular albums – Bark At The Moon and Ultimate Sin. It cemented his place in…

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…

North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson

Smooth Sounds from a Vibratone Luther Dickinson sat with his new Vibratone V2 (being built with friend Chris Roberts) to fingerpick. Catch our review with Luther and our review of…

Joe Satriani

The Artist’s Way

Whether orchestrating guitar instrumentals, writing comic books, or bringing his imagination to the canvas with acrylic paint, Joe Satriani has been on an artistic path for a long time. On…

Scott Sharrard

Destined for the Gig

Anyone who has seen the Gregg Allman Band in person or caught its new CD/DVD, Back to Macon, Ga, knows guitarist/musical director Scott Sharrard covers a lot of musical ground.…

Lee Ritenour

40 Years of Keepin'

Lee Ritenour. Lee Ritenour’s solo career continues to glide along with the release of his latest record, Smoke ‘n’ Mirrors, which contains exactly what we’ve come to expect from the…

Fretprints: Yngwie Malmsteen

Alcatrazz and the Birth of Bach and Roll

Los Angeles, 1983. The rock community was a land devastated by the bombast of L.A. metal – Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Mötley Crue, Ratt, and their minions. Nothing, however,…

Thomas Nordegg

Indispensible

At certain large-scale rock shows, there’s often a white-haired gentleman running onstage to hand guitars to artists like Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, or Dweezil Zappa. That man is Thomas Nordegg,…

Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele, Van Halen-Style!

Photos: Kaz Tanabe, courtesy Hitchhike Records. “Hey, have you seen that guy? You know… that guy! Have you seen him yet? He’s amazing!” That’s the question bouncing around the country…

Tim Sult

Heavy-Duty Metal

With a new Clutch recording, the listener always knows what lies in store – colossal riffing, valley-deep grooves, and manly-man vocals – and the band’s 11th studio album, Psychic Warfare,…

Dan Auerbach

Black Keys’ Road Map Back to Blues, British Rock

Forget about the classic quartet. Forget the power trio. Forget any preconceived shortcomings you may have concerning a rock-and-roll duo. There’s no denying it – the Black Keys crank out…

Mitch Easter

The Let's Active Leader's Solo Debut

Photo courtesy Mitch Easter. When “Southern rock” became synonymous with jangly power-pop instead of Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, Mitch Easter was a pivotal figure. The Winston-Salem native formed the…

Seymour Duncan

Story of an Electric Guitar Guru

Seymour Duncan is one of the most unassuming human beings on the face of the Earth, bar none. His name is held in high regard in many circles, especially those…

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…