Midge Ure

Many Facets and Musical Stylings

Humanitarian, activist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Midge Ure has been a vital performer since the ’70s. Former guitarist/vocalist for Ultravox, he’s cited for charity work (he co-wrote “Do They Know…

Jerry Miller

Moby Grape was a key part of the ’60s San Francisco revolution, melding psychedelia with the earliest vestiges of country-rock. Even Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin were avid Grape fans.…

Cliff Goodwin

335 Reunion

Cliff Goodwin was catapulted into the big time on a decade-long stint with Joe Cocker that began in the late ’70s and during which he relied heavily on an early-’70s…

Pop ’N Hiss: Robin Trower’s Twice Removed from Yesterday

Think Again

The solo career of guitar icon Robin Trower took off like a rocket in the early ’70s after he left Procol Harum, which he joined shortly after the release of…

Chris Tapp

Heavy Adversity

Unphased by knee-jerk comparisons to rock duos like the White Stripes, Royal Blood, and Black Keys, The Cold Stares have nothing to worry about. Their teeth-rattling blues-rock sound is heavier…

Elliot Easton

Shifting Gears Again

Not long after he released an instrumental album with an aggregation known as the Tiki Gods, veteran southpaw guitarist Elliot Easton abruptly put the project into stasis when an opportunity…

Michael Manring

Bass Convergence

Most music fans who learn that the eclectic trio 3Below is all bass players will react with, “You gotta be kiddin’!” However, musicians who appreciate the unusual will stay for…

Pop ’N Hiss: Bruford’s Allan Holdsworth

Landmark Fusion of One of a Kind

Jazz-rock fusion was vastly popular in the mid 1970s, but began to run out of steam as the “smooth jazz” of Spyro Gyra and Chuck Mangione simply became more lucrative.…

Dave Amato

Speedwagon Six-Stringer

Joining an established rock act like REO Speedwagon might be the dream of many a Vintage Guitar reader, but such was exactly what occurred for guitarist Dave Amato in 1989.…

Ed Sanner

Fuzz Redux

While not well-known in California guitar lore, Ed Sanner’s electronics designs have been heard by millions of guitar fans, and he has recently returned to building unique stomp boxes. Sanner…

Carol Kaye

Think "Extensive"

Contrary to what some aspiring bass players might think, the world’s most recorded electric bassist isn’t some modern-day L.A. dude purveying “NAMM chops” (to quote John Pattitucci) aplenty with the…

Adrian Vandenberg

MK II

If you played rock guitar in the ’80s, you likely paid attention when Vandenberg videos/songs played on MTV or the radio. The Dutch band recorded three albums that put guitarist…

Earl Slick

Martian Connection – and More

Brooklyn-born guitarist Earl Slick is best-known for his work with David Bowie, which spanned several decades. His recent participation with other Bowie alumni in a special concert resulted in a…

Duke Levine, solo guitar on a ’70s country stalwart!

Classic licks on a ’60s Teisco and blackface Princeton Reverb” Boston native Duke Levine’s impressive career has included stints with Otis Rush, Del Fuegos, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and others. Now…

Yngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie's New Attack!!

As one of the most fiery players on the planet, Yngwie Malmsteen developed an identifiable style and tone that blends classical music and heavy metal. VG sat with Malmsteen following…

Adrian Smith

Different Scales

Guitarists usually spend years learning their scales, but Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith enjoys scales of the aquatic kind. In his new memoir, Monsters of River and Rock, Smith details his…

Fretprints: Jack Wilkins

Farewell to a Modern Jazz Master

Jazz guitar recently lost one of the great ones. Jack Wilkins, champion of modern traditionalism (or is it traditional modernism?) passed on May 5, leaving an unsurpassable legacy. An exponent…

Buddy Guy

Legend Steeped in the Blues

Buddy Guy, Bayfront Blues Festival, 1997. Photo by Ward Meeker. When referring to the all-time great legends of the blues and the guitar, the formidable Buddy Guy comes to mind…

Rick Nielsen

Storied Career

“Many years ago, I was in the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ dressing room with my son, Daxx,” recalls Rick Nielsen. “Flea says to him, ‘Your dad was weird before it was…

Whit Smith

Rhythmic Rendezvous and the Hot Club of Cowtown

For its latest album, Rendezvous in Rhythm, the Hot Club of Cowtown has stepped back in time. Guitarist Whit Smith plays acoustic jazz echoing the work of his heroes including…

Sylvain Sylvain

Finds his Subway Rhythm

Subway Rhythm is an apt name for Sylvain Sylvain’s music publishing company. The former New York Doll’s train of thought makes all the stops, a tendency he often acknowledges in…

Bill Conklin

Bill Conklin, founder of Conklin Guitars, passed away at his home in Springfield, Missouri, on October 29. He was 58. Conklin began playing bass at age 12. Passionate about music…

Todd Park Mohr

Steady Base

The latest album from Colorado’s Big Head Todd and the Monsters, New World Arisin’, delivers what fans have come expect from a band that has spent slightly longer than three…

Farewell to a Venture

Nokie Edwards 1935-2018

Nole Floyd “Nokie” Edwards, former lead guitarist and bassist with The Ventures, passed away March 12 from complications related to ongoing medical problems. He was 82. Edwards was born May…

John Notto

L.A. Burner

Dirty Honey is one of the most-exciting bands to emerge in the past few years. The Los Angeles quartet stands out by playing straight-up guitar-based rock and roll with a…

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,…

Steve Howe

Fill in the Blanks

In our preliminary discussion with respected British guitarist Steve Howe prior to going “on the record,” the interviewer noted that the main focus of the questions he’d prepared were oriented…

Steve Miller

Some People Call Him Rock Icon

Not until after he turned 40 did it occur to Steve Miller that he never really needed to fear whether he’d “make it” in the music business. That may sound…

S’Alright (Or Left)

Southpaw Guitars Marks 35 Years

Even before they started jamming together on old Gibson acoustics in the mid ’70s, Jimmy Duncan and Bill Townsend, co-founders of the lefty-dedicated Southpaw Guitars, were avid fans of music.…

George Fullerton

Guitar Icon

George Fullerton, whose decades-long association with Leo Fender earned the two early electric-guitar innovators a place in history, He died July 4, 2009 at the age of 86. He succumbed…