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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
Kelly Joe Phelps
Kelly Joe Phelps, blues guitarist/singer/songwriter, passed away May 31. He was 62. Phelps grew up in a Washington farming town, hearing country and folk songs. As a youngster in a…
Paul Nelson
Main Man to the Blues Man
Paul Nelson is not only Johnny Winter’s second guitarist, but the blues icon’s musical director, producer, songwriter, and – many say – life saver. Fans who have recently seen Winter…
Ryan Carraher
Night Music
Jazz guitarist Ryan Carraher defines “vocturnal” as “a portmanteau of the words ‘nocturnal’ and ‘voyage.’ It’s a fitting title for his first album given that most of its songs were…
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Duke Robillard – Lowdown
Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set for release February 20 on Nola Blue Records. “When thinking about a powerful song to launch the album, I chose a hard-rocking Tom Waits tune
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David Bowie’s Young Americans
David Bowie was always creatively restless. The English musician decided to step away from the glam rock he’d recorded for a few albums concluding with 1974’s Diamond Dogs, which included a few songs with tinges of soul, R&B, and funk. On tour promoting the album, he played a handful of soul covers. Bowie had long
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Fretprints: Cream’s Disraeli Gears
Supergroup Alpha
Jack Bruce claimed Cream was two bands – live trio and studio group. Live, bassist Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker were renowned for their highly improvisatory, powerful performance that was unprecedented in rock. Moreover, they were actually a jazz group (“…we just didn’t tell Eric,” Bruce said), as exemplified by their excursions
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…
Bruce Hall
A quarter century with REO Speedwagon
It has been more than 25 years since bassist Bruce Hall ascended to the low-end stringed instrument position in the platinum-selling band REO Speed
Rick Derringer
Explore The Possibilities
Rick Derringer and his compadres in the McCoys smashed their way into the pantheon of rock and roll in the mid ’60s with the three-chord anthem “Hang On Sloopy,” a…
John Wetton
Back In Asia
Bassist/vocalist John Wetton has exhibited his solid chops and plaintive baritone voice through the decades in King Crimson, Asia, and several other successful British bands, including Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash,…
Jorge Glem: Cuatro Mastery
Brooklyn-Cumaná Jorge Glem uses his Venezualan cuatro to show us some of “Matapalo y Fuga,” from his new duet album with Sam Reider, “Brooklyn-Cumaná.” Their music mixes flamenco with Irish…
Joe Satriani
The hardest-working guitarist in show business, Joe Satriani recently wrapped up a successful Van Halen tour, a G3 Reunion tour, a live album, a residency in Las Vegas with Sammy…
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Check This Action: Up Jumped Elmore
When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never heard a bad Elmore cut, and I’ve heard nearly everything he recorded. Everybody knows that he set the standard for slide guitar in electric blues, but he was also a fantastic singer and wrote some
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Javier Batiz
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80. Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John
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Josh Meader
Jazz Evolution
Josh Meader is a jazz and fusion player who breaks ground with virtuosity that’s never flashy for its own sake. On his new album, Tide of Times, the young Aussie ace blends styles on a dime, hybridizing music before our eyes; videos online include an especially stunning non-album rendition of “Misty.” It’s fascinating, seeing Meader
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Chris Walz
Debut, Long Time Coming
Chris Walz has done his share of performing. He played young Woody in the stage production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song. From the late ’90s to 2001, Walz toured and recorded with banjo player Greg Cahill’s Special Consensus bluegrass band. And for 10 years he took the role of guitarist Fred Hellerman in Weavermania, a
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Greg Koch
Way Of The Gristle
On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love for Muddy Waters. Flying V blues master Larry McCray drops by with the Memphis Horns, and the result is a passionate pentatonic party with soul and fireworks. How did this album come about?Devon Allman had
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Rik Emmett
Canadian Custom
Rik Emmett is a master of many guitar styles and other artistic endeavors. As co-lead vocalist/guitarist in the hard-rock trio Triumph from 1975 to ’88, he experienced life as a rock star, then released a string of solo albums, a book of poetry, and an autobiography. His latest project, Ten Telecaster Tales, is a book
Classics: February 2024
Sean Slade’s 1964 SG Junior
They might not seem to have a ton in common aside from first names. J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr.’s co-founder and guitarist developed a style equal parts guitar heroics and left-side-of-the-dial…
2025 December Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free…
Steve Morse
Return of the Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse has been revisiting the past. A member of Deep Purple since 1994, this year he reunited with the original lineup of Dixie Dregs, a band that was key…
Pop ’N Hiss: The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet
Feast Your Ears
The Rolling Stones were back. Well, they’d never really gone anywhere, but most fans thought they’d lost their way with 1967’s psychedelic experiment Their Satanic Majesties Request. Widely considered rivals…
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Daniel Escauriza
“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Daniel Escauriza Season 01 Episode 06 In Episode 8 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar, host Ram Tuli is joined by…
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Hosts “Storied Strings” Exhibit
Guitars In Art
Dr. Leo Mazow’s vision for the new “Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts stemmed from the overwhelming popularity of (dare it…
Greg Kihn
Greg Kihn, songwriter/guitarist and founder of the Greg Kihn Band, died August 13. He was 75 and battled Alzheimer’s disease. Born in Baltimore, Kihn started playing guitar as a kid,…
Frank Carillo
World Traveler, Gretsch Lover
Photos courtesy Frank Carillo. Journeyman guitarist Frank Carillo has been plying his trade for decades, and along the way jammed with/for numerous legendary bands. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and…
Guthrie Govan
Aristocratic Guitar
Guthrie Govan is at times more stunt pilot than conventional guitarist – his superhero skills mean he can play almost anything. Fortunately, with the Aristocrats, he deploys insane chops in…
George Kilby, Jr.
The Succinct Approach
George Kilby, Jr.’s Six Pack is, he says, a “collection of singles” rather than an EP or album. Kilby graduated from Princeton, where his mentor, J.K. Randall, introduced him to…
Bryan Sutton
Into His Own
Bryan Sutton ranks as one of the most accomplished and in-demand acoustic players in Nashville. In 1991, fresh from high school, he joined the gospel group Karen Peck and New…
Classics: Larkin Poe
American Gothic
The latest album from Grammy-nominated axe-slinging sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell is a showcase of artists rising to new heights. Full of heartfelt tales and brawny guitar tones, Blood Harmony…
The Soul of John Black
Living In The Sunshine
I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and playing acoustic guitar, and a couple of girls singing like…
Isaiah Mitchell
Crowe’s Feat
When not playing with the Black Crowes, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell works with Earthless, a power trio that just released Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. With just three tracks –…
Ray Edenton
1926-2022
Ray Edenton, acknowledged rhythm-guitar master of Nashville’s A-Team, died September 21 at his home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. He was 95, and retired in 1991, after over 15,000 sessions. “There was…
Mike Anthony
Jazz Big-Leaguer
Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco were his mentors; both recognized his extraordinary talent and relentless work ethic. When L.A. session guitarist Mike Anthony elected to leave the studio life after…
Anson Funderburgh
New Voice of the Rockets
One of the great ironies of blues music is that several of the “new” blues acts have by now sustained longer careers than legends like Little Walter, Otis Spann, or…
Robert Randolph
The Sacred Steel, Family, and SRV
Living testament to the versatility of the pedal-steel guitar and a rarity in pop music, Robert Randolph adroitly addresses the challenge of acting as front man of the Family Band…
Greg Martin honors Dickey Betts
Tribute licks Kentucky Headhunters co-founder Greg Martin was a senior in high school when he first heard the Allman Brothers Band “At Fillmore East.” Like so many guitarists, for Martin,…
Between Gibbons and Holdsworth
John Ziegler Of Volto!
John Ziegler’s band, Volto!, emerged from L.A.’s fusion scene with bassist Lance Morrison and drummer Danny Carey, who’s primary gig is with Tool. After cutting its teeth playing ZZ Top…
Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker
“Blue Mirror” jam from “The Weight of the World” Blues Hall of Famer Joe Louis Walker grabbed his pearl-front Zemaitis to show us a take on “Blue Mirror,” from his…
