• Ally Venable

    Artists

    Ally Venable

    Connection

    On Money & Power, Ally Venable wields the power of wisdom and emotional connection. It’s an album about empowerment and comeuppance, but there’s plenty of playtime with guest stars Shemekia Copeland and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. An audio bluesfest, it’s songwriting brings substance carried by guitarists swinging for the fences. What does the albums title represent?What

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Big Al Anderson

Pawn Shop Guitars

Since last spoke to him, songwriter and master of the Telecaster Al Anderson has been extremely productive. More than a dozen of his songs appear on Vince Gill’s new These…

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…

Danny Gatton

Finishing the Business

For most musicians, the road to success is like skipping stones: often arbitrary and elusive, just as the prize beckons within reach. However, when the subject being scrutinized avoids the…

Joe Ely

Digging Through The Vaults

Joe Ely’s new record, Happy Songs From Rattlesnake Gulch, is full of just what you’ve come to expect from the Texas singer-songwriter. • His classic mix of country, rock, and…

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…

Check This Action: Walking In Memphis

I first visited Memphis in 1990, and it struck me that radio stations played loads of music from the area. Soul, rockabilly, blues, gospel, country, and jazz – if there…

Tommy Castro

'Guilty' of Paying His dues

Tommy Castro is a charismatic singing gunslinger who has developed a sound featuring stinging blues leads floating atop hard-charging, old-school R&B. And he is one of a handful of artists…

Have Guitar Will Travel 100 – Brian Venable (Lucero)

In episode 100 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with Brian Venable from the alternative band Lucero. In their conversation they…

Marty Friedman

Wall of Shred

Between playing on Cacophony’s landmark 1987 shred album, Speed Metal Symphony, and Megadeth’s 1990 classic, Rust in Peace, Marty Friedman introduced the world to his solo work with the 1988…

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…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Howie Statland Season 01 Episode 10 In Episode 10 of VG’s “Buy That Guitar” podcast, host Ram Tuli is joined by Howie Statland…

Chris Duarte

Texas Guitar Makes a Comeback

Chris Duarte photo courtesy Carol Howell/Loophole Entertainment. Blue Velocity, the latest record from the Chris Duarte Group, is a rarity in today’s music world – a knock-down, drag-out, “crank ‘er…

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Ten Years After

Woodstock Music & Arts Festival, August, 1969

Click Here to read the Alvin Lee obituary. In the summer of 1968, America was starting to hear about a new blues movement exploding in England, primarily in the hipster…

Paul Nelson

Sideman Steps Out

Manhattan native Paul Nelson has been influenced by many great guitarists – some of whom gave him lessons, gigs, and/or recording opportunities. But that hasn’t kept him from recording two…

Derek St. Holmes

Nuge Redux

Singer/guitarist Derek St. Holmes’ relationship with guitarist Ted Nugent has had its ups and downs. The two have been associated since the mid ’70s and collaborated on numerous albums and…

Allen Hinds

Flowing

On The Good Fight, guitarist Allen Hinds finds the sweet spot between melodic fusion and good, earthy music for the soul. Joined by a stellar rhythm section, Hinds is a…

Will Ackerman

Acoustic Artisan

A defining idiom of ’80s guitar, the Windham Hill label captured a certain audio sound and style of understated acoustic music, lamentably categorized as “new age.” One of its founders…

Randy Meisner

Randy Meisner, bassist and co-founder of the Eagles, died July 26. He was 77 and suffered complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, on March 8,…

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…

Robben Ford

The One and Only

There’s never been a shortage of young guitar hotshots, but in recent years, particularly among blues players, these phenoms seem to be promoted more for their age than their playing.…

Dan Wilson

In Mighty Footsteps

A riveting soloist, Dan Wilson honed his chops as a sideman to jazz greats like organist Joey DeFrancesco and bassist Christian McBride. If his latest, Vessels of Wood and Earth,…

George Lynch

George Lynch

Home Run with KXM

Creative chemistry is an under-discussed topic when it comes to a successful collaborative effort. With the right people, sparks can fly and the good stuff is born. George Lynch’s partnership…

Andy Wood

Sonic Identity

Andy Wood is the living embodiment of the modern working guitarist. Straddling the galaxies of country music and shred, he has a savvy online presence that includes guitar instruction, live…

Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke

Godfather of Bass

Despite being widely credited for pushing the electric bass past its status as a rear-of-the-stage device intended to simply help drummers provide rhythmic backing, and in turn influencing two generations…

Sonny Landreth

Live In Lafayette

When music fans discuss upper-echelon slide mastery, the name Sonny Landreth tops most lists. The preeminent slide-guitar stylist of his generation, his touch not only harkens to the masters, but…

Greg Martin John Sebastian’s ’59 Gibson Les Paul Standard Vintage Guitar magazine Feature Image

John Sebastian’s ’59 Gibson Les Paul Standard

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online features where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. On November 30, 1966,…

Sonny Burgess

1929-2017

Sonny Burgess, one of the last of the great Sun Records stars, died August 18. He was 88 and had been performing with his old band, the Pacers. Burgess was…

Hannu Könönen: Surf Stirred with Rautalanka

From Finland’s Icy Fjords Hannu Könönen used his home-assembled guitar to play “Lets’s Surf to the Dawn,” a track from “Sound Recycle Machine,” the latest album by his band, The…

Check This Action: A Year In Their Life

Recently, I stumbled onto one of those “reaction” videos by a New Zealander named Courtney, who wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen footage of the Beatles or even heard their…

Tyler Morris

Tyler Morris – Eleanor Rigby

In this series, Tyler Morris will perform music that inspires him, in a laid-back context using just a guitar and amp – much like the way the songs were written…