• 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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Dave Jenkins

Cruisin’ Again

Anyone who listened to Top 40 radio in the late ’70s and early ’80s is familiar with Pablo Cruise. The band recorded two Top 10 hits and five that broke…

2021 Readers’ Choice Awards

Each year, Vintage Guitar asks fans to select Readers’ Choice winners for Player of the Year in four categories, along with Album of the Year. Included are selections for the…

Henry James Schneekluth

Psychedelic

Henry James Schneekluth handles the groovy guitar parts in Robert Jon & The Wreck. While impassioned Southern rock might be an easy category to pigeonhole this killer band, there’s more to…

Fillmore Flashback

Mike Campbell on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Legendary 1997 Set

In early 1997, Tom Petty was unsure what the future held for him or his band, the Heartbreakers. But he was searching for something new on the heels of his…

Marcin

Birth Of The Dragon

Marcin wields classical, flamenco, percussion, and two-handed tapping to create jaw-dropping music. Dragon In Harmony is his first full-length album, and it’s a stunner. Combining accessible tunes with guests Delaney…

Mick Abrahams

This Was (And Still Is…)

British guitarist Mick Abrahams is best remembered for his work on Jethro Tull’s first album, This Was, followed by a stint as the founder/leader of Blodwyn Pig. Abrahams has stayed…

Nili Brosh: Super Busy Super Shredder

Exclusive look at “Lavender Mountains” and her Ibanez LA Custom RG770” Nili Brosh recorded her new single, “Lavender Mountains” using her Ibanez LA Custom RG770 running through a Mesa Boogie…

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

Jack Bruce, an icon of electric bass, died October 25 in Suffolk, England. Best known for his work with Cream in the 1960s, he was born to musician parents in…

Chris Cain

Tales to Tell

Armed with a new deal with Alligator Records and producer Kid Andersen (of Rick Estrin & The Night Cats), Chris Cain recently recorded Raisin’ Cain, an impassioned blues masterpiece full…

Mark Lettieri

Baritone Funk

Snarky Puppy’s Empire Central was recorded in front of a live audience and pays homage to the city of Dallas. Deep within the bowels of the band’s sophisticatedly funky 19-piece…

Dennis Budimir

Renowned studio guitarist Dennis Budimir died in Los Angeles on January 10. He was 84. Early in his career, Budimir’s path to jazz stardom began when he started working with…

Lyle Workman

Orchestral Maneuvers

You might not recognize his name, but in the last 30 years, Lyle Workman and his guitars have backed Sting, Todd Rundgren, and Frank Black. He was also a member…

Classics: January 2024

Bill Woodward's 1953 Gibson Les Paul

Gravitational heavyweights in our culture, beyond baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie, few things say “American” more than music and road trips. This guitar is symbolic of both. One of…

Thomm Jutz plays “Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies”

Flatpicked English folk with an Appalachian touch Sparse and haunting, Thomm Jutz and his ’48 Martin D-18 share a solo take on “Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies,” from…

Whitey Kirst

Life After Iggy

Whitey Kirst is known for smoldering lead-guitar tone and collaborating with punk-rock pioneer Iggy Pop. After four albums and hundreds of shows, Kirst’s 13-year tenure with Iggy went on hiatus…

John Paul Jones

Before teaming up with Jimmy Page in 1968 to form the soon-to-become greatest and most influential hard rock band of all time, John Paul Jones was an arranger, composer, and…

Marty Friedman

Unleashed in the East

Marty Friedman made his mark as one of the foremost shredders of the ’80s when he teamed up with guitarist Jason Becker in Cacophony. He achieved greater celebrity after joining…

Johnny Hiland

Nashville Schoolin'

In the wee hours of a July morning in 1996, Johnny Hiland made a crucial decision. He deleted the 52-page term paper he’d been working on, left college and his…

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…

Blu DeTiger

Funk-Pop Pioneer

When she was seven years old, sibling rivalry spurred Blu DeTiger to get a bass so she could play along with her brother on his new drum kit. After honing…

Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young on “The Mission”

Mars, Pluto… And Styx

Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents the group’s first new material in nearly 15 years. The…

Larry Reinhardt

Waxes Sufficiently

Larry Reinhardt’s world nearly collapsed in 1991, when a car accident mangled his left hand. The former guitarist for Captain Beyond and Iron Butterfly hadn’t known anything else since the…

Lloyd Loar

An Alternative View

The Master Model instruments created at Gibson in the early 1920s are famous for their sound and build. Credit for their design is often laid at the feet of “acoustic…

John Notto double-up

Dirty Honey guitarist shares riffs from “Can’t Find the Brakes” John Notto used his road-dog Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul ’58 reissue on pieces of two tracks – “Won’t Take…

Brennen Leigh’s Heart-Tugging Honky-Tonk

Shades of Norman Blake and Dolly Parton A student of the “Carter Scratch” guitar technique – melody on the low strings, rhythm on the high – Brennen Leigh plays and…

Buddy Merrill

1936-2021

Buddy Merrill, guitarist, steel-guitarist, composer, arranger, recording artist, and occasional vocalist, died December 5. He was 85. A seasoned musician by age 18, Merrill became a member of Lawrence Welk’s…

Leo Lydon

Beefy Tones

The wildly named Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol doesn’t play the typical “doom metal” or “stoner metal” that has been hip for decades. Based in Austin, this power trio delivers its…

Mike Campbell

Got Lucky

Mike Campbell is one of the most-heard guitarists on earth thanks to his work in the legendary Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and their catalog of hit singles (“American Girl,”…

In Memoriam: André Duchossoir

1949-2020

André Duchossoir, author of renowned books Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years, The Fender Telecaster: The Detailed Story of America’s Senior Solid Body Electric Guitar, The Fender Stratocaster: The Success Story…

Jorma Kaukonen

Hot Tuna, Part 1

Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady have been playing music together for 53 years – 40 of them as Hot Tuna. What started as an acoustic splinter group from…