“I go where the guitar takes me,” Angus Young once said. In that vein, since Feb. 25 the Listening Room has gone where the guitar players have taken us. That was when we started doing our weekly series, “Guitar Players You Should Know.” Hopefully you’ve enjoyed it, and hopefully you’ve… Read More →
Now you can call him Dr. Vai. Guitar wizard Stevie Vai will be will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Music degree from California’s Musicians Institute as part of the school’s graduation ceremonies next week, contactmusic.com reports. Well, if anybody deserves a doctorate for the guitar it’s Vai. (Courtesy of… Read More →
I first heard Frank Marino when my brother came home with an album by Mahogany Rush, the band founded by the Canadian-born Marino. Before long I picked up Mahogany Rush Live and played it endlessly. A couple of years later I saw Marino and MR at the Jersey Meadowlands, part… Read More →
Dan Auerbach is something of a throwback. The Black Keys frontman still listens to his dad’s vinyl records, and has a penchant for analog recording equipment and vaccuum-tube amplifiers. It works. In both his music with the Ohio rockers and in his solo material, the 30-year-old guitarist is turning his… Read More →
I think I’ve always had a fascination with the guitar and the people who play it. They just seemed like a unique breed to me when I was growing up. “I realized that the only way I was ever going to fit into society and have a role was via… Read More →
It’s unfortunate that Elvin Bishop scored a top 10 hit. “Fooled Around and Fell In Love,” the playful 1976 ballad about his love affair with Jenny Villarin, did indeed make it all the way to No. 3 on the U.S. charts. The unfortunate part is that the song became too popular: The average… Read More →
Robben Ford’s first instrument was the saxophone, which he says he still favors when listening to music. But it’s a good thing he switched to guitar, an instrument he quickly mastered as a teenager. In fact, everyone seems to want this guy in their band — and they always have. (photo courtesy… Read More →