My Roots

In these times of quarantines, face masks and no concerts, it’s wonderful to see so many musicians of every genre finding ways to share music with those of us missing it. If they’re not doing virtual performances from their living rooms, they’re digging through their archives for something “new” fans might enjoy hearing. For guitarist […]

He is the Zen Master of Tone. For Jack Casady, once he discovered it, he never stopped reaching for it and it has made him a legend. From a psychedelic folk rock band called Jefferson Airplane that turned on a generation of music lovers, to Hot Tuna and it’s bluesy-folk sizzle, Casady has done nothing […]

If you haven’t listened to Steve Howe outside of the records he has made with Yes, then you have been missing something extremely interesting, exotic, playful, soul-searching and even romantic; for Howe has been exploring guitar sounds since before puberty hit. A self-acknowledged Chet Atkins fanboy from the very beginning, Howe leapt into guitar wanting […]

“I’m in my wardrobe.” Jon Anderson, the unmistakable voice of Yes, is having a dilemma when I call in for our interview. He can’t find a certain jacket and he needs it ASAP. “I have to wear it for making a video for a song from my new album. But I can’t find it,” he […]

There are several things that make Willie Nelson a legend: his songs, his voice, his dueting expertise, his beat up acoustic guitar Trigger and his band. Not many singer-songwriters have surrounded themselves with such a long-lasting stellar ensemble of musicians as Nelson. For many, many years Paul English, Bobbie Nelson, Bee Spears, Mickey Raphael and […]

Dennis DeYoung is speaking his mind, loudly and clearly: about the band he formed in his basement with friends Chuck and John Panozzo; about politics and the news media; about the music business; about the state of rock & roll and radio airplay; about his new album and video. Whatever you ask him about, DeYoung […]

Brian Jones was many things. He was the founder and early leader of the Rolling Stones. He was a master musical craftsman, one who could pick up an instrument new to his hands and be playing it within hours. He was a pin-up boy for the youth of Britain whose hormones were raging to a […]

They were the cool band. Dressed in black leather with black hair when everyone else was squeezing into spandex and going broke buying hairspray, L.A. Guns were like the biker gang that scared you and infatuated you at the same time. Not as harsh as Slayer, the band fell somewhere on the edge of rock, […]

At one point, after Cherie Currie had stepped out of the music spotlight and was focusing on marriage, motherhood and creativity of a different sort, she didn’t think about her former band, The Runaways. She actually didn’t think they had made much of an impact in rock & roll. But she was definitely in for […]

As Doug Clifford kicks back at his summer home in Arizona, he assures me he is not retired: “I’m in up to my neck in this record and loving it,” Clifford says about his solo album, Magic Window, which drops this week on the 24th of April. Although his Creedence Clearwater Revisited project with former […]

We are living in chaotic times. As social animals, we come alive in another’s presence. But with a virus spreading across the country, we are sequestered inside our homes going numb with boredom. But some of our favorite musicians have found a way to pump a bit of excitement into our isolation by doing virtual […]

The Go-Go’s were the soundtrack of 1981. If you were growing up then, their songs “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got The Beat” were all over the radio. You couldn’t get away from them if you tried. The girls’ fun feistiness was infectious, their style eclectic and groovy while their sound was boppy with […]

In December 2019, music fans heard the news that guitarist Josh Klinghoffer was no longer a Red Hot Chili Pepper. “We are parting ways with our guitarist of the past ten years,” the social media announcement read. “Josh is a beautiful musician who we respect and love. We are deeply grateful for our time with […]

They are legends but if you’re a normal everyday listener to music, their names may not be as familiar to you as the people they have played with and the hit records they have played on. Know that guitar part that intros Stevie Nicks’ “Edge Of Seventeen”? That’s Waddy Wachtel. Happen to hear Don Henley’s […]

William DuVall has taken a leap of musical faith. After years of hardcore and rock, his inner self decided to take something he had done for many years with friends in living rooms and made it public. In other words, DuVall is letting his singer-songwriter self shine in the light. Allowing this softer voice and […]

I thank you for the memories I’ll carry But time has said to move along For Stone Temple Pilots, the opening lyrics for the title track of their ninth studio album, Perdida, out February 7th, truer words have not been spoken. With the deaths of singers Scott Weiland in 2015 and Chester Bennington in 2017, […]

Singer-songwriters Kelly Willis and her husband Bruce Robison don’t normally perform their Holiday Shindig outside of Austin, Texas. But this year they drove the seven-plus hours over to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to entertain a slew of fans that enjoyed not only a few Christmas carols but some darn good songs by the singers themselves. “This […]

Sometimes changes come slowly, allowing you time to adjust and acclimate to the new; but more oftentimes than not, change swoops down onto you and in the blink of an eye the landscape has altered and you either flow with it or panic. At one point, Theory (you know, Theory Of A Deadman, without the […]

During our lifetime, most of us will wear many hats as we go through different phases. For former teen heartthrob Leif Garrett, he’s had more than his share of labels: actor, singer, superstar, junkie, has-been, inmate, boyfriend, best friend and now author. Idol Truth, Garrett’s recently released memoir, is an attention-grabbing quick read through his […]

It’s interesting that a California-born guitar player became known for playing in one of Ireland’s biggest rock bands, Thin Lizzy. But for Scott Gorham, whose ancestry can actually be traced to the Emerald Isle, it was just meant to be, having been drawn from an early age to that wave of sound that emanated from […]