Guitarist Clay Melton’s roots lie in the worked lands of Louisiana and Texas where traditional and rock blues grew with the making of the old Chitlin’ Circuit with the likes of BB King, Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, as well as newcomers, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan
A stampede of both music legends and one hit wonders have risen from Austin’s music clubs and corner bars to reach national fame and stardom. This long list of pickers, singers and others includes Janis Joplin, the 13th Floor Elevators, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Fred and His Playboy Band, as well as Texas blues brothers Edgar and Johnny Winter, just to name a few.
Rocker, singer-songwriter, award winning author, music workshop leader and more, Debra Devi, hits all cylinders with her hi-test drive that’s made her talents highly sought after for on-stage performances and presentations. And her ASCAP award winning book, The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (foreword by Dr. John) is an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award winner, that has grabbed the attention and accolades of some of the best blues masters of our day.
Today, Steve Earle has earned his own icon status, not only by writing his own songs and performing to thousands, but by deep digging into the entangled roots of more contemporary music, studying the wherefore and why of musical traditions of songs and styles beyond American shores. Like the generation before him, his own journey is part of both a land mass of musical traditions, and a migration of his own songs for future generations.
Steve Vai is a creative and innovative composer, guitarist and musician. Okay, that’s an obvious statement if I’ve ever written one. He’s changed the way people write within the instrumental guitar genre, his use of rhythm, effects and melodic development have helped to shape the modern guitar vocabulary and his Jem guitar series and Carvin amps have reshaped the custom gear market for the past 25 years. one
Dick Wagner’s songs and lead guitar have been featured on more than 200 renowned albums, garnering more than 35 Platinum and Gold records, BMI songwriter awards, Emmys, and numerous prestigious international awards.
We caught up with Tom Guerra recently to talk about Sentimental Junk, the work involved and the creative juice needed to not only craft great songs, but to properly dress them with the right instrumentation, vocals that suit them and a collaboration between musicians, who are also friends, who help supercharge his songs into fun romps that hit on all cylinders, that offer up thoughtful meaningful lyrics, impressing them with his own personal stamp.
Classic GI interview: In 1963 an unknown but persistent bassist by the name of Chas Chandler took notice of Hilton Valentine’s aggressive guitar playing and onstage antics and asked him to join his group called The Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, soon to be rechristened The Animals by their manager, Mike Jeffery. The Animals were quickly rushed into the studio where they recorded their first single “Baby Let Me Take You Home”, which included Hilton’s cool, aggressive guitar intro. A year after forming, the band struck gold with a moody cover of “House of the Rising Sun”. From his haunting, arpeggiated guitar intro on “House”, which became a rite of passage for budding guitarists who came of age in the ‘60s, to his fuzz-through-a-tremolo power chords of ”Don’t Bring Me Down”, Hilton’s knack for musical hooks greatly contributed to The Animals’ string of hits until the breakup of the original band in late 1966…
Rock guitarist, Chris Waldrop, hails from the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area where he helps draw a crowd to hear the driving rhythms and guitar riffs of U2TOPIA, a band that pays tribute to one of most well-known bands on the planet, U2.
More often than not, it seems a musical group’s signature is defined by the vocalist up front. But as much as the legendary group Jethro Tull goes, Ian Anderson’s melodic grizzled vocals and flute gymnastics offered gripping definition, it’s the ripping crunch of Martin Barre’s lead guitar work and his ability to marinate Tull’s songs with emotional heft, are what turns our heads and grabs our guts with sinewy twists, turns and head-on collisions.
