Danny Garwood

Hailing out of Music City USA (Nashville, Tennessee), there’s a young guitar slinger, Danny Garwood, rolling out some heavy hitter blues, getting stage time with the likes of the legendary Buddy Guy, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and other world-class artists.

While checking out Danny’s video that captured the scene with Mr. Guy, I was reminded of an older video with a young Joe Bonamassa being invited to show his chops alongside the great Danny Gatton. It seems each new generation produces newcomers to the world of guitar that sometimes get to count coup with their guitar heroes, and gain some early career traction.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Lang are others come to mind. The power and magic of music can merge generational gaps, fusing young and older musicians together in ways that honor the elders, and inspire the passion of talented and driven young axe masters.

50/Fifty NOW AVAILABLE!

Enter, Danny Garwood, who took a turn in 2022 at the Dallas International Guitar Festival’s ’10 Under 20′ festival where he impressed and met Ally Venable who pulled him on stage, and has since invited him to open for her several times. In keeping with generational power shifts, Ally’s own professional entry to the music scene happened when she released her first EP at 14 years old, and since then has gone on to become an internationally acclaimed touring artist.

Inspired by those who came before, that include Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer and Jeff Healey, Danny’s blues licks are nuanced by his guitar idols’ good works. And his new EP, 50/Fifty, hits the bulls-eye offering us skilled grit and passion, with the releases only short-coming being leaving us wanting for more, much more. Without a doubt, Garwood has plenty more in his quiver to send our way. 

Danny’s a member of the Brotherhood of the Guitar established by the legendary rock photographer, Robert M. Knight, and “hot off the press” he just became an Ernie Ball endorsee artist! Things are moving fast for Mr. Garwood!

Guitar International is pleased and honored to present, Danny “Guitarwood’ Garwood, to our pages and we look forward to much more from this very special world-class artist.

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Rick Landers: Some of my friends spent countless hours alone learning and trying to master  the guitar, and I wonder at what cost to their social lives, schooling and relationships? Did you or do you still find a total immersion necessary to develop your talent; what have the joys and  challenges been so far for you?  

Danny Garwood: I can totally see how that can happen, music being a time consumer, but I’ve  been very lucky to have a family that supports balance. I go to public school and ensure that I  have enough time for friends and being a kid. Which is something that’s super important to my  parents and management.

First starting out it was a total challenge, so I spent tons of time in my room practicing. Eventually I just kept on going and it got to a point where I was having so much fun I didn’t realize how long and often I was practicing. At this point I practice daily and honestly can’t even walk into the living room without picking up an acoustic. 

Danny Garwood

Rick: Your EP, 50 Fifty, is a catchy honking guitar album, tell us how you chose the songs that  you covered, and the kinds of songwriting processes you use to come up with your own tunes? 

Danny Garwood: It all came together in a very neat way. In June of 2024 I made the trip to Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana and cut a handful of songs, which led to me  releasing a single months later in October called “Two Wrongs.” I returned back to Sweetwater in November of 2025 and redid vocals and guitar parts on the tunes. My voice had changed and I wanted to enhance the guitar parts a bit.

As for the decision making on covers, let’s start with “Them Changes” originally done by the late great Buddy Miles. I was in the car and my dad had Eric Clapton’s and Steve Winwood’s Live At Madison Square Garden on. Their cover of  “Them Changes” came on.

As soon as I heard that riff I was immediately hooked. I found the  original done by Buddy and it blew my mind, not only because of how amazing the music  sounded, but that the person who was singing was also playing drums. I looked him up some more and found out he was the drummer on the Band of Gypsy’s album, which is now one of  my personal favorites. The influence the song had, inspired me to do something with it, and I  knew this would be one that I would cut.

The other cover, “As the Years Go Passing By,” originally done by Albert King, I discovered from Jeff Healey’s version. I’ve always been a huge  fan of slow blues songs, but this one just had a different feel. Healey has always been a huge  inspiration to me and that was one of the songs that introduced me to him as well as his role in  the movie “Roadhouse.” It was a song that made its spot on my setlist and I loved it so much I  wanted to record it.

Now, for the originals: “50/Fifty,” “Up Your Sleeve,” and “387 Delta”. “50/Fifty” and “Up Your Sleeve” were written in a very natural way that was made to sort of fit the theme of the  instrumentals, but “387 Delta” goes deeper than that. I wrote that song about one of my favorite  venues, “Ground Zero Blues Club,” in Clarksdale, Mississippi. There’s some sort of energy there that I don’t think I’ve found any place else.

I’ve been playing there ever since I was around 13, and  I’ve met so many great people. I couldn’t resist writing a song about it. I needed to figure out a title, and I originally intended it to be called “Ground Zero,” but that just felt a little too basic. I  gave it some more thought, and someone suggested I look up the address and “387 Delta  Avenue” came up. Something about 387 Delta just had a ring to it, so that’s when I knew I had  my title.  

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rick: What’s your rig for performing – guitar, amp, effects – who are some of the guitarists that have inspired you, and what sounds draw you in by them that you incorporate into your own  playing? 

Danny Garwood: I get pretty versatile with my collection, but I’m totally a Stratocaster guy at heart. For amps I’m running a Category 5, which is a company out of Texas. I’m playing  through the TBR-35 model, and it sounds excellent.

In terms of pedals, I’m always running a Tube Screamer and an MXR pedal called, Timmy Overdrive, for extra grit. On occasion I’ll turn  on a chorus or a smidge of delay. And for certain songs I use a wah or an octave pedal.

To name a few influences I definitely incorporate a lot of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd licks into my playing. I do venture off a bit though, Steely Dan has become a huge inspiration for me, more specifically both albums, The Royal Scam, and Aja gave me a  whole different lens towards music.

An incredible drummer I work with, Dale Myers, introduced  me to drummer, Jeff Porcaro, and gave me a book about him to read called, The Man and His Music, which had so much valuable information and taught me a lot of things about the music  industry. Even though Porcaro is a drummer, as a musician and a person he’s a huge influence on me and this sparked a deep connection to his music and a lot of songs from Toto’s  discography.  

Rick: Along the way, musicians who get traction tend to have supporters who help move their passion forward into a professional career path. Who’s been on your side and what have they brought to you, to help keep things moving ahead and/or helping you keep your life well  balanced?  

Danny Garwood

Danny Garwood: Too many to list. To start, my parents, and especially my Dad, have been here for everything. I wouldn’t have gotten to places I’ve been, let alone meet my management, Curation, who are also nothing but amazing towards me.

To name another, this incredible keyboard player and even more amazing human, Eric Robert, I’ve had the privilege of working with. I met him shortly after moving to Tennessee and he’s supported and inspired me both on and off stage. Not to mention he gifted me the sickest watch. I always sport it on stage. 

Rick: The arena of business in the music industry has a a few potholes to be aware of and to  try to avoid. Are you cautious to not jump the gun when it feels that your ambitions might lead  the way to decisions that end up with disagreeable results? 

Danny Garwood: I’ve got an amazing support system, and we always really think through  decisions. For example, I cut those tracks at Sweetwater intending for an album, but I  discussed with management on what to do and decided on holding off for an album until I was a little older.

After that recording process, tons of people would come to shows asking if we had CDs or music they could stream. Further down the road this prompted me to piece together my EP. It’s important for me to do things right and not fast.  

Rick: Tell us about the production of your album, the recording, engineering and packaging of  it. Were you hands on or were there others you relied on heavily to pull it all together?  

Danny Garwood: Sweetwater is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. And if you haven’t  been, figure out how to get to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I had a great first experience recording with producer, Shawn Dealey, and his studio partner Jason Peets.

My first experience with them in  2024 was nothing but amazing. I made the choice to hold off, and returned when my voice changed a little over a year after. I redid the parts to sound more up-to-date. Shawn pulled  some really awesome things out of me just by talking to me and honed in on a lot.  

Rick: A career in music can be tough and some have what many would call a “normal” job or  career, often to be able to pay the rent. Are you also pursuing an education or another career that might be a more traditional path to your idea of success?

Danny Garwood: I will do whatever it takes to continue on this path, I can’t see myself doing anything else. I love connecting with other people through music, and the stage just feels like home to me.  

Rick: Have you found other musicians competitive or helpful to give you ideas, get gigs, or offer up lessons learned for you to reach your potential?  

Danny Garwood: It’s definitely a competitive market, but I feel like you can find that in any  path. There have been so many people that are extremely helpful, whether it’s mentors or people I’ve shared the stage with. To name one, Mr. G, my very first mentor. This was when I  was living in Illinois, where I am originally from.

I showed up to a jam in a small town in Wisconsin, called Zenda. I was around 10 years old at the time and had never experienced an open jam before. The host “Mr. G” had let me come up and play with the house band for a few. This experience ignited my passion even more, and he ended up taking me under his wing as his very first guitar student. He taught me stage etiquette, and to always let others shine, which I think is key when playing onstage. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rick: How did you end up on stage with Ally Venable at the Dallas International Guitar Festival  in 2022, and do you consider it a milestone in your career so far?  

Danny Garwood: I saw Ally perform in early 2022 opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd in  Chattanooga, Tennessee. Needless to say, I was absolutely floored. A few months later I found out that I was going to be going to Dallas to compete in the Dallas International Guitar Festival “10 under 20” competition. The day of our arrival we went to go see Ally perform.

After the show I  introduced myself and took a picture with her. That very next day, she had another slot performing. Before we left to go to the festival I almost didn’t bring my guitar. But, my dad just  had this gut instinct and told me to bring it, just in case. So I did.

When we went to go see Ally play, we received a message from her Dad through Facebook asking if we were still there and if  I had my guitar. Luckily, yes. I rushed to the front of the stage and before I knew it 13 year old  me was up there jamming on Freddie King’s “I’m Going Down” which was a song I did not know at the time.

Ever since, Ally and her crew have been so good to us. I’ve had the privilege  of opening for her and spending time with them on numerous occasions. And I’m beyond grateful for that. Not to mention there was a woman in the audience, Natasha Cornblatt, who is  a videographer. She filmed the performance and posted it on YouTube and it is now standing at  8.6 million views.  

Rick: Sharing the stage with the legendary Buddy Guy and Christine “Kingfish” Ingram, at the Ryman no less, must have been a dream come true. How were you able to corral that opportunity, what was that experience like, and has it led to even more opportunities?  

Danny Garwood: Around mid-February, 2023, we had tickets to go see Buddy Guy in Evansville, Indiana. Ally Venable and Eric Gales were opening for him which they were fantastic per usual. Near the end of the show, Buddy did his signature crowd walk, and eventually came up  to me.

I was wearing this very vibrant blue suit jacket, with shiny silver polka dots. Buddy handed me a pick and let me strum his guitar. There’s a picture of it, and a video from my point  of view, it’s always fun to go back and watch on occasion. Buddy asked if I played guitar, of  course I said, “Yes”. He asked if I wanted to jam on stage at the end of the show, but it never  happened, that night at least.

Danny Garwood

I was working with an outstanding drummer at the time, Paige  O’Rourke, from Chicago, Illinois. She had jammed with Buddy before, and happened to know Buddy’s guitar tech, Connor Korte. Connor had spoken to Buddy and he said he had  remembered me from the Evansville show, and he was informed that we’d be seeing him in late March at the Ryman Auditorium here in my hometown, Nashville, Tennessee. We weren’t entirely sure  on whether I was going to jam with Buddy, but either way I was excited to see him live and I wore that blue jacket again.

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram was playing the opening set who I had  previously met before. When we were waiting in line, we saw his van, and his bass player at the  time, Paul Rodgers, recognized me. He invited me in the van and I got to chat with Christone for a bit.

This meant the absolute world to me. When it came time for the show, we still weren’t sure on whether or not I’d be jamming with Buddy. When he did his crowd walk, he didn’t walk  up to me, so I had a feeling it wouldn’t happen. Near the end, I see Connor. He’s pointing at me to head backstage. My mom came with me, as well.

It was funny when Connor handed me a guitar, we couldn’t adjust the strap height to fit me because I was so much smaller at the time. Then before I knew it I was on stage with Buddy Guy, Kingfish, and all the other incredible  musicians on stage. It didn’t really hit me till afterwards what had just happened. I couldn’t  believe it.

This experience opened the door for opportunities to play with Buddy yet another  time, jam with Kingfish again at Ground Zero, and play at Buddy’s blues club in Chicago, Illinois, “Legends.”  

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rick: Are you winging it or have you developed a career strategy, with goals and objectives,  that you check off, then once interim goals have been reached, do you update your plans with more things you want to experience and accomplish?  

Danny Garwood: I’m definitely a go with the flow type of person. A lot of things have just sort of came to me, and I let the universe do its thing. Not to say it isn’t important to have a plan or strategy. After I finish my senior year of high school, I’m planning to record my debut album. It’s  been a goal of mine for a while, create a killer debut album and tour and I’m really excited to  see what the future has in store.  

Rick: Giving back is always a good thing to do and I see that you’ve helped other musicians  starting and facilitating the Youth Blues Jam at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Memphis. What was that like and are you still involved in that annual event? Have you plans to do any more “giving back” ventures?

Danny Garwood: Being able to start, and host the Youth Jam at Ground Zero was such a treat. My last time hosting this year was very bittersweet, but it felt amazing to pass the torch and let other young artists experience what it’s like to be in that spot. I’m no longer involved in that event since I’ll be 18 soon, but I’m excited to see what the future holds for it.

Giving back  always feels good, and I am 100% open to doing it as much as I can. Gary Hoey had Ally Venable sit in on “Going Down” when she was younger, and she paid it forward to me. So, I  know one day, I’ll find someone young that I see potential in and do the same.  

Rick: What’s next on your “to do” platter and what can your fans expect for the rest of this year and in 2027?  

Danny Garwood: My biggest focus is to enhance my writing skills. So, definitely expect more original music, as well as more shows, so you can catch the new material live, further down the road! 

Source: PRS Guitars

Paul Reed Smith – image courtesy of PRS Guitars

PRS Guitars and Guitar Center today announced that the national retailer is inducting Paul Reed Smith into the Hollywood Rockwalk, the handprint-and-signature tribute outside Guitar Center’s flagship Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard. This pedestrian path and industry-recognized music landmark is dedicated to honoring the musicians and industry pioneers who have made significant and lasting contributions to the growth and evolution of music, through an exceptional level of talent, outstanding innovation and creative ingenuity.

John Mayer will give the induction speech to honor Smith. The handprint ceremony will take place September 26th at the Dell West Plaza Rockwalk Stage at the Moody Center during the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Austin, Texas. The completed handprint will later be installed at Rockwalk outside Guitar Center’s flagship Hollywood store.

“The first time I saw a Rockwalk induction, Ted McCarty was getting inducted and Eddie Van Halen was one of the people in attendance to witness it. I was very pleased for Ted. That I’ll be in the middle of another induction is an honor and leaves me without words. I look forward to seeing everyone,” said Paul Reed Smith, Managing General Partner of PRS Guitars.

“There are very few people in the history of the electric guitar who have pushed the design and perfection of the instrument forward more than Paul,” said Gabe Dalporto, CEO of Guitar Center. “He has inspired generations of musicians and instrument makers and is a living legend in our industry.”

Since its founding in 1985, Rockwalk has celebrated some of the most recognized names in rock, blues, soul and popular music through signature and handprint ceremonies outside the Guitar Center Hollywood. More than 150 artists and innovators have been inducted, including gear pioneers Jim Marshall, Robert Moog and Les Paul, as well as music icons including Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Alanis Morissette, Black Sabbath, The Ramones, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Located at the entrance of Guitar Center’s flagship Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard, Rockwalk is a permanent public destination where fans and musicians connect with music history year-round.

For all of the latest news, visit www.prsguitars.com and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

About PRS Guitars:
PRS Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high-quality instruments in Stevensville, Maryland and has provided some of the world’s most renowned musicians with instruments since 1985. The PRS team of highly skilled craftspeople design and build a wide variety of musical instruments and gear for worldwide distribution, including electric and acoustic guitars as well as boutique-style guitar amplifiers and effects pedals. The PRS SE Series complements the Maryland-made PRS line by offering highly approachable and more affordable electric and acoustic guitars. David Grissom, Jimmy Herring, Mark Holcomb, Myles Kennedy, Mark Lettieri, John Mayer, Orianthi, Carlos Santana, Ed Sheeran, Rhonda Smith, Mark Tremonti and Keith Urban are among the artists currently playing PRS instruments and/or amplifiers.

About Guitar Center:
Guitar Center is the leading retailer of musical instruments, lessons, repairs and rentals in the U.S. With more than 300 stores nationwide and one of the top direct sales websites in the industry, Guitar Center has helped people make music for more than 60 years. Guitar Center provides a range of musician-based services, including Guitar Center Lessons for players of all ages and skill levels, GC Repairs, an on-site maintenance and repair service, and GC Rentals, offering easy access to instruments and gear. Guitar Center’s family of brands includes Music & Arts, which operates more than 250 stores specializing in band and orchestral instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors, parents and students, and Musician’s Friend, a leading direct marketer of musical instruments in the United States. Guitar Center Business Solutions is the company’s commercial division, delivering professional audio, video, lighting and integrated technology solutions for businesses, institutions and creators nationwide through a portfolio of brands including AVDG (Audio Visual Design Group), GC Pro and Custom House at Guitar Center. The Guitar Center Music Foundation is a national nonprofit that expands access to music through instrument donations and support for communities in need.

Launched in April 2025, these headphones were designed primarily as a closed-back circumaural model for Audeze’s professional studio line—with a particular focus on tracking monitoring—introducing the brand’s planar magnetic technology to a more affordable pair of closed-back headphones.

The construction of the Audeze LCD-S20 headphones stands out for its distinctly professional and industrial design, based on a robust chassis that combines aluminum forks, magnesium parts, steel spring arches, and glass-reinforced nylon components. They feature closed-back ear cups with internal acoustic damping and 90-mm planar magnetic transducers, complemented by a headband with a suspension strap that distributes pressure and incorporates a magnetic system for easily swapping out the gel-filled ear pads.

Audeze’s patented SLAM (Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator) technology integrates precision-engineered channels into the coupling ring between the ear cups and its 90 mm planar-magnetic transducers to manage internal air pressures, tuning the low frequencies to deliver an extremely impactful, deep, and distortion-free bass response.

By balancing airflow dynamics in a closed-back design, SLAM dramatically improves instrumental separation and delivers outstanding stereo imaging. Among its pros are the exceptional durability of its metal components, excellent passive isolation (ideal for studio recording without sound leakage), ease of maintenance thanks to its replaceable components, and the great functional versatility of its interchangeable cable input, which allows it to be connected to either ear cup.

On the downside, the closed-back design and planar driver system bring the total weight up to 550 grams, making them a fairly heavy model that can cause some fatigue due to weight or pressure after very long sessions. Additionally, the headphones aren’t foldable, and no hard case or carrying pouch is included, which makes them less practical for taking them outside a fixed location. In other words, forget about using them in different recording studios or for field recordings. In this regard, Audeze cut corners where it shouldn’t have.

The Audeze LCD-S20 has a dark sound profile. The bass is deep, fast, and punchy, without interfering with the midrange thanks to SLAM-controlled airflow, maintaining impact without distortion. The mids are clean, direct, and natural, with a wide, three-dimensional stereo image. In the treble, the response is somewhat subdued, characterized by an intentional roll-off at the highest frequencies; this gradual roll-off softens harshness and sibilance, ensuring fatigue-free listening (check the blue line at the graphic below).

One misleading feature is their low impedance (18 Ω), which, according to Audeze, allows them to be used with laptops and portable players. When I first started using them, I realized I needed to adjust the monitoring output on my audio interface to nearly the same level as my 250 Ω Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or DT 1990 Pro headphones. Here’s why: to determine a headphone’s volume performance, you need to consider both impedance and sensitivity. The Audeze LCD-S20 has relatively low sensitivity (93 dB/1 mW), while the 250 Ω Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro and DT 1990 Pro have 96 dB/1 mW.

For a headphone to be “easy to drive,” it requires low impedance (electrical resistance) and high sensitivity (efficiency in converting milliwatts into actual volume). Even if you can achieve a high volume with a portable player, the headphones will lack dynamic headroom: the bass loses impact, and the stereo soundstage becomes narrower. In other words, they fall short in dynamic performance if they don’t receive enough current. Since the LCD-S20 are planar and have low sensitivity, they require a lot of electrical current (milliamps). In conclusion, these headphones require a dedicated amplifier or a high-quality audio interface to deliver the sound they’re capable of.

There’s something audiophiles need to understand about recording studios: 1) despite the risk of listener fatigue, we prefer to listen with full detail in the midrange and high frequencies because we protect ourselves from listener fatigue by taking silent breaks, and 2) both hardware and software are work tools where it’s far more important for the user to understand their sound and limitations in detail than their quality, and that there are specific tools for specific tasks.

And that’s why there are many cases where, in numerous studios, you’ll find equipment that has become an industry standard, such as the Sony MDR 7506 headphones for tracking and the 250 Ω Beyerdynamic 1990 Pro headphones for mixing. In my recording studio, I always make the tracking using headphones. For this task, my go-to headphones are the Sony MDR 7506, which are a standard in tracking monitoring because their boost in the 2–10 kHz range acts like a magnifying glass for imperfections, bringing unwanted noise to light: lip smacks, harsh sibilance (annoying “S” sounds), background noise, out-of-tune notes, or editing clicks. Considering that the Audeze LCD-S20 has a dark sound profile—the opposite of the Sony MDR 7506—I don’t recommend them for studio tracking.

In large recording studios, tracking headphones have always followed two simple rules, regardless of their sound: 1) they must be quickly and easily adjustable for any user, and 2) the cable enters the left earcup. Given the difficulty in adjusting the Audeze LCD-S20, they are intended for use in small recording studios where the interchangeable cable input is a useful feature.

The width of the stereo image in closed-back headphones is determined primarily by the internal acoustics of the ear cup, the orientation and size of the transducer, and the frequency response tuning. Because this is a sealed design that traps air and reflects sound waves within the chamber, the width depends on the headphone’s ability to manage internal sound pressure and control resonance. The angled placement of the drivers mimics the natural arrival of sound at the outer ear, while damping technologies and fine-tuned equalization in the treble and upper-midrange create the spatial illusion of separation and stereo imaging. In this regard, the Audeze headphones are unrivaled in my studio.

I don’t like to mix using headphones, but I always check my mixes with my Beyerdynamic 770 Pro and DT 1990 Pro—both 250 Ω models—to review the details, especially positioning within the stereo image, and keeping in mind that many people listen to music using headphones. For years now, it’s been common to use headphone calibration systems to flatten their frequency response curve, especially when using headphones for mixing. The most popular ones are Sonarworks SoundID Reference (software-based) and IK Multimedia ARC ON-EAR (hardware + software).

I use the latter because its hardware allows me to work with zero latency. The ARC ON-EAR correction enhances the Audeze LCD-S20 to such a high standard that they have replaced the 770 Pro in my closed-back headphone mix checks. In the graph, shown above,  the blue curve shows the frequency response of the Audeze LCD-S20, and the orange line shows the response corrected by the ARC ON-EAR system.

Conclusion: The Audeze LCD-S20 studio headphones have a sturdy construction, great passive isolation, and an excellent stereo image, which are three very useful characteristics in recording studios. Regarding the sound profile, they are only useful in a recording studio if used with a headphone calibration system that works well with them, such as the IK Multimedia ARC ON-EAR.

Price: $499.00

More info at https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-s20

David Lindley Interview

By Joerg Kliewe.

David Lindley playing Weissenborn slide guitar. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

Guitarist David Lindley is a pioneer of international music who led one of the first world music rock groups during the ’60s called Kaleidoscope. He would later work with singer-songwriter Jackson Browne starting in 1971 and his staggering solos can be heard ripping through such hits as Jackson’s classic “Running on Empty”.

Whether playing switchbacks on his lap steels, hot rodding through six-string riffs, or grooving on his collection of Middle Eastern stringed axes, David’s extraordinary cauldron of musical talent captivates musicians and fans around the globe.

David Lindley’s show at the Alladin Theater in Portland, Oregon, was the perfect spot to get out of a cold winter rain. Stepping inside the theater, I caught Lindley’s sound check while he tweaked his gear to fit the old vaudeville house’s acoustics. I was caught by surprise and stopped in my tracks when he unleashed an exquisite rendition of the late Warren Zevon’s “The Indifference of Heaven”.

David Lindley backstage with a bouzouki. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

A short while later, I found myself sitting across from David as he answered questions between sips of hot coffee and talked about his amazing instrument collection, songwriting, and the world of independent music production.

Although, we now know Lindley as a gifted multi-instrumentalist and for his classic licks on some of the best music produced during the past 40 years, he began his music journey as a banjo player. As a teen he was a five time winner of California’s Topanga Banjo – Fiddle Contest.

A musician’s musician, David can be found ripping it up on tracks with such formidable talents as Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Terry Reid, Rory Block, James Taylor, David Blue, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby and Nash, Iggy Pop, Little Feat, Linda Thompson, Warren Zevon, and a long impressive list of fellow artists.

El Rayo-X

Lindley’s eccentric spirit has led him to classic Danelectros, Tiesco Del Reys, Kays, Nationals, as well as a grouping of exotic instruments with names like oud (Middle Eastern), bouzouki (Greek) and saz (Turkish).

After releasing his solo album El Rayo-X, he formed a band of the same name with Bernie Larsen (guitar), Jorge Calderon (bass), Ian Wallace (drums), and Ras “Baboo” (percussion), who interwove traditional American roots music, world beat, and reggae.

In 1991, Lindley landed in Antanarivo, Madagascar, with avant-garde guitarist and innovator Henry Kaiser that resulted in a durable collaboration based on a series of field recordings. The visit to the island nation yielded six albums of Malagasy music, including an award winning two-volume set A World Out of Time. Later, the two would head to Norway where they pulled together two more CDs, Sweet Sunny North (Vol. 1 and 2).

David Lindley on stage at the Alladin with his Weissenborn. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

When Lindley stepped out on stage at the Alladin the audience was rewarded with the flash of his very “Mr Dave” outfit that included a flamboyantly hep ‘70s shirt, a pair of funky polyester pants, and “soft like buttah” blue alligator shoes. His set roamed the earth with tunes from all over the planet that began with a short warm up on his bouzouki. He later switched to a Weissenborn guitar to deliver Zevon’s “Seminole Bingo”. The sound he conjured was as wide as a semi-trailer with a thick bass chop that had us thinking that there were two players on stage.

He ventured into performing highlights from his three Twango Bango albums mixed with traditional tunes on the oud and later on some songs he recorded during the ‘90s with Jordanian percussionist Hani Nasser.

Lindley’s Alladin show was a retrospective of over 40 years of playing by one of America’s finest players of stringed instruments. The honesty of his performance and his quirky humor illustrate that he is, indeed, a giant in American music and entertainment.

It’s good to see you back on the West Coast. The last time we met you were performing with Wally (Ingram) in Cologne, Germany, during an extensive European tour.

David Lindley backstage. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

David Lindley: Yeah, the last German tour has already been a while ago. Anyway, we had serious problems with the promoter during that tour and didn’t go back since. But yes, I have many friends abroad and I would love to play in Europe again.

Are the current dates that you’ve played the start of another world tour?

DL: No, no, no, the U.S. dates will, however, continue until the summer and even into the summer. In between I will finish the new album.

What will be on it? More covers or your own songs?

DL: Ha ha, nice try! I’ll only say this much, everyone will love it! I just finished the basic recordings and I’ll take those to Jackson’s [Browne] studio for the final production.

Is Jackson a part of the project too?

DL: We’re using his studio only, which includes absolutely the best gear you could imagine. I think lending me his studio for free is being involved.

Did you record using microphones or amplify the instruments first?

David Lindley backstage with 12-string Guild. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

DL: No, by microphone. We were using ProTools and I was catching the signal by four mics on four tracks at the same time to give it more room and depth. The sound will blow you away!

Your concert program is a well balanced set of your own songs and tunes written by other great artists, like Warren Zevon and J. J. Cale, and they blend together just fine. Where and how do you find these songs or do they find you?

DL: Warren’s stuff is great music that I just love and have to play, man. Anyway, I get songs from all over. Often my daughter finds me tunes and if If I don’t find the kind of song I’m looking for I write them myself. It’s actually pretty easy.

You seem to hold close control over the management side of things. Isn’t it still quite difficult to produce and market your music independently in the US?

DL: Yeah, no record company involved other than myself! Actually it isn’t difficult and marketing my music by myself works pretty well for me. I sell my records directly, especially to smaller stores, more the mom and pop kind of stores. And I even sell them in Canada, Europe and Japan .

Not only are you a multi-instrumentalist but you are also known for your huge collection of guitars and stringed instruments. Add any new treasures to your collection recently?

David Lindley backstage with an oud. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

DL: I became totally devoted to my ouds and I can’t get enough of them! I already keep thinking of what I’m going to buy to reward myself [for touring] when I get back home. Hmmm, maybe another oud?

During a visit to Turkey I noticed that the oud players were pretty obsessed by their instruments.

DL: I really love these instruments. Maybe because they are so challenging. They are tuned in quarts [fourths] and the traditional music that has been conserved is written for them and includes a special phrase for almost every note. Oud players like Necati Celik Üsta from Turkey started playing when they were kids. These players achieve their title of “Master of The Oud“ from many years of hard practice and play.

You play John Lee Hooker kind of riffs on the oud.

DL: You can play everything on an oud! Isn’t that great? I remember when I received my flat back oud made by Viken Najarian, I plugged it into an amplifier, turned the volume to 10, what is sometimes a good thing to do, and it sounded like [pauses] crap. So, I called Ry Cooder who I knew was working at a studio downtown. I played it to him over the telephone. Ry asked, “Shit. What is this thing? You better get down here with it right away!”

When I got there Ry checked it out and said, “Hmmm, whatever it is, it sounds really good. Can I borrow it for a while?” After a couple of weeks I called him and said: “Ry, I want my oud back.”

You see, this is what these instruments do to you!

What other instruments are you going to play during the concert?

DL: I brought two Weissenborn guitars made by Paddy Burgin in New Zealand, which are mind blowing! The quality is just incredible. I’m also going to play an oud made by Dimitris Rapakousios and, of course, I brought my Guild 12-string. Guild actually had it measured recently because they didn’’t have records on these instruments any more.

Your website shows a respectable part of your collection. And you also own quite a few vintage instruments. How do you feel about the current market situation when it comes to vintage guitars?

David Lindley in concert. Photo by Joerg Kliewe.

DL: Look what the ’60s Strats are selling for these days, $30,000 and over! It’s unbelievable! Actually, I have a ’60s Strat and the pickups had even gotten rewound by Doc Kaufmann. I don’t think I’m gonna sell that one!

Do you know exactly how many instruments you currently own?

DL: I will not tell! They are so many by now that I have to keep them safe at different locations.

Related Links
David Lindley
Paddy Burgin Guitars
Dimitris Rapakousios

formatting was a bit disrupted when migrating to a new host and publishing software. There are dozens upon dozens

more to repair. Stand by for more!

by: Rick Landers

Michael G. Stewart – 2007

Maryland-based photographer and illustrator, Michael G. Stewart,  always gets the shot. Whether he’s backstage in dim light with a laconic subject or in the middle of a frenzied crowd of fans at a rock show with blinding stage lights, he nails it.

Artists he’s covered include Les Paul, Neal Schon, Steve Howe, Martin Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Johnson, Sonny Landreth, Dick Dale, Nokie Edwards, Marshall Crenshaw, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Doc Watson, Frank Vignola, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Jimmy Bruno, Deke Dickerson, among a large group of rock, jazz and traditional roots musicians.

Although Stewart didn’t begin his artistic career in photography, it must have been a natural inclination to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who all established themselves as professional image makers in the Washington, D.C. area.

Michael serves as the principal photographer for the National Council for Traditional Arts and has worked with the National Endowment for the Arts. Earlier in his career he was the Chief Photographer for DC’s off-beat magazine Quirks. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, Modern Guitars (Guitar International Magazine),  Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, the Discovery Channel online, Just Jazz Guitar, Chamber Music, Scoot Quarterly, The Classic Motorcyle, and the Strad.

Most of the time, Stewart can be found traipsing along the beaten paths of America in his quest to capture vintage diners, motorcycles, classic cars, guitars and musicians at work and play. He’s covered rock shows, jazz clubs, guitar and music conventions and can occasionally be seen leaning out of hovering helicopters shooting the world below.

His imaginative work as an illustrator can be found in three successful childrens’ books written by author and entertainer Barry Louis Polisar. Michael also illustrated a guide to the Scottish steel string harp and has published a coffee table book on the restoration of St. Mathew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Stewart and his teenage son, Spencer, have gathered enough shots of classic diners and roadside America that they will soon publish an account of their travels and those beloved and vanishing features of the American landscape.

I first met Michael back in 1985 at a party where he was courting his future wife who is a classically trained professional violinist. At the time he and a friend were enthusiastically immersed in a plan to start their own rock band and they had already arrived at an appropriate name, Mid-Life Crisis. Twenty years later, we crossed paths again when Modern Guitars magazine was on the prowl for a photographer in the D.C. area. Bob Shade, president of Hallmark Guitars, and I were discussing the magazine and his guitars when he offhandedly mentioned that he knew a great photographer named Michael Stewart.

I’ve since discovered that Michael’s talents have been embraced by the top jazz musicians on the East Coast, as well as have earned him the respect and admiration of musicians rooted in the traditions of old time Appalachian music. I was able to catch up with Michael between a whirlwind of photo gigs to talk about his career, the art of photography and his love of music and all things guitar.

Michael G. Stewart in 1980

Michael G. Stewart: Actually I started out for a career in art and illustration. My father was a photographer, but died at a very young age, so the direct connection to photography was out of grasp. I came to photography in my early teens and twenties.

Rick: You’re schooled in photography?

Michael G. Stewart: No, I started out pursuing a career in art at the Maryland Institute of Art College Art in Baltimore [Maryland] and I had training as a film maker. Somewhere along the line I took up photography. Most of that was self-taught.

Rick:What type of rig do you use?

Michael G. Stewart: I’ve always been a Canon person. Since the early ‘70s I’ve used Canon equipment and have always found that as a film camera and digital camera they’ve been of outstanding quality. They’re very easy to use, very durable and just very good equipment overall.

It was a big change after using film for 25 years, both 35mm and larger format. It was rather scary diving into the deep water of the digital field. A very different type of technology, but having switched to fully digital over the past three years in terms of shooting in the music and entertainment fields I’ve actually found it a much more versatile medium. It’s much faster to work with covering a much wider range of applications, especially in the print field as well as with applications like CD and cover designs for the web.

Rick: Most artists seem to favor Macs.

Michael G. Stewart: That seems to be true. I work in a pc environment, however, most of the designers I work with use a Mac. I expect to switch pretty soon. The imaging industry is pretty much Mac-based in the professional world. It’s just easier to go to for technology for any image work.

Rick: Do you focus on the entertainment business or do you handle a broader spectrum of assignments?

Michael G. Stewart: During the past 28 years, I’ve made my living as an architectural and aerial photographer. That’s been the focus of the family business that I recently left. Music and roadside America are the things that I truly love. Apart from the aerial portion from my former career, I don’t miss that so much. It would be nice to make entertainment my full-time work. I’m not sure that’s possible. Having come from a lifetime of listening, creating and interacting with the music entertainment business, I really love and enjoy and believe I have a fine feel for it as a photographer making images.

I’ve also been a performer and I’m married to a full-time classical musician. Both have given me contacts and close working relationships in the music world, so I understand and appreciate that world.

Jimmy Bruno. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: Your website reflects an interest in music, motorcycles and roadside America, specifically diners.

Michael G. Stewart: Yes. My son Spencer actually has a website on roadsideonline.com and he’s probably the youngest acknowledged diner expert in the country. I’ve gone to diners for years and years and have felt that it’s a wonderful piece of vanishing America and a vanishing community. Pretty much independently my son Spencer developed that love and has taken that much further. He’s in contact with every major diner expert and artist in America. So we’ve been on many road trips in search of forgotten diners.

Rick: You met Stevie Ray Vaughan before he exploded on to the music scene.

Michael G. Stewart: Yeah, I met him at a party after he came back from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The first time I’d seen him was before he’d become a known name. But, it was immediately apparent that this was somebody who was going to be well known in a very short time. He was a tremendous talent and a very nice guy. And even though he worked in a very traditional genre of blues and blues rock, he had that personal touch that set him apart. And although there have been many people coming since, in that same vein, he was just someone special that I don’t think anyone since his passing would be where they are musically had it not been for his taking up the torch and carrying it on.

Stevie Ray Vaughan. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: When we’ve been covering a performance you always disappear.

Michael G. Stewart:Yeah, well it’s always good to have a sense of where the performers are going to be when they’re on stage so you’re able to access those areas to get those shots and not be obtrusive to the audience. As a photographer you should be unseen! You don’t want to be a distraction to the performer or the audience. It’s important to get the angles and the views you want to make the performer look his best, but at the same time, you want to be as unobtrusive as humanely possible. Photographers aren’t the focus and they aren’t the event. I’m there to capture the moment and not be part of that moment. You say I disappear and that’s exactly right. I should be someone that no one knows is there.

Vintage Mosrite guitars. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: You’re particularly well known for your jazz and folk photography.

Michael G. Stewart: For years and years I was strictly a rock guy doing photos for bands and concerts throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, but I grew up listening to jazz. Over the years I’ve made some great contacts within the jazz world. I think that love for that music has helped make me the “go to” guy for that type of photography, at least on the East Coast. I’ve made a lot of personal contacts with wonderful players who are also wonderful people.

For the past ten years, I’ve also been affiliated with the National Council for the Traditonal Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts, who put on the National Folk Festival and the Irish Folk Festival and primarily with the folk and traditional arts that run the spectrum classical blues to folk traditions. By folk traditions we’re not talking about Peter, Paul and Mary. We’re talking about old traditional mountain or roots Appalachian, Zydeco and Celtic music. I’ve been able to establish a strong rapport with musicians in those worlds.

And I’ve met some phenomenal guitar players who are lost to the main stream and don’t get the credit they deserve. I get the opportunity to work with those folks and with traditional jazz players, as well as rock and the avant garde world as well.

Rick: Who have been some of the most memorable guitarists you’ve shot?

Michael G. Stewart: Well, certainly Les Paul was a “must remember” moment. He is just the greatest guy in the world, very funny, personable, with loads of stories and even at his advanced age is still a great player and an inspiration to any of us who pick a guitar.

Les Paul. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

I’d have to go back to my younger years and talk about some of my definite favorites from the heyday of the San Francisco sound and psychedelic players. There was Jerry Garcia who everyone knows, but others like Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna who’s always been a favorite guitar player of mine. Lesser known people like Randy Holden of Blue Cheer who has gone on to an interesting career. I also liked John Cippolina from Quicksilver Messenger Service who has been pretty much forgotten. He’s definitely a favorite. I’ve always liked Tony McPhee of The Groundhogs, a British blues band.

Recently, I’ve been hanging out with a lot of superb jazz guitarists including Steve Abshire and Paul Wingo who were both in military bands. Steve was with the Navy’s jazz ensemble, the Commodores, and Paul was with the Army Blues Band. These guys are phenomenal players, just killer guitarists.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet some fabulous folks. One of my favorites was Pop Staples who had phenomenal sound and touch. He was also one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet.

John Cippolina. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: What about fellow Marylander Danny Gatton?

Michael G. Stewart: Danny Gatton was a tragic loss to all of us. I started seeing him in the early ‘70s when he played every week at the Italian Gardens restaurant in Maryland. He kept that up for years. I’m still in touch with members from some of his bands. Danny was the most unassuming guy and he could play anything. Literally play anything. His records don’t do him justice. I’d see him in little bars just wailing away. He could play jazz, hillbilly music, straight away blues and no one could touch him.

Deke Dickerson (left) and Larry Collins. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

The tragedy was that he wasn’t playing one commercial genre, so he really wasn’t given the attention that he deserved. I suppose the hardest thing was that he got so close to recognition, but it was never truly granted to him except from a very narrow group of guitarists. Danny Gatton was a colossal talent who’s sorely missed.

Jorma Kaukonen. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: Did you know him?

Michael G. Stewart: No, I didn’t know him personally. I wish I had and think we would have had a lot to talk about beyond guitars, especially hot rods. No, I was just another guy in the crowd.

Kenny Burrell model Bendetto guitar. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: Jazz and folk music seem to have lost their audiences during the past fifty years.

Michael G. Stewart: For what I do, the core definition of folk may be different. My focus has been on traditional roots music. For both jazz and traditional folk artists you’re talking about people who are outside the commercial mainstream. Jazz, at one time, was a huge influence on commercial culture during the ‘30s and ‘40s, but certainly since the dawn of the ‘70s has been a musical form that has not been fully appreciated.

Jazz and traditional artists share the burden of not being able to make a living at it. These are individuals who spend their lives studying and playing who are largely left unappreciated and unrewarded when it comes to sales.

For better or worse the new commercial music outlets available to them are limited to downloads to iPod or MP3 players. Most of these guys are self-produced, not making any money and any recognition they do get tends to be from a very small community. I know a number of hugely talented jazz performers who are big names in the jazz field, but when it comes to supporting that talent, they’re pretty much left out in the cold.

CD cover by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: You’ve been designing music cover art for some time now.

Michael G. Stewart: Yeah, I’ve been doing this for over twenty years as far as album cover design. Most of the work I get is from word of mouth. I’m either asked to do something from artists that I know or from artists who know artists that I know. A lot of this comes from shooting live performances. I get a great deal of satisfaction from live gigs and especially being allied with fabulous musicians.

The creative process depends largely on the individual artist. Some have very specific ideas and some come in with absolutely no idea. In the rock and pop world it is a little easier because there’s usually a manager or promoter involved where we work in concert, no pun intended, to make sure the artist is easily recognized in the marketplace.

Many of the jazz and traditional folk artists, those on small labels, don’t realize that packaging is crucial. Sometimes they’ll arrive and just say “Here take this picture and put it on the cover.” I try to steer away from that and try to complement the music by trying to make the cover say what they’re trying to say with their music.

Some do need to be educated and I try to make that part of working with any artist. I like to make the packaging as wonderful as the music inside. It shouldn’t be skimped upon and I try to work with some really good graphic designers and art directors to ensure that the published package looks professional and reflects the music. It should all be married together. You don’t want a CD or album cover that’s not in keeping with the quality and standards of the music.

Rick: CDs give a much smaller point of sales space to grab buyers.

Michael G. Stewart:  In the past you had a large canvas for the art work. You’re right the packaging isn’t what it used to be. You now work with a five inch square rather than a twelve inch square. I use to buy records based solely on covers! Really! I could look at a King Crimson or a BeBop Deluxe album or a Stanley Mouse studios cover and I’d buy the album strictly based on the cover. You don’t see that much in the era of CDs, but that’s one of things that was exciting for me starting out. You had a large canvas that everyone could see and it could be associated with the music.

Archtop guitar by Bill Commins. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: With people now downloading their music, do you think CD packaging will go the way of the dinosaur?

Michael G. Stewart: I hope not! I think that you will see some of that happening. But, I think there will always be a place for art to complement the music. For any kind of music marketing you see it tied to some type of visual whether it’s a CD cover or a video or a video cover. It will migrate and turn into different things. Of course, I think with the huge number of opportunities for music distribution on-line that it will change from an in-hand CD, perhaps to images on a website that can be downloaded and disseminated. I think and I hope that there will always be opportunities for imaging even though that’s liable to change in the next five years.

Bucky Pizzarelli. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick:How does a professional photographer nail a cover on a music magazine?

Michael G. Stewart: It’s very difficult. I’ve got several and it’s largely by connections at this point. There are a lot of amateurs out there, but knowing when and how to get that great shot is very important. The thinking on intellectual property rights has also changed over the past thirty years.

When I started out anyone could carry a camera into a concert and take pictures. Today, many artists try to keep control of their images. Still people sneak in with point and shooters or camera phones. Still, I don’t think anything can compete with a pro image. Most magazines need a certain level of resolution.

The tough thing for a professional photographer today is the technology leaps ahead making it easier for amateurs to get decent shots. In the long run I think that will hurt the industry. When an amateur turns pro, they find that what they’ve been offering for free will come back to hurt them because their images, in practical terms, no longer belong to them.

Hallmark Sweptwing guitar. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: What’s been the most challenging part of your career?

Michael G. Stewart: Well, working with this one guy from Modern Guitars has been pretty challenging! [Laughs]

A big challenge is shooting live jazz performances in small clubs because of bad light. It’s hard to get a good image in a club with very low lighting and tungsten lighting. Pros rarely use flash and we like to rely on natural light. It just makes getting good shots a lot harder. Most commercial rock and pop venues have fabulous lighting and it’s hard to get a bad shot! But when working in a crowd of 10,000 or more people getting access to the front of the stage is tough. If you’re on the job and have access then it’s a lot more fun.

I remember back in ’72, a relative of mine was an on again, off again roadie with the Allman Brothers. This was the emergent era of Southern Rock when Wet Willie was the opening act for a guitarist named Jeff Beck! I was trying to get up close to the stage and tried to find someone to give me good access when some guy hauls off and punches me square in the face and knocks me on the ground. That was probably the nastiest occasion I experienced.

Steve Howe (left) and Martin Taylor. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

It’s changed a lot from being a shooter in a crowd to now having to get confirmed access and sometimes a press or photo pass. Smaller jazz and traditional folks gigs aren’t so problematic. But certainly the big name rock acts always require formal access before getting those great shots, as well as typically calling for no flash and limiting the time that you can get shots.

Rick: Ever dealt with a performer who didn’t want to be photographed?

Michael G. Stewart: I’ve covered lots of people like that. It really depends on the individual on how to best address those situations. That’s when it is particularly important to be unobtrusive and to get the shots as quick as possible. They obviously want you there because it’s advantagous for their careers. But they have private lives and want to keep at least a part of them under the radar. It can be difficult. Luckily, most artists are very nice and enjoyable to work with. The important thing is to maintain a professional demeanor and remember that the people on stage are professional, you’re a professional and you’re not there to be a pal and hang out, but to create your art in an environment that allows them to create theirs.

Microfrets Harlequin guitar. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Microfrets Wanderer guitar. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: Do you approach a live performance much differently than a CD cover?

Michael G. Stewart: The final product drives different demands. If you’re shooting in a journalistic capacity to document a particular situation or performance, then you keep it as straight as possible. In a live setting I think the most important thing is to accurately report or document the performance. When it comes to CD packaging I think the more creative that you can be, the better it is for everyone. If the project dictates straight documentation then that’s appropriate, however, if it allows you latitude to be creative then your creativity as a photographer comes into play. Why not be as creative as you can be? There are two very different situations there between journalism and packaging.

Rick: Do you know how a shot’s going to turn out once you take it?

Michael G. Stewart: As a professional you try to be prepared to create that perfect shot every time. I think that’s truly the definition of a professional photographer. But any photographer who’s been around will tell you that some of your best shots are completely unscripted, completely a surprise. You don’t know what’s going to happen, there are surprises and there are contraditictions, a crap shoot. Some are complete serendipity. But on the onehand you should be ready to make that perfect shot. That sets you apart from the guys who are shooting for the fun of it. Whether you shoot ten or one hundered you shoot for the perfect shot.

CD cover by Michael G. Stewart

Rick: An area we haven’t covered is guitar photography?

Michael G. Stewart: Yeah, I’ve done a lot of that. There are some superb guitar builders out there that are building some incredible guitars of all types.

Rick: Any new CD cover projects in the works?

Michael G. Stewart: Yes, I have a number of guitar CDs coming out soon. Most of them are jazz releases. I have one with the fabulous Philadelphia-based bebop guitarist Jimmy Bruno, as well as one for Gene Bertoncini up in New York who’s coming out with an album with a stringed quartet that should be quite interesting. I’m talking with Frank Vignola about the possibility of some cover work for an album he’s doing with the Gypsy Grass ensemble that, I suspect, will feature some great gypsy, jazz, and possibly bluegrass fusion.

CD cover art by Michael G. Stewart.

A couple folk things with some blues people Rick Franklin and Michael Baytop who’ll be covering some work of an old blues guy named Frank Stokes. That should have some nice National steel resonator work on it. I’m working on a concept for the Seldom Scene one of the best bluegrass groups around that will feature their fabulous guitarist Dudley Connell. That’ll be a CD to definitely check out! And I’ve been collaborating with a great rockabilly player Deke Dickerson on some things. I am looking forward to getting some more rock guys in there.

D’Aquisto guitar. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: We’ve talked a bit about guitarists, but what about the tools of the trade that we all covet so much?

Michael G. Stewart: Yeah, we should touch on the guitars themselves! I do a lot of work with luthiers. We don’t want to forget about the people who build fine guitars. We all can’t wait to get our hands on another guitar. One guitar is never enough is it?

There are so many fabulous builders today and some young guys who are just incredible. The quality of many of these guitars is staggering and prices are really low if you compare them with the cost of high quality violins and the time that goes into building a great guitar. I’ve worked with some of the best including Bob Benedetto, John Buscerino, Roger Sadowsky and Bill Comins. All of them build beautiful archtops. There’s a little known guy from Baltimore named Gary Flowers who’s making a name for himself.

I’ve worked some graphics design and images for Bob Shade over at Hallmark Guitars, a company that resurrected the old designs from the ‘60s that still look cool. A few years back I did some stuff with Paul Reed Smith Guitars and recently I’ve been talking to MicroFrets that has come a gone a couple of times and is getting ready to get back into the business very soon with some of their quirky, bizarre and innovative designs.

I got some photos of guitars built by a young guy named Matt Artinger and ended up buying one of his guitars. His quality is nothing short of phenomenal and he’s a heck of a nice guy. He’s another guy to watch. He was working out of his parents’ basement in this tiny space, but was coming out with some exquisite guitars. Now, he’s building rock guitars, archtops and basses.

Rick: How did you end up working with guitar aficionado and collector Scott Chinery?

Michael G. Stewart: A few years ago, I did some work with Scott. The Smithsonian was running his Blue Guitar exhibit that initially featured some of his vast and awesome collection that dovetailed with the museum’s exhibition on the evolution of the guitar in America. Afterwards he commissioned a group of about twelve of the best luthiers in the world to build some blue archtops.

During that time I shot the first of concerts featuring some of his blue guitars. He saw them and invited me up to New Jersey to see his collection and to cover the Blue Guitar concerts. That was certainly a terrific experience for me, not only to see some of the rarest and finest guitars on the planet, but to meet first hand some of the top luthiers in the world. What a thrill!

Part of the Scott Chinery guitar collection. Photo by Michael G. Stewart.

Rick: What advice would you like to offer to young photographers who are just beginning their careers?

Michael G. Stewart: Always be as professional as possible as your conduct reflects on all of us. That’s the reason there are so many restrictions. You have to remember that this is a performance and it’s the audience that counts and the artist’s comfort level. The worst thing in the world is to have a flash going off all the time. It’s a real pain for the audience and it’s a real pain for the musicians. Nobody wants to be blinded every 30 seconds. It’s a very competitive field, so just be as professional as you can.

Source: P. Pescatore

In July 2026, the book, Modern Harmony for Guitar, by Argentinian born, Pablo Pescatore, was released. It is a method book that demonstrates the various options available to a musician for arranging or re-harmonizing a song. The book is published by Play Music and distributed across Europe by Hal Leonard.

Pablo Pescatore’s next book, Speed ​​and Precision on Guitar, is scheduled to be released in October and will cover various guitar techniques such as: alternate picking, sweep picking, string skipping, tapping, and more. It features progressive examples designed to help achieve clear, fluid playing.

And if that’s not ambitious enough, Pablo anticipates publishing his tenth book later in 2026.

In addition to his career teaching, he’s busy conducting classes at various institutions and training students in different countries, as well as working on new songs with his producer friend, Sebarock.

Endorsed by several music brands, Pescatore works with several companies that include Skull Strings and Straps Torres.

About Pablo Pescatore: Guitarist/composer Pablo Pescatore was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in December 1974. He began his musical studies at 14, specializing in electric guitar technique as applied to hard rock and neoclassical metal styles.

Pablo was admitted to the prestigious jazz school, The Academia E.F.I.M.U.S. [School for the Comprehensive Training of Musicians] where for seven years he studied classic guitar, music theory, and harmony with outstanding teachers. He completed his degree requirements and attended clinics and masterclasses on various instruments; he graduated with high honors, obtaining the diploma of “Professor of Guitar, Music Theory and Solfege,” personally awarded by his professors, Hector Lopez Furst and Julio Rocella.

In addition to performing in different bands and completing various solo projects, Pablo is a published author on the subject of learning styles and has taught the classical and electric guitar for more than 20 years. His books are available from Hal Leonard,  Mel Bay, Apple, Amazon, Google, Apple and other platforms.

Over the years, blues-rock artist, Linwood Taylor, has forged ahead nailing down gigs, improving his game and building a reputation as an A-list musician in the Washington, D.C. area with a deep music history rarely fully appreciated.

The town and its surrounding areas have been the home of gifted musicians as diverse as: Tim Buckley, Danny Gatton, Roberta Flack, Yasmin Williams, Eva Cassidy, Roy Buchanan, Dave Grohl, the Bad Brains, and as historic as Duke Ellington and John Phillips Sousa.

Linwood performs his own eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, and more, inspired by disciplined and talented musicians he heard on local radio, as well as in D.C.’s live music hubs, like The Bayou, Blues Alley, The Birchmere, JV’s, The Twist and Shout, The Wax Museum, The Cellar Door and more. And in his quest to achieve not only success, but credibilty, he would reach out to meet musicians he admired. He’d find himself on stage with the likes of Curtis King, Dave Moore, Luther Allison,  Lonnie Mack, the Blues Brothers, and his friend and mentor, Joe Louis Walker.

Albums would follow as he navigated the music business and stamped out recordings of his own, and was featured on those of others. Head to the grindstone, Taylor released: Live At Colonial Seafood, (1991) Take This and Stay Out Of Trouble (1993), Make Room For The Paying Customer (2000), and his more current, Two Sides, while also being featured on GeminiiDRAGON’s latest, Moonlight Movin’ & Groovin’.

“Explosive guitar solos ….  With a classic rock feel that sounds familiar, and plenty of twists and turns to keep things fresh ….” – Scott Paddock, Mobtown Music Guide

“One of Washington’s Leading Blues Guitarists” – Washington Post Magazine

I met Linwood at one of the D.C. areas longest running and most ambitious live venues, JV’s Restaurant, that has attracted the attention of legendary musicians since it opened in 1947, including: The Seldom Scene, the Steve Miller Band, Tony Rice, the Country Gentleman, who’ve stopped by to enjoy the entertainment and-or to entertain. He pulled out his two guitars, a vintage ’54 Les Paul Gold Top and a ’58 Les Paul re-issue, opening up our discussion about guitars and anecdotes about musicians he’s worked alongside. Afterward, he stepped on stage to nail down some riveting licks to the pleasure of JV’s crowd. And my first thought was, “This guy’s the real deal”.

Guitar International is honored to feature Linwood Taylor, Jr., a treasured musician not only in his local D.C. haunts, but one who’s made a name for himself while on tour at the Sanremo Festival in Italy; the Czech Republic; Australia; and the private Mustique Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Rick Landers: Let’s start out from the beginning when you were growing up, what kind of music were you listening to? I know that typically we had the Top 40.  How does that influence you now, as a musician?

Linwood Taylor: Oh, man. No, it just was whatever was around. I mean, I was a kid. My father was a music fan, I still have his albums, as well as mine.  We had  big band jazz, you know, that kind of thing. That was in my house, but we also had rock ‘n roll. We also had jazz, like organ jazz, you know, Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, and all of that. I can remember Chubby Checker and that kind of thing. “The Twist” and “Hound Dog”…Leiber and Stoller wrote that, but Big Mama Thornton had a hit with it first.

And then I read a book about how Lieber and Stoller had their rights stolen by Johnny Otis and “Diamond Jim” Robey (Founder: Peacock Records).

Linwood Taylor

Rick: Well, you know, rock and rock and roll, you know, music, so…

Linwood Taylor: Because they were in high school, they didn’t know about publishing. And FM started and WPGC and WOL would be playing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, then they played James Brown and The Temptations…that kind of thing. It was all mixed up.

Rick: Yeah, it was the Top 40, and they just sort of threw in everything before the FM underground stations.

Linwood Taylor: I listened to WHFS once. I guess I was 12 or so, and my parents gave me a cassette recorder and, oh man, I had it on all night. A cool song would come on and it would wake me up.

Rick: That’s funny. So, who do you think actually influenced you the most as far as buying your first guitar?

Linwood Taylor: Let’s put it this way, a 7th grade teacher played guitar, and an 8th grade teacher played guitar and sang. Sadly, he just passed away. He put himself through school playing coffee houses.  So, he would play, “House of the Rising Sun,” “Sounds of Silence”. He could play all that stuff and I remember he had a 12-string Martin. The 7th grade teacher was a nun and the 8th grade teacher was Brian Fuller.

There was Top 40, but somehow I would hear about other things, like I heard about Jimi Hendrix when he first came out and that wasn’t Top 40. There was also a Baltimore television show called The Kirby Scott Show, and they had everything, the Count Five, “Psychotic Reaction,” Los Lobos, psychedelic stuff came in. You know, ’67.

Rick:  I’m from the Detroit area, so there were venues to go to, there was also the Ed Sullivan Show. People today don’t realize how prolific he was in pulling in The Beatles, the Stones, the Doors.

Linwood Taylor: Oh, yeah, I’m acutely aware of Mr. Sullivan, everybody watched Ed Sullivan.

Rick:  Today, basically we have music from everywhere.  So, now we’ve got access to not only Mali, but Japan, Brazil, where you get beautiful music.
Do you listen to music from all over the world, or do you explore to see what else is going on?

Linwood Taylor: I listen to a lot of different things, but my time is rather limited, um, especially for me, because I’m having to learn other peoples’ repertoire. So, I gotta invest time in that. Then I gotta play my own stuff.

Rick: So, when you’re learning a new band’s original music…

Linwood Taylor: It’s originals. That’s the whole point, you know? The retention is the most difficult thing at this point. It used to be a lot easier. And the thing is this, I can remember it and the hand memory coordination. Takes a moment, you know?

Rick: I have a new keyboard player and he plays our originals hundreds of times, so they’re embedded, so the muscle memory goes with the mental memory.

Linwood Taylor: Absolutely.

Rick: That’s why I would find it very daunting. I’m not a trained musician. Did you take lessons, or did you learn on your own,?

Linwood Taylor: I’m mainly self-taught. I’ve taken a lesson here and there, just to get some basic theory. I even took a music class. The professor told me, “You did A work, but I’m giving you a B. You shouldn’t be in music. What I’ve learned through my lifetime and I’ve heard the expression from the past, “Those who can play, play. Those who can’t, teach.”

Rick: I think that may be true.

Linwood Taylor: Really and truly.

Rick: We met a short time ago and you had, I think, a vintage ’54 Les Paul and a ’58 reissue.

Linwood Taylor: Yeah, yes, yes I did. That was the maple top.

Rick: How’d you find the ’54?

Linwood Taylor: Oh, that’s another story! I used to work at Wheaton Music.

Rick: I remember it, yeah, yeah.

Linwood Taylor: And a guy came in, December 1990, with this Les Paul. The store owner didn’t want it, because the neck had a wonky repair. The next guy didn’t want it for the same reason. I picked the guitar up, I flexed the neck and went, “This is not going anywhere. This would be great to take out and play it. Sold. So, I bought it. Little did I know, the next day a fellow said, “Did a guy come in here?” And they all went, “Yeah”. I bought it and he was furious. I played it like that for 16 years. And by that time I had a Gibson endorsement.

So, I went to the Gibson factory in Nashville and they restored it to complete original. I have the neck with the wonky repair, but they put a new neck on it. They put on the original serial number, and they refinished the back and sides, because it’s an all-gold Les Paul. But it’s not just a gold top, the back and sides are gold, too.

Rick: Oh, I didn’t notice that. There are very few of those.

Linwood Taylor: Yeah, only 5%. So, that’s a super rare one. I’m fortunate to have it, but it’s not so much of a collectible that I can’t take it out and enjoy it.

Forty one years ago, I bought a ’61 SG Les Paul. Okay? It was somebody’s player. But, for me it was clean. I couldn’t play it. I learned my lesson at that point. It’s too clean.  Don’t buy it, and it probably wasn’t that good, because nobody played it.

Rick: That’s true, too.

Linwood Taylor: Everything I have is a player. More or less, or something’s been done to it to devalue it. I can take it out and feel comfortable with it, but…I’m still not comfortable half the time, you know?

Rick: Yeah, I know how that is. What about acoustics? What are you playing acoustically? Do you play 12-strings, or mostly 6-strings?

Linwood Taylor: Uh, no, I have no 12s. I play a (Gibson) J-160E, that’s a reissue. That’s mainly what I use, but then I also have a resonator. It’s actually a Dobro, it’s wooden, not a metal one. And it’s a round neck, so it’s not like one of those squares that I have to lay it down. I can play normal guitar on it. I tune it to open D, and away I go, Elmore James, for days!

You know, I’m an electric guy, I just started doing acoustic because I was turning down too much work. Thirty years ago, my first acoustic gig was opening for the Brian Setzer Orchestra. It was one of those deals and I hated being alone like that. I prefer to work a duo, because we work off of each other.  You know, as opposed to just me, for lack of a better expression, “Kumbaya!” It’s just not my thing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rick: Who was the first artist that you were impressed with?

Linwood Taylor: That was Muddy Waters, when I was 18.

Rick: Was Electric Mud around that time, right?

Linwood Taylor: No, Bob Margolin had just joined the band. This is about six months after Bob joined the band, so this is 51 years ago. The Nighthawks were back there backstage, we’re all backstage hanging out.

Rick: How much fun. I never went backstage. It just wasn’t in my mind to think that I could possibly go backstage and meet somebody.

Linwood Taylor: I also had a good friend who sadly is gone, but who also hipped me to a lot of, um, vintage gear. I actually bought that SG Les Paul from him. He was a world famous amplifier technician. He worked with everyone…I mean everyone! Cesar Diaz. I met Stevie Ray Vaughan backstage. And nobody knew who Stevie Ray was except real blues aficionados. And Stevie told us, “Yeah, my album is coming out, and I’m on the new David Bowie album.” He was on the album, but he quit right before the tour.

He did Let’s Dance. He did that whole album, Let’s Dance.

Rick: I did have a chance to meet him when I was working , but I didn’t go…he was playing at D.C.’s Wax Museum.

Linwood Taylor: Yeah. That’s where I met him, like the first time he played there, before he played at, I wanna say Desperados right on M Street. Gradually, I met a lot of guys, blues guys. I met all the way up to, like Roger Daltry, Paul Rogers. David Bowie I met several years later, because I was doing a deal with Peter Frampton and Peter was David’s guitar player. I met Robert Plant twice. I was there there the night of the famous fight at The Bayou with Robert Plant. And then, about eight-years ago in Australia in the green room. I meet a lot of guys, and then last year I met Mick Jagger.

Rick: Have you met anyBeatles?

Linwood Taylor: No, no.

Rick: I’ve never met any of them.I met Les Paul a couple times, and a few others.

Linwood Taylor: I met Les. In fact, Cesar Diaz and I, and one of his friends, we went to see Les at the Iridium. And then, the December before my friend passed, Cesar passed, I walked into his hospital room, and Les is in the hospital room.

Rick: Oh, how nice of him to show up. So how’d you find Les? I thought he was funny.

Linwood Taylor: Oh, yeah, he was a riot! He was a total cut-up. If you didn’t know he was a cut-up, you might be offended. But, I’d been a musician for so long, it’s like, “Okay, buddy, your funny,” you know?

Rick: So, have you been on tour often?

Linwood Taylor: Enough to know that it can be a grind. But not enough to discourage me.

Rick: What was the good, the bad, and the ugly of touring?

Linwood Taylor: Well, the only bad thing…to me, was that I got trapped in Hong Kong, behind 9-11. I had to stay an extra ten days.  To me, it was that I got trapped in Hong Kong. I couldn’t get home, but I was able to reach my mother, and I was able to reach my girlfriend, who’s now my wife. The club was like, the act can’t come in, so the room was booked and I stayed, because I had no place to go. But, I had to buy my own meals, which was fine.

Rick: Well, I imagine you had fun.

Linwood Taylor: Well, you know, yeah. I mean, I made friends and whatever, people would show me around, and I really got to explore the city. All I can say is Hong Kong was like New York on steroids. And the thing is, the Chinese had not cracked down at that point. It had just changed over and they realized there was a lot of money there. I mean a lot of money. I mean, in Italy, I had never seen a Lamborghini dealership. But in Hong Kong, I saw a Lamborghini dealership with five different colored Lamborghinis in the showroom. That was like “Wow!” The bass player was driving a big Mercedes. If you ever see that movie, Die Another Day, a James Bond film with Halle Berry in it, where Moore gets out of the water at the Hong Kong Yacht Club, that’s where I played.

Rick: What a great experience. So, it really opens up your mind when you travel around the world. You get a different perspective about our country.

Linwood Taylor: Oh, yeah, absolutely. You know there are some things that are really cool and you know that we could do better.

Rick: How does it differ now than when you first went into a studio to record?

Linwood Taylor: Well, I had a friend that had a home studio back in the ’70s, so I did that, but the first time I was in the studio I was in a band. And we were submitting, recording original music to DC 101 for the home tapes contest. We were actually runners up. We wound up going to a big-time studio in Philly, The Warehouse. But to me, it was just one of those things. I just play, you know? Since that time, I played on the H.R. solo album, he was the lead singer for the Bad Brains.

Yeah, I’ve got a consent by them somewhere. I guess they had broken up by this point. This is 1990 and the album came out called, Charge. I recorded in, like, 89, and the album came out in 1990. They misspelled my name, but I’m still there. I’m on Joe Louis Walker’s live album, Blues Conspiracies: Live On The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.

I’m actually on a cut (“It’s A Shame”) with Johnny Winter, so technically, I recorded with Johnny Winter. Joe Louis (Walker) introduced me to Johnny. I met Joe in 1989 at the Twist and Shout. I opened for them at the 8×10. Joe got me in as his guest for the Kennedy Center Honors for B.B. King!

Rick: Cool.

Linwood Taylor: So, I’m hanging out in the green room with everybody,. It was one of those things. I wanted to take pictures, and I realized, “No, you can’t take pictures.” And, I left my camera in the car. I just said, “You can’t take pictures because, if you take pictures, you don’t belong there.” By this time, I’d met Bonnie Raitt, Steve Martin, Steve Cropper. In fact, I was hanging with Steve Cropper because this was the second time I’d met him. Ed Bradley, Walter Cronkite, Lou Gossett, Jr., Bill Clinton. It was all there, man, it was a total happening.

Rick: I interviewed Cropper a while ago and saw him with Booker T. and The MG’s decades ago.

Linwood Taylor: Which was my favorite band until the Jimi Hendrix Experience came out. They actually had a lot of hits, “Time is Tight,” “Hip Hugger,” “Soul Limbo”. I’m sure a lot of people don’t know that. On Albert King’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” that was Booker T. and The MG’S backing him up.

Rick: I didn’t know that. Cool.

Linwood Taylor: Oh yeah, Booker T and almost everybody at Stax, Booker T. and the MGs backed them up.

Rick: They were kind of the session players for Stax, right?

Linwood Taylor: Yeah. They were the house band, pretty much.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rick: What projects are you working on now?

Linwood Taylor: I’m getting ready, preparing to do some touring next year with the woman, Geminii Dragon, and her husband. They just released an album, Midnight Movin’ and Groovin’, Featuring Linwood Taylor. They have some physical copies, but mostly it’s gonna be on Bandcamp. It’s better than Spotify. People are pulling their stuff off Spotify. Between the guy being kind of right wing and the pay rate. If you want to support an artist, buy the physical copy of the album. Two or three purchases of the physical copy get more than you’ll get for 20,000 streams of a particular song.

Rick: That’s right. They pay about, I think it’s, like.003 cents.

Linwood Taylor: Yeah. This is ridiculous.

Rick: Incredible. And the songwriters don’t get hardly anything.

Linwood Taylor: The technology got ahead of their business. And unfortunately now it’s gonna be next to impossible to get ahead of the laws with the advent of artificial intelligence, that’s even making things worse. People are being recreated, and it’s not even them.

Rick: Yeah, and that may occur in some other countries, so you don’t have much access to sue anybody.

Linwood Taylor: Exactly. I mean, it’s always been kind of a rip-off, and everyone got ripped off. And you just kind of tough it out. You kept working, and hopefully you retained your fame so that down the road, when you had the money to hire a good attorney and sue them to get some back royalties.

Rick: Follow the money.

Linwood Taylor: Well, look, you know Sly Stone? He got, like, $5 million, like, 20 years ago. For all the music that they were making in the late ’60s and so forth, you know? Sly, partially it was his own fault. But at the same time he got ripped off badly, and I think that hurt him too.

Rick: Oh, yeah, yeah, he had some hard times. I think at some time… at one point, he was sleeping in his car.

Linwood Taylor:  Joe Louis and his original bass player, they’re all from the Bay Area. They knew Sly. I spoke to Henry, he said, “Yeah, man, I passed him walking on the street, said, “Hey, man, what’s up? He says, ‘Hey, Sylvester, what’s up, man?’ And he said, “Sly kept on walking.” And then he turned… Sly turned around and said, “Hey, man, I’m sorry, I can’t do you that way, you know?” But it was like, they know.

Rick: Yeah, yeah, what a shame, what a shame. Tell me about some of your most favorite times that you’ve had on stage, like stand-up performances, or when something funny happened, uh, or something you weren’t expecting.

Linwood Taylor: For me to hit all the right notes. With one of them, when I played in the Blues Brothers for the Capitol’s 4th, so it was on national TV, right down on the Mall; that was pretty cool. I got to play, “Soul Man,” with Sam Moore. He was cool.

So, this is on national TV, right down here in the mall, and that was pretty cool. There’s a video of me where I’m playing with Ronnie Earle, he comes to sit with us up in Massachusetts. Joe is playing harmonica and Ronnie’s playing guitar through Joe’s amp and Ronnie’s on my guitar. The next day Joe comes to see me and goes, “Why did you cut Ronnie Earle?”

I’m like, “What are you talking about?” And he said,” Man, you totally cut him!”

I said, “No I didn’t!” And in my mind, I’m not cutting anyone, I’m just playing. And it’s like, “Okay, he did that. I have to do something different!” So I did something different. I mean, appropriate, but…you know, I don’t think like that; cut throat in a competitive way. I think in a creative way. And it’s like, “Okay, he’s done that, I need to do this.”

Rick: Well, and you’re playing for the audience.

Linwood Taylor: Right.

Rick: You know, you gotta get away from the competition idea; we should be collaborating with each other, and I think that what you did was fine, so…and appropriate, you want to give the audience your best.

Linwood Taylor: Well, but the thing is this, Joe said that to me. And I showed my buddy a while later, and he goes, “Yeah, dude, you totally cut him.” I mean, everyone I’ve showed that video to on YouTube, it’s like, “eah, you totally cut him, man.” He said, “When he turns around and starts fiddling with his amp, when you start playing, that’s like you cut him.”  I said, “Really?” And I said, “Oops, sorry!”

Rick: What are you most proud of? You’re looking over your music career, what are you most proud of, how you’ve handled the changes in music, new technologies, experiences? Maybe how you’ve handled, like most of us, dry spells. You’ve reached a plateau, and you’ve got to kind of reinvent yourself somehow.

Linwood Taylor

Linwood Taylor: I will say this, I have been fortunate that whenever I’ve reached the plateau, something out of the blue came my way and elevated me, is the only way I could say it. I keep plugging along, and I keep trying to get better, and sometimes it’s a matter of playing with some different people, or playing with some people who think in a different way than some of the people you play with.

Sometimes I have to readjust my thinking, and I’m saying this as it’s coming out of my mouth, and what I’m thinking it’s like you have to go for and recognize an opportunity that comes your way. You know, like all of us, we’re human. Set in our ways, this and that, but then I realized, you gotta open yourself up to something when it comes your way, because if you’re out there and you’re good, and you’re open enough, things will come your way.

And when you’re unique enough sometimes things will come your way because this is a copycat business, and when you’re are really unique you’re gonna be turned down a bazillion times, until where somebody gets it,. And all of the greats have been turned down. I mean, you think about The Beatles, they got turned down by five different record companies, including the one that signed them, they got turned down twice by them, Decca Records turned him down, then Capitol picked them up, and they just…

Rick: Took off at that point.

Linwood Taylor: Yeah. Well, a lot of people got turned down, multiple times. For whatever reason. Even Prince got turned down, but then he managed to get Warner Brothers to let him produce his own thing at first. Right from the jump, as a teenager.

Rick: That’s amazing. So, what else do you play besides guitar and dobro?

Linwood Taylor: The radio.

Rick: We’ll leave it at that. So, let’s say you’re with a band and you like each other, you mentioned opportunities. When you’re offered an opportunity to go somewhere else, how do you manage the loyalty aspect of leaving friends and going off to some project where you have the dynamic of where you feel, “I’ll stick with these guys. I won’t go for the opportunity, even though it might be better?”

Linwood Taylor: I’m getting more money on this gig.

Rick: Well, I guess we all understand that, so…

Linwood Taylor: If they don’t, too bad. You’re in the wrong business. Everyone I know who has been elevated at some point, if they’re able, they sometimes you just gotta realize you might just be better.

Rick: Yeah, well, that’s true too.

Linwood Taylor: And that’s why you’re being elevated. You know, or maybe you put yourself out there. Which is, frankly, something I have done for my entire career, if you will. If some blues guy was coming to town and I wasn’t working, I would go see them. I’d meet them and say, “Hello.” And I was always very polite and respectful. And eventually, I wound up playing with 80% of them. That’s how… and I would learn something. That’s how I elevate. Bait myself. Even to this day, I still play that game. That’s how Ron Holloway (saxophone) and I met. And I said, “Man, so how’d you get that gig with Dizzy (Gillespie)?” Well, it turns out his plan was my plan.

That’s how I played with Joe Louis Walker, that’s how I played with Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Johnny Rawls. It’s just… I just go and see them and say, “Hey, how’s it going, man?”

Rick: At what point in your career did you decide or did you always want to be a guitar player, a musician, or was there some other alternative path that you could have, where you vectored off to become a musician rather than being a doctor or something.

Linwood Taylor: Basically, I always wanted to be a musician. I always wanted to be a guitarist. But, I went to school for business and accounting. I transferred to a different school and was told bad information. My credits wouldn’t transfer, so I went fro being one class away from being a junior to starting all over again. It took the wind out of my academic sails. And even doing that, I made a couple of friends, and I played down in North Carolina. I worked at that profession that I studied for a friend of mine’s parents’ company. But then, when corporate took over. I went over to Coca-Cola for 9 months and said, “This sucks. I can’t… I can’t see myself…I don’t want to be an old man and go, I wish I tried.” This is right before I turned 28. I just I quit and never looked back.

Rick: Was that a hard decision?

Linwood Taylor: I come from a pretty conservative family, they really didn’t understand me. But fortunately, they let me be. You know, my neighbor, who is a world-class, keyboard player, he said, “I used to hear you practicing your stuff out the window.” And I was being an obnoxious kid. I had a 100-watt Marshall, and I’m blasting with the windows open.

Rick: That’ll shatter windows.

Linwood Taylor: Oh, and of course, I’m blasting stuff that was not typically heard in this neighborhood. It wasn’t James Brown, it was Jimi Hendrix. My neighbor,  Herb of Peaches and Herb. I knew him when he was a singer the first time, and then when he became a police officer. And then, he had the resurgence when they reunited with the the shake and groove thing and all that. And then we opened for Funkadelic for homecoming and this is before Parliament had their big hit, Mothership Connection (1975). They had one, get off your ass and jam.

Rick: Yeah, do you ever regret not going to places that you wish you’d gone to when you were younger?

Linwood Taylor: No, I don’t have that issue. I went everywhere that I could. Basically, I’ve went to clubs in D.C. since I was 16 years old with a fake ID.

Rick: What are you looking forward to in 2026?

Linwood Taylor: Hopefully, hopefully making it out alive! Making it make it to my next birthday!

Linwood Taylor

Rick: How about any shout outs to people who’ve helped you, pushed your career along, or motivated you, or inspired you to move forward with your career and your life, I guess?

Linwood Taylor: Well, I mean, Joe Louis Walker, for one, he really got me out of D.C..  I really started traveling with him. I got introduced. He was always the big bit of a prankster. In that, when he introduced me to famous people, this is Bob Dylan’s favorite guitar player.

Rick: That’s great.

Linwood Taylor: Because he knew I met Bob. My friend Cesar Diaz and I both met Bob together at the old Twist and Shout.

Rick: Was Bob playing?

Linwood Taylor: No, ee all were there to see the Sun Rhythm section. Paul Burleson, who was from the Johnny Burnette’s rock and roll trio, DJ Fontana, you know, all the guys who backed up Elvis during the sun sessions, we were there to see them and Bob was in town playing at RFK Stadium, he was doing a split bill with the Grateful Dead. But at the time, Bob Dylan’s backup band, get this…Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Rick: Really? I didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool. Was Scotty Moore there with the Sun group?

Linwood Taylor: No, he wasn’t there, but I met Scotty Moore at the Gibson factory in Nashville.

Rick: Okay, I met him just outside of Nashville at his house. He had his own home studio.

Linwood Taylor: And Scotty played on one of Joe Louis’s albums, and in fact, Joe had The Jordanaires singing backup on his album, and that was the second time I met Scotty, because I’d met Scotty about six years earlier in Memphis. We had dinner together. Basically, we were backstage at a theater in Memphis. I was sitting at a table. He and his wife came and sat down with me, so that was pretty cool.

Rick: Yeah, talk about a legend.

Linwood Taylor: Oh, absolutely!

Rick: When I… when I talk to him he said when he first saw Elvis come into the studio, he said, he thought to himself. “That’s the prettiest man I’ve ever seen.”

Linwood Taylor: Oh, jeez!

Rick: Do you have anything coming out, like an album or anything that you’d like to talk about?

Linwood Taylor: I’m still talking about Two Sides, I’m still pushing that one. As I say, I have some things noodling…noodling around in my head as to what I want to play coming up and how I’m going to approach it.

Right now, I’m gonna concentrate on the GeminiiDragon thing. They want me to do another album. I’m more than game. I’m just working on some things, trying to come up with some different song ideas that I’m gonna use.

BONUS VIDEO!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Nick Loss-Eaton PR

Jad Tariq

Precious Company slated for September release Memphis-based guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Jad Tariq made an unforgettable first impression in early 2025 with his debut release, Jad Tariq Sings.

Effortlessly blending feel-good swing with the raw emotional power of the blues, the album quickly captured the attention of audiences and critics alike.

As one reviewer observed, “Jad Tariq leaves no doubt that he has arrived, and that we will be enjoying his artistry for years to come.”

That prediction has proven remarkably accurate. For his highly anticipated sophomore release, Precious Company, Tariq has crafted ten compelling original songs that showcase both his growth as a songwriter and his musical maturity.

Throughout the album, Tariq delivers his well-crafted lyrics and melodies with a rich tone, and his electric guitar dazzles as his playing moves between intimacy and intensity. Backed by some of Memphis’ finest players, Precious Company captures an artist fully stepping into his own, delivering a sound that is both timeless and unmistakably original.

Originally from Trumbull, Connecticut, Tariq began performing professionally at just twelve years old, honing his craft in bars and clubs throughout the tri-state area. At eighteen, he relocated to Memphis, immersing himself in the city’s rich blues tradition.

Since then, he has become a fixture on the Memphis musicscene, performing regularly with his own band while also serving as a sought-after sideman for many of the city’s most respected artists.

Jad has garnered national attention through collaborations with multiple Blues Music Award-winner, John Németh, renowned musician Tony Holiday, and legendary harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Most recently, he earned the prestigious honor of being invited to join Bob Dylan’s touring band for a series of dates. One writer noted: “His instant chemistry with his new bandmates rendered a familiar setlist into something novel and exhilarating. It was easily one of the best Dylan shows I’ve seen over the last 20 years” – fitting praise for one of the most exciting young artists to emerge from today’s blues scene.

“It’s a blessing to see such a talented young artist establish himself and flourish in such a short time,” says MoMojo label manager Debra Clark. “Jad is the complete package. His musicianship speaks for itself, but what impresses me just as much is his professional-ism, humility, and work ethic. Those qualities have earned him the respect of everyone around him and are the basis for what I believe will be a long and remarkable career.”

Jad adds, “I’m so excited to share these 10 new tunes with you all! We recorded these tunes live in my living room studio right here in Memphis. The songs are raw and honest, and I hope you enjoy listening to this record as much as I enjoyed making it!”

Pre-orders will begin August 21; two singles will be released (August 21, September 4) prior to the release date of September 18, 2026.

Source: SKH Music

One of the world’s most captivating guitarists, Yngwie Malmsteen has announced his new studio album, Hell or High Water, which will be released on November 13 via Music Theories Recordings / Artone Label Group. To whet your appetite, he has also revealed the first single from the album, ‘Now or Never,’ which you can listen to HERE.

When we think of the greatest guitar players of all-time, specifically the crème de la crème musicians who invented a whole new style and sound on the instrument, Yngwie J. Malmsteen is a name that sits comfortably alongside game-changers like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Edward Van Halen.

The nine tracks that make up his latest triumph were crafted meticulously and purposefully, away from the distractions that stall the creative process in the modern age. This is something he first tried with 2021’s Parabellum – mainly because of the state of the world at that time – and the results were so strong, he decided to stick with this as his modus operandi moving forward.

Pre-Order/Stream HERE.

“When I started making records, I would just take the songs I had lying around,” he admits. “Later on, I fell into a schedule – make a record, tour the record and then write the next record. Over the pandemic, I realised it was better to focus completely uninterrupted, so I stayed at home to write this album over the course of eight months. I had around 80 or 90 tracks finished, and then I had to decide which ones were the strongest.”

For a man born with a gift to conjure up overtures “out of nowhere”, the science behind writing a song is something that’s hard to explain. But, in any case, he’s grateful for the abundance of gold-standard ideas that do arrive – the kind that would take other musicians months or even years to realise into actuality. For Yngwie J. Malmsteen, this is simply what he was born to do.

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“Even without a guitar in my hands, the music just comes to me,” he reasons. “It’s like that movie Amadeus. Mozart was getting music given to him in complete form. I understand the building blocks and can therefore build you anything you like. If you asked me to write you a death metal song, call me back in five minutes, and I’d have it ready for you. You want country and western or reggae? No problem. I can give you whatever you want. The language of music is simple. There are certain notes that belong together in whatever stylistic direction and sound pleasant to the ear. The ideas don’t come all the time, but when they do, it’s like an avalanche. The pieces I choose for my records are like gifts that I capture because they amaze me. I’m very lucky in that sense.”

Lead single ‘Now Or Never’ is a perfect storm of palm-muted riffing, baroque counterpart melodies, soaring vocals and mind-blowing dexterity. If you’re looking for Yngwie in a nutshell, this is very much it, and similar things could be said of the second track and instrumental pièce de résistance ‘Am Caprice/Hell Or High Water.’

‘(On The) Battlefield’ and ‘Eye For An Eye’ feature some of the singer/guitarist’s strongest vocal performances to date, alongside the stunning instrumentals ‘Antikythera’ and ‘Beyond Zeta Reticuli’ – which were both named after important scientific breakthroughs and discoveries.

Hell Or High Water is an album that’s bursting with emotion from all corners, but the closing track ‘Father’ is undoubtedly the most spirited of them all, written in tribute to the guitar legend’s dad, who passed away last year.

“He was an amazing man,” remembers Yngwie. “I was proud to have him as a father, and I loved him. I wanted to dedicate all of this to him, and that one particular track is for him. I wanted others to feel what I felt when they hear it. Nicola Paganini once said, ‘One must feel strongly in order to make others feel strongly’. It’s one thing to be a typewriter and another thing to be someone who writes stories that can touch people. That was always the point.”

All these years on, Yngwie J. Malmsteen looks and sounds more determined than ever. If the music feels good to him, that’s enough – anyone else liking it is a bonus. And this is precisely the creative fortitude and single-mindedness that turned him into a household name among the guitar community. There is no such thing as half measures or compromise in his world. Here is an artist who will be forever bound to authenticity and creative honesty.

Tour Dates

Tickets available HERE

September 4 – Beijing, China @ East Third Live House

September 6 – Shanghai, China @ Phase Live House

September 11 – Tokyo, Japan @ Toyosu Pit

September 13 – Yokohama, Japan @ Pacifico Yokohama

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Source: Hello Wendy PR

Bruce Cockburn – Image by Daniel Keebler

The album gathers material written by others, tracing a musical lineage that stretches from the gospel and blues records he heard as a child in Ottawa to the folk clubs and coffeehouses where he first found his voice. “What began back in the eighties as a vague notion grew over time into a strong desire to put together a collection of material, written by others, that I found sticking to the edges of my musical landscape,” Cockburn explains. “The accumulation of these songs started in the sixties, before I’d even begun to try to create my own.”

The album’s title comes from an unexpected literary source, Simone de Beauvoir’s novel of the same name, written during the Nazi occupation of France.  “Among other things it deals with personal responsibility in the face of scary oppression, and the kinds of choices people make,” he says. “I have borrowed the title because it seems perfect for an album of songs I didn’t write.”

The Blood of Others opens with “Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down,” a Robert Wilkins gospel number Cockburn first encountered on an early ‘70s compilation. “Wilkins’ powerful bottle neck guitar and passionate singing made this conversation with God instantly memorable,” he says, noting he reworked the arrangement using the angular harmonies of his DADGAD tuning. From there, the album moves into “As Time Goes By,” the Herman Hupfeld standard forever tied to the Casablanca film. “Who doesn’t love the scene in Casablanca in which Dooley Wilson plays this song, Ingrid Bergman at his side?” Cockburn says. “I thought I should include the original preamble, which gives the familiar part of the song a context, but it seemed to want an update. Hopefully Herman approves.”

The album also traces Cockburn’s early fascination with jazz and ragtime through “Buddy Bolden’s Blues,” a song he learned not from a record but from a book. “My friends were singing country blues and old timey music,” he recalls. “I was drawn to the somewhat more sophisticated style of ragtime and early jazz.”  That thread continues on “You Belong to Me,” a song Jo Stafford’s voice carried into his childhood home. “Jo Stafford’s gorgeously true voice was all over the radio with this when I was five,” Cockburn says. “The geographical references were exciting, awakening the travel bug in me years before “On the Road” lit a fire under it.”

Elvis Presley’s influence looms large on The Blood of Others as well, most directly on “That’s Alright.” “Elvis Presley hit the radio in Ottawa right when I was hitting adolescence,” Cockburn says. “He was captivatingly charismatic of course, but the guitar. Scotty Moore’s leads, by turns raucous and tender, bred a burning desire to play the instrument.” Cockburn notes his own version leans closer to Arthur Crudup’s original recording than to Presley’s.

A hometown connection surfaces on “Four Strong Winds,” the youngest song on the record. Cockburn credits Le Hibou, the Ottawa coffeehouse he calls his spiritual home, for introducing him to the song’s writers, Ian and Sylvia, who played the venue regularly through the sixties. “We were all very excited when their song showed up on the radio,” he says.

The album’s emotional core runs through several songs tied to formative personal memories. “God Bless the Child,” the Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog standard, dates back to a record Cockburn bought with his Sunday collection money as a teen. “A couple of years later I got to hear Billie Holiday’s original version,” he says. “Theologically a bit off base, but a deeply moving expression of disappointment with the human species.” “Louis Collins,” the Mississippi John Hurt classic, arrived through an afternoon Cockburn still remembers in vivid detail. “Barbie Luther invited me to her parents’ house to listen to music,” he recalls. “She opened a bottle of Mateus wine and put on Mississippi John Hurt’s rediscovery album. I was blown away by the sweetness, the idiosyncratic phrasing and the way he put voice and fingerpicked guitar together.”

Cockburn also revisits “Yellow Dog Blues,” a song he first heard on a Bessie Smith collection as a youth boy. “Right away I fell in love with the lyrics,” he says, tracing the song’s origins to WC Handy’s time in Clarksdale, Mississippi. “Fare Thee Well” carries its own full circle story, one that connects Cockburn’s earliest musical memories to a career highlight decades later. “It came back to mind when I got to perform it with the McGarrigle sisters at Pete Seeger’s ninetieth birthday event in NYC,” he says.

Few songs on the record carry the personal resonance of “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Cockburn describes hearing a version on the radio in the nineties, in the aftermath of what he calls “a brief but heart opening relationship,” and mishearing a lyric that reshaped how he understood the song. “I thought that version ended with the line, I’ll be looking at someone, but I’ll be seeing you,” he says. “That’s not in the original lyrics. They only refer to the moon, but it hit me in a powerful way.” That memory led him to give the song a rhythmic treatment inspired by “I Only Have Eyes for You.”

The album also carries a story about the road not taken. Cockburn recounts a night in Ottawa when he and friends dressed up to see blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson, whose 1964 Paris recordings had captivated him years earlier, and requested “Laplegged Drunk Again” from the stage. “He shook his head and smiled, and said, Oh, I can’t play that song in a place like this,” Cockburn remembers. The record closes out its story arc with “One for My Baby,” a Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen standard Cockburn traces to Frank Sinatra’s 1958 recording, “Les Feuilles Mortes,” the French original of “Autumn Leaves” that Cockburn discovered through the poetry of Jacques Prévert, and “Peace in the Valley,” a Thomas A. Dorsey gospel song Cockburn first heard through Elvis Presley.

The Blood of Others marks Cockburn’s 39th album, a milestone that speaks to the remarkable consistency of a career that began in 1970. Along the way, he has earned 13 Juno Awards, been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, named an Officer of the Order of Canada, and awarded 9 Honorary Doctorates including the Berklee School of Music. His songs, including “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” “Wondering Where the Lions Are,” and “If I Had a Rocket Launcher,” remain touchstones of Canadian songwriting, covered by artists from the Barenaked Ladies to Jimmy Buffett to Jerry Garcia.

That legacy was still growing as recently as his previous studio release, O Sun O Moon, recorded in Nashville with longtime producer Colin Linden. “Time takes its toll, but in my soul I’m on a roll,” Cockburn sang on that album’s opening track, a line that could just as easily describe the restless curiosity behind The Blood of Others.  Speaking about his songwriting at the time, Cockburn put it simply: “I just don’t want to ever keep doing the same thing.” With this new record, he proves that philosophy extends even to the songs he didn’t write himself, each one chosen and reshaped with the same care and instinct that has defined his catalogue since 1970.

Cockburn will bring these songs to audiences across North America on an extensive run of tour dates.

TOUR DATES:

Aug 7 — Los Angeles, CA — Ford Theatre **

Aug 26 — Iowa City, IA — Englert Theatre **

Aug 27 — Des Moines, IA — Hoyt Sherman Place **

Sep 8 — Omaha, NE — Astro Theater **

Sep 9 — Lawrence, KS — Liberty Hall **

Oct 3 — Eugene, OR — McDonald Theatre **

Oct 15 — Kitchener, ON — Centre in the Square

Oct 16 — Ottawa, ON — National Arts Centre

Oct 17 — Toronto, ON — Massey Hall

Oct 18 — Montréal, QC — Gesù Salle

Oct 20 — Plymouth, NH — Flying Monkey&

Oct 21 — Portland, ME — State Theatre&

Oct 23 — Boston, MA — Chevalier Theatre&

Oct 24 — New York, NY — Town Hall&

Oct 25 — Philadelphia, PA — Keswick Theatre&

Oct 27 — Washington, DC — Warner Theatre&

Oct 29 — Durham, NC — Fletcher Hall&

Oct 30 — Charlotte, NC — Carolina Theatre&

Nov 1 — Nashville, TN — CMA Theatre&

Nov 2 — Knoxville, TN — Bijou Theatre&

Nov 4 — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse&

Nov 6 — Ponte Vedra, FL — Ponte Vedra Concert Hall&

Nov 7 — Fort Lauderdale, FL — Amaturo Theatre&

Nov 8 — Key West, FL — Key West Theatre&

** With Judy Collins

& With Livingston Taylor