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Jan 9, 2025 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
Five of the tunes, including the opening “Devil in the Room” (which pays homage to the Hill Country blues) finds Ellis coaxing a slide across the strings of a ’37 National Style O. He also employs the resonator on a gritty reading of Son House’s “Death Letter Blues” and shifts gears on a faithful cover of the Leo Kottke instrumental “A Soldier’s Grave on the Prairie.”A ’69 Martin D-35 (with Brazilian rosewood) is a six-string co-headliner.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
desparrow.com | Sean McDevitt
A reflection on the disillusionment with social media platforms that once promised connection but now deliver frustration. I’m so very tired. Social media was fun a decade or two ago. I joined Twitter a year after its inception in 2007, created a Facebook profile in 2008, and even had a Tumblr when that was an online thing. Social media used to be social.
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Aug 6, 2024 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
That isn’t to say Martin has anything against tradition. Heavily influenced by the blues-rock of fellow Irishman Rory Gallagher as well as Roy Buchanan, Martin is more than adept with an electric guitar in hand.
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Jun 22, 2024 | 
seanmcdevitt.medium.com | Sean McDevitt
I have so many notebooks filled with nothing. I have a fear of messing them up, so they sit there blank. When I eliminate the fear to start creating and crank up the belief that something's gonna show up, it's way more likely to happen. It's almost like I'm manifesting what I want by the sheer act of creating.
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May 13, 2024 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
While Redding’s voice will always be the star of the show, this set is also a deep dive into soul guitar, courtesy of the genre’s primary architect.
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Apr 24, 2024 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
Upon its release, Strike Like Lightning underscored the fact that Mack hadn’t declined musically – the staggering power and speed that were hallmarks of his early-’60s instrumentals like “Memphis” and “Chicken Pickin’” were still intact. Also making the release noteworthy was Mack’s co-producer – Stevie Ray Vaughan – who guests throughout.
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Mar 20, 2024 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
Where many musicians have longed to be a lead vocalist or six-string hotshot, Anderson has traveled a different road, assuming the role of the guy who wants to improve things. This book distills four-plus decades of insight, dispensing wisdom for musicians across the spectrum, from home-studio creator to major-label hotshot. But this isn’t a garden-variety tutorial, heavy on technology. Rather, Anderson’s accessible literary approach is best summarized by a key word found in the title: philosophy.
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Feb 8, 2024 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
The opening title track, a straightforward rocker with an urgent solo, serves as a prelude to an album’s worth of excellent guitar work. “Justifyin’,” a driving Buddy Guy cover, continues the trend, packing intensity and fury.
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Oct 30, 2023 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
The son of studio owner and longtime Delbert McClinton bandleader Kevin McKendree (who provides piano and organ throughout), the younger McKendree exhibits a guitar prowess that belies his age here, from a faithful reading of the 1956 B.B. King B-side “Ruby Lee” to the minor-key original “Wise,” which evokes the master’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” Some of the most-satisfying excursions come when McKendree (see interview in this month’s “First Fret”) takes on slow blues; “No Justice” tastefully...
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Oct 30, 2023 | 
vintageguitar.com | Sean McDevitt
That residency in January and early February of 1997 resulted in a deep, often-spontaneous exploration of the band’s musical roots, with covers comprising a majority of the 58 cuts, and underscoring the shows’ freewheeling spirit.
