I miss the lead guitar in rock.

Sure, it still exists in name — and can be found on display in various prehistoric settings — but its true spirit seemingly left the building around the time Slash parted ways with Guns N’ Roses.

I long for the finely tuned 12-second solo, the kind that seemed to sew together half of the rock songs on the radio in the ’70s and ’80s.

Most of all, I want a new generation of ax men (and women) who are every bit as sharp as Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera and Concrete Blonde’s James Mankey, to name just three of my favorites.

Those kinds of players are still out there, says Brad Wilson, but you probably won’t find them playing mainstream rock.

“If you want to see the strings bent — that emotional lead guitar playing — it’s really moved to the blues,” says the SoCal blues-rocker.

Wilson is indeed one of those guys. The former Redwood City resident is an ace guitarist who’s not shy about honoring such influences as B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Gary Moore in his own six-string approach. He’s also a pretty solid songwriter, one who draws inspiration from country music icons like Hank Williams Jr. and pop-rock-country tune-crafting masters such as Jimmy Buffett.

He’s definitely not a blues traditionalist, nor does he pretend to be. He labels his music “blues rock,” with equal emphasis on both words.

“I do want people to know that I’m coming from a heavy

rock background,” he says. “And I’m proud of it.”

Wilson has been busy in the studio working on a new album and has a couple of new singles available to download on his website (www.bradwilsonlive.com), but he never stays off the road for long. He plays some 150 gigs per year.

He’ll return to his old Bay Area stamping grounds to perform a Fat Tuesday-themed concert at 9 p.m. Friday at Bluz By You, 1240 Coleman Ave., Santa Clara. Admission is free (408-588-1111, www.bluzbyyou.net). If you can’t make this gig, plan to check out Wilson on June 21 at San Francisco’s Biscuits and Blues (415-292-2583, www.biscuitsandblues.com).

Oh, and one last thing for those folks (like me) who still miss those epic lead guitar solos in contemporary rock music: Wilson believes those days are not gone for good.

“I do think that young people will, at some point, start playing the big licks and bending the strings again,” he says.

Can’t wait.

STILL ‘WILD’: Garland Jeffreys has long been an important part of the New York groove.

The Brooklyn native, who incorporates elements of reggae, rock, soul and blues into his music, began playing the Greenwich Village hot spots Gerde’s Folk City and the Bitter End in the mid-’60s. Not long after that, he became friendly with the Velvet Underground, eventually adding guitar and one composition (“Fairweather Friend”) to John Cale’s solo debut, 1970′s “Vintage Violence.”

Jeffreys’ eponymous debut came out on Atlantic Records in 1973, but it was the nonalbum single, “Wild in the Streets,” which generated the most attention.

That tune, featuring Dr. John on clavinet, went on to become a skateboarder anthem.

His latest work is “The King of In Between,” Jeffreys’ first stateside release in more than a decade. He’ll support the work, which draws heavily from his childhood days spent at Coney Island, with a show at 9 p.m. Saturday at San Francisco’s Slim’s, 333 11th St. Tickets are $25 (415-255-0333, www.slimspresents.com).

Follow Jim Harrington at http://twitter.com/jimthecritic, www.facebook.com/jim.bayareanews and http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/category/concerts.