Guitar Awesomeness!

tommyinla said:
Do any of you people actually PLAY the guitar? Is that why so few here can appreciate great guitar playing?
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I've been playing guitar for ... what is it now.... 15 years? I played big band jazz, funk, metal, punk, in a house band, in a theatre production, in a prog-rock act and finally worked as a studio musician for a number of different artists - from cheezy pop to black metal. I quit my studio musicianship because I couldn't stand having to play other people's crap and all the "competition" between me as a hired hand and the band's permanent guitarists. WAAAAAY too much testosterone.

So, from a guitar player perspective I'd say I have the right foundation to speak of "awesomeness":

Frank Zappa - there is none greater. Massively misunderstood and under appreciated there has been no one like him before or since. He actually hired Steve Vai to write down his music as he was playing it because no one else could figure it out. Vai - often credited as "impossible guitars" in the album jacket - said playing with Zappa was immensely challenging because he would always surpass him at everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ORGWfJiTI&mode=related&search=

Guitar masturbators - yes, that's what a lot of these guys have turned into. Vai, Satriani and Malmsteen especially. They've moved so far beyond musicianship and into technical performance it's become more of a narcissistic sport than anything else. A famous jazz musician I worked with years ago said that technique doesn't matter if you don't feel it. He also said you need pauses - a steady stream of tones is just that - a steady stream of notes. That's not music. I'm afraid the majority of the masturbators are so far out they are beyond enjoyability. Their fanbase consists almost exclusively of other guitarists that wish they would be allowed to masturbate in front of a crowd but lack the "skills" and bad judgement to do so. I actually left the Vai/Satriani/Malmsteen show in Vancouver because I couldn't stand watching their self centered posing.

Stunt musicians - like the guy that taps his guitar and makes rhythms while he plays. These things are great in small doses but become quite annoying after a while because there is only so much you can do. They tend to overspecialize in one particular field making them unpalatable to the large masses. These guys are often revered by guitarists but seldom move beyond the informationsuperautobahn. And if they do they experience short lived fame before being forgotten completely. You'll find them playing at piers for handouts.

Webcam performers - these guys (usually asian geeks with WAY too much time on their hands) have mad skills but zero performance ability. They would probably be excellent studio musicians but I don't think they'd ever be able to perform on a stage. The transition from bedroom to a stage with a crowd is quite jarring. The webcam performers sadly try to emulate the masturbators and often become bad copies whose only audience is their own mirror image.

Stage performers - Most stage performers come in these two categories:
  • The ones that have skills, know it and are narcissistic enough to believe the rest of the world should have to pay to see them perform.
  • The ones that have various degrees of skill coupled with either a disdain for other people, a genuine desire to perform or complete lack of judgement. These are usually more enjoyable to watch but are less talented than the above.
There is a third exclusive group consisting of people who are so submerged in the music that they don't even seem to be aware of their fans. They are almost always the most enjoyable to watch but also the most tormented musicians alive. Think Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Eric Clapton.

But like I said, if you are going for awesomeness, there is only one name in my book and that name is Frank Zappa. He was in it for the music and ONLY the music, had skills beyond the achievable, had an understanding of music to be envied by anyone and nursed a complete and utter disrespect for anyone not willing to commit 100% to their art. I wish I had seen him live but sadly my discovery of his genius happened many years after his death.

mor10
 
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morten said:
I've been playing guitar for ... what is it now.... 15 years? I played big band jazz, funk, metal, punk, in a house band, in a theatre production, in a prog-rock act and finally worked as a studio musician for a number of different artists - from cheezy pop to black metal. I quit my studio musicianship because I couldn't stand having to play other people's crap and all the "competition" between me as a hired hand and the band's permanent guitarists. WAAAAAY too much testosterone.

So, from a guitar player perspective I'd say I have the right foundation to speak of "awesomeness":

Frank Zappa - there is none greater. Massively misunderstood and under appreciated there has been no one like him before or since. He actually hired Steve Vai to write down his music as he was playing it because no one else could figure it out. Vai - often credited as "impossible guitars" in the album jacket - said playing with Zappa was immensely challenging because he would always surpass him at everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ORGWfJiTI&mode=related&search=

Guitar masturbators - yes, that's what a lot of these guys have turned into. Vai, Satriani and Malmsteen especially. They've moved so far beyond musicianship and into technical performance it's become more of a narcissistic sport than anything else. A famous jazz musician I worked with years ago said that technique doesn't matter if you don't feel it. He also said you need pauses - a steady stream of tones is just that - a steady stream of notes. That's not music. I'm afraid the majority of the masturbators are so far out they are beyond enjoyability. Their fanbase consists almost exclusively of other guitarists that wish they would be allowed to masturbate in front of a crowd but lack the "skills" and bad judgement to do so. I actually left the Vai/Satriani/Malmsteen show in Vancouver because I couldn't stand watching their self centered posing.

Stunt musicians - like the guy that taps his guitar and makes rhythms while he plays. These things are great in small doses but become quite annoying after a while because there is only so much you can do. They tend to overspecialize in one particular field making them unpalatable to the large masses. These guys are often revered by guitarists but seldom move beyond the informationsuperautobahn. And if they do they experience short lived fame before being forgotten completely. You'll find them playing at piers for handouts.

Webcam performers - these guys (usually asian geeks with WAY too much time on their hands) have mad skills but zero performance ability. They would probably be excellent studio musicians but I don't think they'd ever be able to perform on a stage. The transition from bedroom to a stage with a crowd is quite jarring. The webcam performers sadly try to emulate the masturbators and often become bad copies whose only audience is their own mirror image.

Stage performers - Most stage performers come in these two categories:
  • The ones that have skills, know it and are narcissistic enough to believe the rest of the world should have to pay to see them perform.
  • The ones that have various degrees of skill coupled with either a disdain for other people, a genuine desire to perform or complete lack of judgement. These are usually more enjoyable to watch but are less talented than the above.
There is a third exclusive group consisting of people who are so submerged in the music that they don't even seem to be aware of their fans. They are almost always the most enjoyable to watch but also the most tormented musicians alive. Think Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Eric Clapton.

But like I said, if you are going for awesomeness, there is only one name in my book and that name is Frank Zappa. He was in it for the music and ONLY the music, had skills beyond the achievable, had an understanding of music to be envied by anyone and nursed a complete and utter disrespect for anyone not willing to commit 100% to their art. I wish I had seen him live but sadly my discovery of his genius happened many years after his death.

mor10
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Wow, thanks for the Zappa link. That put a smile on my face. :)

Zappa is arguably the greatest musicians of the past century. He's even up there with the Bach's and Beethoven's. Watching that guy - it's just like pure stream of consciousness - like he's not even thinking of what he's playing, it just comes out of him - like there's not even the technical limitations from the instrument that are even interfering with the art. :)

I saw a clip with Zappa on the Letterman show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRhZPqQ66L0

It's where Frank was doing the Broadway musical. :)

I'm not 100% with your "masturbators" label on some of them. Vai is certainly a viable musician:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1VjwciFLAg

Satriani is a good musician as well.

Some of the guitarists, like Malmsteen lack heart and there are a myriad of others that do also.
 
tommyinla said:
Watching that guy - it's just like pure stream of consciousness - like he's not even thinking of what he's playing, it just comes out of him - like there's not even the technical limitations from the instrument that are even interfering with the art. :)
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That's why I like Hendrix so much, the music just flows out of him.
 
Yeah I agree about Hendrix. With him the guitar doesnt seem so much like a guitar as it does an extension of his body. Everything he plays feels like its pouring directly out of his soul.

...And I dig your breakdown of different guitarist styles Morten. The guitar masturbators just annoy me.
 
John_Hudson said:
It isn't about someone's ability to run through scales and licks.

It's about feel.

(I'm intermediate at best playing guitar as of the mid 1990's. These day's, I barely touch one.)
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Awesome post, my man. I concur. :thumbsup:

I just listened to the last 50 seconds of Sultans of Swing and Mark Knopfler just peels that Strat a new arse.
 
tmnt said:
That's why I like Hendrix so much, the music just flows out of him.
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Its all about soul my friend :)

Id rather listen to a soulfull player than one that is all technique with no soul to give.

The Band of Gypsys Hendrix by far the best.
 
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