← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Snouter
Thread ID: 19130 | Posts: 28 | Started: 2005-07-13
2005-07-13 06:01 | User Profile
Here is [URL=http://www.kikkerfest.com/2005-05-01/concert-auto.html]Joe Satriani in Concert[/URL].
2005-07-14 03:36 | User Profile
Hey, thanks for posting this! That's awesome -- the whole show and everything.
Satriani can definitely rip up that fretboard. I still remember when I first heard Surfing With The Alien back in high school. He was terrific then, and he's even better now. I generally prefer darker and heavier music than this, but Satriani is always a thrill. Not only is he a technical wizard, his music is often a lot more interesting and less self-indulgent than that of a lot of other virtuoso instrumental guitar whizzes.
2005-07-17 04:21 | User Profile
You're welcome. Here are some clips from the G3 series. There is a cool clip of Steve Vai playing a triple neck guitar (12 string, 6 string, 6 string fretless).
[URL=http://epicrecords.com/g3/quicktime/]Steve Vai - Click "I know You're Here"[/URL]
2005-07-22 13:08 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Angler]Hey, thanks for posting this! That's awesome -- the whole show and everything. [/QUOTE]
Check this guy out:
[url]http://www.theodoreziras.com/video_clips.html[/url]
More good stuff: [url]http://www.guitar9.com/topsellersmonthneoclassicalmetal.html[/url]
2005-07-29 03:35 | User Profile
Tremendous sweep picking fluidity from the Greek there.
2005-07-29 13:24 | User Profile
[QUOTE=wild_bill]Check this guy out:
[url]http://www.theodoreziras.com/video_clips.html[/url]
More good stuff: [url]http://www.guitar9.com/topsellersmonthneoclassicalmetal.html[/url][/QUOTE] Outstanding! Thanks to you too, WB.
Sweep picking is something I've been working on for years. I've gotten it down to the point where it's pretty fluid -- when I'm playing in a music store, I'll draw little crowds and people will ask me how I learned to do it, etc. -- but I'm still nowhere near as good as people like that Ziras guy (whom I'm surprised I hadn't heard of before). Watching or listening to people who are that awesome can be alternately discouraging and inspiring!
2005-07-29 17:46 | User Profile
[QUOTE=N.B. Forrest]Tremendous sweep picking fluidity from the Greek there.[/QUOTE]
Take a look at this fellow, Matt Mills:
[url]http://markflagg04.home.comcast.net/mattvideo.htm[/url]
2005-07-29 17:53 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Angler]Outstanding! Thanks to you too, WB.
Sweep picking is something I've been working on for years. I've gotten it down to the point where it's pretty fluid -- when I'm playing in a music store, I'll draw little crowds and people will ask me how I learned to do it, etc. -- but I'm still nowhere near as good as people like that Ziras guy (whom I'm surprised I hadn't heard of before). Watching or listening to people who are that awesome can be alternately discouraging and inspiring![/QUOTE]
You're way ahead of me. I'm just getting started with sweep picking arpeggios. Actually, I tried to play years ago and dropped it when I had no time due to work and family responsibilities. Now I have some time and money to get some decent equipment and try to learn again.
I'm amazed at how cheap guitars are now. Twenty-five years ago $150 would get you a miserable piece of junk with a neck like a log. Now its possible to find very playable guitars for basically chump change.
2005-07-29 18:39 | User Profile
Back in the late 80's when this form of guitar playing was at it's peak and ubiquitous in every downtown and surburban rock bar/club around the country, I took a video lesson on sweep picking by Chick Corea Electric Band guitarist [B]Frank Gambale/B. I never mastered it, although I learned a thing or two. Nowadays, I'm lucky to remember my minor and major scales, although my tastes have changed to acoustic/folk/rock style and away from sweep picking leads.
I saw [B]Yngwie Malmsteen [/B]twice in NYC: Once with a group called Alcatrazz in 1985 and in 1990 at The Ritz opening for [B]Dio[/B]. The guy is simply mind-blowing. Never saw [B]Vai or Satriani [/B] (for one reason or another), but I used to love Vai's [B]"Passion and Warfare"[/B] album.
I think it's time to attend one of these G3 shows. Wasn't Eric Johson part of the G3 before Malmsteen?
2005-07-30 12:08 | User Profile
[QUOTE=xmetalhead]Back in the late 80's when this form of guitar playing was at it's peak and ubiquitous in every downtown and surburban rock bar/club around the country, I took a video lesson on sweep picking by Chick Corea Electric Band guitarist [B]Frank Gambale/B. I never mastered it, although I learned a thing or two. Nowadays, I'm lucky to remember my minor and major scales, although my tastes have changed to acoustic/folk/rock style and away from sweep picking leads.
They say the whole Grunge thing was a reaction against neo-classical metal. Many people got frustrated trying to become proficient at it, so they went for the chord slashing stuff or other genres.
I saw [B]Yngwie Malmsteen [/B]twice in NYC: Once with a group called Alcatrazz in 1985 and in 1990 at The Ritz opening for [B]Dio[/B]. The guy is simply mind-blowing. Never saw [B]Vai or Satriani [/B] (for one reason or another), but I used to love Vai's [B]"Passion and Warfare"[/B] album.
I like Yngwie's stuff. Now that he's off the sauce, he's playing better.
I think it's time to attend one of these G3 shows. Wasn't Eric Johson part of the G3 before Malmsteen?[/QUOTE]
He had some involvement with G3, but I don't know if it was before or after Yngwie. I don't think Yngwie was on the last one.
2005-07-31 04:35 | User Profile
[B]I saw Yngwie Malmsteen twice in NYC: Once with a group called Alcatrazz in 1985 and in 1990 at The Ritz opening for Dio. The guy is simply mind-blowing. Never saw Vai or Satriani (for one reason or another), but I used to love Vai's "Passion and Warfare" album.[/B]
I remember Malmsteen's very first US introduction: Mike Varney's Spotlight column in Guitar Player in '83. I thought "Shit, that guy looks cool - and he's only two years older than me!"
Alcatrazz was a very promising band with good tunes. I still love his playing on [I]Jet to Jet[/I] & [I]Kree Nakoorie[/I].
His [I]Live in Brazil [/I] tape is a tremendous showcase of his stunning technical ability - if marred by his cheesy theatrics and unwillingness to let the music breathe.
I don't care much for Vai: while technically impressive, his stuff is often just plain goofy (irritating cartoon noises incongruously popping up, etc).
As for Satriani, I think he's on the same artistic level as a skilled typist. His music just doesn't move me at all.
2005-07-31 04:44 | User Profile
[B]They say the whole Grunge thing was a reaction against neo-classical metal. Many people got frustrated trying to become proficient at it, so they went for the chord slashing stuff or other genres.[/B]
Because of that godawful shit and nigger rap, the last 15 years have been nothing but a barren "musical" wasteland. I actually pity the kids who've grown up on that loathsome aural trash. We look back fondly on the good music and great players of our youth and still enjoy both. What sort of tunes will these wiggers have to wax nostalgic about? No-talent mouth-farting junkie Cobain? Kid Suck? Enema?
2005-07-31 04:53 | User Profile
[B]I'm amazed at how cheap guitars are now. Twenty-five years ago $150 would get you a miserable piece of junk with a neck like a log. Now its possible to find very playable guitars for basically chump change.[/B]
True for starter guitars - but if you have a hankerin' for the top-shelf stuff, things are worse than ever: I'd love to have a Jackson Soloist (with piranha position markers on the ebony board, not the sharkfin inlays - tacky, dontcha know) - but the prices are appalling. As for my ultimate dream six-string a Gibson SG Custom: [B]$3,400 Simoleons[/B]....
It's enough to give a poor picker the runs...
2005-07-31 05:26 | User Profile
[QUOTE=N.B. Forrest][B]I'm amazed at how cheap guitars are now. Twenty-five years ago $150 would get you a miserable piece of junk with a neck like a log. Now its possible to find very playable guitars for basically chump change.[/B]
True for starter guitars - but if you have a hankerin' for the top-shelf stuff, things are worse than ever: I'd love to have a Jackson Soloist (with piranha position markers on the ebony board, not the sharkfin inlays - tacky, dontcha know) - but the prices are appalling. As for my ultimate dream six-string a Gibson SG Custom: [B]$3,400 Simoleons[/B]....
It's enough to give a poor picker the runs...[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah, you can always spend a lot of bucks. I remember oogling a new Strat back in the 70s that went for $470. Now a US made Strat still costs less than a grand. Price only doubling in 30 years ain't bad. Heck, last year I bought one of those Highway 1 Strats (US made) new for $600 and buffed-out the dull finish. Now it looks like the $900 version.
I've ran across many good deals in the closeout bins of the internet music stores.
Look at what they charge for some of the top of the line Les Pauls. Its unbelievable.
2005-07-31 05:35 | User Profile
[QUOTE=N.B. Forrest][B]I saw Yngwie Malmsteen twice in NYC: Once with a group called Alcatrazz in 1985 and in 1990 at The Ritz opening for Dio. The guy is simply mind-blowing. Never saw Vai or Satriani (for one reason or another), but I used to love Vai's "Passion and Warfare" album.[/B]
I remember Malmsteen's very first US introduction: Mike Varney's Spotlight column in Guitar Player in '83. I thought "Shit, that guy looks cool - and he's only two years older than me!" [/QUOTE]
I think ol' Yngwie's trying to make a comeback. He quit boozing and looks like he dropped about 50 pounds. He's in all the guitar magazines again.
People have to be tired of this rap crap already.
2005-07-31 14:52 | User Profile
The problem with shred is that too often it's empty virtuosity. And even when it isn't, it's still tough to maintain one's enthusiasm after an hour straight of insanely intricate instrumental soloing. (Tell the truth - by the time you get to the last track of a Joe Stump cd, you're exhausted.) Shred is definitely better in short doses, when the Flabbergast Factor is naturally high and before the ennui of Overkill sets in.
I see that Dan McAvinchey's Guitar 9 site continues to grow more and more popular. Good for him. I was one of his earlier customers - in fact, I got him into pre-blues Gary Moore, sending him copies of Colosseum 2 back in 98, but he more than returned the favor, exposing me to a ton of self-recorded, self-released or otherwise buried material by phenomenal players I'd never known existed: Dave Beegle of Fourth Estate, Igor Belsky, Bernd Steidl, Neal Nagoaka, Howard Hart, Bill McKechnie of Anubis Spire, the two Kotzen/Howe collaborations, etc.
Grunge - like it or don't, and I'm not all [I]that [/I] fond of it - was important because it signalled the deserved death of hair metal and blazed a path for stoner rock (who made the world safe again for the sustain-n-distortion brontosaurus tempos of Black Sabbath). When grunge hit its marks though - like SUPERUNKNOWN or FACELIFT or Warrior Soul's GHETTO NATION - it was nothing less than a gale wind of fresh air after a decade of poodle bouffants and/or skinny ties. Stoner bands don't feature the sort of jaw-dropping virtuoso playing you'd find on a Dream Theater cd but they did put the [I]groove [/I] back in heavy music, and that counts for something. Quite a bit, actually.
I also uncovered lots of buried treasure through the various prog-rock vendor sites, like Wayside Music, Syn-Phonic and the Laser's Edge, who've popped up in the past decade and who handle - at reasonable prices - a plethora of foreign and domestic bands flying so far under the radar I would never have otherwise known about them. Absolutely brilliant guitar players like Petri Walli of Finland's stunning Kingston Wall; Ellett and Henderson, the twin guitarists of Baltimore's Djam Karet; Pino Marrone of Argentina's Crucis, Czech fireballer Radim Hladik of Modry Efekt, etc, etc.
In fact the most encouraging aspect of the past 10 years or so is also the most maddening: the bands and players are out there, and there's no shortage of outstanding music being made....but it's all niche-marketed, if not [I]micro[/I]-niche-marketed. The mainstream press doesn't know it exists and the [I]music [/I] press is just as clueless...and you already know to forget about MTV. You simply can't rely on word of mouth for the most part, and college radio has been a mojoless dowsing rod for years now. You hafta put your ear to the ground like a Comanche and do your own foraging if you intend of finding what's valuable out there. (But, happily, it IS out there.)
2005-07-31 15:32 | User Profile
I was recently introduced to Merle Travis. He plays (played?) a country/bluegrass style of acoustic guitar, but fingerstyle, as opposed to flat-picking. If you like Steve Howe's "The Clap", you'd like Merle Travis. You calibrate your metronome to this guy...his time is so solid.
Another virtuoso...though not a guitar player, is Jerry Douglas. I last heard of him playing with Allison Kraus. He is THE dobro champion. Amazing chops, tasteful phrasing, perfect intonation...I've seen him live and he just never misses. Try "Skip, Hop, and Wobble".
Another one I thought of, though kind of quirky, is Junior Brown. He plays a double neck guitar which is a telecaster / lap steel hybrid, and sings baritone. It's not terribly serious music, but his playing is great.
2005-07-31 15:50 | User Profile
I see that I got off topic. ELECTRIC GUITAR. Anyone who listens to Merle Travis will forgive me, I think.
[URL=http://www.michaelbianco.com/homepage.htm]Michael Bianco[/URL] certainly qualifies. I met him recently at a party, and was simply floored. He's not cheesy like you might expect from the website. I saw him play a seven-string Ibanez with alot of fretboard tapping...like Stanley Jordan. Unlike Jordan, who often sounds like two beginning guitarists, Bianco's arrangements and sense of harmony and rhythm are way advanced. He's more like Tuck Andress of "Tuck and Patty" (another guy worth listening to).
Bianco's tecnique is a wonder, but it's always in the service of something musical and accessible.
2005-07-31 16:08 | User Profile
The more they promote niggers, the more people flock to internet to get their music. Just kill your cable and skip CD section in the store, and you won't even know nigger/wigger "music" exists. And you want to promote good music, pay for it (as directly to the misicians as you can).
2005-07-31 21:38 | User Profile
[QUOTE=il ragno]Grunge - like it or don't, and I'm not all [I]that [/I] fond of it - was important because it signalled the deserved death of hair metal and blazed a path for stoner rock (who made the world safe again for the sustain-n-distortion brontosaurus tempos of Black Sabbath). [/QUOTE]
But when did stoner rock ever gain more than a niche following. Most music writers poke fun at it. And I assume the genre of stoner rock includes sludge and doom, some of which I like. Granted I don't like anything satanic or anti-Christian, but the general negative mood is appropriate at times. I mean, in today's world there's lots of things to be negative about.
BTW, do you consider Zakk Wylde in the stoner category? He has a certain virtuousity, but I think mostly its his bone-crushing, down-tuned riffs which characterize his music more than anything.
2005-07-31 21:52 | User Profile
Which doom bands do you like? They aren't bad on a rainy winter day/night (I'd rather have snow than this dreary California winter).
2005-07-31 22:20 | User Profile
[QUOTE=madrussian]Which doom bands do you like? They aren't bad on a rainy winter day/night (I'd rather have snow than this dreary California winter).[/QUOTE]
Lets see. Place of Skulls, While Heaven Wept, and Earthride aren't bad. Some of Trouble's stuff is pretty good.
2005-07-31 22:58 | User Profile
Never heard any of those :sad:
2005-07-31 23:19 | User Profile
[QUOTE=madrussian]Never heard any of those :sad:[/QUOTE]
Try these:
[url]http://www.southernlord.com/mp3/ersong1.mp3[/url]
[url]http://www.placeofskulls.com/thefall.mp3[/url]
[url]http://music.download.com/whw/3600-8659-100074696.html?tag=quickurl[/url]
2005-07-31 23:19 | User Profile
Nah, I would consider Zakk a straight-up metal guy, with the exception of his older mat'l like PRIDE & GLORY, or his country-doom cd BOOK OF SHADOWS.
And I agree stoner/doom is a niche market...but my point is that, except for the stuff MTV catapults into platinum status, most everything I listen to is now a niche-market.
Best doom band, for my money, is ANATHEMA. Stoner/doomwise, I've also got a soft spot for the Wino bands like SAINT VITUS and THE OBSESSED, Nova Scotia's amazing Sabbath soundalikes SHEAVY, England's ORANGE GOBLIN, and a great retro-sounding band from Cali who now record and tour mostly in Europe called BIG ELF, whose debut ["Closer to Doom"] could fool anyone into thinking it had been released in '71 - as would THE TEA PARTY's first (another great band, but neither doom nor stoner, actually).
TROUBLE's last few were top-shelf too - esp their ill-fated last one, "Plastic Green Head". And speaking of Southern Lord Reords, THE WANT and their "Greatest Hits Vol 5" is damn good (and damn obscure now, too).
2005-08-01 02:03 | User Profile
Never got into Anathema depiste numerous listens. I like a couple of Paradise Lost albums, Icon and Draconian Times, and several of My Dying Bride. There are a few more decent other groups in that genre.
2005-08-01 13:42 | User Profile
[QUOTE=il ragno] Grunge - like it or don't, and I'm not all [I]that [/I] fond of it - was important because it signalled the deserved death of hair metal and blazed a path for stoner rock (who made the world safe again for the sustain-n-distortion brontosaurus tempos of Black Sabbath). When grunge hit its marks though - like SUPERUNKNOWN or FACELIFT or Warrior Soul's GHETTO NATION - it was nothing less than a gale wind of fresh air after a decade of poodle bouffants and/or skinny ties. Stoner bands don't feature the sort of jaw-dropping virtuoso playing you'd find on a Dream Theater cd but they did put the [I]groove [/I] back in heavy music, and that counts for something. Quite a bit, actually.[/QUOTE]
I liked "grunge" when it happened at first. To me, it was actually metal without hairspray, lead guitar, lyrics about chicks and drinking and alot more pot smoking. And there was definitely musicality to grunge bands too. [B]Pearl Jam**'s and [B]Smashing Pumpkins' [/B] albums always featured wild guitar stuff. However, when it comes to the "groove" factor that you specify, IR, my favorite band from that era has to be [B]Stone Temple Pilots[/B]. I still listen to their music. Great guitar too.
2005-08-05 06:52 | User Profile
[QUOTE=il ragno]Nah, I would consider Zakk a straight-up metal guy, with the exception of his older mat'l like PRIDE & GLORY, or his country-doom cd BOOK OF SHADOWS.
I think his style is very doom influenced, at least as far as doom is desended from Black Sabbath's early stuff.
Best doom band, for my money, is ANATHEMA. Stoner/doomwise, I've also got a soft spot for the Wino bands like SAINT VITUS and THE OBSESSED, Nova Scotia's amazing Sabbath soundalikes SHEAVY, England's ORANGE GOBLIN, and a great retro-sounding band from Cali who now record and tour mostly in Europe called BIG ELF, whose debut ["Closer to Doom"] could fool anyone into thinking it had been released in '71 - as would THE TEA PARTY's first (another great band, but neither doom nor stoner, actually).
I found this German band, Doomshine, that sounds pretty good.
[url]http://www.doomshine.de/songs.php[/url]