I've been playing guitar for nearly 14 years now. I've developed idols along my path, but there have been a few musicians who consistently blow me away; Mark Knopfler, Al Di Meola, Tommy Emmanuel, Danny Gatton, Steve Morse, Albert Lee, and Chet Atkins, just to name a few.
You guys will love this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcFBBimDUpE
Not only does Phil Keaggy command a guitar with astonishing dexterity, but his skills with the delay and loop pedals amaze me. I get goosebumps when I watch that video, and I've seen it at least 20 times now.
I just thought I would share one of the greatest guitarists of our time.
:cool:
I respectfully disagree. I'm going to have to nominate John Petrucci.
Zach wylde and Eddy van Halen win into my book
Zack Wylde, Eddie Van Halen, Synister Gates, Jimi Hendrix
Nice man. I almost forgot Hendrix. Another is Angus Young
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Ben Harper.
That's pretty cool, Zach! I'm not a big fan but the command over the fretboard is amazing.
People always point to EVH but ever since he's turned into a drunken idiot (as opposed to just an idiot), he's lost a lot on the Respect-O-Meter in just about everyone's books. He was THE pioneer of modern rock, and he is in the Hall of Fame now, but he's got a long road to climb if he ever cares to get back into good graces.
Far as my picks...
George Lynch (Dokken)
Steve Vai (David Lee Roth)
Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains)
Tom Scholz (Boston...even though he's a putz LOL)
"Diamond" Darrell Abbott (some of us remember this version of Pantera!)
Neal Schon (Journey)
Tommy Victor (pr0ng!!!)
Dave Meniketti (Y&T)
Joe Satriani
Roy Clark
Jimmy Page
David Gilmour
When these guys play...I might as well make a frickin' coffee table out of my guitars. Sheesh.
Les Claypool
Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.
I second jimmy page the dude is phenominal. i especially like what he does with alternative tunings. and other stringed instruments. the dude is my guitar god.
Jerry released a song in the late '90s called "Leave Me Alone." I think I've listened to it about 500 times since then. The progression in the chorus is as smooth as glass, and it's the kind of song that requires a good pair of headphones to truly enjoy.
Fender makes a coffee table in the shape of a Telecaster's headstock. It costs a few hundred dollars, last time I checked. Their novelty stuff is just too expensive.
Les Claypool has the habit of leaving me in awe after a song. "Tommy the Cat" is one of my all-time favorites (Primus).
I've been a fan of ZZ Top ever since I was old enough to develop a memory. You just can't beat "I Thank You" for drippy chorus and a punchy bassline.
In my 25+ years of playing, Tony Rice, Jimi Hendrix, SRV, Leo Kottke, Stevie Vai, and Andres Segovia have been major influences/frustrations. Paul Gilbert freaks me out, too sometimes.
Im a huge fan of Slash (G'n'R and Velvet Revolver). I cant physcially play some of the solos, but because theyre so high on the fret board, I cant get them to "sing" the way he does. Truly amazing.
Personal influences include:
Kurt Cobain
Jimi Hendrix
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Matt Bellamy (Muse)
Mike Eizinger (Incubus)
Scott Lucas (Local H)
More modern than classic, but I believe it's indicative of the era of music I come from. Just wish I could play 1/10th as well as any of these guys.
Scott Ian & Danny Lilker (anthrax)
K.K. Downing & Ian Hill (judas priest)
Steve Harris (iron maiden)
Billy Idol
many more. lol
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters)
Dave Matthews
My influences (as far as Bass goes) are:
Flea, Bootsie..............
The rest comes from blues/bluegrass bassists who never seem to have a face or name. To be honest, I don't really try to play like anyone; I just play. Style depends on the song.
Oh...bass guitar...that's a whole different ballgame.
Les Claypool is absolutely amazing. He makes it look effortless. Hard to believe he once tried out for Metallica. Hands-down, the most dynamic bass player out there. I hear he also likes to fish. ;)
Gotta agree with Flea (FLEA! FLEA!). He IS the funk.
Billy Sheehan also rips on the bass, big time. He's one of the first people I ever saw that played bass with chords, hammer-ons, etc. just like a guitar. And that was in 1983 with Talas.
Back in the late 1980's there was this outfit called Blue Murder, incredible band with John Sykes (ex-Whitesnake), Carmine Appice (King Kobra, Vanilla Fudge) and this dude named Tony Franklin (http://www.tonyfranklin.com/) on the FRETLESS bass. Their first album is in my all-time Top 10...the bass lines are just mind-blowing, not to mention the ultra-cool fretless bass sound. He was also in The Firm with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers. But Blue Murder was just waaayyyy ahead of its time. I hear they might be regrouping in the original line-up too. Anyway, samples are on his webpage if you've never heard him play.
No mention of the late great Randy Rhoads yet? tsk tsk. Gotta have him in there. Another cat thats been gettin my attention lately is John Mayer. Some REALLY tastey stuff on his live Trio album.
Les is an amazing talent, but I just can't bear to hear him open his mouth. :P
I respectfully submit Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG, Scorps).
Oh yea, my favorite hands down. PINK FLOYD is so cool, and don't forget Roger Waters on bass to finish the Floyd sound, even tho he learned as he began. A great combination.
Great bass player that goes unrecognized because of Townsend allot, is the Who's bass player John Entwistle. Love allot of the Moody Blues bass lines too. Too many great players when you think about it, list could go on ...............
Hey Eric, read the link a bit on
Tony Franklin. He has an excellent philosophy on music. Most people I played with and around could out play me any day (Bass), but when it came to making things sound right.......well, I got complimented, and really didn't have a clue as to what I was doing most of the time. I learned as I went. I still feel like I can barely play.
Schenker, Via, Petrucci, Satriani, SRV, Gilbert, Jabs and Malmsteen are my current Favs... and I almost forgot to mention Slash believe it or not. I dig his style and sound.
Anyone else have any of the G3 DVD's. I've got Tokyo and Denver and they're both awesome. Highly recomended! Also check out SRV Live at the El Macambo. That blew me away.
I'm actually a bass player though. Here's a link to my music myspace: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=120280804
If you listen to the songs, they sound better with headphones because thats how I mixed them.