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The Visual Impact of Guthrie In Performance

 
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
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Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:01 am    Post subject: The Visual Impact of Guthrie In Performance Reply with quote

One of the most striking things about watching Guthrie in performance is just how fun, entertaining and cool it is to see him do his thing up on stage. He really has great stage presence and becomes this huge dominating figure up there. I see much bigger guys go up there and they don't have the commanding presence that Guthrie has. Some guys shrink when they go up on stage and simply don't have stage presence.

So many people have told me this and it's obvious to observe. This really skinny guy of average height just turns into a well-chieseled monster once he steps up on stage with the guitar. He doesn't have the glamour poses of someone like Yngwie or Vai (which is definitely a good thing! Laughing), but he's got his own thing that visually matches his playing. Make no mistake about it: Guthrie is a rock guitarist in image even if he dabbles in every other style imaginable. When you think about it, all the cool rock guitar icons have their visual stage schtick that is identifiable: Jimi (of course), Jimmy Page, Blackmore, EVH, SRV, Yngwie, Vai, Satch, Jeff Beck, etc. They look good up there and command the stage. And so does Guthrie...

I guess Guthrie's stage movement style would be most comparable to someone like Jeff Beck than guys who did a lot of posturing (cool as though they were) - focused on the guitar but with the natural cool movements that show you that the guitar and the playing is a natural extension of the body. He doesn't look like a nerd up there, that's for sure. If you're paying your hard-earned money to see someone play, I think most people would want to look at someone and a band that has some nice visual impact.

While we're on the subject of visuals, watching Guthrie's hands on the guitar is simply one of the most beautiful things in action I've ever seen. It's like watching a cheetah run across the African deserts, a big graceful eagle flying in to catch its prey, a Lamborghini or a Ferrari racing across the highway, etc... You get the drift. Guthrie's left hand moves across the fingerboard with both beautiful grace and with darting energy. You look at his hands without the guitar and they look rather normal although somewhat large for his frame. They certainly don't look like a girl's hands. But once he starts playing, his fingers take on the look of a ballerina and move with efficiency but also with grace and power that's just such a beautiful thing to see. At times, it's practically breathtaking.

I've always thought that Yngwie (in his younger days when he was lean Laughing) had the most visually compelling finger movements on the neck of all the players I've seen and I believe that Guthrie observed Yngwie quite a bit during his formative years. Buckethead's long fingers darting up and down the neck is quite a sight to behold as well. Paul Gilbert's movements across the neck are also scary. Greg Howe is pretty amazing to watch. But in terms of "proper" form with the the all the knuckles slightly bent ready to pounce on a string with efficieny of motion and energy, I've always felt that Yngwie's fingers looked the best in action. Until Guthrie, that is... Wink And the truly amazing thing is how easy he makes it all look...
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shredrulez
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

you're certainly right about that, ed. guthrie just looks cool up there and watching his hands and fingers in action is pure poetry in motion. Cool
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wrighty-boyo



Joined: 12 Sep 2004
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Location: Wales, UK

PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So is it right in saying that your quite fond of Guthrie then Ed?...........
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frankus



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 12:52 pm    Post subject: Re: The Visual Impact of Guthrie In Performance Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:
This really skinny guy of average height just turns into a well-chieseled monster once he steps up on stage with the guitar.


\;-| do you mean well-cheeselled? Laughing
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alexkhan



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PostPosted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wrighty-boyo wrote:
So is it right in saying that your quite fond of Guthrie then Ed?...........


No, this is purely an objective observation! Wink
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shredrulez
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:
wrighty-boyo wrote:
So is it right in saying that your quite fond of Guthrie then Ed?...........


No, this is purely an objective observation! Wink


ed, i agree. Laughing i've about seen 'em all (yngwie, holdsworth, lane, ej, satch, becker, friedman, angelo or batio, vai, howe, macalpine, v moore, gilbert, g koch, and so many more) and i'll have to say that gg has been more fun to watch (if not "better") than all of 'em.
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wrighty-boyo



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

only joking Ed! Smile Smile Smile Smile Smile Smile Smile Smile Smile Smile

I totally agree. I think its alot to do with the soul in his playing and his attitude towards music. He only does it because he completely loves doing it. To get to any sort of level in your playing, you've got to enjoy doing the hard work at first before you even progress.
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bill®



Joined: 11 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:20 am    Post subject: Re: The Visual Impact of Guthrie In Performance Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:
I've always thought that Yngwie (in his younger days when he was lean Laughing) had the most visually compelling finger movements on the neck of all the players I've seen and I believe that Guthrie observed Yngwie quite a bit during his formative years. Buckethead's long fingers darting up and down the neck is quite a sight to behold as well. Paul Gilbert's movements across the neck are also scary. Greg Howe is pretty amazing to watch. But in terms of "proper" form with the the all the knuckles slightly bent ready to pounce on a string with efficieny of motion and energy, I've always felt that Yngwie's fingers looked the best in action. Until Guthrie, that is... Wink And the truly amazing thing is how easy he makes it all look...


Dude, have you seen THIS...

http://donniebshawn.com/video/SneakyPetes.avi

Without a doubt that is the most impressive video document of physical ease, grace, and efficiency on the electric guitar that I've ever seen (actually some Hendrix footage that I've seen blows me away more, but not in such an obvious way). When I watch Guthrie play I feel like he's ultimately freer than Lane on the guitar, but in terms of raw technique I don't think Shawn can be beat.

But yeah, for me in terms of 'super-duper-most-chops-you've-ever-seen-or-heard-but-almost-completely-effortlessness on the guitar Shawn tops everyone but a fairly significant margin.
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shredrulez
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i've seen lane live at least 10 times, perhaps more, and what struck me about him was how uneven he was from show to show. one night he'd be the most amazing frickin' thing you ever saw, and then on another night, he'd just be a complete mess and i just walked out after about half-an-hour. the thing about lane is that after about 15 or 20 minutes, you about saw all that he could do. he'd start repeating himself and the runs and the patterns would be the same. you'd sit around going, Shocked, but you'd be going Shocked over the same thing over and over again.

that wasn't the case with guthrie when i saw him at tm jan 19~21. it was Shocked over different things over and over again. guthrie simply doesn't repeat himself. over three nights, he played completely different solos in the same songs. one night he'd alternate pick a la yngwie or dimeola with an aggressive rock vibe in the solo of a particular song. the next night he'd use his 8-finger tapping technique with a fusiony vibe for the solo of the same song. the third night he'll play the solo of that same song with a slide and play very few notes with a totally different feel and vibe. that's what blew me away about guthrie over anyone else i've seen to date. he'd keep hitting you over the head with something totally unexpected. that element of surprise is what i found so cool.
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PaulGilbert



Joined: 25 Oct 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah.....guthrie has a cool and beautiful finger movements. The only person i can think of which has somewhat similar and beautiful finger movements is richie kotzen. if you look at his rock chops instructional video his fingers move flawlessly....

but paul gilbert has the most scary finger movements although not as beautiful as these two guys....
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PaulGilbert wrote:
yeah.....guthrie has a cool and beautiful finger movements. The only person i can think of which has somewhat similar and beautiful finger movements is richie kotzen. if you look at his rock chops instructional video his fingers move flawlessly....

but paul gilbert has the most scary finger movements although not as beautiful as these two guys....


I think Richie Kotzen's style has evolved and moved onto a different direction. I saw his Jan 21 show here and, to me, he struck me more as a cross between someone like SRV and Greg Howe. He struck me a blues-rocker with scary shred chops and didn't really fly around the neck very much.

I saw Paul Gilbert do a clinic in Korea on behalf of Ibanez/Laney and that was pretty awesome.
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Carlo



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PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

But I think the guitar player who has the mose beautiful finger movement is Brett Garsed, he weaves in and out of box shapes so effortlessly across the fretboard....not to mention his incredible right hand...his phrasing..his note choice. It looks totally effortless Shocked
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alexkhan



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PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Carlo wrote:
But I think the guitar player who has the mose beautiful finger movement is Brett Garsed, he weaves in and out of box shapes so effortlessly across the fretboard....not to mention his incredible right hand...his phrasing..his note choice. It looks totally effortless Shocked


Yeah, Brett's fingers sort of glide and skate over the fingerboard. I saw him live twice at the Baked Potato up in Hollywood and we still stay in touch by email every now and then. If he was still in LA, he'd certainly be playing here on a regular basis.

Personally, I like a good mix between staccato alternate picking with a sharp pick attack and an aggressive rock tone (a la Yngwie, Gilbert, etc.) and the flowing legato type of playing with a smoother fusion type of tone (a la Allan, Brett, G Howe, etc.).
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Carlo



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Guthrie certainly has a great balance of both....and then some Smile Thanks to him, I've actually been getting back into my alternate picking regimes Smile Paul Gilbert was my first real guitar hero and I remember practicing those Intense Rock I stuff like a madman. Definitely a time and place for both styles.
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