Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 10:16 pm Post subject: "Govan-related-other-guitarist-dissatisfaction-syndrome
I was listening to Erotic Cakes again with my mate James the other night, and he pointed out that since listening to this incredible album, he has been unable to enjoy some of our other guitar heroes, (Henderson, Vai etc) with the same unrestrained pleasure that he used to.
The closest analogy I can think of relates to the splended offers in Tesco at the moment on Gu chocolate deserts. Once you've had either the Gu Vanilla and Chocolate Cheesecake or the Gu Fluffie deserts, you can't go back to ordinary chocolate mousses and trifles. They seem bland and disappointing. The bar has been upped by the good people at Gu, and nothing else will do.
I think Guthrie has done the same on the guitar, and while I still love all the guitar music that I always did, it tends to sound a bit scrappier and less imaginative than it used to.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:47 am Post subject:
I've been feeling that way ever since I saw Guthrie do a clinic at Tone Merchants nearly 3 years ago. Ever since then, I have to admit that many players that I used to really dig have sort of fallen off my radar. I don't respect them any less or anything like that; I just dig Guthrie so much more. And the 'Erotic Cakes' album has only cemented that feeling.
Other players I really dig are ones who are highly individualistic and cover other genres or styles that aren't similar to what Guthrie does at all: Mike Landau, Scott Henderson, Pat Metheny, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, to name a few... _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
I've had a 'handing of the baton' moment since getting Erotic cakes. For as many years as I can remember, my favourite guitarists have been John Petrucci, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. I finally admitted to myself this year that the top three had changed. JP is still there, but the other two spots have been taken by GG and Thomas Blug. The vast wealth of material from JP keeps him top, but I think that a couple more great albums by GG would promote him to the top spot.
I don't think there is any 'top spot' to be taken and I don't believe GG is the best guitar player in the world. I don't think there ever will be a 'best guitar player in the world' because every single person has a different pair of ears.
I love Vai and if you look past the stuff that many people dislike about him, he is still an amazing player today. He is my favourite player, simple as that. I wouldn't ever say he is the best player in the world though. There is always something on any album he releases that is going to make me think 'this is what I love about guitar'!
I love Mattias Eklundh too. In my opinion his tone is truly awful on some of his stuff but his imagination and creativity on his solo and Freak Kitchen stuff blows me away. It even makes me laugh out loud when I hear some of his stuff for the first time.
I love Satriani too but I don't like his tone either!
I really don't like JP at all and I find his playing as boring as hell but he has legions of fans out there and I think good for them, they're getting what I get from Vai when they listen to JP.
What GG has done is create an album that has lots of goodies on it whereas other artists have released their best stuff over the course of three or four albums instead of just one. Although I'm a Vai fan I don't actually think P&W is his best album. GG will release better material than the stuff on Erotic Cakes over time and it may slide down the CD stack as we listen to his and other players newer stuff. It may end up that we refer to EC as being the less imaginative CD than 'Hello Dave' or whatever GG calls his new album.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:52 pm Post subject:
I agree that it's really more about musical taste and it's all pretty subjective in the end. For me, as I always like to say, it's just Guthrie's particular style and choice of notes that bonded with my musical taste buds, so to speak. His style and sound just fit my sensibilities better than others and that's all that matters in the end. Quite a few people have told me that they think Guthrie's an amazing player but that his style didn't fit their tastes, so it works both ways.
I still like many other great players like Satch, Vai, JP, Yngwie, Gilbert, etc. And I love players like Lane, Garsed, Helmerich, and Hoekstra. Anything new from those guys and I'd be hunting it down. If someone gave Guthrie a good listen and going over and still doesn't really dig what he does, there's no point in trying to convince him/her otherwise. It just doesn't fit his/her musical taste.
All I can do is just move on and try to look for others who will possibly like what Guthrie has to offer. That's how I look at marketing; it's about finding more people to get interested in what you have to offer. I apply the same logic with my work at Suhr Guitars. I don't try to convince people that our guitars and amps are "better" than other competing brands. I just want to find the people willing to give the gear a good try and decide for themselves if it's for them or not. The "product" (whether it's our gear or Guthrie's music) needs to stand on its own. And even then, it's all subjective and some people will love it and some people will say, "Nah, it's not for me." Nothing wrong with that... _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
It's odd that one musicans ability can lead to a short fall in others... if this was a gentle thing that you pick up on because you're measuring yourself and checking changes in influence... then yeah I'd say Guthrie based music has replaced a lot of other musicians I listen to... John Lowry, Satriani, Vai .. although I always found his stuff a bit abstract.. but my tastes are changing anyway.
Due to the work in GT Guthrie's lessons opened my ears up to a lot more players (some quite embarassing that I'd overlooked) but this also happens with Guthries techniques that borrow from other instruments... _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
Vai has always been the one thats excited my ears the most, i love his phrasing and compositional & arranging skills..
other players that really excite me are Mattias Eklundh original and melodic, Steve Morse really understands his music and exercises great control, Eddie Van Halen pure raw talent, Satriani great song writer and Andy Timmons has a magic touch when he plays...
I don't think Guthrie has taken my top spot but he's deffinatly sitting somewhere between Timmons, Van Halen and Vai.. and thats a pretty impressive spot for any guitarist to be sat in.
THe world would be a boring place without everyones own "take" on this whole guitar shredder thing if ytou want to call it that still. Being a guitar teacher and player for a long time myself I have to say that I have several areas of inspiration and not just other guitar players. I dig old soul music and many of the vocalists that are associated with it. Ole school funk. Heavy groove to brasil 66 and sergio mendex to Mozart to Vai and satch and now GOven. Point is that you cant say "well, now i like this and not that or i knowcked Mr so and so out of the top ten list. THat is a short cut to thinking IMHO. Just absorb everything you can and enjoy each piece of music and each artist for their contributions. NOugh said. By the way Govan is a great new player or has he been round. ? Im trying to find out how old he is?
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Ever since then, I have to admit that many players that I used to really dig have sort of fallen off my radar. I don't respect them any less or anything like that; I just dig Guthrie so much more. And the 'Erotic Cakes' album has only cemented that feeling.
