Guitartropolis

Favorite Solos - Eric Johnson

I must be on a YouTube guitar solo kick as I came across this 1990 video of Eric Johnson playing Cliffs of Dover. It has a really great intro guitar solo lead into the song. Eric's always amazing to watch and this video shows why.

Best Guitar Solo by Angus Young

We all have our favorite guitarist and a selection of their solos we like best. My tastes range pretty widely. In college my band Black Water play many AC/DC songs from that era. A buddy of mine had a video of AC/DC on it and that lead me to find this solo by Angus Young, which I really love.

What's great about it is Angus doesn't just overwhelm you with billions of notes and guitar licks. The entire 9:52 segment is all about tension and anticipation. Dozens of times Angus gives you a little bit of stuff, and then brings it back to the chanting drums. There's even a segment where you sure you're going to get mooned by Angus (I won't give away what happens), followed by Angus going into his all out guitar stuff.

Very entertaining and a good lesson on why it's not just what you play, or how much of it, but it's how you deliver it. It's all in the delivery. If Angus had just laid out the last 2 minutes of this as his solo, we'd remember this as 'just another guitar solo'. Enjoy.

Going back for more Gilmour... I can never get enough

I think I've said on this blog quite a few times that David Gilmour is one of the top, if not the top, influences on my guitar playing style. Not because I've purposefully sought out to emulate or try and copy what he does, but I think because I both grew up listening to Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here when I was getting deep into rock music, and because his melodic and emotional playing style really connects with me. I loved the keyboards, Alan Parsons engineering, and the entire vibe of the middle period of Pink Floyd's music.

A few times recently I've gotten a comment after playing or doing a solo that my playing sounded very Gilmour-esk. I wish I could say I thought it sounded as good as David but I'll take a compliment like that in a heartbeat. So tonight while I was waiting around for some software to finish installing on my computer, I decided to play along with Shine On Your Crazy Diamond, one of my top favorite Pink Floyd tunes (along with so many others). As I was noodling along, playing Gilmour's tastefully crafted open solo and in-song solo, I realized there are many things about my playing I had forgotten came from Gilmour. (Again, this about Gilmour influencing my playing, not me playing like him, which is a far cry from David's level.)

First, I sometimes enjoy bending a note up one and then two steps (or even another half step), singing the notes up and down and you change pitch, with some suttle virbato occassionally. That's very Gilmour, I don't know how many other players do it with his emotion and style. Another more frequent lick I play is a trill like run between the 2, 3, 1 notes and land on the flat-7 and 5 notes (when in a minor penatonic pattern) resolving back to 8 (1). It's sort of my way (lifted from Gilmour) of not staying boxed in by the minor penatonic pattern and it communicates a really different vibe with great tension for an anticipated resolve. 

I hadn't learned that triplet run that repeats all through the bari sax solo towards the end of the song, so I figured out how that was played. One reason is that one of my signature licks that I build a lot of both comp'ing and soloing around is a triplet pull-off pattern, usually between strings 2 and 3, or 1 and 2. It's actually a riff I learned from some songs by Christian artist guitar player, Lincoln Brewster, who also toured with Journey btw. That riff didn't use the slide up one fret at the start of the riff, like the Floyd one did. Also the line in the Floyd song sounds sort of like this B riff over a Gm to C to F, etc., chord line. Not a way I've ever used that before, so I learned both a variation on a riff I know and a new voicing to play it.

I really enjoyed sitting down and playing along with this song, learning stuff along the way. What a way to spend an hour. In honor of David Gilmour and one of my favorite bands, here's a YouTube video of Shine On You Crazy Diamond from the Echos tour. Sit back and enjoy. Or better yet, play along.

Derek Trucks - The Genius Of Our Time

Submitted by Guitartropolis.com contributor Tommy Gallahger.

Have you heard about this guitar player, Derek Trucks? If you have not I suggest you Run, Search, Scream,  do whatever you can to find & listen more about this Master.

I have been following Derek and his playing since 97, he was 17 then.  He turns 30 in early June.  He has played in Eric Clapton’s recent tour, is a member of the Allman Brothers Band since 99 and is the nephew of the Allmans Original drummer Butch Trucks, other notables he has played with  B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Carlos Santana and so many more its just too many to list let alone his own project the Derek Trucks Band.  I have had a variety of times to sit & talk with Derek, He is so humble "a true kind soul". He is Married to the Beautiful Susan Tedeski who's voice will knock you out, he also has a project with Susan called Soul Stew Revival.  

Derek plays in open E tuning, his slide and fretting is unbelievable beside tone, his openness to other influences- Music has taken him "in my opinion" further than any current guitarist alive or dead.  Like I said, if you have not heard of Derek, his playing, take the time to discover what he brings with his being.  Sure he may not be your cup of tea but as Carlos Santana spoke of Derek he said, "we had John Coltrane, Miles Davis and now we have Derek Trucks....He is truly the genius of our time."

Also visit Tommy Gallahger's page on Facebook, and his projects Tommy Gallahgers Incredible Friends on mySpace and A New Brain For Arnie (FB, MS).

Jeff Beck performing this week… Live on your DVD player

Tuesday I picked up the Blu-ray DVD of Jeff Beck’s new project Jeff Beck performing this week… live at ronnie scott’s. (DVD, Blu-Ray, CD, mp3 download).I loved it, loved it, loved it! In my book guitar players don’t come any better than Jeff Beck whose music I thoroughly enjoy and admire. If you’re at all a Jeff Beck fan then you’ll love this DVD too.

The sound quality was excellent and it was great to see how Jeff and his band adjusted their large stage show and sound to a small room, club venue. It was very close to the music Jeff performed when he visited and performed his concert in Denver last year. That concert was voted “concert of the year” by one of the local papers, and I totally agree. We were sitting in row six or seven and it was a mind blowing, music immersing experience.

Back to the new DVD… The video was as up close and personal as it gets. Lots of great shots right on top of Jeff’s guitar, watching his fingers produce sounds, tones and music no other player makes.  Jeff does a lot of his greatest songs, from ‘Led Boots’ to ‘Nadia’. Oh, and did I mention (again), LOTS OF CLOSEUPS of Jeff playing. You rarely if ever (never, actually) get to see this kind of detail.

There are some great extras and goodies in this DVD too. Guest appearances include Imogen Heap (Rolling and Tumblin), Joss Stone (People Get Ready) and Eric Clapton (Little Brown Bird and You Need Love). The DVD extras section includes a pretty lengthy video interview with Jeff, followed by a shorter interview with the band (Vinny Colaiuta, Tal Wilkenfeld and Jason Rebello), and a rock-a-billy set Jeff performs from an earlier tribute album. This was probably the most words I’ve heard Jeff speak, a glimpse into getting to know him a little bit better.

I’d recommend the Blu-ray version if you have a Blu-ray player, and even if you don’t, you still  need to get this DVD. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Laying Down the Rhythm Before The Solo Chops

I’ve been watching one of my Robben Ford videos and I came across this online video of he and Larry Carlton playing “talk to your daughter”. It strikes me in this video how Robben is delivering on the rhythm part for this blues tune. He’s not worried about throwing in a superfluous guitar lick here or there but just lays down a very solid rhythm guitar track. Later Robben gets his turn to do some talkin’ with his guitar but even that is fairly basic guitar stuff and that’s a big part of what makes his part so good and a great complement to what Larry Carlton is playing.

Another thing I noticed is the difference in styles of playing rhythm between Larry and Robben. Robben's doing a really straight right hand and Larry changes to a more open, accent oriented rhythm style. I got a lot just out of watching/listening to these two guys on stage together.

Also, there’s a lot of power, drive and excitement in this song. It just makes you  feel good. An upbeatness and drive to it. The drummer delivers this really well and part of it is also Ford’s playing of the rhythm part. And I like how the organ player pretty much lays out until the first chorus and then really amps up the energy. Very cool.

Watching this video was a reminder to me about how much more important it is to deliver a solid rhythm part before you ever get around to laying down any solo chops.

Check out the video and I think you’ll see what I mean.

Larry Carlton & Robben Ford - talk to your daughter
Uploaded by popy27

Making Music With Friends

Welcome to the first blog post on Guitartropolis. If you're new to Guitartropolis (and most likely you are) I'd suggest checking out the categories list (in the right hand column), the About page and my bio to get a feel for what Guitartropolis is about. Enough for the introductions, lets get started. I’m just going to jump right in with this first blog post.

Over the past weekend I had a thoroughly enjoyable listening and playing experience. My friends Michael Reese’s and Scotty Cash’s band, Tobacco Road, reformed and had their first gig after a five year layoff. Scotty got some crazy idea about moving to Florida and trying to live life without wearing any shoes (something like that). He finally came to his senses and moved back to Colorado to do music with his friends. I think he realized how many friends are here and how much we missed him. Scott is your consummate up front, entertainment guy… at least in a guitar, edgy blues rock band sense. Every band needs a good up front man and Scott fits the bill so well.

Tobacco Road (TR) is completed by a tight rhythm section, lead by Bob on drums and the bassist Terry. Bob’s a very talented drummer who lays down some really tight rhythms (I especially like his hat work), and Terry has a great drive in his moving bass lines. These two guys were putting it in the pocket, and beaming ear to ear all the while because they were having such a great time.

Saturday evening at Ironworks Brewery in Lakewood, CO, was part band reunion, friends reuniting, and making of new friends. Some of the crowd came out because they know band members or were fans of Tobacco Road.  But many others in the place were new to TR, and it was obvious from their reaction they were immediately drawn in by the music these guys produced. Most importantly, the audience was having a good time. I think we’ll see TR playing some new venues now that they are back together.

I saw some really great things come together that evening. It’s very obvious this group of musicians are very talented, but the real joy was seeing how much they enjoy playing and making great music together. At its core, they’re good friends. The band was there to play and have fun, whether every ear and eyeball in the joint was locked on them, or everyone was distracted in conversations or the pool game. No matter, there was going to be some great music put out.

I talked with Michael (TR’s lead guitar player) a lot about this Sunday after the gig, and also how TR enjoys bringing in a few friends to sit in with the band. Guitar player and Fender rep, Jeff Bowen, sat in and laid down a lot of tasty rhythm, and classic chicken pickin’ and blues/rock riffs. Jeff’s got great chops and has a very classic Tele sound, including some sweet slide playing. I also had the pleasure of sitting in for the better part of the night, playing rhythm and jumping in with some solos here and there.

Now, not every band’s going to do that… ask friends to sit with them and play, but I think it’s part of the philosophy, maybe even the makeup of this group, because at its core they want and like to play with friends. I totally agree with that, as I’ve come to the same place in how I live my life. I want to work and play with people I enjoy being with, doing things I enjoy doing, (work, play or otherwise.) It’s great to see that same philosophy applied in a music setting. And it was infectious with the audience, drawing in everyone present.

Congratz to the members of Tobacco Road for a successful "first" gig. It was a great  restart to what I hope will be an even better season for the band. And thank you for allowing me to sit in a be a part of it. It was a very special experience and I look forward to the next time we can get together.

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