Well, my dear friends, let me start by telling you that this morning when I opened the computer I had a shock.

Really! Last night I had a traffic of 1525 visits which is the best I had so far!

Most of my traffic came from SU so I want to say “thank you!” to all those happy stumblers around that payed me a visit yesterday and last night.

Well, what can I say more than this? Is there anything else to say? Well, IT IS!!!

I have checked again my traffic for this morning (my morning) and I can tell you that I have little over 2300 visits SO FAR AND COUNTING! 1525 yesterday and 2300 3600 today, so far! Way to go, people!!

I can only say that I’ve made a good step to my “5000 visitors per day” target and the article that brought me this overnight traffic is the Funny top 10 list for a successful power metal band, that I posted some time ago and got unobserved at that time.

So, don’t forget to stay tuned to my RSS feed to get every little detail about this site and also make me know you will be reading me on long term! Trust me, I will do my best to not let you down!

And an other thing: this morning I have just received a lovely Google PR 4 for my blog! Isn’t that great or what?!

So, in order to make something out of this traffic, please:

1. Remember the name GuitarFlame.com
2. Subscribe to my RSS feed
3. …come back for more!

Thanks!

PS: by the way, do I really need to say that my consumed bandwidth was twice the maximum given to me by my hosting company so I had to ask for an upgrade and pay more? Well, anything to reach my goal!

I am trying to not put up advertising on this blog at this moment, however, I don’t know how long I will keep it that way if the traffic will continue to grow like this since I will not be able to maintain the site. Traffic equals money is true in both ways, earning but also spending money.

Anyway, remember, GuitarFlame.com, 5000 visitors per day!

And subscribe to my RSS feed to see how I’ll do it!

And somebody Stuuuuumble me!

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A few days ago I asked myself when my guitar processor was built. So I went to BOSS US site and there I found it. My guitar processor, a BOSS ME-5 was built in 1988!!! Damn! It was their first multi effect, it is 20 years old AND IT STILL WORKS LIKE A CHARM! The only thing I fixed on it at one point was the input jack that was slightly moving. I soldered it a bit and THAT WAS THE ONLY FIX IN 20 YEARS for it. Now, considering it was dropped, had beer all over it, stepped on, has dust and other stuff on (you step on it, right?), is this thing a tank or what?

Now coming back to the point, looking at what is new there, I discovered the new BOSS GT-10 and I AM IN LOVE! Guys, I want it! I need that! Somebody pleeeaaase!!! Well…

I watched the video presentation on BOSS site and then on YouTube and I can tell you I am just thrilled. I recorded this song with a GT-8 processor that was not mine, but it remained in my mind. Now, this GT-10 is even better! You can even record 40 sec loops and play over, has some “smart” behavior, like if you set it to a certain mode, if you pick you get a clean sound and if you use power chords, it gives you distortion without switching pedals! Yeah, for the lazy ones! Even if I am not convinced it works every time, music is more than mathematics, it is about nuances…

Also a smart delay that changes from picking to soloing. I love this too! You know what I really loved about my ME-5 back then when I purchased it? The fact that the delay stays over pedal switching, which I didn’t hear in other cases, like in DOD, DigiTech or Korg, for ex. With my model, when I solo and let’s say I finish the solo on a long note and then I switch to picking with a clean tone, the delay of the long note comes over the picking part, making a bridge between these 2 parts. Man, I loved that, compared to other experiences where the solo part ended as soon as I pressed the pedal, no matter the delay I had on…

The guys in the video said the case is like a tank, which I would have considered marketing bla bla, but, considering my previous experience with ME-5, I believe every word they are saying about it.

So, what more to say? I have my eyes set on BOSS GT-10 and I am thinking on making it mine! Mine, all mine!!! Ha, ha, ha!!!

Here’s the promo video. On my headphones I can only hear one guitar, but on BOSS site I hear both. So if it is the same on your side, go to BOSS site and listen it there.

Here’s the promo video on BOSS site listen it there, I removed the embedded one cause last night traffic hit me like a train.

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OK, wizards of guitars and rock music lovers!! How well do you know your classic guitarists?

If you think you are good, then pay attention! Guess the song or the artist by the guitar solo!

Huh?! How does it sound?

And let me know how you’ve been it cause I kind of sucked!

Click here for the quiz

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Man, I have one thing that really bothers me since a long time and I just need to say it here: I hate guitar giveaways that are only open to US (+District of Columbia + in some cases Canada)!!

How could you possible be so cruel?!

You give away for free $1600 guitars like this Carvin one here and you don’t allow people from all around the world to enter. Damn, it’s frustrating! I would surely want to have the chance to put my hand on this!

I have recently seen a giveaway like this at Ibanez and one at Gibson. Of course, they are all open to US residents only. Sucks big time!

So if you are eligible, go and fetch that guitar above for me. If you get it and you found out about it from this article here, please let me know, I would be thrilled to know at least that I have helped a fellow guitar fan to win a great axe!

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I got inspired by Zack of guitarvibe.com to write about Jonathan Coulton, the guy who used to be a software engineer and quit his day job to become a rock star! Damn, he made it!!! He started by composing one song a week, recording it at home and posting it on his website for free. Giving it away for free didn’t quite make him money, but after a while when he decided to make some money out of it, he asked his fans either to buy the songs or to donate something.

The reaction seems to be a positive one, now he is making more than he used to make as a software programmer.

I think this guy should be an inspiration for everybody having a dream, not only about becoming a guitar player but for anything you dream of. I think he is the best example somebody could have. In this article here he says that his wife gave birth to their little girl and he realized he needs to be an example for her so it made his choice even harder.

Well, I think that he gave his daughter the best possible model to follow in her future life: follow your dream! And this is always a great example!

What do you think?

By the way, on my business card it says software engineer too and I do play the guitar, I ask myself now, should I quit my job to start playing the guitar for a living?

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Yesterday, in an interview, Dave Mustaine said that guys who don’t solo aren’t fully accomplished guitar players. I was thinking about it considering also my previous article about the unfair position of a rhythm guitar player.

I wonder what rhythm (jazz) guitar players might say to this, considering the complexity of jazz guitar chords and rhythms. I know that there is a common belief that soloing is getting you in the big league somehow, under the main lights of the stage, since the guitar hero myth was born and maintained for the last 40 70 (?!) years (I think…) but is it right to speak about accomplishment in such cases?

In some cases, we could speak about feeling accomplished when touring, when releasing a CD/DVD, when being a star, etc, but in most cases I think that the accomplishment as a guitar player comes from inside of you, feeling happy with who you are, with your playing and knowledge about music and guitar.

Or is Mustaine right?

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MusicThing has an interesting article today about playing kora. I should tell you I am not a big fan of ethnic instruments, I love rock music, that is why I enjoy the sound of the guitar the most. But hearing how this “kora” sounds, I couldn’t stop myself from posting it here. If you think about it, it sounds similar to a guitar in a way.

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I think everyone of us has it’s own perception of what quality music means. Did you notice that each time you speak with someone about music of high quality vs music of low quality your music and the music you listen and appreciate come as quality music?

I have even heard of really bad, kitsch music singers saying they make quality music, being proud with what they do and sing. They are artists, making good, quality music. Not like the others…

I ask myself if is there anyone out there, making music, saying that he/she is making low quality music. Really, if there are so many making quality music, not like the others, there must be somewhere “the others” making bad music…

So, what is bad music? Who could actually say which are the criteria used to judge this low quality music? Classical music artists and critics? Technical rock artists? By the way, ask Malmsteen what he thinks about Nirvana or Smashing pumpkins…go on, ask him!

Is complexity a criteria? How about Knocking on heavens door then or No woman no cry? These could not be considered very complex from a technical point of view, right?

The easiness to reach audience? Well, is it being commercial a sin? Actually I think everybody would looove to sell million of records by night and to make it big. They will probably say that they sold so many records cause their music is good. Right! So being commercial is not it. What is it then?

Man, I feel like in Seinfeld, it was one evening when he was speaking about doctors, something like “go to my doctor, he’s the top of his class!” Everybody will say the same about his/her doctors, right? But (Seinfeld was asking himself) “what happened to those finishing medical training on the last position of the class. What happened to them? Nobody will say go to my doctor, he was the last of his class!!” 

Let me hear you people!! Say it! What makes good music and what makes bad music?

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Yesterday I started to pay more attention and study the song Living on a prayer of Bon Jovi since I discussed with Costi about playing it. The song is one of those that put a mark on my rock life, it is an icon of the music of the 80’s, nobody could deny this. The whole song is sustained by the bass line and by the voice of Jon plus the “uha,uha, uhuhuha” effects of Richie Sambora’s talk box. That’s what gives life to that song. And the good melodic line and the expansive way of being of the young Bon Jovi.

Then I have listened more Bon Jovi songs on YouTube and I couldn’t miss the very big difference between what Bon Jovi used to play and what they play now. I don’t know, I love them with both of their musical directions, however some won’t consider what Bon Jovi plays now as rock. Maybe pop or pop-rock the most, but not rock.

So, I was thinking, is this selling out? Or is just adapting yourself to what the market asks. If you would remain to that initial sound of energetic songs, will you still be here in the music business?

The music changes day by day and if you make a living out of playing music, then you need to adapt yourself, even that most of the fans will consider you are not the same you used to be when you started.

I actually think it is something else…

The mot active period of a music fan is the one between 14 and 20(something). From this period we retain the most from music: taste, bands, songs. This is the period that define our musical personality.

Of course, later in our lives we refine our musical taste, we find new things, we become more complex, but nobody can deny the fact that the most important period from the point of view of forming a musical taste is this one.

On the other hand, the bands that we like need to follow trends in order to match the musical preferences of the ever-changing teens that find something new as being cool every few years, so the music they listen will be changed every few years. Bands can not stay “true” to the music they used to play 20 years ago in order to be loved by their 20 years ago fans because 20 years ago fans are now grown people with kids, jobs, responsibilities and tend to give less and less importance to music and of course, spend less and less money on it.

That is why I think that no band should be accused of selling when adapting to follow trends. They follow music evolution, adapting to new waves of teens hungry for love and music, the ones who can not change is us, fans of music played long ago in our teen life.

So I think this is not selling out. It’s evolution and it’s us who don’t follow it.

What do you think?

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I guess I’ve been hit again by the featuring-mania, I don’t know. And damn, it’s again Slash,after writing that post with Slash top 5 featuring acts, I seem to find him everywhere. But I have never thought I will find Slash playing with Ozzy.

The performance itself is nice but there are a few things I can not stop myself making fun of.

• I love Slash’s “pose”, his image when being on stage, that shaking of his guitar when holding a power chord, the same I know from GNR’s times (at 2:26).
• I smiled when I saw him balancing and making that spread-out-legs “rock icon” pose, bowing over his guitar while picking the notes of a simple clean chord, like in a very demanding solo, even if this song…has no solo!! So I didn’t quite understand what Slash contributed with, beside him being on stage…
• The concentration of round sun glasses is way too high there…

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