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Chris Feener, 20 yo rock Guitar Idol has more than meets the eye

These last days I’ve got interested again in Guitar Idol competition. While I am a fan of Gustavo Guerra due to 1000 reasons that I will discuss at a later time(and I hope he win the competition), I listened to every one of the guys presented there in the final. I must say that in many cases, the video they entered the contest with was not the best choice if you also look for them on YouTube because, in my opinion, most of them have other pieces that are better.

But OK, I understand the reason for the songs presented there: they needed songs that show a broad range of skills and I can say that you could see in 3-4 minutes from speed picking, melodic sense, creativity, control, tone, tremolo bar works, 8 finger taping, slap, finger style, whatever else they could think of that I can not even imagine…

This morning I was looking on YouTube for this guy, Chris Feener, who is on the 3rd position considering the number of votes, but didn’t quite impress me.

In the beginning, his Ibanez K7 guitar was what set me back because it immediately made me think of a pattern: the young shredder, Symphony X fan that will drive me crazy with fast notes from moment one to the end of the song without understanding anything of the actual melody (if there would be any). Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Ibanez electric guitars and a 7 strings Ibanez guitar has been something I have dreamed of for a while, until I understood that you don’t need 7 strings to play well. You need something else…

However, listening him on YouTube, I have discovered a 20 yo guy with a great collection of skills and techniques, with pieces far more interesting than what he presented for the contest.

So I have decided to put here one of his covers, Andy Timmons Groove or die song which I like very much, by the way, as almost all the songs of Andy Timmons.

So, without further comments, I give you Chris Feener and Andy Timmons’ Groove or die:

Question: considering the notoriety that YouTube builds to these guys, where do you think we’ll see him in a couple of years? In what band?

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Tags: Andy Timmons, guitar, Guitar Idol, rock

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10 Responses to “Chris Feener, 20 yo rock Guitar Idol has more than meets the eye”

Josh
June 13th, 2008 at 4:47 pm

Wow, great stuff! So far, I think that’s one of the best Guitar Idol videos I’ve seen.
Ovidiu
June 13th, 2008 at 10:52 pm

Well, don’t jump into conclusions, watch Gustavo Guerra’s entry and his YouTube page. You’ll be amazed!
MG
June 15th, 2008 at 7:29 am

Hey Ovidiu-I liked Chris-I am not too much a fan of shredding, but I did like most of it. He kind of lost me (it seemed like that melody going on was lost about 1:30) but he got me back late in the song. As for skills-this guy has got a lot of them! I’m impressed!
Ovidiu
June 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am

@MG: Do you know the original song? He played it even better in some points, he improved it, in my opinion, making a song that is closer to hard/metal than to fusion/rock or what you call Andy Timmons’ playing, but he didn’t lose it IMO
MG
June 16th, 2008 at 1:48 am

No-to tell you the truth I don’t know the Timmon’s version. I will have to check that out! Maybe that listen will give me a better idea of Chris’ version.
Ovidiu
June 16th, 2008 at 8:21 am

I think that you should listen to it, it gives you an other view. I like Andy Timmons’ work a lot and I didn’t think somebody else would dare to cover such a song but this guy did it. Listen to the original song, it will be interesting to compare
Stratoblogster
June 17th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

He’s fantastic at duplication and execution. Now he needs to start listening to everything and different genres so that he can have lots of variations to synthesize from– then eventually he’ll evolve his own voice. There’s getting to be a large number of players who can play at this high level, but if they don’t diversify and work from a broader palette, we end up with lots of clones out there, as in the case of many young Asian players.

With that level of ability and duplication, Chris Feener has the potential to bring something new to the table, if he continues to broaden genre-wise.
Ovidiu
June 17th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

Yes, indeed, he masters the technique, has speed and accuracy and can bring something new “to the table” as you say. He must think for himself, but he is only 20 yo. I think he still has time for this…
MG
June 19th, 2008 at 4:00 am

Hi Ovidiu-I went to YT to check out the Andy Timmons version of Groove Or Die. I like Chris’ much much more! Timmon’s version is way too fast for me. Someone commented that Timmons’ playing style (in general) is too rushed-sounding “impatient” is what the commenter said-I feel the same way-for this song.
Ovidiu
June 19th, 2008 at 8:24 am

@MG: Groove or die is a fast song, but not all Timmons’ songs are this way. I personally like his work very much and I found him to be one of the most interesting guitar players around, but indeed, Chris Feener does a great job and brings his own touch to the song.

Chris Feener, 20 yo rock Guitar Idol has more than meets the eye

10 Responses to “Chris Feener, 20 yo rock Guitar Idol has more than meets the eye”

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