I didn’t know that but thanks to Guitar Players Center website I found out about it, I really didn’t know when Joe Satriani’s birthday is.

And honestly I didn’t know he is 52 yo, man, how time flies!!!

So, a short and warm Happy birthday to you, Joe! and I think I speak for everybody when I say you don’t show your age and I wish you create beautiful pieces of extraterrestrial music at least for the next 52 years to come!

Happy birthday, Joe!

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Call me stupid, call me uninformed, call me whatever you like, but I swear I didn’t know about this girl, Tal Wilkenfeld, who at only 22 yo!! has been touring with Jeff Beck, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock, Steve Vai, and the Allman Brothers. Damn!

I have found out about Tal Wilkenfeld by reading Little Rock Jam’s blog and once again I realized why I love blogging about music so much! Everyday I get the chance to find out about something new and wonderful in this world! That is why!

So, who is Tal Wilkenfeld?

Tal Wilkenfeld has been playing the bass since less than five years! She started playing the guitar at 14 in her native Sydney and switched over to the electric bass three years later.

“I’ve always just picked up any instrument and been able to play it―I could sit down at the drums or the piano and just play for fun…But as soon as I started playing bass I knew it was my instrument. It was like, ‘Yes this is it. I don’t even want to play guitar anymore, this is amazing.’”

I am not going to reproduce the original article since this is not the idea of this post, you should visit Little Rock Jam and read it for yourself there, but I am going to post a video here so you get my point!

By the way, here’s her MySpace page and also her website.

Well, what do you think about her?

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Recently I’ve felt a big joy, like some kind of balloon suddenly inflated inside me. This happened because I have suddenly felt proud about a particular thing that recently happened! Let me tell you about it:

I was traveling with my wife and a few friends by car a few weeks ago and listening music while driving. My friend was driving the car, his car, that is, and in the CD player it was one of his CDs, so his music, not mine. A bunch of great rock chops so I started some kind of “recognize the song/artist” game that almost all the time I won since none of my friends or my wife are really passionate about music or something. However, I could not stop myself “explaining” them what makes the difference between Santana’s sound and licks compared to Satriani or Slash. I didn’t think it will make much of a difference but I couldn’t help it not to observe one thing or an other related to the music that was playing.

And now the reason that started me…These last days I had the surprise to hear my wife telling me, while listening some music in the car, indeed, Santana has a particular sound that I now instantly recognize!!! Damn! I looked at her with THAT look on my face! Indeed, one of the recent songs of Santana was playing on the radio, I didn’t know the song, my wife didn’t know it either, but SHE RECOGNIZED THE GUITAR!

I should tell you, if this doesn’t seem like a big break through to you, that my wife does not know too much about guitars(other than hearing me playing) and she has no interest in rock music! She couldn’t tell a band from an other one, unless the band is one of the highly promoted monsters of rock that really is different one way or the other (something like Queen, Guns, probably Metallica, etc).

So I really felt like winning a really big battle this time, since she managed to recognize THE GUITAR PLAYER out of a feature song, you know, the kind of songs Santana makes lately, in a different style, with different singers.

I guess I feel like a teacher that realized his students payed attention.

Man, how good it feels!

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Because I had a few articles about Line 6 Variax guitar, Silviu, a friend of mine (ex-band colleague, proud Variax owner and reader of this blog) pointed me to a few videos with his band (Spin), where he plays the guitar at a concert here in Pitesti, a concert that I totally forgot about a few weeks ago, reason for which I consider myself an idiot cause I really wanted to see him playing this guitar live.

So, here’s one of the songs, for the rest search “trupa Spin” on YouTube! I really like this song. Plus that, when this song was released, the guitar player was an other ex-band mate of mine, so I felt connected to this band at that moment and I feel connected to it now too!

Enjoy!

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At the last rehearsal with my band we decided to try ACDC’s song “You shook me all night” so yesterday I found a little time to listen the song carefully and work it a bit. I was amazed of how easy the song is. The guitar riffs are almost folk-like, just that played on an overdriven guitar. Nothing difficult there, plain G, C and D just that in a particular sequence like for ex G C G C G D, G D G D…

But I got annoyed the first times when trying to learn the sequence, because after a few tries, my mind slipped away when trying to sing along and I started to make mistakes in the sequence. That made me actually think of this post, because I realized that this song does not come naturally to me, like other songs do.

I should tell you I don’t like those songs where the song is based on a sequence of fast and repetitive chords where you need to change something at a given moment, I just don’t like them. I remember hating the song “Proud Mary(Rolling on a river)” because I needed to remind a particular sequence that didn’t come natural to me. I work better with songs that have more air. It’s not a matter of technical skills, obviously, it’s a matter of preferences. I guess everybody has a way of doing things that is preferred over the others.

I guess some of you love full chord songs, like this song, or Beatles’ songs. Others love songs with power riffs, like Megadeth or Metallica while others love Deep Purple’s style of riffs, like in Black Night, for ex, I think you know what I mean.

So, how do you feel about those sequences of chords? Love them or hate them? What’s your preferred style? Let me hear you!

PS: after playing the song a couple of times, the sequence comes natural now, but the idea of this post still stayed in my mind and decided to write it here.

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I was reading this morning in a local newspaper that Red Hot Chili Peppers split for about 1 year. That’s a sad news but at the same time, a good one. Good because they took a break, it is not an end. A year that will give them time to recharge their batteries and think of new things.

I think that once in a while, a break is needed, especially when you speak about a band that toured heavily. I think that the need of being close to your family starts to ask its share at one point.

I only hope they have the power to come back after one year because they really have an unique take on rock music.

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A couple of days ago, a 12 years old girl jumped out the window while her mother was there with her and, of course, died. She left a good bye note, sign she was determined to do this and it was not a spontaneous act. The girl was an “emo kid” and fan of Tokyo Hotel band.

OK. I see them on the streets every day, with their dark, rebel hair, with a strong and black makeup, with dark clothes and that semi-goth look. At first I smiled, it must be a trend. I remember me fighting with my mom over my long hair and scattered jeans, over my skull t-shirts and metal music. Ah, yes, and I won’t tell you how hard it was to wear ear rings. At first 1, then 2 large ones. I was cool with my red and black leather jacket, long hair and ear rings. I was I guess 19-20 years old and loved metal!

But I didn’t jump, and most of all, I have never thought about anything like this. I even remember telling my friends once that if by any reason they will find anything like this about me, they know I DIDN’T DO IT MYSELF! I love life! I loved it there too. I loved life in every single aspect of it. I loved rock music, distorted electric guitars, long hair, screwing everybody who was pointing at me for one reason or another!

2 days ago it was this late night TV show here caused by this 12 yo kid who jumped. There was a psychologist invited, a rock music critic, 2 emo kids and others that I don’t remember. The theme was clear: why did she jump?

I watched a part of the show then, the next morning I have seen a news in an e-newspaper and I followed a link there to a site that preaches emo culture.

I can tell you I had an impression of a large gap. A gap between me and these kids. I am 31 yo, remember? I am not that far away. I can not imagine how would it be to be 55 yo and to face such a situation. If you are 55 yo, then you probably feel the gap even worse than me and you probably couldn’t understand it either, the way I do it now.

These kids are not 12, these kids there look, feel and act like 20 yo. They look sad. I haven’t seen a single smile on their faces on that site. How could you not smile?!! How could you be sad at 12?!! WTF is wrong with you, emo kids?

I read on that site that is the site of emo community in Romania, as they say:

“these persons have the tendency to hate themselves, to feel inferior to the others, to be very hard on themselves, all these leading sometimes to suicidal tendencies!!!”

Man, could this be right? I don’t believe in censorship, I believe in freedom of expression, but CAN YOU POSSIBLY write on a web site that leads the flag of a community of teenagers that the teenagers that are part of that particular community hate themselves?! You can not grow inside them the feeling of inferiority and most of all you can not tell them, yes, man, you have suicidal tendencies, pay attention, we all here have it, well, it’s not that bad, if you think about it!

Am I crazy? Have I lost it or what? Shouldn’t we grow inside kids and teenagers the feeling of security, trust, the feeling of being on the right way, to make them feel good with themselves? Is this emo culture an anti-social one or what?

They were speaking about Tokyo Hotel as being one of the musical leaders of this emo culture and they were accusing one song, named Don’t jump as being part of the problem, being the favorite video of that girl who jumped. The psychologist said that the message in the video is understood exactly the other way by a listener. Don’t jump!! Now you get it the other way, if you want!

I must admit I was not familiar with Tokyo Hotel and their music so I tried a couple of songs. I can tell you that the music was not that bad, don’t blame me for that appreciation, a part of me likes this style. It is that crying music that has roots in punk, alternative, etc. They say it’s new. The rock critic invited to that show was pissed off for this and I understood him why. I watched him a lot of times on TV, he had a late night rock show, metal oriented, man, I loved it, his name used to be associated to late nigh metal.

So, he spoke a bit about this music and I also listened it the next morning. How could it be new!? Listen closely! Remember Radiohead’s Creep?! Creep has the same idea, it is released in 1993 and it is alternative. Nothing new on this earth right? Also, how about Nirvana?! People should ask Tokyo Hotel’s composers where do they get their inspiration from. Nirvana must be one of the sources, in my opinion.

So, people listened this music long before emo kids were around, nothing new. Then, why this suicidal ideas? Where is it coming from? Tokyo Hotel is a produced band, has composers hired just for them, the look, the songs, they are all “artificially produced”. While I don’t argue that in music it is a marketing way of doing it, like for ex the T.A.T.U. thing. Here it was big, 2 Russian girls with lesbian image singing in semi-erotic outfits. Who cared about the music?!! It faded away…

It is the same thing now with emo, IMO. Somebody created this culture from scratch, gave the leading lines and said let it grow and spread. Then, we’ll sell things like music and clothes to them…

Man, how about coffins? Little ones, they are only 12, remember?

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From Michael Angelo Batio’s site:

“Michael, like Joe Satriani also has a famous guitar student! Michael taught (Rage Against The Machine and AudioSlave) guitarist Tom Morello while Michael was attending college. Tom has credited MAB with teaching him in a feature article in Guitar World Magazine”

What do you know? It is very interesting to find out about big names that studied guitar with other big names.

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Did you ever thought about what influence rock music has over people worldwide? I am always pleased to see artists outside rock music scene covering famous rock hits. Some of those covers come from people I wouldn’t have thought they enjoy rock music, like for example these cases below.

I know AC/DC is big, had a lot of hits and is in a position where everybody would like to sing one of their song, but man, Celine Dion, Anastacia , Shania Twain, Shakira singing AC/DC??!! This is a “must see” in my opinion!!

So, here we go:

Celine Dion and Anastacia singing “You shook me all night long” (pop rock version)

Shania Twain again with “You shook me all night long” (pop/country version, I love the slide on ACDC, I ask myself what Angus Young thought when he saw this video,because I don’t think he missed it!)

Shakira with “Back in black”, after you pass the first part, it is fine, considering Shakira’s singing style. I love the guitar part!

I consider these performances a tribute to monster band AC/DC, tribute that well known pop divas pay to somebody that made a mark on rock music. I consider it a form of respect, because when you are on top, you only sing somebody else’s songs if you really respect that artist.

Stumble that, people! Thanks!

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It is vital to have the right technique when playing the guitar, there is no doubt about it. The question is what can you actually do with that technique? Or what is the best thing to do with that technique? Shred?

From my personal observation, I can tell you that the lately I am more and more interested in artists who achieved a high level of technical skills BUT DO A LOT TO AVOID OVERUSING the techniques they master. And here I think about Joe Satriani and, the reason of this particular post, John Petrucci.

It is great to master the guitar like nobody else, but think of showing those skills everywhere, everyday, on all your songs. Think Malmsteen, for example. Doesn’t get boring for the audience after a while? OK, I know, people know you for something and comes to your shows for that particular something, so you need to give the people what the came for, right? Bread and games, or how was the ancient Roman habit(more familiar to European readers) for keeping people under control?

But I do love a great artist who is a master of his instrument who comes up on stage and shows that he is looking for something more than showing skills and techniques, showing he’s looking for soul, for expression, to touch the hearts of audience, even if this means breaking new grounds, which the audience may not be quite used to do in the context of that particular artist.

Actually, I think that the true power of expression can only appear after you have conquered everything you can regarding your skills, when you know every note on the guitar neck and every possibility of expression, then, and only then, you can choose those notes that make the most of your song.

That’s where the soul begins…where virtuosity ends…

What do you think?

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