Re: Hiromi

["Joshua Carroll" <josh@infinivert.com>]

I wasn't going to chime in, but I have to agree.  I have a buddy who's a
huge Vai fan, and I just don't get it.

I heard a great Queen-esque guitar solo on the radio a few months ago, and
I went off on a rant on the lack of that sort of thing in modern music. 
When I ended with the question "what ever happened to guitar solos
anyway?" my wife responded without a second thought: "guitar players." 
And she was probably right... as much as I hate to admit it (being a
guitar-solo nut myself).  There's just been too much "wankery," and not
enough "soul."  Too much Vai, not enough Vaughan.

I think a lot of musicians make the music about the musician rather than
the other way around.  Obviously, I can't ever make a blanket statement
about any artist being that way, but when I catch that self-important vibe
in a tune--be it prog rock or hip hop--it just makes me want to turn the
thing off.

As far as Hiromi goes, the part I enjoyed was the smiling interaction
between the musicians at the end.  No way I could listen to that stuff all
the time, but I have to respect the precision, and I'm blown away that
they could have fun doing that!

--Josh



> As someone who's favorite guitarist is Adrain Belew, I
> think lack of chops has nothing to do with the demise
> of "chops."  It's lack of interest for wankery.  An
> old friend of mine used to play me Steve Vai albums
> and, while impressed by his technical prowess, I found
> the music to be totally uninspired and lacking
> anything that might be considered "soul."  I can't put
> my finger on why it felt so flat... There was not a
> single technical fault to the music, but it may as
> well have been created by a robot. (not the cool
> killer kind that turns on it's unsuspecting master
> after developing sentience and emotion)
>
> Now, I know a lot of you probably like Steve Vai and
> other's in the guitar wank genre and I'm happy you do
> and I'd fight for your right to listen and play that
> music.  However, for my money I'd trade the ability to
> convey emotion in your music over the ability to
> cleanly play 32nd notes at 160 bpm.  I've got the
> entire King Crimson catalog on my iPod, but there's
> still room for The White Stripes on there too.  While
> I'm at it, have you ever listened to how sloppy The
> Jimi Hendrix Experience is?  I love every moment of
> it.
>
> Mark Sottilaro
>
> --- Travis Hartnett <travishartnett@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Fortunately, Dragon Force is here to bring back
>> chops:
>>
>>
> http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZuodOsIE7cg&search=dragon%20force
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6/21/06, Richard Sales <richard@glasswing.com>
>> wrote:
>> first incarnation with Mike Beck on drums/creative
>> percussion.
>> >
>> > And yes!  The anti chop movement has been
>> devastating to music.  The
>> > sanctification of The Garage has been cataclysmic.
>>  But some nights,
>> > when I''m off, I'm really grateful for it!
>>
>>
>
>
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