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Tom Morello

Tom Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman. His use of guitar effects, inventive guitar solos and iconic heavy guitar riffs have led to him being hailed as one of the most innovative guitar players of recent years.

His over politicalisation of his bands however and claims "To deliver a knockout blow to the Bush administration." in the past have earned much criticism from fans who have accused him of arrogance and overstating his influence.



Steve Howe

Steve Howe, of Yes and Asia fame is one of the true masters of the fretboard and has earned much critical acclaim including being five-time winner of "Best Overall Guitarist" in Guitar Player (1977-1981). Stories of his ego however are almost legendary with reports of Mr Howe even shushing fans who dare "interrupt" his solos during live preformances

Although he didn't join Yes until their third album and being out of the band for most of the 80s he has reportedly claimed that any Yes album that does not feature Steve Howe on guitar is not "true" Yes album. In addition he once (unsuccessfully we might add) tried to sue Chris Squire (bassist, co-founder, and the only original member of Yes who has been with the band throughout its every incarnation) for the legal rights to the band's name. Fortunately the jury ruled in favour of Mr. Squire



John Mayer

Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. In 2003, he won a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for "Your Body Is a Wonderland" and in 2007 Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for his album 'Continuum'.

John Mayer is said to be one of the most vain celebrities ever which is aptly illustrated after he sent his then girlfriend Jessica Simpson a video of himself on her birthday. Mayer, 31, had failed to make it to Simpson’s birthday party as he was on tour, and so he sent her a DVD of himself in concert.

Egotastic!



Al Di Meola

Al Di Meola is one of the most well renowned names in American jazz fusion and Latin jazz. He has had a musical career that has spanned more than three decades and continues to be one of the most influential guitarists in the jazz fusion genre.

He is a four time winner as Best Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's Reader Poll and is obviously a great guitar player, trrouble is he certainly knows it. I think the photo says it all here. Fans have also reported that he is pompous and arrogant after meeting him after shows.




Dave Mustaine

Although lacking the commercial success of Metallica Dave Mustaine's Megadeth have a strong fan base and are headlining this years 30th anniversary Download Festival. Despite this he is still pretty bitter about being fired from Metallica and is also known for a king size ego.

In an interview for the Thrash Metal documentary "Get Thrashed" he says that he taught Kerry King (Slayer) his style and when he was in Metallica that he was the only guitar player. He also claims that and in Megadeth it was all his guitar playing and the "hired hands" just learned what he was doing.

He was also once quoted as saying "Hammett stole my job, but at least I got to bang his girlfriend before he took my job — how do I taste, Kirk?". Nasty!




Noel Gallagher

Noel has such a way with 3 chords and the pentatonic blues scale that it propelled Oasis to superstardom worldwide. Say what you like about their recent material the first two albums 'Definitely Maybe' and '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' are superb with plenty of anthemic guitar riffs and memorable solos.

Maybe its just because I'm a shandy drinking southerner but I just can't stand that Mancunian swagger that comes with oasis. Definitely FIGJAM!



Lenny Kravitz

I love this dude but he is undoubtedly one of the ultimate FIGJAM guitarists. The photo once again says it all. Only a complete narcissist would ever pose for something like this. The guitar riffs to 'My Mamma Said' and 'Are you Gonna Go My Way' however are essential repertoire for any self respecting rock guitarist.



Matt Bellamy

To quote Wikipedia Matt Bellamy is singer, writer, guitarist, pianist, bassist, drummer, manager, publicist and de facto Führer of 3 piece band Muse. His dramatic, apocalyptic, and dark style of rock has brought joy to millions and he is an incredible talent.

He does have an air of arrogance about him however and despite having legions die hard fans is also widely regarded as egotistical and arrogant. The following quote from Matt says it all really.

"When we were recording the album in New York, we saw that Yngwie Malmsteen was playing, so me and Dom decided to have a few beers and go there for the fuckoffness of it. I can't even describe it to you - it was so awful yet strangely good. What greeted us on stage was the fattest, tallest, hairiest, weirdest buffoon genius I've ever seen. He's definitely going through his Elvis period. There were a lot of women there actually. I think a lot of women like big, fat, hairy guitar players...."

Related Posts

FIGJAM Guitarists Part One

Labels: guitarists

Found these great video interviews with Andy Timmons via the Dimarzio pickups website. I've been impressed by Andy's playing ever since I saw him support Kiss during their UK Tour back in the early nineties and these videos show him on fine form as well as what a soulful style he has developed over the years. The Signature Ibanez looks pretty sweet as well!



Andy Timmons plays "Cry For You" and reminisces about seeing Jeff Beck play in concert. Andy plays and talks about his sound, DiMarzio pickups, Mesa Boogie amps, "Xotic effects and his Andy Timmons signature Ibanez guitar.



Andy Timmons plays "Electric Gypsy" in the video above and talks some more about his Andy Timmons signature Ibanez guitar and the custom DiMArzio Cruiser and T-1 pickups.

Labels: guitar videos, guitarists

Ok, so back by popular demand we have 'Sexiest Girls that Play Guitar - Part Deux'. Basically we had a ton of suggestions on the original Sexiest Girls that Play Guitar post and thought it was about time we covered some of the talented girls you have suggested. Apologies if I have left any of your favourites out but I think you'll really enjoy this list ;-)





Shakira

Yes she is awesome and yes she does play guitar!



Susanna Hoffs

Lead guitarist with the Bangles and she is still smokin!



Ana Popovic

Awesome blues guitarist from Serbia.



Annie Clark

Annie Clark is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter who performs under the moniker St. Vincent.



Gabriela Quintero

Gabriela Quintero plays rhythm guitar in Mexican musical duo Rodrigo y Gabriela who specialize in playing fast, rhythmic acoustic guitars.



Jennifer Lewis

Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer, musician, and actress. She is a member and primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums.



Kaki King

Katherine Elizabeth King is an American guitar player and singer-songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia.



Orianthi

Orianthi Panagaris, commonly known as Orianthi, is a Greek - Australian guitarist. Orianthi is best known for being Michael Jackson's guitarist for his comeback concert series,This is it.



PJ Harvey

Not every mans cup of tea but you can't deny she is an awesomely talented musician. Personally I think she has something about her.



Lzzy Hale

Lzzy Hale plays rhythm guitar with Halestorm, an American hard rock band from York, Pennsylvania



Nicole Atkins

Nicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter best known for her work with the band Nicole Atkins & the Sea.



Hayley Williams

Hayley Nichole Williams is an American rock singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore. She also plays guitar apparently.

Labels: bands, guitarists

Doug Aldrich plays some classic Whitesnake guitar riffs and solos from the '1987' and 'Slide It In' albums.



David Coverdale has a great track record in choosing some of the world's best guitar players for the Whitesnake band and Doug is no different. He has tons of technique, can really wail when he wants to and most importantly has plenty of feel. Just check out the melodic slide guitar part in the guitar solo below.

Labels: guitar videos, guitarists

It's no secret that I'm a total fanboy when it comes to Richie Kotzen and his unique style of soulful guitar playing has probably been the biggest influence on me as a guitarist. Whilst primarily known for his technical prowess on the electric guitar, Richie is also an accomplished singer songwriter and his acoustic guitar playing is also pretty awesome.

The collection of videos below are from an acoustic gig earlier this year at the Legend 54 club in Milan which highlight just what a talent this guy is.

Stoned



The Road



Until You Suffer Some Fire & Ice



Rust



Don't Wanna Lie

Labels: acoustic guitarists, Cool Guitar Videos, guitarists

Really entertaining interview by Dave Navarro with George Lynch courtesy of www.maniatv.com. It really does illustrate however just how good a guitar player George is compared to someone like Dave Navarro who seems to really struggle with a lot of the techniques George is demonstrating.

Here are some more George Lynch Guitar Lessons



A clip from Heavy Metal Rock legend George Lynch's Guitar Dojo online Guitar comunity



George Lynch playing the awesome Mr. Scary






George Lynch Live 2006 (Track 1)



George Lynch Live 2006 (Track 2)




George Lynch Live 2006 (Track 3)

Labels: Cool Guitar Videos, guitar lessons, guitarists

To honour the passing of Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop', I thought I would put together some of the classic guitar moments that he has both created and inspired. Who can ever forget 'beat It', 'Dirty Diana', and 'Give In To Me.



This is were it all started. A true Jackson classic with a legendary guitar solo from the equally legendary Eddie Van Halen.



Dirty Diana - Michael at the height of his powers with an awesome guitar performance from Steve Stevens.



Give In To Me - This time the guitar honours go to GnR axeman Slash.



I can always remember loving the riff to Smooth Criminal even when I was a complete metal head in the eighties. So when Alien Ant Farm turned this song into a metal anthem I was all over it. Simply one of the best metal cover versions I've heard.


RIP Michael and thank you for the music. You'll never be forgotten!

Labels: guitarists

FIGJAM (F**k I'm good, just ask me) is usually a term reserved for premiership footballers and cocky English cricketers but we couldn't resist applying it on the ego driven world of the guitar god. Our top 10 list might be a little controversial but it should at least give you a laugh or two.


Yngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie has got to be the ultimate FIGJAM guitarist. Supremely talented at shredding the harmonic minor scale the guy rocks but get him into a conversion and the main topic of conversation is “how much I rock”. Classic!


Ritchie Blackmore

The Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist is revered the world over for his inspired rock guitar playing. He left Deep Purple in 1993 due to a growing rift between Blackmore and other members in spite of renewed commercial success. However his current band, the Renaissance influenced Blackmore's Night. has become parodied due to its slightly dodgy folk rock image. When he's quoted saying things like “I feel like I own the stage” and “I don't use the twang bar anymore. It's become too popular” you get the feeling that he's had his fair share of FIGJAm moments.


Prince

Well we couldn't really have a FIGJAM list without including the vertically challenged super ego. If not for anything else he had to go on for changing his name to the symbol. Still Prince can play guitar with the best of them, just check out the guitar playing on 1984's Purple Rain for some true classic rock moments.


Ted Nugent

Probably my least favourite guitar player in the world and one of the worst celebrity ambassadors I can think of (just check out any of the guy's hunting videos to see what I mean). This guy has an ego that even outstrips his massive collection of guns and guitars.


Steve Vai

I'll probably get some stick for this but despite being one of the most gifted guitar players on the planet and certainly one of the most creative, Steve Vai definitely has an air of supremacy about him. Despite his incredible talent I still think Joe Satriani has more to offer both musically and technically.


Eddie Van Halen

There's probably a reason why lead singers such David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone left Van Halen. There's just not enough room for two massive ego's. Sure he may have pioneered fretboard tapping and has a portfolio of awesome guitar solos under his belt but believing your own hype is always going to cause problems.


Vinnie Vincent

It's no wonder this guy got fired from Kiss. Another guitarist that believed his own hype only unlike Eddie Van Halen he was seriously untalented (just listen to any of the guitar solos on the Vinnie Vincent's Invasion albums).


The Edge

Ego's Ahoy! U2 have more than most and anyone with a name like 'The Edge' has to have a massive ego! 'The Joshua Tree' rocks though, I have to give him that.


Jimmy Page

An absolute pioneer of classic rock guitar method but the guy would be really difficult to play in a band with. Just listen to Phil Collins talk about playing drums with Led Zeppelin during the Live Aid performance to see what I mean. Maybe that's why Robert Plant is so reluctant to reform Led Zeppelin.


Nuno Bettencourt

The guitarist from the eighties rock band Extreme is sadly more famous for the sappy ballad “More Than Words” however he is also responsible for laying down some of the most awesome riffs and blazing guitar solos ever heard. Pornograffitti is one of the best eighties rock albums period.


Keith Richards

Well say what you like about his playing ability, Keith Richards still one of the most respected blues rock guitarists around. And in true stones fashion if anyone knows it Keith does.

So there we have it, our personal list of FIGJAM guitarists. Of course if you disagree then we would love to know why. Just leave a comment below if you think another guitarist should be on the list or you someone should be removed.

Labels: FIGJAM, guitarists

I've just finished watching the incredible Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott's on BBC4, whilst the show also featured some great performances from Joss Stone, Imogen Heap and Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck's playing was truly mind blowing.

Jeff Beck's reputation as a guitarist has grown ever since playing with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds and its no surprise he ranked 14th in Rolling Stone's '100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time'. Much of his playing has been instrumental and he has proved a versatile player with his musical styles spanning from blues to rock, jazz and heavy metal.

He has produced some amazing studio albums with the Jeff Beck Group including 1975's 'Blow by Blow', Wired a year later, 'There and Back' in 1980 and 1989's 'Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop'. He won another grammy award for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for the track "Dirty Mind" from 2001's 'You Had It Coming'.

His playing is full of tone and emotion and this is evident in the track "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" which you can watch below.



His tremolo work is probably what makes his sound so unique however and he uses this to powerful effect in the heart wrenching 'Where were you'.



Jeff Beck's 'People Get Ready' illustrates his great rhythm work and a fantastic lead melody.



Of course the guy can rock with the best of them. Check out 'Sling Shot' from 1989's 'Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop'.



Jeff Beck Guitar Tabs

If you feel like learning a few classic Jeff Beck tracks then check out the following tabs.

Jeff Beck Tags from Ultimate Guitar

Free Tabs

MusicNotes.com

Labels: guitarists

After featuring Jamsbio on my last blog entry I thought it would be fun to create my first list on the site. It's called "Top 5 Most Underrated Guitarists" and features Richie Kotzen and Joe Satriani amongst others.

I hope you like it and would encourage you to create your own ultimate list of guitar players. Visit Jamsbio.com to join and once you create a list we'd love to hear about it so make sure you post the URL in the comments below.

Labels: guitar, guitarists, Jamsbio

Guitarists are well and truly spoilt for choice on the internet these days however as there are so many websites on-line, sometimes it can be tricky finding the best ones. Hopefully this list of essential websites for guitarists will help you in the right direction.



Guitar Site

This magazine style website offers plenty of guitar news and gear reviews as well as tutorials and lessons. Not a bad place to start.



LickLibrary

This is a paid membership website for guitarists however the sheer wealth of content and quality on offer is well worth the monthly fee. They have some big name guitarists such as Joe Satriani and Steve Vai promoting it and you would be hard pushed to find a better community website for guitarists.



Guitar Noize

This guitar blog features some interesting posts and we'd recommend subscribing to the RSS feed when you get the chance.



Ultimate Guitar

This massive on-line guitar community is one of the most popular websites around and they have a particularly good guitar tabs section which features tabs uploaded by members. We find the layout a little confusing at times but that's probably due to the sheer amount of lessons, reviews and columns they have. Definitely one for the favourites.



Guitar Port
This website has been built around the innovative Guitarport USB amplifier and features a well laid out and feature rich layout that compliments the Guitarport perfectly. You'll get a vast library of accurate tabs, famous teachers and the ability to play rhythm, bass or lead guitar on each backing track Superb!



Guitar Toybox

Another well laid out blog that features interesting news in the guitar community.



Music Street UK

Probably our favourite place to buy guitars and equipment. The website is easy to use, they have a massive range of gear and often have deals that you would be hard pushed to find anywhere else.



Audio Tool

This is simply incredible. Built entirely in Macromedia Flash, the Audiobox on Hobnox features an array of stomp boxes, samplers and even a Roland Drum Machine.The dragable interface lets you view all the effects which can all be controlled easily via a few mouse clicks. You could spend a lot of time on this tool!



Guitar World

Just like the magazine, Guitar World provides a wealth of interviews, guitar reviews, lessons and tabs. It's geared to towards the modern rock and heavy metal scene however so it might not be everyone's cup of tea.



Jams Bio

This website is a recent discovery but we love it already. It's a social community that allows you to share your life through music and was created as a place for people to meet, reconnect, or simply stay in touch by sharing music related stories. I can see many guitarists using this website to share gigs and experiences with friends and it's also a great site to create a tribute to your favourite band or guitarist. Well worth checking out!

If you have any suggestion for even more essential websites for guitarists then we want to hear about them. Simply leave a comment below with the name and URL of the site you'd like to recommend.

Labels: guitar, guitar news, guitarists

Well I have to admit I do like Coldplay but I'm a little concerned over some of the melodies which seems quite familiar at times. Check out the video below which does a convincing job of arguing the case that Cold play have stolen the main riff and chord progression from Joe Satriani's "If I Could Fly" for "Viva La Vida".



Pretty cool ending to the video though. Hey I wonder if we could get Joe on stage with Coldplay? Well maybe if the lawsuits aren't flying!

Labels: guitar, guitarists

I have to confess that I'm not the biggest Yngwie Malmsteen fan but his olympic white 70's Fender Stratocaster is the stuff of legend and certainly iconic amongst guitarists. Fender's custom workshop have painstakingly put together an identical tribute series stratocaster complete with 70's enlarged headstock, stressed bodywork and aged scalloped fretboard. The attention to detail is quite literally incredible and the guitar even has the "Play Loud" sticker that Yngwie put on back in 1983.

You can watch the making of this incredible instrument at the Fender custom workshop website which provides a fascinating insight into the process of creating such a classic guitar. Enjoy!

Labels: fender, guitarists, guitars, rock, stratocasters

Looks like Guitar Hero IV is shaping up nicely. Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Zakk Wylde will appear in the game, due this autumn (fall) and will feature in the classic tracks Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley. Those songs will also be playable in a virtual Ozzfest venue.

Other tracks confirmed include;

Steve Miller Band - The Joker

Interpol - Obstacle 1

The Doors - Light My Fire

Linkin Park - In The End

Michael Jackson - Beat It

Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings

Sadly, despite the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, we will not be seeing Led Zeppelin's iconic songs in either game any time soon, according to the Wall Street Journal. The band, specifically Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, is not comfortable giving gaming companies access to the group's master recordings which is a necessary step in adding the band. No surprise there as Led Zeppelin have been typically elusive when it comes to access to their songs. You only have to look at the lengths Jack Black had to go to secure the Immigrant Song in School of Rock.

Labels: bands, guitar, Guitar Hero, guitarists

Well we just couldn't resist it any longer. This is LearnTheGuitarNow.com's tribute to the sexiest girls that play the guitar. If you think we have missed anyone then let us know in the comments and we'll do our best to feature them in the next list.



Avril Lavigne

The pint size rocker has a cracking voice and certainly knows her way around the fretboard.




Michelle Branch

Michelle Jacquet Branch is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. After collaborating with Santana on the single "The Game of Love", which won a Grammy Award, she went on to form the musical duo The Wreckers with fellow musician Jessica Harp. Michelle Branch has now released her third solo album with Maverick entitled "Everything Comes and Goes".



Lori Linstruth

Female lead guitarist Lori Linstruth released her demo CD of darkly melodic instrumental guitar music in 2004. Her instantly identifiable style captured the attention of none other than the mighty Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One), who promptly recruited her for his band project Stream of Passion. Lori also plays guitar and writes songs for her all-female melodic metal project, Warbride, and recently contributed some guest solos to Janne Stark's Mountain of Power.



Allison Robertson from the Donnas

The Donnas really know how to rock. Their punk rock meets glam metal style has won them many fans and they certainly know to put their own stamp on covers. Check out the cracking cover version of Round and Round by Ratt and you'll see what I mean.



KT Tunstall

My personal favourite and I think this has to be my favourite pic of KT. I think it has to be one of the most iconic rock photos taken. A modern classic!



Grace Potter

Grace Potter is the 25-year-old lead vocalist and guitarist of The Nocturnals, a Vermont-based band that has recently gained national attention with their newest album, "This Is Somewhere".



Marion Raven

After being one-half of the now defunct pop duo M2M, Marion started a successful career as a solo pop-rock artist and has so far released the albums "Here I Am", "Heads Will Roll" and "Set Me Free". I think you'll agree she is a very talented girl in more ways than one.




Anita Robinson from Viva Voce

Viva Voce is an American indie rock band formed by husband and wife duo Kevin and Anita Robinson.



Courtney Love

Courtney Love is an American rock musician and Golden Globe-nominated actress. Love is best known as lead singer, songwriter and lyricist for the alternative rock band Hole and for her two-year marriage to late Nirvana lead singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain



Liz Phair

Liz Phair is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her signature guitar is a Fender Duo-Sonic II and her album Exile in Guyville was chosen as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.



Susan Tedeschi

Susan Tedeschi is an American blues and soul artist, who has risen to fame with multiple Grammy Award nominations, and her marriage to Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band and Derek Trucks Band.




Krystal Meyers

Krystal Meyers is an American Christian rock musician. Krystal started writing songs by age 10 and was playing the acoustic guitar by 13, later releasing her self titled first album at age 16 in 2005. Her second album, Dying for a Heart, was released on September 19th, 2006. Her music combines hard-edged rock with smooth acoustic melodies.



Nancy Wilson

Not only is she a great guitar player and singer / song writer but she happens to be a complete babe. Heart achieved massive success in the 1980's with massive singles such as "Barracuda" and "Alone". She was the lead vocalist on the hits "These Dreams", "Stranded" and "There's The Girl" and has since gone on to compose music for films such as Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown.



Lita Ford

After finding fame in the all-female rock band The Runaways where she played lead guitar, Lita Ford went on to forge a successful solo career. Her first two albums, Out for Blood and Dancin' on the Edge were reasonably popular however she achieved major success with her 1988 album, "Lita". This album featured the commercial hits, "Kiss Me Deadly""Close My Eyes Forever" (a duet with Ozzy Osbourne) and "Falling In and Out of Love".



Vixen

The original girl rock band. Vixen were an all-female American glam metal / heavy metal band which achieved some success during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Check out Sexiest Girls that Play Guitar - Part Deux if you like this post!

Labels: acoustic guitar technique, bands, guitarists