''GUITAR GODS: Tommy Emmanuel''

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Friday, February 14 2003 @ 15:24:55 GMT

Saying Tommy Emmanuel plays guitar is like saying Arnold Schwarzenegger lifts weights.

With 13 studio albums, 2 live concert videos, an instructional video, 19 major awards, a Grammy nomination, multiple world tours, and a featured spot at the 2000 Olympic Games closing ceremonies in Australia (and broadcast around the world to over 2 billion viewers!), Tommy Emmanuel - the Kid from Downunder - has certainly attained the respect and admiration of fans and peers alike.
 
The late & great Chet Atkins (with whom Tommy shared a Grammy nomination for their work on "The Day Fingerpickers Took Over the World") said Tommy is, "...one of the greatest players on the planet...". Other giants of music have similar things to say. No wonder, since he has amazed everyone who hears him with his undefinable acoustic guitar style - a style which has led him to working with not only Atkins, but with Jerry Reed, Sir George Martin, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Michael Bolton, Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, Albert Lee, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Leo Kottke, Hank Marvin, Joe Walsh, and countless others.

Insanity 101; Way of the Gods (3) Jennifer Batten

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
originally published at Insane Guitar, 2003

As many of you know, I write a column for TinFoilMusic called “Guitar Gods” that has featured some awesome players and will feature many more players in the months to come. (editor's note: Tinfoil is now off-line and all IG lessons and "Guitar Gods" interviews are found here at Skinny Devil Magazine) In the past, we’ve featured the playing styles of two of our “Guitar Gods” interviewees – Grammy winning guitarist Steve Stevens (of Billy Idol fame) and shred dominatrix the Great Kat. This month we feature the playing style of Jennifer Batten.

Jennifer is currently on tour with guitar legend Jeff Beck, andhas recorded and toured with the King of Pop: Michael Jackson. She has also released several solo albums and two books, and was for a time an instructor at the famed GIT.

"Insanity 101: Way of the Gods (2) The Great Kat"

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
originally published at Insane Guitar, 2003

As many of you know, I write a column for TinFoil Music called “Guitar Gods” that has featured some awesome players and will feature many more players in the months to come. (editor's note: Tinfoil is no longer on-line, so all IG lessons and "Guitar Gods" interviews are found at Skinny Devil Magazine.) Two of those players, the Guitar Goddesses, are Jennifer Batten and The Great Kat. This month is a primer of sorts for the Kat style of playing…which is always intense!

The Great Kat – who is not only an excellent shredder, but a fine composer, too – is probably best known for re-orchestrating classical music standards for shred-metal interpretation. This has included the works of Vivaldi, Rossini, Beethoven, and others, and requires a firm grasp of both speed-picking and sweep-picking, not to mention a very limber fret-hand. Primers for these techniques can also be found in the IG “Master Class” archive (care of Joel Wanasek).

The Geometry of Music

 From Science News

The connection between mathematics and music is often touted in awed, mysterious tones, but it is grounded in hard-headed science. For example, mathematical principles underlie the organization of Western music into 12-note scales. And even a beginning piano student encounters geometry in the "circle of fifths" when learning the fundamentals of music theory.

But according to Dmitri Tymoczko, a composer and music theorist at Princeton University, these well-known connections reveal only a few threads of the hefty rope that binds music and math. To grasp the true structure of music, he says, we need to understand the geometry of hyperdimensional objects. Doing so has given him new ways of understanding pieces of music that have long baffled theorists and even led him to new insights into the history of music.

Muriel Anderson's ''A Journey Through Time''

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Tuesday, February 10 2004 @ 02:33:20 GMT

When I think of Muriel Anderson's music, words like "exquisite" and "beautiful" and "devastating" come to mind. If you've heard her performances of songs like "Nola" and "Vincent" or heard her compositions like "Sakura" and "After Tonight", then you've certainly been stunned by the beauty and power of her skill. That said, it was with great anticipation that I opened my copy of "A Journey Through Time"......

 
What I got was completely unexpected. First off, Muriel is being quite literal when she says "A Journey Through Time". The disc contains 13 songs, each with a different time signature. The first song is a free-time track called "Owl's Psalm", leading to the second track in 2/4 ("Skirts of Mexico"), traveling all the way to track 13 (in 13/8) called "Baker's Dozen". See the pattern? The liner notes state explicitly, "On a musical journey through the feel and rhythms of every time signature..." and that is exactly what she does; with a mastery of style and technique and emotion that will rivet you to your chair.

'GUITAR GODS: Marty Friedman''

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean
Origina;y published at Tionfoil Music
Date: Friday, January 10 2003 @ 10:39:42 GMT


               How does one write a summery of a guitarist who plays as well and is as influential as Marty Friedman, the man who has been the hero of budding axe-slingers for well over a decade while recording solo projects and fronting the bands Cacophony, Megadeth, and Red Dye #2?

With 27 gold and platinum albums, 5 Grammy nominations, 5 Top Ten singles, countless performances (including late night TV, MTV & other video stations, world tours, giant festivals [including headlining sets at Woodstock & Rock in Rio & Madison Square Garden]), regular instructional columns for 3 major guitar publications, a signature model guitar from Jackson Guitars, and articles & interviews in every major music publication in the free world, Marty Friedman has become a musical force with few peers.

Marty started his career in the late 1980s with the band Cacophony. Their albums (1987's "Speed Metal Symphony" and 1989's "Go Off!") featured the twin leads of Marty and his pal Jason Becker (who later recorded with David Lee Roth) and set a new standard for neo-classical style guitar players across the globe. In 1990, Marty joined Megadeth. His work with Dave Mustaine and the boys of Megadeth demonstrated Marty to be more than just a speed demon, and his contributions helped propel Megadeth to their current status of legends of heavy metal music.

"GUITAR GODS: Preston Reed''

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean

 Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Friday, December 13 2002 @ 20:43:45 GMT

               Preston Reed is absolute magic with a guitar. His style is impossible to pigeonhole - it can only be said that it is performed on acoustic guitar and involves techniques influenced by everything from Bach to the Beatles played in a manner that is downright fierce. His compositional skills are par excellence, his harmonic sensibilities highly advanced and finely honed, his technique exquisite. In a word, this guy is dangerous.

     Preston started playing guitar much in the same manner as any other kid: a few chords here and a few lessons there. But by 17, when he performed his first live gig backing poet Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Institute, he was already a force to be reckoned with. Soon after, he signed a deal with MCA Records - a deal which motivated him even further to improve as a guitarist. This motivation led him to explore beyond the finger-picking styles into which he'd delved, and deep into territory only occasionally treaded by such luminaries as Kottke and Hedges and a handful of Classical and Flamenco stylists of the highest order.

What Does It Mean to Be Fat-Adapted?

From Mark's Daily Apple:

When describing someone that has successfully made the transition to the Primal way of eating I often refer to them as “fat-adapted” or as “fat-burning beasts”. But what exactly does it mean to be “fat-adapted”? How can you tell if you’re fat-adapted or still a “sugar-burner”? I get these and related questions fairly often, so I thought I’d take the time today to attempt to provide some definitions and bring some clarification to all of this. I’ll try to keep today’s post short and sweet, and not too complicated. Hopefully, med students and well-meaning but inquisitive lay family members alike will be able to take something from it. 

Billy Idol - ''Devil's Playground''

 - David "Skinny Devil" McLean

Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Wednesday, March 23 2005 @ 14:13:11 GMT


Someone once told me the 1990s were the "Extreme Generation". Clearly that is not true, because Billy Idol was on vacation. But now he's back...and not alone. The team that made some of the best music in the 1980s - Billy Idol, certified Guitar God Steve Stevens, and super-producer Keith Forsey - is back together with the best rock-n-roll record so far in the 21st century: Billy Idol's "Devil's Playground".

With 13 songs of hard-driving rock-n-roll rhythms and a fearlessly up-front guitar, the stage is set for Billy's surprisingly wide-ranging vocals. The album opens with the fast-paced "Super Overdrive", which finds Billy not only growling out his signature sound, but expanding into a higher range than we've heard since the days of Generation-X. Also of note is Steve's incredible guitar work - ripping licks and fast turns and that "Rebel Yell" lazer-beam! Next up is the punk anthem "World Comin' Down", which reminds us for just a moment of "Dancin' With Myself", but then veers off with Billy again opting for a change in vocal style that will keep you unbalanced but happy, and Steve laying down some brilliant guitar flash.

''GUITAR GODS: Tony Smotherman''

 - David "Skinny Devil" McLean

Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Thursday, December 05 2002 @ 10:42:41 GMT


               I knew there was something incredible about this guy, Tony Smotherman, when I got a call from shred-god Francesco Fareri. Fra said, "You must listen to Tony Smotherman. You will want to interview him for your series.".

He was right!