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!

Nodal Point

"Nodal Point" by Joshua McLean
part 1 of 3
also see Ootheca and Viral Creche

"Nodal Point" - Joshua McLean

''GUITAR GODS: Kyle Honea''

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean

 Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Tuesday, December 03 2002 @ 06:55:18 GMT


               They say everything from Texas is big. Real big. If the talent of bassist Kyle Honea (of Dallas, Texas, USA) is any indication, there is truth to that saying.
   

Kyle began playing in 1988 and sweated it out in bands gigging in small clubs around Texas. He soon was influenced by bass extremists Billy Sheehan, Geddy Lee, and Doug Keyser, as well as guitar rippers like Jason Becker and Marty Friedman, and started practicing 8-10 hours a day. That practice paid off when Mike Varney (Shrapnel Records) featured Kyle in his "Spotlight" column in Guitar Player Magazine.

''GUITAR GODS: Jennifer Batten''

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean

 Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Friday, November 22 2002 @ 20:19:59 GMT

               Jealous of her sister's guitar, Jennifer asked for a guitar for her birthday. When her dad brought home "...the coolest looking guitar on the block..." - she had an red & blue electric while all the other kids had acoustics - she was hooked. 

From lessons with a San Diego jazz guitarist to studying music at Pasadena City College to a stint at the Musicians Institute (where she graduated and then taught guitar), Jennifer has grown into one of the true giants of modern guitar music.

Guitarist Jennifer Batten - Past and Future

- David "Skinny Devil" McLean

 Originally publsuihed at Tinfoil Music
Date: Wednesday, April 07 2004 @ 15:31:42 BST


               The disc opens with a wicked drum groove, eerie vocals sounds, and a pseudo-fade, then explodes into a huge drum & funky bass jam that will plaster you to the wall. Seconds later, a screaming guitar crashes in playing a twisted and fiery melody, with a second clean guitar playing stabs of ethnic harmonic icing. This is the beautiful assault that is Jennifer Batten's "Wodaabe Dancer" from her second CD, "Momentum".

Jennifer Batten on stage with Michael Jackson

This is the guitarist who brought us a fearless version of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" (played with all 8 fingers on the fretboard, no less!) as the opening of her debut CD, "Above, Below, & Beyond". She is planning to release her 3rd solo offering soon, so let's take a quick look at her past work now.

"Insanity 101: The Bridge to Esoterica pt. 2"

Originally published at Insane Guitar
2002

Last month’s installment of "Insanity 101" covered the whole-tone scale. We took a quick look at the scale and then a few runs and ways in which we might apply them. This month, we’ll look at some chords based on the whole-tone scale. These are not quite as easy to inject into a piece, so it may serve you to compose a brief etude (a short piece of music written to explore a specific musical idea or technique) as a means of more deeply exploring and exploiting the sonic potential of this interesting scale.

Here are a few possible chord shapes to start you off.
 

Listen (midi)

''GUITAR GODS: Francesco Fareri''

Originally published at Tinfoil Music
Date: Sunday, November 17 2002 @ 15:14:36 GMT

               Guitar Gods come in a variety of styles and flavors. Italian virtuoso Francesco Fareri is most definitely from the high-octane, super-speed, neoclassical metal school of music which includes such fabulous players as Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Rusty Cooley, and Jason Becker. While Francesco certainly possesses incredible technique, calling him merely a technician is to miss the music as a whole, as he is also a very passionate player with a gift for both texture and intensity.

     Amazingly, Francesco, born in the late 70s, has been playing for fewer than 10 years. In that time, he has recorded an startling number of releases; transcribed (in tab & notation) tons of music by Becker, Greg Howe, Vitalij Kuprij , and George Bellas; and written lessons on technique for Chops from Hell, Insane Guitar, Guitar-9, Shred Zone, and many others. Francesco has also released an instructional CD-ROM called "Arpeggios", and his new CD is titled "Suspension".
I had a chance to speak to Francesco a few months back (his native tongue is Italian, of course, but his English isn't half bad!) - here's what he had to say.

Insanity 101: The Bridge to Esoterica

Months ago, a fellow (whose name I can’t recall) posted to the IG forums requesting information about the whole-tone scale and other “exotic” scales, as well as advise on how to apply new scales to soloing and composition. A recent letter from an IG reader (Chad from Iowa) reminded me of whole-tone scales…and that the name of the site is “INSANE guitar”, and that I should tread a bit closer to the edge. Thanx for the reminder, Chad. Let me know how you like this one!

We’ll start with a common progression in A minor – let’s say: Am (8) – Am (8) – F (8) – F (4), G (4) – repeat. Improvise freely over the first two chords of this progression using A natural minor (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). When you get to the “F” chord, however, switch to the whole-tone scale until the progression returns to “Am”.


Listen!

''GUITAR GODS: Katherine 'The Great Kat' Thomas!''

Originally published at Tinfoil Music

Date: Wednesday, October 09 2002 @ 21:52:21 BST
             
The Great Kat is hands-down the most outrageous performer on the rock scene today - no doubt about it. With her brazen attitude and wild-woman appearance (complete with blood, S&M imagery, and the like), it's amazing she hasn't glossed the covers of more magazines.
The Great Kat is also one of the most skilled and passionate players on the rock scene today. With her Juilliard-trained facilities, she reworks classical fare into modern-day metal anthems and blazes with a technical proficiency which is nothing short of intimidating to even many an advanced 6-string shredder.