markmcg

El B0rko

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:54:07 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Something has b0rked…
So until I have some time to fix the bug, back to an old boring theme

Guitar Idol 2008: My Faves

Tue, 27 May 2008 09:11:28 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

The closing date for Guitar Idol has been and gone with the competition closing on Saturday 24th May.


It’s been fantastic exposure to and for the guitar talent out there. Of course a shame to see the usual guitar forum bickering about ‘player A’ being better than ‘player B’, vote spamming, blah blah blah. No wonder I tend to stay clear of guitar forums, moany whiny bunch those guitar players .


Ignoring the negativity, the competition has fairly caught the guitar world’s attention with over 600 odd entries from around the globe. It’s great to see a high profile for the instrument and its players, the guitar grows from strength to strength. I have to admit though, style wise, there were not enough entries from other genres of the guitar. Most would come under the banner of ‘instrumental rock guitar’. Maybe next year’s competition will bring out a more diverse field.


Anyway, before the Official 12 finalists are announced, and just for a bit of fun, I’d thought I’d list 12 players that caught my ears and were stored away in my youtube faves. Of course this excludes all the audio entries to the competition and I’m also excluding those video or audio entries that featured one of the supplied backing tracks! ( Which excludes the likes of Scott Jones and GottyBoy ) Harsh I know.


Here are the 12 players ( in no particular order ) ( if any make to the final I very much look forward to seeing them live )!

Gustavo Guerra

The winner of the popular vote and therefore a guaranteed finalist and, imo, deservedly so. Impressive marketing from the man ensured many many votes but to be honest he didn’t need them. Aanyone who has seen his vids on youtube will know he’s a stunning player with great feel. He also looks to be having great fun whenever he plays! It’s meant to be fun isn’t it?

Muris Varajic

The winner of the Lick Library Competition, Mr Varajic has one of the smoothest player styles going. I have to admit the Junk Medley doesn’t ring my musical bell like some of the others but Muris’ class is clear for everyone to see.

Serge Yudin

One of the greatest things about the whole competition has been exposure to players previously unknown to me. When I first watched this I was instantly hooked, a fab laid back octave style intro with Vai ‘Tender Surrender’ vibes a go go. I love the way he builds the piece and of course the great tone and feel.

Gustavi Di Padua

I blogged about this very man recently. Yet another Brazilian maestro with great playing and sound.

Silvio Gazquez

Fab entry from an Argentinian player that caught my attention due to some very tasty note choices and of course stunning playing.

Mattrach

A lot of the bickering in the alloutguitar forum was centered around another youtube sensation, Mattrach. I came across a vid of his a while back and loved it ( in fact I think it would have been a better entry to the competition imo ) though this piece has a great main melody. A real young talent for sure.

Efren Camilo

Maybe not my most favourite ‘tone’ but I really liked the melody of this one and how it developed throughout the song. Nice Mario poster too .

Martin Wichmann

I’m such a sucker for a good groove . Love some of those lines, a definite Guthrie Govan influence going on. Though he has messy string ends. Tsk.

Ignazio Di Salvo

Top fusion playing from Italy, interesting style of using a thumbpick to enable 8 finger tapping mayhem!

Maneli Jamal

Dear lord! An acoustic player! Sadly there weren’t that many acoustic players in the competition and I include flamenco or classical style players in that category. Maybe they were put off thinking it was a rock shredathon? Anyway, yes there may be quite a few players around at the moment slappin and tapping those harmonics. But I care not, it sounds fantastic and I love this piece. A breath of fresh air amongst the electric entries.

Sandor West

Clever use of the looper to build up this track. Interestingly I think the only entry that used a looper. Lovely song with a nice melancholy chord progression. Once again a breath of fresh air after listening to about a hundred sweep arpeggios .

Dreuz

Ah good something heavy \m/ Like this one very much. Great riff and melody, almost Andy James vibes in fact.

Dallton Santos

Another pro feel to the vid on this one with a great catchy melody and tasty riffs. A winning combination everytime imo.

OK OK OK! I couldn’t pick 12 ( I have no idea how those judges will ). I actually have about 20 vids in my youtube playlist, check it out for some other great entries.

Joe Bonamassa Soloing

Sat, 17 May 2008 07:33:08 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted this rather nifty video of Joe Bonamassa on musicradar briefly talking about his approach to soloing (Enjoy the old Mr T WoW ad too ):

The solo has even been transcribed. Nice.

Musicradar Podcast: Paul Gilbert

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:41:26 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Cool interview with Paul Gilbert over on musicradar. Talking about the new album, influences, hearing loss and playing with Mr. Big.

Thanks to Paul C for the heads up.

New Paul Gilbert Instructional DVD!

Tue, 13 May 2008 20:55:55 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted on truthinshredding.Following on from the very cool Get Out Of My Yard Instructional DVD, Paul Gilbert has released another covering Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar!

As it says on the CD Japan site:

Latest guitar lesson DVD from Paul Gilbert features an easy-to-follow guide to Gilbert’s expressive growling guitars.

Released on June 25th.

Rockin!

Saudades de Rock!

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:11:15 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

The new Extreme album will be called ‘Saudades de Rock’ (very roughly translated from Portuguese as “Nostalgic Yearning for Rock”) .
From the Extreme Myspace blog:

EXTREME will make their much-anticipated return to the stage this summer in support of Saudades de Rock (pronounced “sow-dodge”), their first studio album in thirteen years. The multi-platinum, Boston-bred band’s 2008 ‘TAKE US ALIVE’ world tour gets underway on July 29th at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and will be anchored by a hometown gig two days later at the Bank of America Pavilion. In advance of the tour, EXTREME will be a co-headliner on July 11th at the five day Rocklahoma Festival in Pryor, OK.

The iconic rock foursome – vocalist GARY CHERONE, guitarist NUNO BETTENCOURT, bassist PAT BADGER and new drummer KEVIN FIGUEIREDO – will be supported by King’s X on all North American dates. Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp will offer additional support .. dates.

Information on the groundbreaking new album Saudades de Rock– which was produced by BETTENCOURT at L.A.’s NRG studios and is planned for release to coincide with the tour–is forthcoming. Fans can expect the same unwavering songcraft and diverse musical approach that made EXTREME legendary. Simply put, EXTREME’s fifth studio offering– which boasts the infectious roar of “STAR,” the groove-laden, swagger of “KING”, a raw funk rock anthem called “LEARN TO LOVE”, and the expressive ballad “GHOST”–just may be its finest hour yet.

Can’t wait to see those UK dates announced!

New Greg Howe track posted on Myspace

Sun, 11 May 2008 18:29:20 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted on The Guitar Channel, Greg Howe has posted a track from his upcoming album, Sound Proof, on his Myspace page. A cover of the funky ‘Tell Me Something Good’ by Rufus….groovy baby!

mastertheguitar.co.uk - Guthrie Govan “Fives” Tapping Sequence Lesson

Sat, 10 May 2008 18:21:28 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

I’ve had a few requests from people to do a lesson on the cool tapping sequence from Guthrie Govan’s “Fives”. So here it is! alas split into two videos due to running over 10 mins (TAB is available here):

Part 1

Part 2

New Nine Inch Nails album… FREE!

Fri, 09 May 2008 14:01:17 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

The new Nine Inch Nails album, The Slip is being made available to download for free! From the NIN site:

as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com.

the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits

Niceone Mr Reznor!

What is it about Brazil!?

Tue, 06 May 2008 13:52:36 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Not only are the Brazilians a mighty footballing nation ( though they have met their match against Scotland a few times of course ) but from the looks of entries to the Guitar Idol competition, they have some truly awesome guitar players. I was already aware of the likes of Kiko Lourieiro and Gustavo Guerra as well as others. But there are many great players popping up in the competition. Here are a couple that caught me ears:

André Noronha

Gustavo Di Padua

Would be interesting to see the stats on country of origin for the entries to the competition, I’m guessing it would support the fact that South America is a hotbed of great great players.

Satch Tour Video Podcasts

Tue, 06 May 2008 11:23:28 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Just spotted my iTunes downloading a new 2008 tour video podcast from Mr Satriani. You can check out the podcasts here
http://www.satriani.com/podcast/Satchafunkilus/

New Greg Howe online lessons

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:19:01 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Been a touch busy of late but have spotted something very cool in blogland.

As spotted on truthinshredding Greg howe will be launching a new instructional website called www.ghworkshops.com.

Aimed at the more advanced player these lessons will look into the creative process, music industry, recording techniques as well as guitar playing material. Sounds very exciting indeed! Can’t wait. Check out the promo trailer:

Infiniteguitar Marco Sfogli ‘Andromeda’ lesson

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:59:08 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

A very cool lesson over on Inifiniteguitar by Rick Graham showing how to play the solo section from ‘Andromeda’ that Marco Sfogli posted on youtube.

MasterThatMelody! 02 - Steve Vai “For The Love Of God”

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:12:09 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

New MasterThatMelody looking at the iconic ‘For The Love Of God’ ( aka FTLOG ) by Mr Steven Vai.

Richie Kotzen to release Live Album

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:48:00 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted on Kotzen’s website:

New Richie Kotzen Cd Live In Sao Paulo
Available here MAY 6th! features 79 minutes of Live Music recorded September 30th 2007 in Sao Paulo Brazil!

and some more info from Guitarist Magazine details the track listing:

01. A Love Divine
02. Fooled Again
03. Faith
04. So Cold
05. Socialite
06. High
07. Remember
08. Shapes of Things
09. Doin’ What the Devil Says To Do
10. I’m Losing You
11. Mother Head’s Family Reunion
12. Stand

Gustavo Guerra enters Guitar Idol Competition

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:11:01 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Oh dear, looks like it’s all over .

The Youtube sensation, Gustavo Guerra has entered the Guitar Idol competition, just check out this awesome track:

Guthrie Govan voted ‘Best New Talent’ in Guitar Player 2008 awards!

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:13:45 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted on the GG forum, Mr Guthrie Govan has been voted ‘Best New Talent’ in the prestigious Guitar Player Magazine awards!

(Updated)LiMS: C3 confirmed now (Humphries, Govan and Kotzen)

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:11:32 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

*UPDATE* Many thanks to Rich ( see comments ) for finally clearing this up, Jamie Humphries looks to be part of the C3 along with Kotzen and Govan. Even though Greg Howe had stated he wouldn’t be part of the event somehow an Official Press release managed to sneak out saying he would, pff . Sue ‘em Greg!

Spotted on a couple of websites, it *seems* that C3 ( featuring Kotzen, Howe and Govan ) is go go go ?

I’ll await official confirmation from the LiMS organisers first tbh.

But, we do have a itinerary now forming for the day.

The potential of Paul Gilbert, Richie Kotzen, Greg Howe and Guthrie Govan all on the same day is quite pant-wettingly exciting!! Wonder if the venue can handle all those notes?

What is does prove though, is that the Guitar is back baby and rightfully KING AGAIN! \m/

Another Marco Sfogli Interview

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:02:39 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted on the ever informative truthinshredding, fantastic in depth interview with Marco Sfogli, with some great snippets on Mr Sfogli’s song writing approach, the recording and production of ‘There’s Hope‘, parts he found *tricky* , his influences and a nice mention of Guthrie Govan as a current fave player .

Workshoplive Satriani Lessons: Dave Martone posts about the session

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:10:46 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Workshoplive have recently filmed some masterclass lessons from Mr Joe Satriani. The fantastic Dave Martone ( a fave player of mine and someone who has contributed lessons to Workshoplive in the past ) hosts the lessons, teaching alongside Satch and putting questions to the maestro.

Check out Dave Martone’s account of the session on his Guitar 9 column.

Dave mentions:

My duties were to, first off, roughly come up with the idea of 30 lessons under 7 categories for this video shoot.

Many topics I picked were things that Joe does so wickedly. Topics ranged from legato techniques, tapping, picking and effects to songwriting and interview type questions, along with many more topics.The plan is to release a lesson every two weeks starting May 1st, 2008

Roll on May 1st! I’m looking forward to these .

Satch to Headline London International Music Show!

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:56:37 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Just this second arrived in my mailbox, Joe Satriani is to headline the LiMS. Playing a one off show on the Sunday afternoon June 15th. From the poster also looks like Mr. Paul Gilbert will be at the show sometime too!

Alas there are only 3000 tickets at a cost of £15 plus they are on top of the £10 ticket for attending the show on that day. I think I’ll still head on the Saturday, get me a Guthrie Govan fix instead .

Release date for new Greg Howe album

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:22:44 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Via The Guitar Channel:

According to Greg Howe’s site admin, Howe’s new album has a release date of June 24th. I’ll post more details as they become available.

yay!

New Andy Timmons Live DVD

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:32:00 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Via truthinshredding:

New “Live Resolution” DVD from Andy Timmons just released:

The night it was debuted, the Andy Timmons Band gave a one time only, live performance of the entire Resolution CD in front of a hometown crowd. Professionally recorded at the Granada Theatre in Dallas, Texas, this DVD is a great sounding, close up look at the ATB in a perfect live setting. Includes several bonus features.

Track List:: 1. Deliver Us, 2. Helipad, 3. Ghost Of You, 4. Resolution, 5. Redemption, 6. Lydia, 7. Gone (9/11/01), 8. Move On, 9. Beware Dark Days, 10. The Prayer/The Answer, 11. Headed For The Ditch

Buybuybuy!

I’ve just ordered my copy

Marco Sfogli Interview

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:39:35 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Spotted this on truthinshredding the other day only now getting round to reading it!

Interview with the Majestic Marco Sfogli on ytsejam.

Elevenses with John Mclaughlin

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:57:27 GMT

Originally published at markmcguigan.com. Please leave any comments there.

Elevenses with the Maestro John McLaughlin over on Alloutguitar.com.

markmcg

El B0rko

Guitar Idol 2008: My Faves

Joe Bonamassa Soloing

Musicradar Podcast: Paul Gilbert

New Paul Gilbert Instructional DVD!

Saudades de Rock!

New Greg Howe track posted on Myspace

mastertheguitar.co.uk - Guthrie Govan “Fives” Tapping Sequence Lesson

New Nine Inch Nails album… *FREE*!

What is it about Brazil!?

Satch Tour Video Podcasts

New Greg Howe online lessons

Infiniteguitar Marco Sfogli ‘Andromeda’ lesson

MasterThatMelody! 02 - Steve Vai “For The Love Of God”

Richie Kotzen to release Live Album

Gustavo Guerra enters Guitar Idol Competition

Guthrie Govan voted ‘Best New Talent’ in Guitar Player 2008 awards!

(Updated)LiMS: C3 confirmed now (Humphries, Govan and Kotzen)

Another Marco Sfogli Interview

Workshoplive Satriani Lessons: Dave Martone posts about the session

Satch to Headline London International Music Show!

Release date for new Greg Howe album

New Andy Timmons Live DVD

Marco Sfogli Interview

Elevenses with John Mclaughlin

New Nine Inch Nails album… FREE!