I made the mistake of listening to Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Paul Gilbert

[DrewJD82]

I was a MASSIVE Vai fanatic in middle/high school. I mean, I was a tubby little f*cker and still had it in my head that I was going to wear tight leather pants and flowy shirts that exposed my torso I was so into Vai.

By my Junior year I had stuffed enough burritos to be able to buy most of Vai’s rig he was using at the time, I had a JEM7V, an MIJ Boss DS-1, Bad Horsie, Digitech WH-2 and a Carvin Legacy stack, I was just missing the G-Force. I was also getting into metal at the same time and while I had an EQ in the loop of the Legacy I’d engage to cut the mids, I was turning 18 and was starting to want my own identity as a guitar player. It didn’t help that I’d show up to jams with the JEM and get sh*t from people there, or the expectation I was going to play like Vai at a f*cking blues jam.

So I sold it all off, except the JEM and DS-1 and then came the Mesa/Peavey days.

Still love Vai and I’ll go see him any time I get the chance. I love hearing the guy talk and I’m stoked he’s turned into this new age teacher who is more interested in esoteric stuff than technique these days. I don’t think there’s an ill-willed bone in his body. His last album was awesome, too, my favorite one since Fire Garden.

 

[Gearzilla]

Still love Vai and I’ll go see him any time I get the chance. I love hearing the guy talk and I’m stoked he’s turned into this new age teacher who is more interested in esoteric stuff than technique these days. I don’t think there’s an ill-willed bone in his body. His last album was awesome, too, my favorite one since Fire Garden.

Really like that hydra performance piece he put together more recently.

 

[HotRats]

It’s important to be yourself on the guitar.

imo

Absolutely.

I was 17 at the time and those were my first years playing electric guitar...I mean I probably didn't even know was possible to play like that.

As I've said earlier Vai shocked me and amazed me but I've never bought another record again because I basically don't care about that style.

Few years later Dream Theater made me wish I was a more technical player because that's a style I appreciate I would enjoy playing.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I grew up in the 90s. Nirvana and Green Day were on my radar as a kid but as I got to my late teens in the 2000s I became really interested in 80s shred even though it was pretty long in the tooth. I absorbed what I could of it into my own playing and appreciate the new breed of players that did the same in their own ways but I straight up walked out of Generation Axe.

 

[andergtr]

my favorite vai is "eat 'em and smile." and of course "alien love secrets," because it was way less produced. though you can't really not appreciate "passion and warfare" as his magnus opus.

 

[Fireproof]

my favorite vai is "eat 'em and smile." and of course "alien love secrets," because it was way less produced. though you can't really not appreciate "passion and warfare" as his magnus opus.

Loved the whole Eat ‘em and Smile album.

 

[la szum]

I was a MASSIVE Vai fanatic in middle/high school. I mean, I was a tubby little f*cker and still had it in my head that I was going to wear tight leather pants and flowy shirts that exposed my torso I was so into Vai.

By my Junior year I had stuffed enough burritos to be able to buy most of Vai’s rig he was using at the time, I had a JEM7V, an MIJ Boss DS-1, Bad Horsie, Digitech WH-2 and a Carvin Legacy stack, I was just missing the G-Force. I was also getting into metal at the same time and while I had an EQ in the loop of the Legacy I’d engage to cut the mids, I was turning 18 and was starting to want my own identity as a guitar player. It didn’t help that I’d show up to jams with the JEM and get sh*t from people there, or the expectation I was going to play like Vai at a f*cking blues jam.

So I sold it all off, except the JEM and DS-1 and then came the Mesa/Peavey days.

Still love Vai and I’ll go see him any time I get the chance. I love hearing the guy talk and I’m stoked he’s turned into this new age teacher who is more interested in esoteric stuff than technique these days. I don’t think there’s an ill-willed bone in his body. His last album was awesome, too, my favorite one since Fire Garden.

Lydian much??

 

[Bruce]

Guitar playing is not an Olympic sport. Play like you. Just make sure you is good

 

[the-trooper]

Guitar playing is not an Olympic sport.

If it's not it should be

 

[mk5]

my favorite vai is "eat 'em and smile." and of course "alien love secrets," because it was way less produced. though you can't really not appreciate "passion and warfare" as his magnus opus.

I can get behind this. Big Trouble, Ladies Night, Juice. All good things

 

[mbenigni]

I had it kind of strange; I started playing in ‘94 and I was a weird 11 year old, I was obsessed with Floyd (some things don’t change) while Tupac, Dre and Snoop were all my friends were listening to. Then I got into Vai/Dream Theater in 8th grade as Korn, Limp Bizkit and Deftones were becoming the new guitar hero guys, so once I was in high school, I was a dork because I was into technical playing and shred stuff. There was a small group of what we called ”crunchies” that would never say anything to me, but they’d bust my balls to my girlfriend all the time. “Why do those guys keep saying you have a g*y guitar?” (my JEM, which was called the “Elvis guitar” most often)

It didn’t help that I was a f*cking dork to begin with.

View attachment 13

It wasn’t until my Junior year, after discovering Pantera and Fear Factory, getting my first 7-string and my place became the place everyone would get wasted at on the weekends that I became almost “cool”.

I never really thought about it that way, but that particular Jem is pretty Elvis, between the mother of pearl, and the overgold treatment and all. (I actually prefer the looks of my cheapie white Jem Jr because I'll take gunmetal black h/w over gold any day of the week. I know it doesn't sound as good LOL.)

When I had possession of my first floral Jem way back when (borrowed, I couldn't afford the strings at the time) one of my friends would constantly refer it as the "glitterfart guitar". I thought he was clueless at the time, but oh my, the hot pink upholstery in the case alone...

 

[mbenigni]

I LOVED really all the shreddy guitar stuff as well as the gangster stuff. I worked in a kitchen when I was 19 and this line cook turned me on to Ice-T and Straight Outta Compton and I was done for :

 

[JiveTurkey]

STONE COLD CLASSIC

 

[JiveTurkey]

Seriously; I know you LOVE Midnight for that Sabbath sample

 

[mbenigni]

I listened to all three and now I feel good enough to play in a s**t covers band.

Too soon.

(I blew an audition for a s**t covers band last week. OK, actually they were a quite good covers band. I don't know if that makes it better or worse...)

 

[mbenigni]

Seriously; I know you LOVE Midnight for that Sabbath sample

OMG I do. Although the first thing I heard off the album was Guntower, and I knew immediately that Ice-T was my guy. A real storyteller. It was the first rap/hip-hop thing that really resonated for me.

The album right after - Home Invasion - is also amazing. Then he followed up with some crazy pimptastic schtick and I kind of lost interest. Still love the guy, though.

Body Count had some incredible moments as well.

 

[Gearzilla]

Too soon.

(I blew an audition for a s**t covers band last week. OK, actually they were a quite good covers band. I don't know if that makes it better or worse...)

Time for Fractal….

 

[mbenigni]

Time for Fractal….

Yeah, the gear was to blame!

 

[Orvillain]

 

[HotRats]

Too soon.

(I blew an audition for a s**t covers band last week. OK, actually they were a quite good covers band. I don't know if that makes it better or worse...)

Sorry about that.
Don't how's the situation where you live but here I can't find a decent band to join.

I've relocated more that a year ago and I'm still without a band.