Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Better Dead Than Shred

Words fail me.



I mean, I was only being slightly snarky when I dissed this guy's fast fingers.

But no, the above is not a parody a la Nigel Tufnel and Spinal Tap -- it's the apparently completely serious Michael Angelo Batio and his Quad Guitar.

I can only speculate that drugs are involved, either in the playing of the music or the enjoyment of it.

[h/t who am us anyway?]

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even if this is a goof (I think it is) thousands of kids will think its real and take it seriously. An entire generation of guitar players will be playing like this on a guitar like this in five to ten years, god help us.

It is the guitar version of Keith Moon's drums.

Someone tell me it is a goof, please!

ROTP(lumber)

Anonymous said...

Check it out I think the hair is a wig.

ROTP(lumber)

TMink said...

But Keith could play his drums well, not just fast.

Trey

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

ROTP(lumber) said ... Someone tell me it is a goof, please!

While lots of kids in the heavy metal "community" (I think there are actually 3,279 subcategories of metal now) do have a wicked sense of humor & do sometimes go over the top just for laughs, I don't think this guy is an example of that, seeing as how his quad guitar work helped him win the Shredder of the Universe award and all.

Wendy said...

But Keith could play his drums well, not just fast.

Trey


Yeah. Keith was a great drummer, and not at all gimmicky.

This guy may be great, too, but frankly, I hate this shit. Alvin Lee played really fast, but there was still a musical point to his playing. This is just boring.

Anonymous said...

I meant the drum kit not Keith's playing, which was the best.

ROTP(lumber)

TMink said...

Oh, sorry, we are in complete agreement that Keith's later kit was WAY over the top!

But he of the 4 pronged guitar, there is no tonal difference as he shifts from one guitar to the next. Obviously, he is faking for the vid, but one guitar sounds exactly like the next!

Contrast that with Jimi Hendrix's solos on All Along the Watchtower. 4 by 4 bars, each section is very different. Maybe Jimi overdubbed the sections with 4 guitars, but the focus was on the diversity of the sound and expression, not pretend wrestling a hydra for the camera. Not that Jimi was above showmanship, but the man had sould to spare. This guy has hair to spare.

Trey

TMink said...

SOUL to spare.

Time for coffee.

Trey