OFF: Is Guitar Rock Dead?

[Guido Vacano]

Theo says--

> > Whoever wrote the article must not be aware of the effortsof Robert
> > Fripp, Adrian Belew, The California Guitar Trio, Fred Frith, David Torn,
> > Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Vernon Reid, etc. If he or she is referring to
> > such a lack in Top 40, I'm in full agreement. Screaming guitar has been
> > replaced by screechy "vocals".
> >
> Yeah, but these are older guys.  Wasn't the focus of the article on
> new guitar heroes?

Well, the CTG and Vernon Reid are relatively new, but the others (with the
lamentable exception of Zappa) are still active. I really don't understand
the tendency to dismiss the work of "older" musicians, especially when it
is of much higher quality than the work of most "newer" musicians. But
there are new artists doing imaginative guitar work. Brian Gingrich,
Gitbox, and Ten Seconds are good examples. No, they're not "mainstream",
but is "mainstream" usually listenable? :-)

> > I think Robin Trower's _20th Century Blues_ (a great album btw) is his
> > most recent album (1994), but I don't think we've seen the last of him. As
> > for Ted Nugent, I suspect we won't hear anything interesting from him.
> >
> No!  Robin's latest is Someday Blues, just released.  Fine record, in
> the vein of Gary Moore's blues records.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of this.

> Agreed on Terrible Ted,
> though he's okay live.  What an asshole:  he spouts off about freedom
> and censorship, then turns around and backs conservative
> [american-style] politics.  Yeah, those guys will have a lot of use
> for rock n' rollers!

Ted's a weird egg, no doubt about it! :-P

Guido

--
If nothing is done, then all will be well.  -- Lao Tse