Billy Joe Armstrong Biography

FULL NAME : Billie Joe Armstrong
BIRTHDATE : born February 17, 1972
HOMETOWN : Rodeo, California, USA
EYE COLOR : Green
NATURAL HAIR COLOR : Reddish Brown
HEIGHT : 5'7
MARTIAL STATUS : Married Adrienne Nesser (July 2, 1994)
CHILDREN : Joseph Marciano; born in March of 1995, and Jakob Danger; born September of 1998.
FAMILY : Billie's father, Andy, died of cancer when he was 10 years old (September 1982). His mom, Ollie, raised him from then on. He has 5 older siblings (David, Allen, Marcy, Holly, and Anna).
INSTRUMENTS : Guitar, harmonica, mandolin, drums, piano, and most recently, the saxophone.
RECORD COMPANY : Billie and Adrienne have co-ownership of Adeline Records.
OTHER BANDS : Billie still plays with Pinhead Gunpowder. He has also played with The Influents, Corrupted Morals, Rancid, the Lookouts, Goodbye Harry, and Blatz.


Billie Joe Armstrong was brought into this world on February 17, 1972, the youngest of six children. His father, Andy, was a part time jazz musician and a truck driver for Safeway, while his mother was a waitress at a local restaurant named Rod's Hickory Pit. Billie started singing when he was just 5 years old. He would go around to hospitals and sing to the patients to make them feel better. Then he got to record his first song, "Look for Love" at a local recording company named Fiat Records. Billie got his first electric guitar, the infamous "Blue" (a Fernandez Stratocaster), when he was 11. Billie still uses Blue to this day and has several replicas of it. At the age of 10, Billie's father died of cancer to the esophagus which spread throughout his body. His mother continued to work at Rod's Hickory Pit (a barbecue joint owned by Richard and Alice Cotton) in Vallejo, California, to support herself and her six kids. Billie Joe and Mike later worked there as busboys. Two years after the death of his father, his mother remarried to a man that Billie and his siblings detested.


Billie was 10 when he met Mike Dirnt in the school cafeteria in 1982. During sleepovers at each other's houses, they played songs by old heavy metal warhorses such as Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, and Van Halen. Other influences would be the "thrash and drang" of the Bay Area's alternative music culture percolating throughout the eighties. Clubs such as Mabuhay Gardens and Berkeley's 924 Gilman Street regularly showcased local groups like the Dead Kennedys and Buck Naked. He wrote his first song, "Why Do You Want Him", a song about his mother and his step father, when he was 14. At the age of 15, Billie, Mike, and a drummer named John formed a punk band and named themselves Sweet Children. Their first gig was actually at Rod's Hickory Pit. One day before his 18th birthday, and halfway through his senior year of high school, Billie dropped out of high school (Pinole Valley High School) to devote all his time to Sweet Children. He knew what he wanted to do -- play music, and school was just getting in the way. At this point, Billie had the nickname "Two Dollar Bill", referring to the price of the joints he sold.


In 1990, John left the band to attend college. Billie and Mike were faced with the task of finding a new drummer. They knew the perfect fit, Tre Cool, a Gilman Street vetran, who was then playing in the Lookouts. Later, Sweet Children was renamed Green Day. Before they knew it, they were traveling all over the country in an old bookmobile with Tre's dad at the wheel. They did all this with little money and staying at fan's houses. It was in Minneapolis in 1990 when Billie first laid eyes on his future wife, a girl named Adrienne Nesser. They dated awhile and then were married on July 2, 1994, a 5 minute ceremony. The day after their wedding, Adrienne found out she was pregnant. Their son, Joseph Marcicano Armstrong, was born in March of 1995. Three years later on September 12, 1998, another boy, Jakob Danger was added to the Armstrong family. Today, Billie, Adrienne, Joseph, and Jakob reside in Oakland, California.


The Cottons sold Rod's Hickory Pit in 1988. It eventually became a Korean karaoke joint and was torn down last year to make way for a strip mall. - Courtney Smith
Early life

Billie Joe Armstrong was born in and grew up in Rodeo, CA, the youngest of six. His father, Andy Armstrong,[citation needed] was a retired minor league baseball player and a jazz drummer, who worked as a bartender and truck driver for Safeway to support the family. He died of cancer on September 10, 1982 when Armstrong was 10. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends", is a memorial to his father. His mother Ollie worked at Rod's Hickory Pit, where Armstrong and Mike Dirnt got their first gig during their early years.

Armstrong's interest in music started at a young age. He recorded a song titled "Look For Love" at the age of five on the Bay Area label "Fiat Records".[1] As a teenager he originally was into metal music, but got into punk after hearing the Sex Pistols song "Holidays in the Sun".[2] Armstrong has also cited The Replacements and Hüsker Dü, both from Minneapolis, as major influences. He attended, Hillcrest Elementary School, John Swett High School, and then Pinole Valley High School, dropping out on February 16, 1990, a day before his 18th birthday, to pursue his musical career.

[edit] Career

In 1987, Armstrong formed a band called "Sweet Children" with childhood friend Mike Dirnt at the age of 15. In the beginning, Dirnt and Armstrong were both on guitar, with another person on guitar, and a man called Sean Hughes on bass. After a few gigs and a demo recording (later featured at the end of Green Day's Oh Shit!) He and Mike Dirnt decided to join up with drummer Al Sobrante in 1988. At the same time Dirnt switched to bass and they became a 3-piece band. They changed their name to Green Day in April 1989, allegedly choosing the name for their fondness of marijuana.[3] That same year they recorded the EPs 39/Smooth, 1,000 Hours, and Slappy, later combined into the LP 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, on Lookout! Records. Tré Cool eventually replaced Sobrante in late 1990 when he left Green Day in order to go to college. California Punk band Rancid's lead singer Tim Armstrong asked Armstrong to join Rancid, but he refused due to the progress with Green Day. Tré Cool made his debut on Green Day's second album, Kerplunk!. With their next album, Dookie, the band broke through into the mainstream, and have remained one of the most popular rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s with over 60 million records sold worldwide.[4]

Apart from working with Green Day, and side-band Pinhead Gunpowder, Armstrong has proved himself busy in the music world, collaborating with many artists over the years. He has co-written for The Go-Go's ("Unforgiven"), former Avengers singer Penelope Houston ("The Angel and The Jerk" and "New Day"), co-wrote a song with Rancid ("Radio"), sung backing vocals with Melissa Auf der Maur on Ryan Adams' "Do Miss America", where they acted as the backing band for Iggy Pop on his Skull Ring album ("Private Hell" and "Supermarket"). Armstrong has produced an album for The Riverdales, and is also rumored to be part of a side project, The Network. The Network released an album called Money Money 2020. Many Green Day fans who listened to the record remarked the similarity between the two bands.[citation needed] Money Money 2020 was released on Adeline Records, a record label co-owned by Armstrong.

[edit] Equipment

Armstrong received his first electric guitar, a Fernandes Stratocaster copy that he named "Blue", when he was eleven. Armstrong said he had surprised when his mother bought the guitar from Armstrong's teacher, because he knew their family could not readily afford it. He initially installed a Bill Lawrence pickup but later switched to the Duncan JB model. He toured with this guitar from the band's early days and into their first few major-label tours. "Blue" also appears in several of their music videos starting with "Longview", "Basket Case", " Brain Stew/Jaded", and appearing most recently in "Minority". Armstrong has made several replicas of this guitar and uses them at concerts. He also owns several Gibson SGs.

Today Armstrong mainly uses Gibson and Fender guitars. Twenty of his Gibson guitars are Les Paul Junior models from the mid- to late-1950s.[5] His Fender collection includes: Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, Telecaster, and his Fernandes, "Blue". He states that his favorite guitar is a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior he calls "Floyd". He bought this guitar in 2000 just before recording their album Warning.[6]

Armstrong also has his own line of Les Paul Junior guitars from Gibson. He also uses his signature line now in many of his tours today.

[edit] Personal life
Armstrong after his arrest in January 2003
Armstrong after his arrest in January 2003

In 1990, Armstrong met Adrienne Nesser, whom he married on July 2, 1994. The following day, Adrienne discovered she was pregnant. Their first child, Joseph 'Joey' Marciano Armstrong, was born on February 28, 1995. Their second child, Jakob Danger Armstrong, was born on September 12, 1998. Adrienne is the co-owner of Adeline Records, along with Armstrong.

Armstrong has identified himself as bisexual, saying in a 1995 interview with The Advocate, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing."[7][8] Armstrong briefly went vegetarian but began eating meat again after experiencing substantial weight loss.However his favorite meal is vegetarian lasange.[9]

Armstrong was arrested in January 2003 for drunk driving after being pulled over by police for speeding. He received a breathalyzer reading of 0.18, more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08.[10] In April 2007, Armstrong and his wife sent photos of their spring break working with Habitat For Humanity, as well as a diary to GreenDay.net.

Billie Joe Armstrong supports Barack Obama for the 2008 presidential election.[11]

Awards

* Grammy for Best Rock Album for American Idiot - February 2005
* Grammy for Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - February 2006
* Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance for Dookie - February 1995
* Won MTV VMA Moonmen for Boulevard of Broken Dreams and 1 for American Idiot - August 2005
* Won ASCAP Honor Awards for Creative Voice and Song of the Year ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams") - May 2006
* Won MTV Europe Awards for Best Album and Best Rock Group - November 2005

Discography

Green Day

* 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1990) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar
* Kerplunk! (1992) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Drums on "Dominated Love Slave"
* Dookie (1994) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Percussion on "All By Myself (hidden track)"
* Insomniac (1995) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar
* Nimrod (1997) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica on "King for a Day"
* Warning (2000) -- Lead Vocals, mandolin, Guitar, Harmonica on "Minority"
* Shenanigans (2002) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
* American Idiot (2004) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica

Pinhead Gunpowder

Vocals and Guitar on all

* Fahiza EP (1992)
* Jump Salty (1995)
* Carry The Banner (1995)
* Goodbye Ellston Avenue (1997)
* Shoot the Moon EP (1999)
* 8 Chords, 328 Words EP (2000)
* Compulsive Disclosure (2003)

The Network

* Money Money 2020 (2003) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar

Foxboro Hot Tubs

* Stop Drop and Roll (2008) -- Lead Vocals

Adelleda

* A Reasonable Explanation For Life (2008) -- Producer

Notes

1. ^ Record Mecca
2. ^ Armstrong, Billie Joe (2005). ""The Sex Pistols"". Rolling Stone.
3. ^ Metropolis - Music and Concerts: Green Day
4. ^ Myers, Ben. "Green Day: American Idiot and the New Punk Explosion" April, 2006.
5. ^ Gibson USA & Green Day present
6. ^ Gibson USA & Green Day present
7. ^ (January 24, 1995)"Coming Clean"
8. ^ Libertarian Celebrities - Advocates for Self-Government
9. ^ Billie Joe Armstrong Trivia - Billie Joe Armstrong Facts - Billie Joe Armstrong Notes
10. ^ TSG Mug Shot: Billie Joe Armstrong
11. ^ Artists Lend Voices to Obama Campaign : Rolling Stone

External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Billie Joe Armstrong
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Billie Joe Armstrong

* Green Day Official Website
* Green Day Idiot Club
* Billie Joe Biography, as well as information on his stint in Common Rider
* Billie Joe Armstrong at the Internet Movie Database
* Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior

Brad Delson Biography

Bradford Phillip Delson (born December 1, 1977) is the guitarist of the rock/nu metal band Linkin Park. He was born in Agoura, California. Brad is Jewish. He is known for wearing large headphones onstage.

He graduated from Agoura high school in 1996 and in that year he formed Xero with Mike Shinoda. He moved to college in 1996 to 2000 and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Communications but didn't go to law school so he could pursue a career in the band.

Brad's first instrument was the trumpet. Brad and fellow bandmate bass guitarist Dave Farrell (aka Phoenix) were room-mates in college so they would go to practice together. He calls himself 'Big Bad Brad' and he signs his name 'BBB'. He is a big fan of MTV and Britney Spears. Brad's obsession is sleeping.

Before Xero, he used to be in a band called Relative Degree with fellow Linkin Park bandmate drummer Rob Bourdon. Relative Degree fell apart after just one show.

Brad used to colour his hair purple in high school and was once voted the Most Unique in his high school yearbook. He used to have a mullet either in high school or college.

Brad hasn't revealed yet the reason why he wears his headphones on stage although he did say this in a shoutweb interview: "I will say that it has something to do with the matrix. Not the movie, the actual matrix and being connected with it. Mr. Hahn (Linkin Park's DJ) has been rubbing off on me. I'm starting to integrate sci-fi humor into my schtick. It probably isn't too popular with a mass audience." "But I won't give him credit for the headphones. That's all mine."

Trade Mark

Big headphones he wears for concerts and music videos.

His afro.

Trivia

Is a guitarist for the rock band, Linkin Park.

Graduated from UCLA with a degree in Communications.

Attended the same high school as 'Heather Graham I' and Shane Stanley.

He was Dave Farrell's roommate in college.

He didn't go to law school so he could pursue a career in music.

Was voted Most Unique in his high school yearbook.

Has been friends with Mike Shinoda since middle school.

Has two younger brothers.

Originally from Agoura, California.

Along with Mike Shinoda, he is a founding member of Linkin Park.

Manages some of the business aspects of Linkin Park with his father, Donn Delson.

Worked as a bouncer at The Roxy.

Gear: Gear:

* Ibanez guitars
* PRS guitars
* Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier heads
* Mesa Boogie cabinets
* D'Addario strings (10XL)
* Boss Pedal effects
* D'Addario cables
* Dunlop picks (.83)
* Shure wireless

Bio:

Guitarist Brad Delson is often credited as being the funniest and most spontaneous member of Linkin Park. His playful sarcasm and quick wit can put you in knots with laughter (just ask his high school colleagues, who voted him "Most Unique" in the senior yearbook). But while he does possess the title of a jokester, he's also capable of being a serious person.

Brad grew up in Agoura, California and was friends with Mike Shinoda throughout his childhood. They attended Agoura High School together and graduated in 1996. It was this year when Xero was formed by the two. They remained close friends as they went to seperate colleges. Brad attended UCLA, where he met his roommate Dave Farrell, a bassist with a local punk band called Tasty Snax. Brad recruited Farrell to join Hybrid Theory, who had recently changed from 'Xero'. The rest is history. He graduated in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in Communications and was planning to go to law school until Hybrid Theory got a record deal and blew up as the newly named Linkin Park in fall 2000.

Brad handles the business side of Linkin Park with his father, Donn Delson. The two created BandMerch amid concerns over the unauthorized usage of Linkin Park's image and name on products, citing they wanted fans to get first-class, high-quality products when they purchased merchandise with the band's name on it. The company soon branched out past the borders of Linkin Park, handling merchandising affairs for some of the music industry's biggest heavy-hitters.

Delson is also the A&R representative for Linkin Park's Machine Shop Records label, most noticeably as an advisor for Fort Minor's 'The Rising Tied' which was released in fall 2005 on the imprint.
"I love playing music with my friends. I'm really proud of the record we've made and the opportunity we have to play these songs all around the world. Much respect to all the people who have supported us and help us to make dis ting happen -- Booyakasha!" -BBB

http://www.lpassociation.com

Eric Clapton biography

Real Name: Eric Patrick Clapton

Occupation: Musician, Guitarist

Date of Birth: March 30, 1945

Place of Birth: Ripley, England, U.K.

Sign: Sun in Aries, Moon in Scorpio

Education: Expelled from Kingston College of Art

Relations: Wife : Melia McEnery; Ex-wife: Pattie Boyd Harrison; Son: Conor (deceased);
Daughters : Ruth Patricia-Clapton (Born 11th Jan 1985); Julie Rose Clapton (Born 15th Jun 2001), Ella Mae Clapton (Born 14th Jan 2003), Sophie Clapton (Born 1st Feb 2005)



Eric reading the BeanoIN the late 1960s, one of the most prominent pieces of graffiti seen in London and New York was "Clapton is God." Thirty years later, the stalwart guitarist and singer continues to hold the initiated enthralled, and a fair share of his present-day fans weren't even born when those words of worship were emblazoned on public edifices. Clapton's meandering and groundbreaking musical career has been punctuated by extreme personal hardship and tragedy. Through the emotional truth of his music, he has sought refuge and release from the suffering of drug and alcohol addiction, personal relationships gone awry, and the deaths of several loved ones.

Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945, in his grandparent's house at 1, The Green, Ripley, Surrey, England. He was the illegitimate son of Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Fryer, a Canadian soldier stationed in England. After W.W.II Fryer returned to his wife in Canada, Patricia left Eric in the custody of his grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp. (The surname Clapton is from Rose's first husband, Reginald Cecil Clapton.) Patricia moved to Germany where she eventually married another Canadian soldier, Frank McDonald.

Young Ricky (that's what his grandparent's called him) was a quiet and polite child, an above average student with an aptitude for art. He was raised believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister, to shield him the stigma that illegitimacy carried with it. The truth was eventually revealed to him, at the age of nine by his grandmother. Later, when Eric would visit his mother, they would still pretend to be brother and sister.

As an adolescent, Clapton glimpsed the future when he tuned in to a Jerry Lee Lewis appearance on British television. Lewis's explosive performance, coupled with young Eric's emerging love of the blues and American R&B, was powerful enough to ignite a desire to learn to play guitar. He commenced studies at the Kingston College of Art, but his intended career path in stained-glass design ended permanently when the blues-obsessed Clapton was expelled at seventeen for playing guitar in class. He took a job as a manual laborer and spent most of his free time playing the electric guitar he persuaded his grandparents to purchase for him. In time, Clapton joined a number of British blues bands, including the Roosters and Casey Jones, and eventually rose to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds, whose lineup would eventually include all three British guitar heroes of the sixties: Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck. The group became a sensation for their blues-tinged rock, as did the budding guitar virtuoso Clapton, who earned the nickname "Slowhand" because his forceful string-bending often resulted in broken guitar strings, which he would replace onstage while the crowd engaged in a slow hand-clapping.

Despite the popularity of the band's first two albums, Five Live Yardbirds and For Your Love, Clapton left in 1965, because he felt the band was veering away from its bluesy bent in favor of a more commercially viable pop focus. He joined John Mayell's Bluesbreakers almost immediately, and in the ferment of that band's purist blues sensibilities, his talent blossomed at an accelerated rate--he quickly became the defining musical force of the group. "Clapton is God" was the hue and cry of a fanatic following that propelled the band's Bluesbreakers album to No. 6 on the English pop charts. Clapton parted company with the Bluesbreakers in mid-1966 to form his own band, Cream, with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. With this lineup, Clapton sought "to start a revolution in musical thought . . . to change the world, to upset people, and to shock them." His vision was more than met as Cream quickly became the preeminent rock trio of the late sixties. On the strength of their first three albums (Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, and Wheels of Fire) and extensive touring, the band achieved a level of international fame approaching that of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, and Clapton became even more almighty in the minds of his fans. In fact, the "Clapton is God" gospel contributed largely to Cream's disintegration--the band had always been a three-headed beast of warring egos, and their intense chemistry, exacerbated by the drug abuse of all three, inevitably led to a farewell tour in 1968 and the release of the Goodbye album in 1969. Early in 1969, Clapton united with Baker, bassist Rick Grech, and Traffic's Steve Winwood to record one album as Blind Faith, rock's first "supergroup." In support of their self-titled album, Blind Faith commenced a sold-out, twenty-four-city American tour, the stress of which resulted in the demise of the band less than a year after its inception.

Clapton kept busy for a time as an occasional guest player with Delaney & Bonnie, the husband-and-wife team that had been Blind Faith's opening act during their tour. A disappointing live album from that collaboration was released in 1970, as was Clapton's self-titled solo debut. That album featured three other musicians--bassist Carl Radle, keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, and drummer Jim Gordon--from Delaney's band, and yielded a modest pop hit with Clapton's version of J.J. Cale's "After Midnight." The collective proceeded to baptize themselves Derek and the Dominos, and commenced recording Clapton's landmark double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, with the added contribution of slide guitarist Duane Allman. An anguished lament of unrequited love, "Layla" was inspired by a difficult love triangle between Clapton, his close friend George Harrison, and Harrison's wife Pattie (she and Clapton eventually married in 1979 and divorced in 1988). Unfortunately, personal struggles and career pressure on the guitarist led to a major heroin addiction. Derek and the Dominos crumbled during the course of an American tour and an aborted attempt to record a second album.

Clapton withdrew from the spotlight in the early seventies, wallowing in his addiction and then struggling to conquer it. Following the advice of the Who's Pete Townsend, he underwent a controversial but effective electro-acupuncture treatment and was fully rehabilitated. He rebounded creatively with a role in the film version of Townsend's rock opera, Tommy, and with a string of albums, including the reggae-influenced 461 Ocean Boulevard, which yielded a chart-topping single cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." Some critics and fans were disappointed by Clapton's post-rehab efforts, feeling that he had abandoned his former guitar-heavy approach in favor of a more laid-back and vocal-conscious one.

Just One Night, Clapton's galvanizing 1980 live album, reminded devotees just exactly who their guitar hero was, but unfortunately, this period marked Clapton's critical slide into a serious drinking problem that eventually hospitalized him for a time in 1981. He experienced a creative resurgence after reining in his alcoholism, releasing a string of consistently successful albums--Another Ticket (1981), Money and Cigarettes (1983), Behind the Sun (1985), August (1986), Journeyman (1989)--and turning his personal life around. Though some say Clapton never regained the musical heights of his heroin days, his legend nevertheless continued to grow. That he was a paragon of rock became more than apparent when Polygram released a rich four-CD retrospective of his career, Crossroads, in 1988; the set scored Grammy awards for Best Historical Album and Best Liner Notes.Eric today!

In late 1990, the fates delivered Clapton a terrible blow when guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton road crew members Colin Smythe and Nigel Browne--all close friends of Clapton's--were killed in a helicopter crash. A few months later, he was dealt another cruel blow when Conor, his son by Italian model Lori Del Santo, fell forty-nine stories from Del Santo's Manhattan high-rise apartment to his death. Clapton channeled his shattering grief into writing the heart-wrenching 1992 Grammy-winning tribute to his son, "Tears in Heaven." (Clapton received a total of six Grammys that year for the single and for the album Unplugged.)

Click here to goto the "Unplugged" info page.

In 1994, he began once again to play traditional blues; the album, From the Cradle, marked a return to raw blues standards, and it hit with critics and fans. The fifty-one-year-old Clapton shows no signs of slowing down: in February of 1997 he picked up Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammys for "Change the World," from the soundtrack of the John Travolta movie Phenomenon.

Click here to goto the "From The Cradle" info page

Already a double inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream, a third nod as a solo artist is an inevitable honor for the legendary guitarist. Until Clapton springs his next album on a waiting world, fans can content themselves with his latest side project, TDF. The band's techno-pedigreed 1997 release, Retail Therapy, represents a marked musical departure from Clapton's blues-rock roots, and he appears on the album with the correspondingly off-the-wall pseudonym "X-Sample."Click here to goto the "Riding With The King" info page

Next came the acclaimed Pilgrim, which captured the Grammy nomination for Best Pop Album in ‘98. In 1999 he won a Grammy for his performance on “The Calling” from Santana’s Supernatural. Clapton revisited the blues with friend and musical legend BB King in 2000’s Riding With The King, garnering the artist more platinum and a Grammy nomination in a career full of chartbusters and precious metal.

Click here to goto the "Reptile" info pageThe only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of both The Yardbirds and Cream and as a solo artist), Eric Clapton continues to astonish and delight a vast spectrum of music lovers. It’s a legacy that continues with the release of Reptile, the latest journey in the lifelong musical odyssey of an authentic musical genius.

Gear: http://www.xs4all.nl/~slowhand/ecfaq/guitars.html

Eric Johnson biography

Eric Johnson is on the short list of all-time guitar heroes, but his creative path has taken some interesting twists and turns. He has earned critical and commercial success, a Grammy, accolades from his peers and unabashed devotion from his fans. However, his story as a guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer is not a "typical" one. But this three-decade journey has led to his new 2005 Favored Nations studio album 'Bloom.'

'Bloom' features 16 new songs ranging the stylistic gamut, which has always been Johnson's approach on his solo albums. He is one of the precious few musicians to fully succeed artistically and commercially with this philosophy. The rock 'n' roll raveup "Summer Jam" fits comfortably alongside the bright Bob Dylan cover "My Back Pages," the hypnotic "Sea Secret," lyrically provocative "Sad Legacy" and the rollicking country jam "Tribute to Jerry Reed." His already-astonishing gifts as a songwriter and producer, in addition to his jaw-dropping guitar technique, have grown substantially on this album. 'Bloom' will appeal to Johnson's longtime fans while also bringing new ones into the fold.

Johnson is a native of Austin, Texas, which is steeped in blues and country music. But Johnson's music reflects a broader range of influences in addition to blues and country, particularly pop, rock and jazz/fusion. His meticulously-produced albums are almost always equally divided between instrumentals and vocal songs showcasing all of his musical interests.

By the time Johnson had reached his teens, he was making waves on the Austin scene. At 16, he was a member of a band called Mariani and by 21, he was part of Electromagnets, a jazz-rock band with an intense cult following.

He recorded his first album, 'Seven Worlds,' between 1976 and 1978, but it was not released until 1998. Ark 21 issued the album with Johnson's blessing. A previous manager owned the rights to 'Seven Worlds.'

Johnson's burgeoning reputation in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to session work with the likes of Cat Stevens, Carole King and Christopher Cross. In fact, he played on Cross' Grammy-sweeping, self-titled 1980 debut album.

One of the most important breaks of Johnson's career was a 1984 appearance on the PBS television show 'Austin City Limits.' Reportedly, Prince saw Johnson's performance and recommended him to his label, Warner Bros. Records. The Warner subsidiary Reprise Records signed Johnson, and 'Tones' was released in 1986. Prince band members Wendy and Lisa even sang uncredited background vocals. The song "Zap" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental. Johnson had already earned considerable coverage from the guitar magazines at this point, and their chronicling of his career increased rapidly.

Johnson's breakthrough into the mainstream occurred with 1990's Capitol release 'Ah Via Musicom.' The buoyant, cascading instrumental "Cliffs of Dover" enjoyed mountains of radio airplay across multiple formats. The platinum-selling album was nominated for a Grammy and "Cliffs of Dover" itself earned Johnson a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental, topping fellow nominees the Allman Brothers Band, Danny Gatton, Rush and Yes. The smooth, supple instrumental "Trademark" is another highlight. 'Ah Via Musicom' gave Johnson the distinction of over being the first artist to have three instrumentals from one album reach the Top 10 in any format. He spent three years on the road promoting 'Ah Via Musicom' and then toured with B.B. King and contributed to albums by Chet Atkins and Dweezil Zappa.

In 1996, Johnson returned with 'Venus Isle' on Capitol. Notable songs from it include "S.R.V." (a tribute to his friend, another Texas native and guitar legend, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan) and "Manhattan." This album illustrated Johnson's growth as a songwriter, producer, vocalist and, perhaps most surprisingly, keyboardist. He promoted the album with the massively successful, first-ever G3 tour, which also featured his friends and fellow guitar virtuosos Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. The live album and VHS home video 'G3 Live in Concert' followed in 1997; the DVD home video reissue came along three years later. The video has been certified platinum.

One of Johnson's favorite side projects, apart from his own albums and guesting on other artists' albums, is the blues trio Alien Love Child. The group's 2000 album 'Live and Beyond' was Johnson's first project for Favored Nations, Vai's label. The song "Rain" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental.

2002 saw the release of 'Souvenir.' This popular collection of 12 previously-unreleased demos, outtakes and live recordings spanning his entire career is available only through www.ericjohnson.com or at his shows.

Johnson went on to surprise his fans, yet again, with a solo acoustic tour in 2004 showcasing his acoustic guitar and piano skills. He was also honored by Martin Guitars with his own signature acoustic model. That summer, he was also invited by Eric Clapton to take part in the Crossroads Guitar Festival.

A perennial favorite at the Austin Music Awards, Johnson and his band members won a variety of awards in March 2005 for the 2004-05 time period. Johnson won Austin Musician of the Year, Best Electric Guitarist and Best Acoustic Guitarist, as well as placing high in male vocalist, keyboardist and songwriting categories. Chris Maresh was named Best Bassist and Tommy Taylor earned Best Drummer honors.

The release of 'Bloom' and the following tour will be the main highlights of 2005 for Johnson, but the year certainly kicked off on a high note. In January, he joined Fender at the NAMM trade show in Anaheim, California, to introduce his own new Fender Signature Series Stratocaster guitar.

Gear: http://www.ericjohnson.com/flash/stringsandthings.html

Jason Becker Biography

ason Becker is an American hard rock guitarist who formed the band Cacophony in the late '80s with fellow guitarist Marty Friedman and recorded two albums with it, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988). He made the instrumental solo album Perpetual Burn in 1988. In 1989, he left Cacophony and was hired by David Lee Roth to replace Steve Vai in his backup band, appearing on the album A Little Ain't Enough (1991). Shortly after he joined Roth's band, however, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, a rare degenerative illness that causes paralysis. Nevertheless, he succeeded in completing a second solo album, Perspective, released on his own label in 1996. Raspberry Jams, an album of demos, followed in 1999, and in 2001, through the intercession of Eddie Van Halen, Perspective was given major-label release on Warner Bros. Records. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

' 'Such an amazing young prodigy’s career cut so short'' - words described by the Shredaholic team on this naturally gifted guitarist, who has suffered a tragedy none of us should ever have to experience...

Jason’s father played classical guitar, and his Uncle Ron played blues guitar, this got Jason interested in guitar music and he would eventually take up the guitar at a young age. His early influences were: Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Van Halen amongst other greats.



Jason was not a shy performer, he continuously practised (as all of us should) from the age of 5 and performed at school and coffee greenhouses from sixth grade and on, absorbing a lot of different style of music as he went along. Jason was so advanced at an early age that he was even giving his music teacher lessons! Then at 16 already an accomplished virtuoso player, came Jason’s big break, he met his close friend Marty Friedman. Marty had already made a few records already, when Marty saw Jason’s playing he was blown away, so Marty had the idea of the two to do a record together, so Marty set Jason some tasks on guitar. When Marty Returned, Jason had learnt them note-for-note-perfect! So, They got together and released an Album entitled ''Speed Metal Symphony'' in 1987.



This album is highly recommended by Shredaholic.com, it contains playing of breakneck speed and intense melodic energy, tracks like ''Concerto'' and ''Speed Metal Symphony'' are virtuosic masterpieces at the highest level, combining both amazing technique and sense of melody. They never got ''mega-famous'' but were known now around the world for there innovative style, the Japanese loved them, as Japanese are massive shred-heads themselves! :D Jason also made instructional videos for fellow shred-heads who were interested. In 1989 they produced there follow up album entitled ''Go Off'' this didn’t do half as well in sales as their debut, but still, shred fans will love it. The main highlight was ''Images'', an immaculate piece of intense melody.



Later that year, Becker went and joined David Lee Roth’s band, which he delightfully accepted. It was at this time that Jason had a lazy limp in his leg and went to check it out, he was tragically diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease), and given 5 years to live. Despite this, Jason, being the amazingly committed musician that he is, carried on, and recorded the album with Roth. It all starts getting quite upsetting at this point, Shredaholic recommends for fans to read ''In Jason’s Own Words'' on his official website jasonbecker.com for an in depth description of his illness. In the end, he was unable to play guitar properly and started recording on a keyboard and computer with one hand because the other hand would fall. Eventually this resulted in him confined to a wheel chair, but despite this, even to this day, he manages to compose his own music from his head onto a computer, and has other respectful artists to record for him (such as Eddie Van Halen). The Shredaholic team truly respects this amazing individual for what he has accomplished and strived for in his career, and great influence to us and many more.

Jason Becker - We Salute You.

Gear: http://www.guitarsite.com/discussion/messages/24167.shtml

biografi Tjahjo wisanggeni

Nama : Tjahjo Wisanggeni
Album : From The Other Side (Solo album,1992), Visible But Untouched (Nosferatu,1993)
Gear : Fender Stratocaster, Bogner Amplifier
Influences : Yngwie J Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Jason Becker, Michael Brecker
Guitar Fave : Fender Stratocaster, Ibanez JEM 7 VWH, Ibanez UV 777 PBK
Soloing Amps Fave : Bogner, Soldano, Plexi Marshall Head.
Rhythm Amps Fave : Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, 1960's Fender Black Face (Clean Sound), Randall Ultrasonic, Fender Bullet (For Practicing).
Guitarist Impian : Seseorang dengan tehnik seperti Rusty Cooley, Pengetahuan seperti Scott Henderson, Sound seperti Steve Vai, phrasing seperti Michael Brecker.
Penampilan terbaik : 2004 "World Trade Center" Surabaya
Penampilan terburuk : 1992 San Diego
Guru Fave : Edward O'Brien
Murid Fave : Aldy Agustiansyah
Band Fave : Led Zeppelin, ACDC, Beatles, Cirque De Soleil, Pink Floyd, Pantera
Lagu Fave : Far Beyond The Sun (Yngwie J Malmsteen), For The Love Of God (Stve Vai), All The Things Your Are (Hammerstein/Kern), Corcovado (Johim), Dolphin Dance (Herbie Hancok), Best That You Can Do (Arthur's Theme), God Father Themes, Rayuan Kelapa (Ismail Marzuki), Cinta Kta dan Good Nite Good Bye (Tjahjo Wisanggeni), Hey Jude (The Beatles), Alegria Cirque De Soleil, Star Pangled Banner
Musisi Indo Fave : Indra Lesmana, Ismail Marzuki, Syahrani, Inang Noorsaid, Abadi Soesman in "God Bless Cermin"
Guitar Sound Fave : Rising Force (Yngwie J Malmsteen), Passion And Warfare (Steve Vai), Waiting For The Punchline (Extreme), Machine Head (Deep Purple), Mechanical Spin Phenomena (Mnemic), Far Beyod Driven (Pantera), Summer Nights (Joe Pass)
Lagu pertama yang dipelajari : Tak kusangka (Panbers)
Tertarik Gitar karena : Melihat teman SD bermain "Romance De Amor"
Guitarist Fave : Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, James Hetfield, Dimebag Darrel, Scott Henderson, Donny Suhendra, Marty Friedman, Zakk Wylde, Joe Pass, SRV, Brian Setzer
Guitarist Indo muda berbakat : Andre Dinuth, Himen Garde, Steven "Metal Boy", Aldy Agustiansyah, Angga, Rama Satria, Firman Al Hakim, Prasicko Noah, Indra W Prasetyo, Irvan Z tu, Ponco Satrio
Album Fave : Pink Floyd,'s The Wall, Steve Vai's Passion And Warfare And Flexable, Yngwie J Malmsteen's Rising Force, Joe Pass's Summer Nights

Biografi pay siburian

Pay Siburian adalah salah seorang musikus Indonesia, sekaligus personel grup band beraliran rock, BIP. Di mana personel mereka terdiri dari, Bongky, Indra dan Reynold.

Pria yang pernah terpilih sebagai salah satu gitaris yang tampil di album Gitar Klinik dan jam session bersama Andy Timmons di Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta itu telah merilis dua album bersama BIP, masing-masing Turun Dari Langit dan Min Plus.

Pay sendiri pernah bergabung dengan Slank sejak tahun 1989 dan langsung ikut rekaman perdana dengan Slank pada 1990. Di mana saat itu personilnya terdiri dari Pay, Bimbim, Bongky, Indra dan Kaka.

Berikut wawancara Pay bersama Maysan dan Wiwik Wibowo dari Gitaris.com:

Halo Pay! Bisa ceritakan awal karir Anda bermusik?
Dari awal saya sudah mulai jadi player… ngisi-ngisi aja. Saya bukan arranger, saya player saja. Slank sendiri sudah mulai dari tahun 1988, saya masuk Slank pada tahun 1989. Kemudian saya kenal dengan beberapa produser dan coba-coba nawarin demonya Slank, akhirnya ketemu dan Slank diambil. Tahun 1990 Slank mulai rekaman.

Kapan Pay mulai belajar bermain gitar?
Sejak SD kelas 4 saya sudah main.

Setelah Anda tamat sekolah apakah Anda mempunyai kegiatan lain?
Saya sekolah malah ngga selesai nih :)) SMA kelas 3 saya tidak terusin udah berantakan sekali karena saya banyak ngeband sana sini, ujian saya tinggalin. Waktu itu saya lagi senang-senangnya dengan musik.

Pada masa itu Pay sendiri pernah terobsesi tidak, ingin menjadi siapa?
Steve Vai kali yah.. ketika tahun 88-89 Vai masih bersama David Lee Roth.

Pada masa itu apakah Anda sering membawakan lagu-lagu idola Anda?
Ya, saya suka membawakan lagu-lagu Van Halen!

Lagu-lagu tersebut kebanyakan Anda bawakan di mana?
Sebelum Slank, kita sering bawakan lagu-;agu tersebut di kampus-kampus, SMA-SMA atau acara-acara biasa.

Apa yang membuat Anda serius dengan profesi ini?
Hm.. itu mengalir begitu saja sih yah.. saya merasa nikmat sekali main gitar itu, saya tidak pernah berpikir entarnya harus bagaimana :). Yang jelas waktu itu gua latihan, gua ngulik terus sampai sekarang ini.

Sejak kapan Anda merasa nyaman dengan kemahiran Anda dalam bermain? Misalnya sampai Anda bisa improvisasi blues dan sebagainya?
Itu banyak faktor sih ya, misalnya dari banyak nge-jam atau pengalaman batin (soul). Secara teknis sih mungkin banyak gitaris yang bisa main, tetapi begitu ngeband koq ngga asyik. Jadi sebagai gitaris kita itu jangan terlena untuk main seperti gitaris lain, cobalah untuk bermain dengan gaya sendiri. Ada saatnya di mana kita harus melepaskan idola kita dan kapan kita mendapatkan jati diri kita.

Sejak kapan Anda tidak memainkan lagu orang lain lagi?
Sejak saya pertama rekaman bersama Slank, sejak orang lain bisa menerima permainan saya. Sejak itu saya tidak pernah lagi membawakan lagu orang lain. Kita sangat konsekwen sekali dalam membawakan lagu kita sendiri. Kalau kita tidak bawain, masa kita mengharap orang lain yang mau membawain? :)

Ketika Pay membawakan lagu orang lain, apakah Pay itu main seperti lagu aslinya atau kebanyakan diimprovisasi?
Nah itu :) Setiap kali ngulik sih ngga pernah terlalu dapat, perasaan gua :) Jadi banyak di tengahnya ngarang gitu :) Memang kadang-kadang susah banget aslinya hahaha. Dulu itu kan belum seperti sekarang, kaset VHS aja banyak banget kan… ada buku, video, dan sbgnya. Itu kaset sampai bulug kali saya bolak balik terus.. :))

Kalau kita perhatiin permainan Anda agresif dan bagus sekali ketika di album Slank yg pertama baik dari segi teknik maupun dari sisi lainnya.
Saya pribadi sih lebih senang album Slank yang ke-4 (Generasi Biru) yah. Di album pertama itu saya masih cari-cari ciri dan warna saya sendiri. Album terakhir lebih ke musikalitas. Untuk sekarang ini, teknik itu mungkin perlu .. tapi bukan hanya itu yang saya andalkan.

Sebelum Anda bergabung dengan Slank, apakah pernah ada kendala dengan profesi Anda sebagai gitaris?
Ketika itu sebagai anak muda yang masih polos banget, saya belum kepikir atau takut. Soalnya waktu itu belum ada contoh seseorang yang berprofesi sebagai gitaris dan sukses, mas Ian Antono sendiri waktu itu juga belum apa-apa. Kadang-kadang saya sempetin ngajar ke beberapa murid untuk senar atau apa gitu.

Kebanyakan mas Pay itu lebih sering mengajar di Sekolah Musik atau privat?
Ya, semacam itulah bisa dikatakan dari teman ke teman. Kalau sekolah musik belum pernah dan ngga tahu gimana caranya.

Kami denger-denger mas Pay ini otodidak yah?
Banget banget…

Menurut Anda teori musik itu wajib ngga sih untuk semua gitaris, terutama pemula?
Teknis itu perlu, teori itu perlu… tapi bukan cuman itu. Teori itu kan hanya mempermudah…. namanya musik kalau kita main itu enak didenger kenapa ngga?

Untuk seorang gitaris pemula, dengan hanya mengandalkan feeling tanpa kemampuan teknis apakah bisa?
Coba kalau Anda berfikir secara orisinilitas, mungkin dia tidak belajar dengan teknik yang ada tetapi dia mempunyai cara tersendiri, walaupun mungkin agak melawan arus. Itu bisa dikatakan sebagai bakat, jadi teknik yang ada ini membuat kita itu sama saja dengan yang sudah ada. Misalnya skill yang sama atau cara vibra yang sama atau cara main yang benar… sebenarnya yang bener itu tidak ada, itu relatif sekali.

Selama ini ada tidak musisi Indonesia yang turut membantu atau menjadi sahabat Anda? atau saling berbagi ilmu?
Edi Kemput kali yah… kebetulan waktu itu Bimbim dan Rere (drummer Grass Rock) suka latihan di Potlot. Jadi kadang-kadang saya suka melihat permainan Edi.

Hm berarti pergaulan sangat dibutuhkan sekali oleh seorang gitaris yah?
Ya, itu dinamakan habitat. Kita harus sering tukar ilmu dengan teman kita supaya kita tidak mentok dan berkembang terus. Kita tidak perlu gengsi untuk masalah itu. Kita tidak perlu menilai siapa yang lebih senior, tetapi kalau memang ada yang main lebih bagus dari saya, kenapa saya tidak bertanya kepadanya?

Ketika Anda jam session bersama Andy Timmons di Hard Rock Cafe, permainan Anda mengalir dan spontan begitu saja. Apakah ada inspirasi atau referensi yang membuat Anda dapat bermain seperti itu?
Referensi sih wajib yah, tetapi untuk bermain rock yang basic banget itu blues yah… blues tuh no.1 kalau mau jadi pemain gitar. Di mana kita perlu nge-jam spontan.

Sebenarnya sejak kapan mas Pay itu merasa bisa main blues?
Kalau saya mungkin terbalik yah, kalau di luar negeri kan blues menjadi basic yah… baru mereka mempelajari yang sulit-sulit. Kalau saya waktu itu udah belajar ke mana-mana, habis itu baru belajar blues. Tetapi ngga apa-apa, yang penting saya masih belajar. Waktu itu yang saya tahu main bluesnya bagus… itu pemain bass saya si Bongky, kadang-kadang kalau kita nge-jam berdua saya merasa anjrit nih orang, mainnya jago banget. Waktu itu saya masih banyak main lagu orang lain :)

Pernah tidak Pay merasa ingin menjadi Shredder seperti Yngwie gitu?
Pernah donk, tetapi untuk sekarang ini tidak terlalu ya karena waktu itu kan ada Vai, Yngwie segala yah. Sekarang ini saya lebih ke musikalitas.

Mas Pay sendiri ada rencana untuk bikin solo album instrumental?
Hm tidak sih, saya tidak sehebat itu. Untuk saat ini tidak ingin menjadi gitaris yang terlalu bagaimana, yang penting orang bisa menilai saya dari musikalitas. Dari membuat sebuah lagu menjadi asyik didenger orang.

Sejak kapan sih fans Anda mulai memperhatikan permainan Anda atau sadar akan kelebihan dari permainan Anda? Mungkin sejak album Slank atau BIP?
Kita akan mulai merasa begitu kalau sudah menulis lagu sendiri, sejak kita melepas semua atribut2 itu dan menjadi diri kita sendiri. Dari situ saya merasakan fans saya mulai memperhatikan permainan saya. Kalau saya sendiri saya tidak mau terbatas dengan misalnya saya main dangdut, dangdut aja. Karena yang saya anggap soul itu bukan musiknya… cara mengekspresinya ini …. saya main musik jazz atau rock, expresi itu versi gua.

Sebenarnya porsi Pay itu untuk lagu dan solo gitarnya berapa persen?
Sebenarnya ini kerja 1 team yah… banyak sih waktu karena saya pemain gitar… banyak chord dasar itu dari saya dan nanti pengembangannya bareng-bareng.

Proses pembuatan lagu ketika Anda di Slank dan sekarang ini sudah berbeda jauh tidak?
Tidak, itu masih kebawa. Kita bikin lagu tidak pernah direncanain terlebih dahulu, kita merem datang sendiri, tidak punya materi apa2 .. ngarang di tempat.. jadi.. begitu aja. Bisa di mana saja, di rumah bisa, di studio bisa.. spontan saja.

Kita sering denger 1 band bisa ngumpul bareng-bareng dan lantas bisa tiba-tiba bikin lagu…
Itu dari jam terbang mungkin yah .. memang saya sejak main gitar itu udah mulai ngejam-ngejam .. ngarang2 walaupun berantakan.. waktu itu yakin aja gitu.

Pay sendiri punya solo gitar favorit tidak dari lagu Slank atau BIP?
Mungkin banyak di album ke-4 kali yah? Judulnya Hey…Bung!

Mas Pay bisa dibilang kolektor gitar tidak?
Dulu pernah, tapi sekarang tidak lagi… saya dulu pernah kena drugs sampai saya jualin semua. Begitu saya udah sembuh saya mulai dari nol lagi, saya ngumpulin lagi. Sekarang saya diendorse oleh Ibanez.

Untuk saat ini Anda memiliki berapa gitar?
Sat ini saya punya 4 buah gitar. 2 bh gitar Ibanez, 1 bh Fender & 1 bh Telecaster.

Saya pernah melihat Anda mengunakan Ibanez Reb Beach Model, apakah gitar ini masih Anda pakai?
Ya, masih.

Ketika Anda merekam lagu “Ke Rumah Kak Butet” di album Gitar Klinik, gitar apa yang Anda gunakan?
Wah waktu itu saya tidak punya gitar, kalau tidak salah saya malah pinjam. :)

Bagaimana ceritanya Anda bisa diundang untuk main di Gitar Klinik? Apakah ada seleksi terlebih dahulu untuk main di album itu?
Hm.. itu dari Irfan yang kontak saya, dia bilang kita rame-rame yuk bikin Gitar Klinik, ada Eet dan lain-lain. Tidak ada seleksi.

Menurut Anda gitaris Indonesia yang mainnya paling OK siapa?
Eet donk! Mungkin cuman Eet dan Edy Kemput saja yah. :)

Mengapa Anda memilih mas Eet dan Edy Kemput? Mungkin punya alasan tertentu?
Karena menurut saya nada yang Eet pilih bagus sekali, nusuk ke jantung gitu lho. Apalagi waktu saya lagi demen-demen lagu yang beatnya keras, soundnya dia dapat… semuanya deh!! pas banget buat saya. :) Kalau Edy Kemput, not dia yang mainin aneh-aneh deh.

Apakah Anda cukup senang dgn perkembangan musik saat ini?
Saya rasa, kalau seru sih lebih seru dulu yah? Sekarang tuh mungkin orang lebih nyantai mainnya, lebih simple.

Kira-kira di zaman apa itu yang Anda maksud seru?
Zamannya Hard Rock, waktu itu orang lebih usaha mau jadi pemain band… gimana dulu baru bisa :) Dibandingkan dengan dulu itu, tantangannya lebih berat. Kalau yang sekarang itu lebih instant, lebih cepat naik lebih cepat hilang…

Menurut Anda permainan Anda lebih terpengaruh gitaris mana? Kalau kami denger dari lagu yang ada di album Gitar Klinik sepertinya Anda sangat terpengaruh dgn permainan Joe Satriani?
Iya sih, saya suka banget sama dia! Juga Michael Lee Firkins, seperti di album Gitar Klinik itu saya ada main slide cuman tidak menggunakan slide tetapi tremolo.

Bagaimana rasa Anda ketika Anda bermain bersama Eet dan Ian Antono?
Waktu itu saya sempat bangga, saya kirain Ali Akbar mengajak saya itu hanya bercanda-canda saja. Ternyata jadi, saya sempat panik juga :) Pembuatan musik untuk acara itu malah dibebanin ke saya, akhirnya saya buatin juga. :) Mas Eet sempat mengubah chord progresi yang saya buat ketika itu, berhubung chord yang saya buatin itu kurang enak buat solo dia! :)

Mengenai sound yang gunakan ketika pertama kali rekaman dengan Slank, apakah Anda menemukan kesulitan? mengingat sound gitar selalu beda antara main live dgn rekaman?
Kebetulan studio yang kami gunakan itu komplit sekali, mereka punya satu efek namanya Rocktron yang simulasinya jika dimasukin ke mixer, bunyinya seperti ditodong dari mic. Waktu itu gitar yang saya pakai juga dari studio tersebut, saya sendiri malah tidak bawa gitar.

Kira-kira berapa lama yang Anda butuhkan untuk mendapatkan sound yang Anda inginkan ketika rekaman pertama slank itu? Apakah sampai berhari-hari?
Tidak sampai berhari-hari, kebetulan Rocktron itu simple dan mudah sekali digunakan.

Mengingat toko musik di Indonesia tidak menjual semua produk yang ada. Apakah untuk mencari perlengkapan yang Anda butuhkan, Anda harus mengunjungi semua toko musik yang ada? Misalnya cari sound effect atau amplifier?
Tidak, saya hanya masuk 1 toko, begitu saya test ok, jadi deh!

Perlengkapan musik apa yang sedang Anda gunakan saat ini?
Untuk amplifier saya pakai Laney, untuk effect: Marshall, untuk gitar memang dari dulu saya cocoknya pakai Ibanez dan saya memang diendorse oleh BNG (Distributor Ibanez untuk Indonesia).

Untuk amplifier Laney, apakah memang sesuai dengan Anda atau hanya karena Anda diendorse oleh BNG?
Kebetulan sound yang saya inginkan itu, bisa saya temukan di amplifier Laney tsb.

Menurut Anda studio di Indonesia yang benar-benar bagus itu ada di mana?
Menurut saya yang bagus itu cuman studio baru Aquarius, menurut saya itu udah bagus banget, pantes menjadi idaman semua orang Indonesia. Kebetulan saya juga rekaman di situ.

Kami denger Anda pernah mengisi lagu Nicky Astria dan Deddy Dorres. Apakah dari produser meminta Anda harus bermain sesuai dengan trend atau diberi kebebasan sepenuhnya?
Mereka kasih saya musiknya, saya biasanya beri mereka pilihan. Kecuali saya bikin solo album.

Sebagai seorang player, apakah pernah merasa dunia Internet itu membantu kegiatan Anda?
Tentu saja, kadang-kadang saya suka browsing ke website Joe Satriani (satriani.com), saya ingin lihat dia pakai perlengkapan apa saja. Kebetulan dia juga ada album dengan judul “Strange Beautiful Music”, album favorit Joe Satriani saya adalah album lamanya: “Surfing With The Alien”.

Apakah Anda sudah berkeluarga?
Tentu saja sudah. Kebetulan istri saya itu penyanyi :)

Apakah Anda mempunyai kerutinan latihan setiap hari?
Tentu saja, saya hampir setiap hari mengarang lagu dengan berbagai gaya musik. Kadang-kadang saya sempetin juga fingering untuk melemaskan jari, minimal 2-3 jam per hari deh.

Untuk proses pembuatan lagu apakah Anda juga menggunakan computer/MIDI seperti halnya gitaris modern lainnya?
Saya memang setiap harinya bermain dengan computer… untuk perekaman dan editing saya menggunakan software Protoors.

Bagaimana kebebasan setiap personil BIP dalam menciptakan lagu?
Sebebas-bebasnya, asal lagu yang tersebut enak saja. That’s OK.

Sejauh ini Anda pernah manggung di manca negara? Dan bagaimana respon mereka?
Pernah, di Malaysia. Respon mereka asyik deh… ada beberapa yang sudah kenal dan ada beberapa dari mereka yang memang mengikuti Slank. Waktu itu kami memang sedang mempromosikan album BIP.

Ok, terima kasih atas wawancaranya, Pay! Thanks a lot! :)
Ok, sama-sama! :)

joe perry biography

Date of Birth
10 September 1950, Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA

Birth Name
Anthony Joseph Pereira

Nickname
Joe Freakin' Perry
King Of Cool
Toxic Twins (with Steven Tyler)
Italian stalion

Height
5' 9" (1.75 m)

Spouse
Billie Paulette Montgomery (21 September 1985 - present) 2 children
Elyssa Jerret (5 August 1975 - 1985) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Guitar riffs

Gibson Les Paul

Trivia

Lead guitarist with Aerosmith.

He met Billie in June of 1983 during the filming of his video "Black Velvet Pants" with the Joe Perry Project. He then married her at the Iao needle in Maui, Hawaii on September 21, 1985.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 (as a member of Aerosmith).

After leaving Aerosmith, started the Joe Perry Project, which released three albums with minimal commercial success. Was auditioning to be the guitarist for Alice Cooper when he and Brad Whitford decided to re-join Aerosmith in 1984.

After years of drug-induced tension with his bandmates, most notably lead singer Steven Tyler, left Aerosmith in 1979 after a backstage incident in Cleveland where his first wife, Elyssa, poured milk on Tom Hamilton's wife, Terry.

Sons: Adrian Perry (with Elyssa) Tony and Roman Perry (with Billie) Stepson Aaron Hirsch (from Billie's first marriage)

Is of Portuguese/Italian descent. His father's family were Portuguese immigrants from the Island of Madeira and his mother's family came from Naples (Italy).

Has a younger sister named Anne-Marie (born Dec. 1954).

A long-time connisseur of spicy foods, he formulated his own brand of hot sauces called "Rock Your World," in habanero pepper ("The Boneyard") and peach mango ("Mango-Peach Tango") flavors. Both first appeared in 2005 after a year of development with Boston-based Ashley Foods, Inc.

His first wife, Elyssa Jerret, is the daughter of jazz clarinetist Nick Jerret. Jerret had his own big band but also worked with Billie Holiday and Dizzie Gillespie.

His sister-in-law, Diana "Dee" Minor, is pool player in the VNEA international Hall Of Fame and a top-ranking member of the WPBA for many years.

Sons: Adrian Perry (with Elyssa) Tony and Roman Perry(with Billie) Stepson Aaron Hirsch (from Billie's first marriage)

Joe's stepson, Aaron, is the CEO for his hot sauce brand, the Joe Perry's Rock Your World. Aaron, married to Becky, has a little son called Austin.

Went to Wayland High School and performed with Aerosmith at the field house. There is a picture of Joe Perry and Steven Tyler on stage hanging in the field house.

Plays guitar right-handed, but writes left-handed.
From the Associated Press Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is putting down his ax while he goes under the knife.

Perry canceled a solo show scheduled for April 5 in Niagara Falls, N.Y., so he can recover from knee surgery, spokeswoman Marcee Rondan said in a statement released Monday.

Rondan said Perry has needed knee surgery for two years but put off the procedure so he wouldn’t miss any Aerosmith tour dates.

The 57-year-old’s knee finally gave out early this month after a pair of performances with his two sons. That prompted his doctor to schedule the surgery for March 18.

Along with Kiss' Ace Frehley, Aerosmith's Joe Perry was responsible for inspiring thousands of teenagers to pick up guitars and start rocking n' rolling in the 1970's and beyond. Born September 10, 1950 in Lawrence, MA, Perry got his first taste of rock n' roll at the ripe old age of 6, when neighbors turned him on to such early rock nuggets as "Rock Around the Clock," "Tutti Frutti," etc. Infatuated by the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the 60's, Perry picked up the guitar during his teenaged years, and started jamming along with such British blues rockers as The Yardbirds (Having A Rave Up with the Yardbirds) and John Mayall (Bluesbreakers), which would serve as the basis for his tough n' rough blues licks that would later put Aerosmith over the top. Getting his chops together by playing with such bands as Flash, Just Us, Plastic Glass, and The Jam Band (during which he hooked up with future Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton), Perry crossed paths with New York City native Steven Tyler (then named Steven Tallarico) in 1969, when each of their bands would play at Sunapee, N.H.'s The Barn. Shortly thereafter, Aerosmith was formed - consisting of Perry on guitar, Tyler on vocals, Hamilton on bass, Joey Kramer on drums, and Ray Tabano on 2nd guitar (later replaced by Brad Whitford). Combining the blues grit of The Stones and The Yardbirds with the heavy riffing of Led Zeppelin, the band would issue their first album on Columbia in 1973, and by the late-70's, would be one of the world's biggest rock bands (on the strength of sold out tours and such classic albums as 75's Toys In the Attic and 76's Rocks). But Aerosmith's first reign at the top didn't last long. Hard drugs eventually weakened the band's camaraderie and blurred their original musical vision - leading to spats between Perry and Tyler. Frustrated with band, Perry left during the recording of 1979's Night in the Ruts, soon after forming his own band, The Joe Perry Project. The original line-up (consisting of Ralph Mormon on vocals, David Hull on bass, & Ronnie Stewart on drums, in addition to Perry), issued an inspired, woefully overlooked debut, Let the Music Do the Talking, 1 year later. Although the new band was promising, old habits were hard to break, as drugs ruined the band. Still, Perry soldiered on (facing bankruptcy at the time), issuing 2 more so-so albums with a revolving door of bandmembers. With Aerosmith's career sagging as well, Perry patched up his differences with Tyler, and reunited the classic Aero line-up by 1984. Drug abuse still ran rampant, resulting in their unfocused debut for Geffen, 85's Done With Mirrors. But a surprise hit with rappers RUN-DMC (a remake of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way") and the Aero-members finally kicking drugs and drink for good, led to an immediate resurgence in their popularity. By the late-80's, Aerosmith was on top of the rock world again, where Perry & co remained, issuing such hit albums as Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get A Grip. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Written by Greg Prato


gear
Guitars

* Gibson Joe Perry Boneyard Les Paul's
* Fender Stratocasters
* Gibson ES-335 with Bigsby
* Ampeg/Dan Armstrong Plexi Guitar (tuned to open A)
* Guild 12-String Electric
* Gretsch Black Falcon
* Fender Reissue Telecaster
* Ernie Ball/Music Man Silhouette 6 String Bass
* Chandler Lap Steel
* Gibson ES-335 (custom painted with his wife's face on body of guitar)
* Gibson Firebird VII
* Fender Telecaster w/B-Bender
* Supro Ozark
* Gibson Jeff Beck Les Paul

Amplifiers

* Marshall 50 Watt Plexi Head
* Marshall Major 200 Watt Heads
* Fender Tonemaster Head
* Wizard 100 Watt Head
* Marshall JMP-1 Preamp
* Marshall 4x12 cabs
* Vox 4x12 Cab
* Orange 8x12 cab

Effects and Accessories

* Digitech Whammy Pedal
* Dunlop DCR-1SR Rackmount Wah
* Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeler
* Line 6 MM-4 Modulation Modeler
* Klon Centaur
* custom made Talk Box
* Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
* Chicago Iron Octavian
* custom made Talk Box
* Samson UR5-D Synth Wireless
* Gibson Vintage Reissue .010-.046 Strings

eddie van halen biography

Name : Eddie Van Halen
Date of birth : 26 January 1955
Place of birth : Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands


Biography
Eddie Van Halen Trivia

* Brother of Alex Van Halen
* Guitarist for rock group Van Halen
* Father, with Valerie Bertinelli, of son Wolfgang.
* Parents moved to Pasadena from the Netherlands when he and brother Alex were young. His father was Dutch, his mother Indonesian.
* Has been working on new material in his home studio since being declared cancer-free (he was treated for throat cancer in 2000/2001), but has no idea what he's going to do with it for now. Van Halen split with its label, Warner Brothers, in 2001, and is currently without a recording contract. [June 2002]
* Son Wolfgang born March 16, 1991.
* His father, Jan van Halen, was an accomplished sax and clarinet musician in his own right. He appeared on clarinet on "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" on the "Diver Down" album (released on April 14th, 1982).
* Met David Lee Roth while they both attended Pasadena Community College in the 1970s.
* In 1999 he had hip replacement surgery.
Childhood

Van Halen was a son of saxophonist Jan Van Halen, his mother Eugenia was from Java Indonesia. At an early age he moved with his family to the city of Nijmegen (Netherlands). In 1962 they moved to Pasadena, California. Eddie learned to play the piano as a child, and has won many different talent shows. His older brother Alex also played the piano.

However, playing the piano did not prove sufficiently engaging - he once said in an interview, "Who wants to sit in front of the piano? That's boring." Consequently, while Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit and began practicing drumming. After Eddie heard Alex's performance of the The Surfaris' drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he grew annoyed that his brother had overtaken his ability and decided to switch and begin learning how to play the electric guitar.

He has stated that he would often walk around at home with his guitar strapped on and unplugged, practicing. It's said that he would sit in his room for hours with the door locked, as a teen practicing the guitar. He once claimed that he had learned almost all of Eric Clapton's solos in the band Cream "note for note" by age 14; in later interviews he stated he could never play the solos precisely, instead he would modify them slightly to suit his style.

In April 1996, in an interview with Guitar World, when asked about how he went from playing his first open A chord to playing "Eruption", Eddie replied:
“ Practice. I used to sit on the edge of my bed with a six-pack of Schlitz Malt talls. My brother would go out at 7pm to party and get laid, and when he'd come back at 3am, I would still be sitting in the same place, playing guitar. I did that for years — I still do that.[1] ”

Eddie has many influences, most notably Eric Clapton. He has also acknowledged the influence of Queen guitarist Brian May and fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth, as well as the likes of Montrose guitarist Ronnie Montrose.

Van Halen formation

Main article: Van Halen

Van Halen, originally called "Mammoth", was formed in 1972 in Pasadena, California, United States. The band consisted of Eddie Van Halen on guitar and vocals, his brother, Alex on drums, and bassist Mark Stone. They had no P.A. system of their own, so they rented one from David Lee Roth[2] (who had auditioned for the band, but failed) - a service for which he charged $10 a night. Eddie quickly became frustrated singing lead vocals,[2] and decided they could save money by letting Roth into the band.[2] Soon, Michael Anthony replaced Mark Stone on bass. They opted to change the name of the band, reportedly due to another band used the same name - Roth is normally attributed with suggesting the name 'Van Halen'.

In 1977 Gene Simmons saw one of Van Halen's shows at Gazzari's in Hollywood,and subsequently financed their first demo tape, flying the band to Electric Lady Studios in New York to record "House of Pain" and "Runnin' With the Devil". Eddie disliked his playing on the demo, because he wasn't using his own equipment, and had to overdub guitar parts (which he had never done before.)[2]

In 1977, Van Halen was offered a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Later that year, they recorded their first album, "Van Halen", which was released on February 10, 1978. Eddie claims that their first single, "You Really Got Me", a cover of the original Kinks song, was not his first choice. The band was forced to release the song before other bands (notably L.A. rival "Angel") who heard Van Halen's rendition and were trying to beat them to the punch.

Roth years

Van Halen released a total of 6 albums: Van Halen (1978), Van Halen II (1979), Women and Children First (1980), Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982), and 1984 (1984); however, the band had trouble working together as a cohesive unit; according to Gene Simmons' book Kiss and Make Up, Eddie Van Halen approached Simmons in 1982 about possibly joining Kiss, replacing Ace Frehley. According to Simmons, Eddie did so chiefly due to his personality conflicts with Roth.

Simmons persuaded Eddie to return to Van Halen, and shortly afterwards the band released the album 1984; which yielded the band's first #1 hit, "Jump". Other singles released from the album also sold well, particularly "Hot for Teacher", the video for which featured a skimpily dressed model playing the part of elementary-school teacher and school-age boys portraying younger versions of the band members. The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts, behind Thriller by Michael Jackson, to which he contributed a guitar solo in the hit song Beat It.

Hagar years
Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards 1993.
Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards 1993.

With the arrival of former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar, the band's sound changed somewhat, as Eddie's keyboard playing became a permanent fixture, heard in songs such as "Dreams" and "Love Walks In". The change in sound prompted many fans, both positively and negatively, to refer to the band as "Van Hagar." However, tensions within the band again rose, and Hagar departed in 1996.

Following Hagar's departure, the group briefly reunited with original singer David Lee Roth and released Best of Volume I, a greatest hits package, in 1996. Two new songs were recorded for the album, with the single "Me Wise Magic" reaching #1 on the mainstream rock chart ("Can't Get This Stuff No More" was the other new single). However, previous disagreements resurfaced and the reunion did not last.

The band auditioned many prospective replacements for Hagar, finally settling on Gary Cherone, former frontman for Extreme, a band also represented by Van Halen's manager. Cherone predicted that the new line-up would last 'ten years', however the Van Halen III album was received poorly. Cherone soon had an amicable departure, and without a lead singer, Van Halen went into hiatus.

Hagar reunion

In 2004, Van Halen returned with Hagar as their lead singer. A greatest hits package, The Best Of Both Worlds, was released to coincide with the band's reunion tour.

The band toured the US, covering 80 cities.[3] Despite taking $55 million dollars, it was revealed in Rolling Stone that the promoters had actually lost money on the tour. The final date on the tour appeared to bring tensions between Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar to the surface, culminating in Eddie violently smashing his guitar before leaving the stage on the last date.

Reviews of the tour differed - some reviews were enthusiastic, whereas many stated the band had poor musicianship and the concerts contained apparently drunken behaviour.[4] Michael Anthony stated that Eddie regularly performed in an alcoholic stupor:
“ I hate to talk smack about anyone in the band or whatever, but, y'know, Eddie, you know, he's still doing a bit of drinking and everything. There were nights where it was kind of like a roller[-]coaster, up or down, and myself, I would have liked to have seen him totally clean up if we were gonna take this further.[5] ”

Roth reunion

On February 2, 2007, it was officially announced on the band's website that David Lee Roth would rejoin Van Halen for their summer tour.[6] The excitement regarding the tour waned when on February 20, 2007, reports surfaced that the tour was indefinitely postponed. A previously planned compilation of Roth era Van Halen hits was likewise shelved.[7] However, after six months later and a stint in rehab for Eddie, it was finally confirmed by the band on August 13th at a press conference in Los Angeles that they would do a tour with the new lineup from late 2007-early 2008 across North America, with further worldwide touring and a new album proposed to follow later on in 2008. [8]

Persistent rumors had long indicated the Van Halen brothers were in talks with Roth to rejoin the band for a tour and/or new material. In the February 2007 edition of Guitar World magazine, Van Halen had talked about working with Roth during the summer of 2006:
“ I'm telling Dave 'Dude get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!' As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go. ”

Regarding the news that Van Halen's then 15-year old son Wolfgang was to play bass in Van Halen in the fall (replacing Michael Anthony), Van Halen claimed his son's presence would have a positive effect on the band:
“ Wolfgang breathes life into what we're doing. He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for 3 months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our shit. The kid is kicking my ass! He's spanking me now, even though I never spanked him. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world. ”

Van Halen also stated in a Howard Stern interview that although Roth was a "loose cannon," he was willing to deal with that. David Lee Roth had previously stated that reuniting with the band was "inevitable":
“ I see (the reunion) absolutely as an inevitability. There's contact between the two camps, and they have legitimate management. To me, it's not rocket surgery. It's very simple to put together. And, as far as hurt feelings and water under the dam... so what? It's showbiz! So I definitely see it happening.[9] ”

Recent events

Eddie Van Halen underwent hip replacement surgery in 1999, after an existing degenerative condition became unbearable.[10]

Since the 2004 tour, Eddie Van Halen has largely disappeared from the public eye, with the exception of occasional appearances such as the 14th annual Elton John Academy Awards party, and a performance at a Kenny Chesney concert.

In December 2004 at Dimebag Darrell's funeral, Eddie donated his famous black and yellow guitar from the Van Halen II album inlay, stating that Dimebag had always said that was his all time favorite guitar. The guitar was put in Darrell's Kiss Kasket, and he was buried with it.[11]

On December 5, 2005, Eddie's wife, Valerie Bertinelli filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court. The Complaint for Divorce revealed that the couple separated on October 15, 2001.[12] In an interview on Howard Stern's radio show on September 8, 2006, Eddie stated that he and Valerie share custody of their son, and that he sees him every day. Van Halen's divorce became final on December 20, 2007.

On March 8, 2007, Van Halen announced on their website that Eddie was entering rehab for unspecified reasons. However, both Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony have made statements indicating that Ed's personality had changed due to alcohol abuse. Hagar, Anthony and David Lee Roth have repeatedly stated their support and well wishes towards Ed's recovery since the announcement. Hagar stated at the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, "I hope he gets through this and we can have our buddy back" with Anthony visibly agreeing in the background.

Van Halen emerged from rehab and appeared publicly as an honorary official during the April 21, 2007 NASCAR event at Phoenix International Raceway. He also unveiled a new Fender Stratocaster with a paintjob made for the NASCAR races before the ceremony.

In 2007, Eddie was honored in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. A player receives the "Eddie Van Halen" achievement for hitting 500 or more notes in succession.[13]

Cancer

During the late 1990s Eddie Van Halen was treated twice for tongue and mouth cancer. During an interview with Howard Stern on September 8, 2006, Eddie claimed that holding a metal pick in his mouth 12-14 hours per day while immersed in the electromagnetic radiation of his music studio caused his tongue cancer. He said he continues to smoke because "cigarettes didn't cause the cancer",[14] despite the fact that they could in fact contribute to the cancer's potential for resurgence.

Eddie also revealed that he stopped the cancer via an illegal method (the nature of which he declined to specify) in conjunction with a pharmaceutical lab with which he's affiliated in New York State. He said a portion of his tongue was removed and experimented on, and then the technique was performed on him. He said he has lost one third of his tongue, though his speech is virtually unaffected. Despite his battles with oral cancer, Eddie has been photographed in public as recently as June 2006 smoking cigarettes.[15] After coming out of rehab, he appeared on the cover of Guitar World magazine, which did a comparison with a cover that had been shot before he entered rehab.[citation needed]

[Technique

Edward Van Halen's approach to the guitar involves several distinctive components. His innovative use of two-handed tapping, natural and artificial harmonics, vibrato, and tremolo picking, combined with his rhythmic sensibility and melodic approach, have influenced an entire generation of guitarists. The solo in "Eruption" was voted #2 on Guitar World magazine's readers poll of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.[16] He was also ranked #70 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. [17]

Tapping

Main article: Tapping

The instrumental "Eruption" showcased a solo technique called tapping, utilizing both left and right hands on the guitar neck. "Eruption" propelled Eddie Van Halen to popularity among guitarists.[18] Before the release of the first album, Eddie hid his technique by playing solos with his back to the audience.

Ritchie Blackmore has said in an interview that he and Jimi Hendrix saw Harvey Mandel tap at a nightclub in the late 1960s. From a Feb 1991 Guitar World Ritchie Blackmore interview "The first person I saw doing that hammer-on stuff was Harvey Mandel, at the Whisky A Go-Go in '68" [1]. The tapping technique was also known by Jazz guitarists in the 1950s and 1960s. Jazz guitarist Barney Kessel taps a few notes at the 2 minute 50 second mark of this video from 1964 [2].

Early EVH stage photographs [3], and demo and bootleg recordings from 1976 and before do not indicate EVH using any tapping techniques. In a Ace Frehley January 2005 Guitar World interview, Ace Frehley says that EVH probably started tapping in late 1976/1977 after seeing him tap using a pick with Kiss just before the Gene Simmons Van Halen demo tapes were made but Eddie's first exposure to the tapping technique might have come from his childhood friend Terry Kilgore who took lessons from Harvey Mandel in the 1970s. Ace Frehley had been tapping with a pick (similar to Frank Zappa) from at least 1973 [4] as early Kiss television appearances show such as Kiss performing She on The Midnight Special television show in 1975 [5].

A 1976 live performance has Eddie Van Halen performing Eruption (or what would later be called Eruption) without using any tapping techniques [19]. The Eruption version on the first Van Halen album from 1978 does feature tapping, indicating that EVH started using the tapping technique in Van Halen songs sometime in late 1976 or early 1977.

EVH's comments about how he came across the tapping technique vary from interview to interview. This is one interview excerpt.
“ I think I got the idea of tapping watching Jimmy Page do his "Heartbreaker" solo back in 1971. He was doing a pull-off to an open string, and I thought wait a minute, open string ... pull off. I can do that, but what if I use my finger as the nut and move it around ?" ... I just kind of took it and ran with it. ”

EVH also employs tapping harmonics. He holds the pick between his thumb and middle finger, which leaves his index finger free for tapping and also makes for easy transitions between picking and tapping. In support of his two-handed tapping techniques, Van Halen also holds a patent for a flip-out support device which attaches to the rear of the electric guitar.[20] This device enables the user to play the guitar in a manner similar to the piano by orienting the face of the guitar upward instead of forward.

[edit] Tone

Van Halen achieved his distinctive Brown sound tone by using a Frankenstrat guitar, a stock 100-watt Marshall amp, a Variac (to lower the voltage of the amp to change the tone) and effects such as a Echoplex, a MXR Phase 90, a MXR Flanger and EQ,s. Ed constructed his Frankenstrat guitar using a Charvel factory 2nd body and neck, a vintage Gibson P.A.F. humbucker pickup (sealed in paraffin wax to reduce microphonic feedback), a pre-CBS Fender tremolo bridge (later to be a Floyd Rose bridge) and a single volume control (with the volume knob labelled as 'tone' ).

The now famous single pickup, single volume knob guitar configuration was arrived at due to Van Halen's lack of knowledge in electronic circuitry and his failure to find a decent bridge and neck pick-up combination. Upon installing the humbucking pickup, he did not know how to wire it into the circuit, so he wired the simplest working circuit to get it to function. His later guitars include various Kramer models from his period of endorsing that company (most notably the Kramer "5150", from which Kramer in its Gibson-owned days based their Kramer 1984 design, an unofficial artist signature model) and three signature models: the Ernie Ball/ Music Man Edward Van Halen Model (Which continues as the Ernie Ball Axis), the Peavey EVH Wolfgang (which has been succeeded by a similar guitar called the HP Special), and the Charvel EVH Art Series, on which Eddie does the striping before they are painted by Charvel.

In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in July, 1985, Van Halen states that his "brown sound" is "basically a tone, a feeling that I'm always working at...It comes from the person." He continues, "If the person doesn't even know what that type of tone I'm talking about is, they can't really work towards it, can they?"

Tuning

Though rarely discussed, one of the most distinctive aspects of Van Halen's sound was Eddie Van Halen's tuning of the guitar. Before Van Halen, most distorted, metal-oriented rock consciously avoided the use of the major third interval in guitar chords, creating instead the signature power chord of the genre. When run through a distorted amplifier, the rapid beating of the major third on a conventionally tuned guitar is distracting and somewhat dissonant.

Van Halen developed a technique of flattening his B string slightly so that the interval between the open G and B reaches a justly intonated, beatless third. This consonant third was almost unheard of in distorted-guitar rock and allowed Van Halen to use major chords in a way that mixed classic hard rock power with "happy" pop. The effect is pronounced on songs such as "Runnin' With the Devil", "Unchained", and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?".

With the B string flattened the correct amount, chords in some positions on the guitar have more justly intonated thirds, but in other positions the flat B string creates out-of-tune intervals. As Eddie once remarked to Guitar Player:
“ A guitar is just theoretically built wrong. Each string is an interval of fourths, and then the B string is off. Theoretically, that's not right. If you tune an open E chord in the first position and it's perfectly in tune, and then you hit a barre chord an octave higher, it's out of tune. The B string is always a motherfucker to keep in tune all the time! So I have to retune for certain songs. And when I use the Floyd onstage, I have to unclamp it and do it real quick. But with a standard-vibrato guitar, I can tune it while I'm playing.''[21] ”

Volume swells

Eddie used a volume technique in the instrumental "Cathedral". He hammered notes on the fretboard with one hand while rolling the volume knob with the other. This altered the attack and decay of the notes so they mimicked the sound of keyboards. This "volume swells" sound was originally popularized by 70's progressive rock bands like Yes and Rush, but was usually performed with a volume pedal, at a slower pace. "Cathedral" also employs an electronic delay, with the delay set at 400 milliseconds (ms) and the delayed note set at the same amplitude as the original note. Most of the composition's notes come from hammering on the notes of a major 5th string barre chord (ascending and then descending) and replicating this pattern up and down the neck of the guitar. The end result of this technique made the composition sound as if it is being played on a church/cathedral organ.-->

Equipment

Guitars

Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstrat" guitar
Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstrat" guitar

Eddie Van Halen built his guitar (Black and White) by hand, using an imperfect body and a used neck picked up at Wayne Charvel's guitar shop. The body and neck were constructed by Lynn Ellsworth of Boogie Bodies guitars, who was working for Wayne at the time. In his guitar he wanted to get a Gibson sound with the Fender feel. In 1979, Eddie began to play a black, rear loaded Charvel with yellow stripes. This was later replicated by Charvel along with the black and white striped model and the red white and black model (EVH Art Series Guitars). He also used a Ibanez Destroyer on a lot of the tracks on Van Halens first album such as You Really Got Me and Runnin' With the Devil.

Also, in 1979 Eddie's original guitar was repainted with Frankenstein artwork. Eddie also changed the neck, removed part of the scratchplate and eventually installed a Floyd Rose vibrato unit. The guitar itself is known both as a "Frankenstrat" and as THE "Frankenstrat." Fender reissued the guitar in relic form in 2007, the limited run selling at $25,000 a guitar. However, a "new" (non-reliced) Frankenstrat is currently available through the Charvel company for significantly less, the first time Van Halen has consented to the commercial release of a guitar with his signature graphics on it.

In 1983, Eddie began to use a brand new Kramer guitar with artwork similar to its predecessor and with a hockey-stick or "banana" headstock, which came to be known as the "5150." This guitar was rear-loaded (no scratchplate), had a Floyd Rose vibrato unit and a neck that was later electronically mapped in order for it to be copied on the later Music Man and Peavey signature models. This guitar was last used on the track "Judgment Day" on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album. Various versions of it can be seen in the music videos for "Panama", "Hot for Teacher", "When It's Love", "Feels So Good" and the concert video, Live Without a Net. The guitar itself was a variant of a Kramer Pacer, although not a model that was technically available at the time.

It was painted with Krylon paints by Van Halen himself and used through the OU812 tour, after which it was "retired." However, Edward did break out the guitar for use on the 2004 reunion tour, although the neck had finally given out and had apparently been replaced. A copy of this guitar is available today (although not with Van Halen's permission) through the current manufacturer of Kramer's, Music Yo, a subsidiary of the Gibson company. However, the commercially available copy does NOT feature the custom graphics, as the "Frankenstein" graphics are trademarked by Edward Van Halen.

In the mid 1990s, Ernie Ball produced an EVH signature "Music Man" guitar, and Eddie used this on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance albums. This guitar is still commercially available under the "Axis" name, and retains all of the original features of the Edward Van Halen model. Edward was allegedly upset that Ernie Ball could not produce enough of this guitar to meet demand, and subsequently moved his endorsement to the Peavey Electronics corporation.

Eddie named his line of signature Wolfgang Guitars after his son, Wolfgang. The guitar itself was similar to the previous Axis line, but with a slightly altered shape and many additional options available in Peavey's much larger custom shop. These guitars included a device called a "D-Tuna" which enabled a guitarist to tune the low E string down to D with a slight turn of a knob attached to the end of the bridge. In 2003, at the NAMM show, the relationship between Peavey and Eddie began to strain. Peavey constructed Eddie a glass enclosed stage to play for VIP's at 2PM. Eddie arrived late, shocking fans there with his disheveled appearance, as he immediately went upstairs and initially refused to play. After an hour of negotiations, Eddie came down while fans, who had lined up for hours prior to the appearance, roared with approval. Eddie ended up spending his short time on stage, talking about Wolfgang guitar production and his promise to take a keen interest in quality control.

Eddie left, having only played a few notes and small riffs, much to the dissatisfaction of the fans and Peavey.[citation needed] The end came in 2004, when Peavey company parted ways with Van Halen, reportedly because Eddie launched an on-line sale of hand patterned (by Edward) Charvel guitars, sold by the name of the "EVH Art Series Guitars", while he was still contractually obliged to Peavey. The guitars sold for large sums on eBay, and were essentially replicas of his famous "Frankenstrat" guitars, played by Van Halen mainly during the David Lee Roth era of the band. Eddie also launched Frankenstein replicas as noted above, which are the only Van Halen guitars currently endorsed by Eddie.

Most recently Eddie has collaborated with Fender guitars to produce a replica of the Frankenstrat. Eddie and Chip Ellis of the Fender Custom Shop teamed up to produce a guitar priced at $25,000 each. Also, Eddie has collaborated with Fender to launch his own EVH brand of guitars, amps, and musical instrument equipment, starting with his new EVH Brand 5150 III amplifier. Eddie now uses prototypes of his new EVH Brand Wolfgang, which is an updated version Eddie's Peavey Wolfgangs but with new pickups, knobs, a thinner but very elaborate quilted maple top to allow the basswood the dominant tone, providing more tonal resonance but with a balanced high sustain. Also, the new Wolfgang is equipped with an Original Floyd Rose. In addition, the new guitar has a slightly altered headstock. This is because this was Ed and Hartley Peavey's original design for the headstock, which Eddie had patented without the scoop on final version of the Peavey Wolfgang. He has been seen with 3 new Wolfgang guitars, first a sunburst one, then a black one which he stated he liked less than the sunburst one and now he uses a white one, the best sounding one out of the three prototypes according to Ed.

Amplifiers

Ed's main amplifier in the early years was a 100 watt Marshall amplifier that had a 12301 serial number which dates it to the 1967-1968 transitional period at Marshall when the circuit of the 100 watt Marshall 1959 changed gradually from the 'Bass' circuit to the 'SuperLead' circuit. It has often been claimed that Ed's main 100 watt Marshall amplifier might have been modified. Amp techs who claim to have seen inside his amp allege that Ed's main 100 watt Marshall amplifier was completely stock at the time of recording Van Halen's first album. Amp tech Mark Cameron has claimed that he found a schematic of Ed's amp in amp tech Jose Arredondo's shop after he died that showed modifications that had been performed by Jose. One of these was the Jose 16 Ohm load box which was used for re-amping. It was a transformer-coupled line out that was used to create a line out signal from Ed's main 100 watt Marshall amplifier and then the line out signal was fed into another Marshall amp's input for re-amping.

A single basic tube amplifier has to usually be run at high volumes to produce a overdriven tone but with re-amping the first amplifier can be made to produce an overdriven tone and it's line level output can then be fed into a second amplifier which can then control the volume level of the first amplifiers overdriven tone which results in a volume controlled overdriven tone. Re-amping with unmodified amplifiers was most likely used to record Van Halen I with a variac set at 90 volts being used on the first amplifier which was Ed's main 100 watt Marshall. Another Jose modification was a master volume and pictures from the Van Halen II recording sessions show Ed's main 100 watt amplifier with what appears to be the Jose master volume modification to the amplifiers back panel and re-amping does not seem to have been used for Van Halen II.

Between 1993 and 2004 Eddie was sponsored by Peavey Electronics to use their 5150 Amplifiers, which he had a part in designing. Following the ending of this relationship, Peavey renamed the amplifier as the 'Peavey 6505', with slightly updated styling but original circuitry. Eddie is now sponsored by Fender and has debuted his new amp called the 5150 III. The 5150 III features 3 channels with their own independent controls, a 4-button foot-switch and his famous striped design on the head.

Floyd Rose system
Floyd Rose Original
Floyd Rose Original

A crucial component of Van Halen's personal style is his use of the Floyd Rose fulcrum vibrato for electric guitars. Developed in the mid-20th century, early versions of this device allowed the guitarist to impart a vibrato to a chord or single string via movement of the bar with the picking hand. Van Halen went on to collaborate with Floyd Rose on improvements to Rose's device.

Van Halen also pioneered the mainstream use of the Trans-Trem system on the Steinberger line of guitars on "5150", most notably on the songs "Summer Nights" and on "Me Wise Magic" off of "Best of Volume I" where the song goes through several key changes while retaining the same chord voicings. The Trans-Trem system allows for the effect of an instant "capo", increasing the pitch of all strings by up to a minor third or lowering the pitch by as much as a perfect fourth.[citation needed]

Solo work

Eddie Van Halen has appeared on several projects outside of his eponymous band.

* Most famously he was called in by Quincy Jones to play guitar on the song Beat It, from Michael Jackson's 1982 album, "Thriller". Steve Lukather of Toto played the main guitar riff and rhythm, with Eddie playing a solo that was allegedly blended, or "comped", from three different takes. The subsequent success of the track played a key role in getting R&B videos played on MTV. The combination of Jackson's pop sensibilities, Quincy Jones' production and Van Halen's guitar work melded several genres of music, and helped each to find new fans. Concurrently, Van Halen's song Jump was played in discos, inner-city R&B clubs, and on rock radio. Famously, Eddie refused the money he was offered for playing on the track.
* In 1983, Eddie collaborated with Queen guitarist Brian May on the Star Fleet Project, a 3-track EP consisting of a rock styled rendition of the theme to the popular anime children's show, a May penned track (Let Me Out), and an improvised blues track (Blues Breaker).
* In 1984, Eddie recorded several instrumentals for a movie called "The Wild Life." Some of those recordings used ideas that showed up later in Van Halen songs such as "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" and "Right Now." However, only "Donut City" was included on the soundtrack album, which was released on vinyl and cassette, and never made it to CD format.
* Also in 1984, he provided the score for the 1984 TV film, The Seduction of Gina.
* He played bass on Sammy Hagar's 1987 solo album I Never Said Goodbye.
* In 1989 he played bass on the opening track, (Twist the knife) from Steve Lukather's debut album, as well as giving the guitar part which was taken from an outtack from the 5150 album titled "I want some action". The main riff was also latter used by Eddie Van Halen in the 3 album for "Dirty Water Dog".
* He has also done soundtrack work for movies such as Back to the Future, Over The Top (Winner Takes It All, a collaboration with Sammy Hagar), Twister (The track Humans Being featuring Sammy Hagar, along with the instrumental Respect The Wind), The Wild Life, and Lethal Weapon 4 (The track Fire In The Hole from Van Halen III)
* He has recorded with Dweezil Zappa, Jeff Porcaro, Roger Waters, Steve Lukather, and Thomas Dolby, amongst others.[22]
* In July 2006, Eddie Van Halen recorded two new instrumental tracks (Rise and Catherine) which debuted in an unusual format: in a pornographic feature entitled "Sacred Sin" directed by a friend of the guitarist, well known adult director Michael Ninn.[23][24] These tracks have since surfaced on the internet. Eddie also composed some minor uncredited piano interludes in the feature.

www.classicvanhalen.com