Colin let me take over this week's TV Party. When this was first pitched at Pencilstorm’s Editorial Committee meeting, we all started visiting each others' You Tube feeds to check out what each other was watching.
Much to the surprise of most of the staff, mine wasn’t filled with Journey, Bon Jovi, Queen or dozens of those tenor rock vocalists. When I go deep diving on Youtube, it’s all about the gods of guitar. And not those bluesy, riffy guys like Keith Richards or Slash. I like the pure distorted rapid neoclassical sounds of what’s known now as Generation Axe.
So sit back, relax and prepare to have your mind blown. Remember all this stuff is LIVE. Engage rabbit hole… NOW.
We start with the man who broke the ceiling with rock guitar virtuosos and I'm not talking about Eddie Van Halen (snooze), I’m talking about the one and only Steve Vai.
You can’t listen to Vai without his contemporary, Joe Satraini. While Satriani has dozens of amazing songs, here’s a gem I found.
Eric Johnson is another amazing guitar talent from this generation. It’s hard to mention Vai and Satriani without Johnson. Here’s his most famous.
Europe gave birth to this neoclassical heavy metal guitarist, Yngwie Malmsteen. Wow. Just wow.
There are some people out there who can do on four strings what others do on six. Here is bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Paul Gilbert doing an amazing duet.
And speaking of duets… make sure to watch this completely. At first, it’s just Joe Satriani playing his signature, “Always You, Always Me,” but half way through Steve Vai joins him on stage and it’s just mind-blowing to hear two masters go at it together. It's like watching Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo paint together.
Pencilstorm contributor Wal Ozello is the lead singer of the Columbus Hairband, Armada, and the author of several time travel books.