I have always thought top ten guitar lists, or top one hundred or whatever, are silly. There is no such thing as a best guitarist. Its all relative to the context, the era, and personal taste. None the less they are a hell of a lot of fun to read and I have always disagreed with the Rolling Stone magazine list they publish every year. I was stunned by the excellent list that was written by Josh Tyrangiel of Time magazine. He’s the only guy I have seen with the balls to include Yngwie Malmsteen. In my opinion due to the sweeping changes and influence Malmsteen brought to the guitar not including him, as most of these lists do, is a complete joke.

Without further adieu since I make my living playing the guitar I have decided to throw my hat in the ring. I decided to use a three prong approach to my list. The first criteria I think is paramount is signature. And what I mean by this is signature sound. A strong aural identity is one of the rarest and most challenging thing to develop. This is so because to do so one has to have the moxie and courage to look inward. To not mimic and copy other peoples sound, but truly be committed to finding your own voice. I am talking about a musician where you hear one note and you know who it is. This alone is one of the rarest qualities on the planet, and is deserving of recognition.

Secondly I will use influence as a measure of scope here because when one has the courage to do the aforementioned, it has a positive effect on guitar because change always comes from the outside, not inside where everyone is paying attention to what everyone is doing.

Thirdly, I will argue that the best guitarists who create the unique sounds and change the game often do not listen to other guitarists and are influenced by horn players, singers, and have a vision of taking the instrument to a higher level. Like Howard Roark the famous architect in Ayn Rand’s epic novel The Fountainhead did with architecture.

One thing you will notice about this list is many of these guitarists are not that well known because they are guitarists favorite guitarists. Its often a fun idea to find out who your favorite guitarists are listening to.

1. Clint Strong

I put Clint first on the list because I’ve seen them all and I’ve heard them all and when it comes to what I call just the plain “Wow Factor”. This guy takes the cake. Everything about him and his style just reaches out and pops like some kind of prize fighter when he plays. I have seen musicians high fiving each other while watching in the audience during his gigs like it was some kind of NBA championship game after a slam dunk. Clint doesn’t talk, he just does it. You may have never heard of him, but when you do you will remember and mark my word, Ive seen them all.

2. Yngwie Malmsteen

I would argue as far as rock guitar is concerned there have been three major revolutions in the approach to the instrument since the sixties Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and then Yngwie Malmsteen. This guy was and is a major game changer. He is the epitome of the three principles I set out as criteria for my silly list. He didn’t listen to other guitar players and he tells guitarists all the time- don’t listen to me, don’t listen to anybody, find your own way, believe in yourself. He listened to Bach and Paganini and brought the brilliance and approach of a virtuoso violinist to the guitar. Before this guy came along rock and rollers were stuck in their little pentatonic boxes. Over night people had to learn what an arpeggio was. Learn about diminished scales, and the fifth note of harmonic minor. By mimicking violin Yngwie took technique to a level never before seen in rock guitar. You hear one note of this guy and you know who it is.

3. Allan Holdsworth

All of us in the guitar community know about the influence of this guy. Even guitar players who don’t know who Allan is are influenced by Allan. He is definitely a visionary who found his own way and has a signature so recognizable that you can hear one fourth of a note and tell who it is. Allan is definitely a guitarist guitarist, a great guy, and it is a joke that he is not on the top of that silly Rolling Stone list. So cheers to Allan, this is where he belongs. I have always considered him to be on the top of my list long before we became friends.

4. Eddie Van Halen

It goes without saying this guy changed rock guitar forever. This was the second major sweeping revolution in what we all thought was possible. Everything about this guy was different, and if you want to talk about Allan Holdsworth, Eddie is a big fan and helped Allan get exposure early on in the states. Everything about Eddie is unique, innovative, and game changing. I remember in the 90′s a radio DJ in Dallas announcing two new songs being released by a former band with their old singer. He declined to say the name, as it was a surprise that he would play after a commercial break. I was listening carefully after the commercial and I heard one note I got goosebumps because at the onset of that one note I knew, unequivocally, without a doubt that is was Van Halen. His brother Alex plays drums the same way, one note and I know who it is. Tone Loc, the rapper, sampled Jamie’s Crying, and the first time I heard that, I knew right where it came from. This is what I am talking about.

5. Pat Metheny

Lock, stock, and barrel here is a cat who is the penultimate example of hearing just one note and you know it’s Pat Metheny. His signature is his phrasing and ability to spontaneously create beautiful melodic improvisations that are astounding, original, and very pleasing to the ear. He has a very classy, elegant, approach that has elevated our instrument in so many ways. Hats off to Pat Metheny.

6. Al Dimeola

Al Dimeola is a very good guitar player. So much so at times he is accused by people, with very little technical command of their instrument, as being just a guy with chops. When I hear one of these clowns saying this foolishness about Al I know they have no idea what they are talking about immediately. While his technique is astounding, his playing is deep and rich harmonically and his chordal approach is beautiful. He also has uncanny control rhythmically that sets him apart in a league of his own. I can tell his playing by one note easily. His album Cielo De Terra completely blows me away every time I hear it. It is, to me, right up there with Julian Bream seminal guitar masterpiece Twentieth Century Guitar.

7. The Edge

When I was a kid my buddy Chris Sacco, a fine guitarist in Houston, turned me on to U2. This guys sound is so completely original and instantly identifiable. He is the poster-boy for the three strong traits of signature, influence, and taking the guitar past where you got it. When he plays it doesn’t even sound like a guitar. It sounds like a piano, or it sounds like the hills of Ireland. His playing is so beautiful it evokes visuals, like a soundtrack to a movie. Simply unbelievable.

8. Ted Green

In the guitar community Ted Greene is like our Yoda. Every great guitarist I ever met, or took lessons from, had his book Chord Chemistry. He dedicated his life to the guitar and his approach was so thorough and deep and profoundly affected so many of us that love the guitar. The first time I heard his arrangement of Send in the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim I wept. He had the same effect on me that John Coltrane and Bach have, and that is some very heavy company for a humble guitarist like Ted Greene who put out one LP called Solo Jazz Guitar in 1971. Ted is the best of the best and pretty much the reason I made this list.

9. Prince

This list is about signature and style. No one tops this cat when it comes to originality and taking the game to a new level. Growing up with Princes music, I always knew he had something unique and special, but it wasn’t until seeing him perform live that I realized what a burning guitarist he was. You can hear his influence in a lot of guitar players and to me Prince is a guitarists guitarist, as well as a rock star. I hear a lot of his influence in Steve Vai’s style. And Steve is one bad dude himself.
10. Pat Martino

Pat Martino is a class act, and has been from day one. He had the moxie and the courage to move to Harlem as a kid and make a name for himself. Like Allan he has his own system and approach to improvising and it is profound. His playing strikes me as someone who loses their mind and comes from their senses. Some Jazz improvisors come across as a little cerebral for me. Pat’s playing always hits you in the gut. My friend Fred Hamilton shared with me recently how Pat explained improvising to him and the students at my Alma Mater UNT. It was profound, based on the seasons. There are twelve notes in the chromatic scale and there are twelve months in a year. He based his system on the way he heard it, and that’s what this list is about.
11. Billy Gibbons

The reverend Billy G. My first guitar hero. This guy is so fucking cool I don’t know what to say. I grew up in Houston, and Billy is Houston. He is so down home, groovy, and always has the best guitar tones . I always say its better to be tasty than trendy. Everything about Billy and his playing is genuine and stands the test of time. I started out with the blues and no matter how far away I strayed, every time I hear this man play the guitar I remember where I came from, and what its all about.
12. Chris Carrington

As I stated previously I have based this list on the “Wow Factor”. I have spent a considerable amount of my years studying classical guitar. I like the discipline. Its like gourmet cooking, fine wine, or building a ship in a bottle. It requires dedication, preparation, and perseverance. The first time I heard Chris play was when he was touring with Al Dimeola. Several years later I was eating in a Lebanese restaurant in Dallas with my girlfriend there was this guitarist over in the corner, and everything he was playing just popped, and had this swagger to it. It was outrageously different than most stuffy sounding classical guitarists. It was so good, it was distracting me from being able to eat. So I went over to introduce myself and when he said his name I immediately realized who he was and I said, “What are you doing in Dallas?” He replied “I live here.” We’ve become good friends and he built me a wonderful guitar. It still doesn’t change the fact every time I hear him play I go “Wow!” Here is a testimony to his “Wow Factor.” One night on Lemmon Ave. in Dallas Chris was playing in an Italian restaurant and Al Dimeola, Paco De Lucia, and John Mclaughlin walked in. Hows that for pressure? If I remember right, Chris tells me he went in the kitchen to hide or something and the owner made him come out and play. Al Dimeola asked for his number and the rest is history.

I want to close here in saying that this list is in no way definitive. Its just the top twelve guitarists that impacted me. I encourage you to make your own list. Not of just guitar players, but of the people that impacted your life. You are the five people you hang around the most. You can learn a lot about yourself from doing something like this. I chose twelve because there are twelve notes in music, twelve months in a year, and twelve eggs in a dozen. Its just a cool number and making it was a lot of fun. These guitarists are not in any specific order. Any one could be in any order they are just the twelve that came to mind extemporaneously as I wrote this blog.

I grew up in Houston Texas in a neighborhood called Timbergrove Manor. Four of my good friends growing up were Italians. Chris Sacco, Nick Russo, Louie Romano, and Sam Zarzana. Chris Sacco lived just a few blocks from me and is one of my best friends. We both started playing the guitar at the same time. Chris was what I would consider kind of a natural on the guitar. He just seemed to pick it up and get it sounding good right away. Not the case with me, it was a damn battle, from the get go rhythm and playing by ear did not come easy. I eventually got some lessons and stuck to it and about three to four years in, saw some great results.

This was my first inkling that there’s something going on with these Italians and guitars. As I found my way collecting records and transcribing guitar solos, I again noticed great Italian guitarists everywhere. Check out this short list that just came to me extemporaneously as I am writing this:

1. Al Dimeola
2. Pat Martino
3. Frank Zappa
4. Bucky Pizzarelli
5. Steve Vai
6. Joe Satriana
7. John Petrucci
8. Joe Diori
9. Tommy Tedesco

All of these guys are monsters and over the years I have noticed an inordinate amount of Paisano’s that can play the hell out of the guitar. I guess It just kinda makes sense, since Italians love life, music, food, and drama. In which music plays a major role. I was reminded of this again last night when my friend sent me this crazy video of an eight year old Italian guitar prodigy taking care of business. Lucciano Pizzichini is his name and he’s only nine in this video playing a nice version of Stella by Starlight.

Pretty cool eh?
Eric

I realized another vision yesterday during a recording session with Pat Peterson yesterday at my friend Eric Delegard’s studio Reeltime Audio. I first heard Pat several years ago when my friend photographer James Bland introduced us backstage at a John Mellencamp performance. I was moved by her performance and it was just a matter of time before I would write something and her vocals would come to mind. She has a presence and a style you remember when you hear her. She was a Rayette with Ray Charles, sings with The Stones and Tom Petty and John Mellencamp and too many to mention here. All around great musician. Plays the piano very well. We collaborated on my new single which I will be doing a video for with Mike Cevallos in Austin. Stay tuned

Ben Franklin was my first hero.

I read his book The Art of Virtue when I was a kid.
Ben felt a perfect day was:

8 hours of work
8 hours of play
and lastly 8 hours of sleep

3 x 8 = 24 hours

That is so elegant and simple, how many of us do this though?

Furthermore if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. I am so glad I read that when I was young.

Life is about balance and what is more balanced than Ben’s perfect day.

Stop working so much! Being a workaholic is not something to be proud of. Workaholics for example, lack balance. Imbalance is a weakness that sooner or later causes problems. The first problem is consistency in performance.

Much Love,

Eric

Looking for an aspiring videographer to create a music video for my new single “Reign Falls”. Since the track has the right kind of “oomph”, I am looking for a video that captures the spirit of this song, which is about staying true to yourself at all costs and overcoming all obstacles. The winning video will be awarded $500! The deadline for the contest is August 15th.

Click on the following underlined link below to play the song!

Got a cool little boost in exposure in the UK when my album cover was used in an advertising campaign for Samsung cell phones. Thought you’d get a kick out of this. My friend Aaron Pendland has been working with a client developing music software for mobile phones, and they recently launched a service in the UK with CarPhoneWarehouse (the UK branch of Best Buy). They needed some album cover thumbnails displayed in the software on the promotions, so he loaded it up with my albums. They had it on a bunch of in-store posters/banners and the like. It was pretty quick turn around stuff but always good to get the word out. I wondered why my iTunes sales had spiked.

Here is a look at one of the ads:

What do you think? Leave your opinion below in the comments!

I am the luckiest guy in the world in that I get to do what I love for a living. Of course I also realize that hard work brings a lot of luck and for 27 years I have “wrassled” and tugged away at my guitar to try and get it to do what I hear in my head.

My friend Clint Strong told me you should always try and be the worst guy in your band. That was good advice as you always want to be on your toes and what better way than have some heavy cats in your corner and with you on the dais. I also work hard on my guitar so it’s challenge I enjoy that bring’s out the best in me as a player.

Here is some footage from a recent show with some of my favorite guys to play with; John Carruth a great drummer and a hell of a listener. He hears everything and John and bassist Mikel Combs have a long history of playing together and it shows. Pete Weise is another excellent guitarist with great tone and timbres. His style is very different than mine. I remember that is something that Mikel used to encourage us to capitalize on early on in rehearsals. Enjoy!

All The Best,

Eric

I had a great time playing at The Boiler Room last week. We tried out some new tunes and it was great to see so many good friends and make some new ones. We played with two good bands – The Non’s from Oklahoma and The 71′s from my hometown Houston, TX.

The 71′s had some serious gear and speaking of gear can you believe I am down to just one amp right now? My beloved Kendrick built for me by Gerald Weber in Plugerville. No worries as I put some money down on a killer amp built in Germany a Bogner “Ecstacy” I have to tell you it sounds great and I am excited.

There is a great joke I love;

“Heaven, is where the Germans are the engineers, the Italians are the lovers, the French are the cooks and the English are the administrators.”

“Hell, is where the English are the cooks, the Italians are the administrators, The Germans are the lovers and the French are the Engineers.”

Fun stuff,

Since I was between “amps” I borrowed my good friend and master engineer Eric Delegard’s Peavey Classic 50 and ran my trustworthy Ibanez “Tube Screamer” through it. That little amp is a monster as you can hear.

Well I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for coming out and I have some very exciting news coming on the Horizon as well as shows coming up in Austin, Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma.

All in the name of Rock and Roll,

Eric

http://www.erickeyes.com

The last post I wrote “Keep Denton Beard” was received with all kinds of fireworks after I published it. The only post I received more mail on was “Learning to Love Yourself”

The responses were about even with a lot of support about what I was saying as well as a lot of negative responses especially critical of my music and that if my music is what practicing produces then by all means “Let’s Keep Denton Beard”

I found the responses cute and fun and ranging from the absurd to downright hilarious. You have to remember only 3 things happen when you put art out there, people either:

1. Love it
2. Hate it
3. Don’t give a damn

Focus on the ones that Love what you are doing because the rest is pretty much a waste of your time. People that “hate” your music are great as well because they will do more to spread the word about you than anyone. Hate as I mentioned before just means “I don’t understand”

I used to “hate” Algebra, I failed it four times in a row

I just didn’t understand it.

If someone hates me I know that they love me because “hate” is a deeply embedded emotion rooted in envy and jealousy. It also has it’s roots in resentment as well.

The 3rd group that just “doesn’t give a damn” could careless anyway and and converting the mind of apathy is a lost cause. This is where I was going in the rant in my last post.

I have sensed this mood of apathy in the music business ever since the “grunge era” and I am honest enough to say I don’t care for it and call me old school but I think it is sad. I come from an era where you work at your craft with an undying zeal and passion. My heroes where guys like Frank Zappa and Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Bach, Ted Greene, Allan Holdsworth, Eric Dolphy, David Byrne, Salvador Dali, Yngwie Malmsteen and the list goes on and on.

Just because it became popular to be “grungy” I didn’t grow a goatee, put a sock on my head and get a flannel shirt and act like I couldn’t play my guitar.

It’s not always about technique either, however attitude is a great equalizer and can make for leaps and bounds when it comes to art. I have to be honest, when “grunge” became the “music du jour” I didn’t get it right away.

But when Kurt Cobain went on Headbanger’s ball in a dress, he won me over. That took balls and moxie and it needed to happen. Metal had become fake, plastic, all about hair and leather pants and shallow subject matter. Bono from U2 said the first time he saw “Nirvana” live it was like standing next to a “nuclear bomb” exploding.

I like that analogy and he was right.

Rock Music is all about “attitude”

Great Rock Music is 1% technique and 99% attitude.

Kurt understood that and I respect him for it. But then it became cool to be “grunge” Oh yes it did and I was right there to watch so many bands “change their tune” Even bands like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam who were definitely not original grunge acts. They cut their hair and got on the bandwagon right away. If you listen to the early Pearl Jam and Soundgarden records they were Metal bands until they got caught in the wave.

I know there is a lot of truth to what i was saying because it caused such a firestorm of e-mails and responses on both sides of the fence. I don’t a fuck what anyone thinks of me so I can write from the heart and just be real. I wonder how many people can truly do that? I know it’s not easy being radically honest but it’s a hell of a lot easier than being fake.

As I said in my previous post, “Who am I to call someone else’s, noise “noise”. I also stated that opinion’s are like assholes, everyone has one. Furthermore who am I or anyone else for that matter to judge anybody.

It is perfectly just to say that I prefer not to listen to something and to go on from there and just do your thing. It’s just that I love the times I remember being able to go out in Denton and there was a thriving music scene. In all fairness to this town it is still way better here than almost everywhere else. There is an overall wave of apathy and mediocrity in our culture that has been going on for too long now. It is time for a change and I know change happens in the underground. After I watched the American Music Awards I knew we had hit an all time low.

I love the way Jack White displays his “attitude” in the movie “It Might Get Loud” it brings him right into the picture with Jimmy Page and The Edge. It’s not all about technique, it’s not all about attitude. Their is a yin and a yang to it.

However it’s never about apathy…

Learning how to play your instrument never goes out of style.

Style never goes out of style, when you leave your home, it’s a choice.

It says something about you.

All the best,

Eric

Allan Holdsworth Live
Thu, Dec 10th DENTON, TX
Venue: Dan’s Silver Leaf
103 Industrial Road,
Denton TX 76201
Phone: 940.320.2000
www.danssilverleaf.com