Wednesday 9 September 2009

John Be's Top 10 Guitarists

My Passion's guitarist, John Be gives us his top 10 guitarists of all time:

1. Matt Bellamy (Muse)
Matt is my number one because he combines every aspect that I like in guitarists! He has everything! He has also written some of my favourite riffs EVER! Origin of symmetry is riff after riff after riff, the man is like a melody machine! Everything he touches is tuneful, and that’s what I like in a guitar part. On top of all this though he also has an amazing voice and is a phenomenal pianist and all round musician! Some people are worth of jealousy!

2. Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit)
The reason I’ve got Wes so high, is because he has come up with some of the most amazing riffs of the age, usually simple but executed brilliantly, along with having an amazing guitar sound! And then what really puts him above the rest is the stage show he puts on! All the makeup and mental-ness on stage is phenomenal! I LOVE a guitarist with that kind of charisma!

3. Van Halen
Do I even need to give a reason? As far as technical ability no-one can match Van Halen! Just listen to eruption! Amazing!

4. Tom Morrelo (Rage Against The Machine)
His riffs just can’t be beaten! He has such a unique style, which has been a massive influence to the My Passion guitar sound! I listened to rage a lot when I was growing up and still now when those riffs kick in it sends shivers down my spine.

5. Mick Tomson (Slipknot)
He has one of the best guitar sounds I’ve ever heard! Just listen to All Hope is Gone! I can't even imagine how they get guitars to sound so fat, maybe it's all in the tuning! I think that metal guitar can get a little dull, as far as most of it is the same old same old, but Mick seems to get something fresh and new and exciting out of it, I got into slipknot quite late on, Duality was the song that caught my ear, but since then he has been a big inspiration to me!

6. John 5 (ex-Marilyn Manson)
When I was just starting to play guitar I used to watch videos of Marilyn Manson live and was just amazed by john 5. He doesn't move around a massive amount but your eyes are drawn to him on stage. Technically speaking he isn’t far away from Van Halen, you have to YouTube him!

7. Mick Ronson (David Bowie)
The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust had a massive impact on my life. Mick had a lot to do with that! Watch any footage of Bowie live at this time and you'll find him as big a character as Bowie himself! Along with his stage presence he also has a great voice, and has come up with some of the most famous guitar parts of that age!

8. Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle)
I was a bit of a goth child, still am at heart I suppose, and A Perfect Circle are probably the best that dark rock has offered up in my lifetime, especially in Mere de noms, Billy has such a good guitar sound! when using plain distortion it's phat as any metal band achieves but then when he starts using affects it swirls around your head and is one of the most beautiful guitar sounds I’ve ever heard.

9. John Mitchell
John is one of the best guitarists I’ve ever seen play live! He produced our album at Outhouse studios and every now and then would grab one of our guitars and just shred! But that was nothing compared to when we went to see him live playing in his band Itbites! At points in the performance his hands were just a blur! The man is a Genius! And not just at guitar as a producer singer and all round musician! I’m in awe!

10. Jonny greenwood (Radiohead)
Jonny has written some of the most beautiful guitar parts I’ve ever heard, street spirit and paranoid android etc, and he deserves to be in my top ten just for that, but he also has such a weird way of looking at the guitar, his solos are pure feel! He manages to make guitar solos, (which let’s face it can be boring as!) weird and exciting!

Comfort in Sound

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