Who are the new guitar heroes?

Too young to have the track record of your list, but certainly having the chops and showing signs of belonging - Mr John Mayer.

Jeff A

I know some dismiss them as "shredders" but Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are amazing guitarists. Although not in the same vein as the guys you mentioned they do have their quieter moments to go with the adrenalin and they put on great shows. However even they have been around for a while now and I've not seen anyone lately who has "blown me away" apart from classical guitarists.

Sorry Jeff A - John Mayer just doesn't do it for me.

As for Clapton, Beck, Page, Hendrix, Guy, Vaughan, Gilmour, Howe, Blackmore, Kossof etc - they were the originals and so for me will never be replaced.

Cheers
Scott

Hi Scott,

There is no middle ground with JM, people seem to like him alot or not care for him at all. I can accept that.

And I don't play, so I don't necessarily have the same perspective.

But, for me, when I saw him with Pino and Steve on the "Try" tour, I was impressed with his playing, confirming for me what I saw and heard in the version of "Covered In Rain" on the dvd "Any Given Thursday".

Enjoy your summer !

Jeff A

Jack White rips it up.

At the risk of reigniting the old fart vs bright young thing debate, I think that for people of my generation (born in the very early 50's) the guitar "gods" of the 60s were in their way real trailblazers. When I watch current bands I often enjoy the music but somehow it all seems a bit contrived and derivative. That's probably because nothing can replace the huge excitement we felt when the rock explosion happened in the 60s. People of my kids' age (in their 20s) probably feel the same about the music they grew up with.

Which is probably why I have several copies of various seminal albums from my era but can't see myself being drawn to a remastered White Stripes album, to use Vern's example.

I think popular music has changed in style, & the emphasis on great musicianship possibly has, as well.
Whereas the afore mentioned guitarists did guitar solo's in the middle of a song,showcasing their ability, thats kinda gone out of fashion. Jazz & heavy metal excepted.
Guys like Jonny Marr, & the guy out of radiohead can certainly play, but they don't do the "epic guitar solo just after the middle 8" kinda thing so much. Is it because they can't, or don't want to? The latter, I feel.
Oh,go on then, feel free to list all the exceptions to this idea.
Matt.

John Frusciante? Mind you he's been going almost long enough to be a contemporary of the original "heroes".

Richard Thompson - going on forever and still improving.

Bert Jansch, or is he too old?

I should of thought of those 2 ,but they like my recent inclusion they are hardly the "new wave" of guitarists are they?
Is it the instruments/instrumentalists are not as "important or upfront" with the newer bands.

quote:

Try as I might I can't think of anyone in the current music scene who can hold a candle to these guys.

Marc Ribot, Tom Verlaine, Robert Quine, James 'blood' Ulmer and have to agree with Vern, Jack White is jaw-droppingly good. Catch him live if you have the chance, you'll be blown away.

Having just seen Seasick Steve on Tuesday, I'd have to say that he can definitely play. Considering he uses a 3 string guitar the sound and ability to get around that was awesome to watch.

Ryan

Steven Wilson.

John Mayer.

carlos guitarlos, though you english dudes will never see him live i guess. he plays in bars around l.a. you may think i'm kidding here but i'm not - astoundingly good blues guitarist. google him or something.

Not exactly new but not exactly well known either ... Slim from The Hamsters.

Great rock 'n blues in the Feelgood vein but who are probably better known for their Hendrix/ZZ Top interpretations.

Cheers
Scott

Oh, and Dave Grohl can get after it a bit too.

growing up as a teenager in the 70's, the guitar hero's mentioned were a staple diet back then.
As the 80's progressed guitar heros were replaced with digitised keyboards, which to me made the music souless.
Then when the guitar hero re-emerged he had to play as fast as possible to keep up with the frantic pace of modern rock music.
This to me sounds like a barrage of noise, not the soul of a Kossoff, Page etc.
There are no (Real)guitar heros these days, however, that said there is one guitarist I have recently started to like. He is John Petrucci of Dream Theater, saying that they have been around for 20 years

quote:

Not exactly new but not exactly well known either ... Slim from The Hamsters.

Great rock 'n blues in the Feelgood vein but who are probably better known for their Hendrix/ZZ Top interpretations.

Cheers
Scott

We keep meaning to get to see them. Are they good?

Another Jack White vote from me

Well I am going to be a bit obscure here but there is a guy called Shez Sheridan who plays with the Richard Hawley band and he is amazingly good. I have actually seen him play in a pub before he joined RH, he was doing Django Reinhardt style accoustic jazz and he really really can play. He is,however, a professional studio musician and they are generally the best of the best. I have also seen RH's uncle play a few times, Frank White, and although he is very much a local legend you are unlikely to see better. Most of the more famous guitarists tend to play bigger venues so you cannot really see how good they are. Paul Weller is a very underated guitar player within rock/pop genre and he wears his ability lightly. One thing we are not short of is good guitar players.

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:

We keep meaning to get to see them. Are they good?

If you don't leave with a smile on your face I'd see a doctor. We used to go see them at the Crocodile in Brighton years ago and we managed to catch them last year at a small blues festival in Wales - it was like rolling the years back.

Cheers
Scott

Totally agree with Jack White. The press seem divided on this though with some praising him while others reckon it is a load of fuss over nothing. Having seen him live a few times and having all his albums i think he is excellent.

I quite like the White Stripes and I sort of agree with the Jack White nomination. He's come up with some good riffs but I don't think he's up there with Jimmy Page and the like.
regards,
Steve O.

quote:

Originally posted by woodface:
a professional studio musician and they are generally the best of the best.

This is so true, and several have impressed me in recent years : Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin), Bobby Mann (James Taylor), Sonny Landreth (John Hiatt), Joel Shearer (opening for and with Damian Rice) to name a couple. I'll try to add more as I think of them - to me they are one of the joys of live shows.

Jeff A

quote:

He's come up with some good riffs but I don't think he's up there with Jimmy Page and the like.

Have you seen him live?