Slash, Fender, Yngwie, and the Greatest Lie Ever T
Current mood: contemplative
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I don't like Fender guitars, but Yngwie uses them.
Exclusively. And know what that makes me think of? Slash's hair. Or
maybe just the enitity that is Slash - excuse me - Saul Hudson, in
general. The king of eccentricities, rock-and-roll glamour, and he who
is now forever cannonized as a saint in a videogame, has an
autobiography out, written by Slash and Anthony Bozza; following
closely in the footsteps of the great Slowhand himself, who was playing
shows when Slash was in diapers. Along with the avalanche of publicity
he is currently attaining, he still finds time to play with his
'superband' Velvet Revolver and even appear as a guest musician on other records, recently being featured on Chris Daughtry's 'Daughtry'(2006), Sarah Kelly's 'Where The Past Meets Today'(2006), Paulina Rubio's 'Ananda'(2006), and Derek Sherenian's 'Blood of the Snake'(2006)
alongside Billy Idol. Yes, not sure why Slash would lend his musical
talents there, but when you have that much notoriety I guess it works
wonders for all involved. But just think, when all the publicity and
notoriety subside, what will he do with that hair? Those lustrous locks
are Slash's trademark more so than the sophisticated top-hat or
signature tight leather pants. When those locks go, it'll be
earth-shattering; comparable to when KISS removed the make-up and
shocked the world with thier hideous mugs. And what about the glasses?
No disrespect intended, but what can he be looking at? Don't ge me
wrong, I mean avaitors are badass, but I though it was common practice
to remove sunglasses while indoors? Whatever the reason, Slash will
still be an enigma on and off the stage, regardless of this supposed
'autobiography' (Yes, I will be getting a copy) that is slated to 'shed
some light' on the man, they myth, the legend. But all this talk of
Slash and notoriety and autobiographies only make sme think of one
thing - Fender guitars.
I've never been a fan of Fender
instruments, but Ynwie Malmsteen uses them exclusively, and is agruably
not only one of the world's greatest guitarists, but one of the
greatest musicians to ever grace the planet with his presence. The man
plays Bach and Beethoven on an electric guitar for Christ's sake. And
he has no autobiography. No multi-platinum records or epic 10-month
tours. And if this guy ever cut his hair, there would be a full-fledged
funeral for it in the guitar world - almost like when John Petrucci cut
his - but outside of that realm no one is familiar or can even
pronounce Yngwie's name correctly. It's a gross inadequacy of today's
music culture - maybe it's due to the face that he's from Europe -
well, what about The Beatles? The Rolling Stones? And those were both
decades ago. And I'm pretty sure Yngwie's had album releases, played
with grand-orchestras, and even has instructional DVDs (which are
extremely difficult to master). I'm sure Yngwie is blown away by the
chances he's had and what he's been able to attain, but what is it that
gets someone like Slash the 'grand fortune' that eludes others so
vigorously?