Things were going smoothly up until the last day of the festival when a band failed to show up on time. Apparently, most of the band was ready to go at the scheduled time, but the bassist had disappeared. Postponing the set for 5, 10 minutes is not a big deal, but pretty soon 20 minutes had gone by and the bassist was still no where to be seen. The bassist had been seen around the festival earlier that day so they suspected that he was still in the vicinity. The band, in an attempt to speed up the search as well as keep people entertained announced the problem to the crowd and got everyone involved in the missing bassist fiasco.

After 30 minutes, my friend who helped put on the event decided that they needed to put someone – something – anything on stage to keep people from getting bored and leaving the festival early. While thinking about this he happened to hear someone playing guitar. He looked around and found a guy in the corner of the lounge singing and strumming his guitar. The guy had never played a major gig in his life. He was just a nice dude that liked to play guitar. The staff member approached him and asked if he would be interested in going on stage. The guitarist didn’t hesitate to think about the offer. He gladly accepted, agreeing to play 2-3 songs until the bassist situation was settled.

The guitarist went on stage and played his heart out, an opportunity he may have never had if he was not prepared for anything. The story has a funny ending, too. While the unknown guitarist rocked out on stage, the bassist was found asleep on a couch. His band, I imagine, was royally pissed off.

KISS’ Paul Stanley smashes his guitar

The Gibson Les Paul guitar

The sweet sounding Mahogany, the tone sustaining Humbuckers – the Gibson Les Paul has been the guitar of choice for many rock stars. Here are a few of the big name artists that have preferred the Les Paul guitar.

1. Jimmy Page. One of the greatest guitarists of all time, Page played for The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, and even a solo gig. He uses a 1958 Les Paul Standard, a 1959 Les Paul Standard, a 1973 Les Paul Standard, a Goldtop Premium Les Paul and a 1991 Custom Shop Les Paul. Page also owned a modified 1960 Les Paul Custom named “Black Beauty” with a Bigsby tailpiece and a 3-pickup configuration.

2. Zakk Wylde. Guitarist for Ozzy Osborne and Black Label Society, Wylde uses a signature Les Paul “Bulls Eye” model, a signature Les Paul “Buzzsaw” model and signature “Camo” model with a camouflage finish.

3. Duane Allman. Both guitarists from the Allman Brothers Band used Les Paul guitars.

4. Buckethead. The mechanical metal maniac uses a custom Gibson Les Paul with a baritone neck, pearl hardware, and killswitch.

5. Billie Joe Armstrong. You know, the guy from Green Day, the 90s rock group turned millenial emo? Armstrong uses several differen Les Paul Junior models, except for recordings in which he uses a Standard Les Paul.

6. Eric Clapton. While Clapton did become a Fender convert later in his career, his early work with Cream was all done on a Gibson.

7. Sheryl Crow. The popular 60’s country singer/songwriter uses a variety of Gibson Les Paul guitars.

8. Allen Collins. While the Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist mainly used a Firebird and an Explorer, he also started using a double-cutaway Les Paul Junior in 1977.

9. Buck Dharma. The Blue Öyster Cult guitarist used a 1974 Les Paul Deluxe along with his 1969 SG.

10. Don Felder. Don Felder of the Eagles uses a Les Paul guitar.

11. Ace Frehley. This guitarist from Kiss was known for his Les Paul Custom with three pickups.

12. Billy Gibbons. This beardy guitarist from ZZ Top has used Goldtop Les Pauls along with Les Paul Juniors. His main guitar, however, is a 1959 Les Paul Standard named “Pearly Gates.”

13. David Gilmour. While Gilmour, the lead guitarist for Pink Floyd, was always known for Playing Fenders, he did start using a 1956 Les Paul Goldtop with a Bigsby tailpiece in his later work.

14. Dave Grohl. The Nirvana guitarist that went off to start the Foo Fighers uses many different Gibson guitars including Les Pauls.

15. Kirk Hammett. Metallica’s right hand man used Les Paul guitars on top of the occasional Flying V.

16. George Harrison. The Beatles’ George Harrison used Les Pauls along with many other guitar models. John Lennon and Paul McCartney also used Les Pauls, the latter of which owns a rare left-handed 1957 Les Paul Goldtop.

17. Steve Jones. The Sex Pistols’ guitarist used Les Paul Customs as well as a Gibson Les Paul Double Cut. Gibson now makes a signature guitar based on Jones’ Custom.

18. Alex Lifeson. Lifeson of Rush was a Gibson loyalist, using many of their different models including Les Pauls.

19. Bob Marley. Marley used a Les Paul Custom which is now buried with him in his mausoleum.

20. Ted Nugent. In Nugent’s most recent work he used a 1959 sunburst Les Paul and an American-flag-motif Les Paul.

21. Joe Perry. The Aerosmith guitarist has used a variety of different Les Pauls. He also has signature Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul models named “Boneyard.”

25. Randy Rhoads. The shredder via Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne, Rhoads used an off white Les Paul Custom.

26. Keith Richards. The Rolling Stones guitarist is practically a Gibson fashion model. He was one of the first people to bring Gibson into the spotlight in Britian. Brian Jones and Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones also Les Paul guitars.

27. Carlos Santana. Santana has used a sunburst Les Paul Custom.

28. Slash. In my opinion, Slash the first players to fully utilize a Les Paul. The ex-Guns N’ Roses, now Velvet Revolver guitarist has used too many Les Pauls to count. For the most part, he has prefferred a Gibson Custom.

29. Pete Townshend. The Who’s guitarist used various customized Les Paul models from 1973-1979.

30. Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen has used a Les Paul throughout his career.

31. Muddy Waters. Used a Les Paul Goldtop in his early career.

32. Neil Young. Uses several Gibson acoustic and electric models. Young’s main guitar, “Old Black”, is a 1953 Goldtop Les Paul (painted black) with a Bigsby tailpiece. Young also has two other 1953 Goldtops, one which has modifications similar to “Old Black”, the other a stock original.

Also be sure to check out part 1 in this series, who played Fender Stratocasters.

The 1960's model Fender Stratocaster guitar

Who, exactly, has laid hands on a Fender Stratocaster in the rock-o-sphere? Here’s a list of some of the most influential Strat players.

1. Dick Dale. Dale was one of the original players in “Strat pack,” and also one of the very first owners of a Fender Stratocaster. Leo Fender gave Dale his strat in 1955, which he used to popularize surf rock.

2. Eric Clapton. A great guitarist and genuine asshole, Clapton grew up on Gibson guitars but transitioned to the Strat (which he nicknamed Brownie) in 1970. He has used nothing else since then.

3. Jeff Beck. Jeff Beck rose to fame with the all star band The Yardbirds, but you also may know him from his more recent band, The Jeff Beck Group. Jeff stopped using the Les Paul in 1975 in favor of the Stratocaster for its unique tone.

4. The Edge. You know Bono. You’ve heard of U2. If you’re a fan, chances are you’ve heard of The Edge, U2’s lead guitarist. He prefers the Fender Strat.

5. Jimi Hendrix. The man that reinvited the blues guitar style into the rock scene, Hendrix used nothing but a Fender Strat. Interestingly enough, he played in the same way that my buddy John does. He played a right-handed guitar left-handed and upside down, with the strings reversed.

6. Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore’s most notable historical achievement was his part in the bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. After using Hofner and Gibson for years, Blackmore switched to Fender guitars in 1968 after being wooed by Hendrix’ talent.

7. David Gilmour. Pink Floyd’s guitarist, David Gilmour, prefers a custom modified Fender Stratocaster. He owns the model #0001 Strat manufactured in 1954.

8. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Simply put: Vaughan was one of the meanest players ever, and all the magic happened on his signature Fender strat.

9. Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Although I despise Malmsteen as a musician, he is definitely the most “metal” of Stratocaster players.

10. George Harrison and John Lennon. Despite Don Randall’s, Leo Fender’s son, work to convince the Beatles guitarists to convert to the Fender way, Harrison and Lennon used the Fender Stratocaster sparingly. None the less, they used it on occassion and made it their own.

11. Ronnie Wood. This Rolling Stones guitarist has been using the Sunburst Strat since 1975.

12. Buddy Holly. Essentially the poster child of the Fender Strat, Holly brought the guitar model into the spotlight when he took it to the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957.

13. John Mayer. The recently popular singer/songwriter has used a Stratocaster for his entire career.

14. Pete Townshend. Serving as the lead guitarist for The Who, Townshend uses a modified version of the Clapton model Fender Strat.

15. Alex Lifeson. Lifeson started using a Strat on Rush’s 1977 album A Farewell to Kings. He continued to use the guitar throughout the 1980’s.

There you have it. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s list of famous Gibson Les Paul players!

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl smashes his guitar

Most metal guitarist

Those who weren’t afraid to raise some hell. The most metal of bands. They have invaded millions of minds with philosophies of death, blood, violence, sex, destruction and general loudness. Here is strumstrum’s list of the five most metal songs ever made.

At number 5, Slayer takes the title for the song Raining Blood. Truly one of the greatest thrash metal songs of all time, Raining Blood is absolute metal bad ass.

Numero 4 on the list is AC/DC’s Back in Black. A very recognizable song in rock n roll, there is no question of AC/DC’s influence on metal.

Metallica claims the 3rd spot on the list with Master of Puppets. What would metal be without Metallica? Less technical of a guitar style, perhaps?

At number 2, Guns N’ Roses kicks some hair-metal ass with Welcome to the Jungle. Listen to those vocals baby. Not to mention Slash! Welcome to the Jungle is pretty fucking metal.

Finally, the number 1 metal song of all time is Black Sabbath’s Iron Man. Say what you will about the man, but Ozzy Osbourne is one very metal dude!
Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge
Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again!

Pete Townshend smashes his guitar on stage

If you think this video is tame, then skip to the end. He shreds like a machine.

World record: fastest guitar picking

If you weren’t paying attention to the opening tribute, Vega has spent his life playing guitar for 16 hours a day, every day. The lesson here is that when you have nothing else to offer, offer ‘em technique. Here’s part two of Vega’s guitar awesomeness.

Part two – World record: fastest guitar picking

Three players on one guitar

The timing! The coordination! It’s not quite guitar sex. Guitar fondling, perhaps? I am always impressed by the skills of fellow guitarists. If one hand was even slightly off, the whole show could be ruined. I can’t imagine the agony of leaning over my father’s guitar for hours on end practicing that. Kudos to them.

Dean Zelinsky founded the company in 1976. Dean Guitars became known for their high-end stage-worthy instruments such as ZZ Top’s fur guitars and Dimebag Darrell’s ML design. Zelinsky sold the company in 1991, only to partner up with the company again in 2000.

Zelinsky commented, “I wanted to get back to what put Dean on the map originally — building high-quality instruments that shape both the image and tone of guitar players, from the beginner to world-class professionals.” … “I can no longer attach my name to the reputation, quality and direction of Dean Guitars or its current objectives.”

Other noteable bands that have relied on the Dean guitar brand include Pantera, Megadeth, Mountain, Nine Inch Nails, The Cars, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Sammy Hagar, Kansas, the Doobie Brothers, and Heart.