www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyAEilG7TpM

And yes, this is a REAL ’59 Les Paul

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMyVy7KqCWQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxT8L4N4ss

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQO0PQXhpY

It was over.

It might be hard to believe, but I was quite the rocker in my youth. I wasn’t at all familiar with Petrucci, or Dream Theater but I had never seen anyone play guitar that fast and was able to explain it that clearly. Since then I have seen a few really great DVD’s and a LOT that weren’t so great. Below I have listed my top 10 all-time desert island instructional videos. I encourage you to check one out that maybe you think you wouldn’t be into. Netflix has a lot of these on hand and also check out your local library for hidden gems among the copies of “Gone With the Wind” and “Howard the Duck.”

In no particular order:

John Petrucci: Rock Discipline

Even  though this earns a spot on this list for sentimental reasons, the information that John gives is incredibly solid. He covers many topics that guitar teachers everyday go over and over with students. In later years I viewed this from a purely technical standpoint since my musical tastes were changing. If you need to really get some technique together, this one is for you.

Pete Huttlinger: A Guitarist’s Guide to Better Practicing

It is a constant and never-ending journey to make your practice time more efficient. Going through 6 years of music school really helped me, but that isn’t for everyone. You can tell Pete spent a considerable amount of time practicing and thinking of how to improve his methods. In this video he talks about everything from making arrangements to working with a metronome and even some killer right hand fingerstyle techniques. I make all of my students watch this to not only see what is possible but to see how a world-class guitarist keeps on pushing to be the best.

Danny Gatton: Strictly Rhythm Guitar

There are very few guitar players who I could sit and watch play rhythm guitar all night. Danny Gatton is one of them. He has a complete mastery of his instrument that few musicians ever attain. Throughout this video his guitar sounds like a B-3, a fire truck and at times a hurricane plugged into a Twin set to stun. Even for the sheer “Wow” factor, you should have this around.

Eric Johnson: The Fine Art of Guitar

I first heard of EJ when I saw the video of the G3 tour he was on with Satriani and Vai. Eric’s music was infinitely more interesting to me at the time than the other two guys, so I saved up my allowance and bought this (at the time) two VHS set. It was amazing to see the facility Eric had and his playing really internalized the sound of the Pentatonic scale in my ear. The biggest thing I remember taking away from this was that I needed to be WAY more accurate with my bending.

Jim Hall

As one of my earliest and most important jazz guitar influences, Jim Hall’s music spent a lot of time in my CD player. This DVD has him playing some trio pieces and then taking them apart. I have been lucky enough to see Jim give a masterclass and this is an important document of how a legendary musician thinks about music.

Kirby Kelly has been involved with NGW for quite a while.  Recently, he entered the Guitar Center King of The Blues Competition and made it all the way to the finals.  A good friend, Pauline France (@paulinepr) was there covering the event for iHeartGuitar and texted me the news that Kirby had walked away with it all.

I couldn’t think of a more deserving musician than Kirby. As you can tell by the video above, he is a pretty bad ass guitar player.  Surely, this will bring Kirby some more well deserved attention.

He deserves it.

This past spring, we made some promo videos featuring our alumni and faculty.  Personally, my favorite videos were the ones with Dave Smolover.  Dave began the National Guitar Workshop in 1984 and since then has branched out to DayJams, National Guitar Workshop Publications and WorkshopLive.

Below are the three parts of the interview we filmed.  Even with working with him for as long as I have, there was some new information.  Please take a minute and check them out.

Part Two:

Part Three:

Bill Frisell.  He was just coming off of his annual two week stand with Paul Motian and Joe Lovano at the Village Vanguard.  Bill’s trio included Rudy Royston on Drums and Eyvind Kang on Viola.  Despite the unusual instrumentation,

the music seemed to work in this situation.

The preshow music right before the trio came on was a collection of bird calls from nature.  As they came on the music developed in a free nature with them playing along with the birds before going into more solid time.  Both sets were really great with the standouts being “Misterioso” by Monk and a great take on “Blue Yodel” by Hank Williams.

Bill solo playing “Shenendoah”

Two Masters.  Jim Hall and Bill Frisell.

Of course, Steve Vai hardly needs an introduction.  As one of the leading guitar virtousos of his generation he has achieved a legendary place in mainstream guitar culture.  We were lucky enough to have Steve as a guest this past summer at NGW and the feedback I heard from the students was amazing.

I am very lucky and thankful to have Steve participate in this project.

Steve is preparing to release his newest live DVD/CD entitled “Where the Wild Things Are “. Here is a short preview of the video:

Describe your first experience playing music.

I walked up to a little spinet organ and played the theme song for the horror flick with Bette Davis called “Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte”. The movie sacred me to death and the melody haunted me until I plucked it out and then I thought…”Hmmm, that’s not so scary”. I think I was 4 years old.

What has been your most significant musical experience?

The most significant musical experience I ever had was in astral projection dreams when I was younger. I’m not sure if that’s even a correct terminology for them. They started as long back as I can remember and would happen once every 4 years or so. The most profound one, and the last one, happened when I was around 22 years old and it lasted for as long as 4-5 seconds.

The sound I hear during these episodes is impossible to describe. It  rages far beyond the dynamics and frequencies of the ability of the physical ears to hear. It has an intensity and weight to it that dwarfs your own being.  It’s like a 10,000 piece orchestra of all different instruments, all playing different notes and rhythms, all tuned differently, but in perfect harmonious and melodic exhalation. It’s all encompassing and comes from all sides. It actually emanates from within and not from anyplace outside.

It permeates everything. The waking from it is akin to slamming the pavement of a 100 story jump. I awake to feel the limitations, (prison) of the physical body and the congested cloudiness of my own cognizant awareness.

The finest music ever created in this world is like a toilet compared to this celestial orchestra. There is no way to capture and reproduce it. In the world I am left grappling for melodic scabs of it’s magnificence, only to feel that my finest work is a feeble attempt at capturing even a glimmer of this glorious inner music. I’m ashamed at my explanation but then again, I did say it was impossible to explain.

I know I’m not the only one that has had this experience.

I believe this sound resonates within the core of every living thing.

What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?

“Keep your Publishing”. Frank Zappa.

What is your favorite sound?

Complete silence to the point of hearing white noise, or… water lapping on a beach at sunset.

Name some of your biggest non-musical influences.

Complete silence to the point of hearing white noise, or… water lapping on a beach at sunset.

What was the most memorable concert you ever attended?

Return To Forever at Hofstra college on Long Island when I was 14 years old.

Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 5 songs that appear

Rat Bat Blue by Deep Purple

Cry by Michael Jackson

Sonata for Cello and Piano: Allegro by Elliot Carter

I’ll Wait by Van Halen

The Part You Throw Away by Tom Waits

Zack at GuitarVibe.com reviews the Gary Moore Lick Library DVD

I have seen a lot of these “Lick Library” DVDs around lately.  Zack gives it a pretty good review, but it seems like the series is aimed at beginner to early intermediate players.  Maybe if this is on Netflix, I might check it out.

Ethan Iverson Celebrates Lester Young

Ethan recently honored Lester Young’s 100th birthday with an exhaustive 10 part blog post

about his life and music.  He speaks of him and Miles and even interviews Lee Konitz about Lester.  One of the most well done music posts I have read in a long time.  Although not guitar related, it really is a must read. Also, if you haven’t been reading The Bad Plus’ blog Do The Math, start now.

Must Have Downloads for the New School Year

Dr. Joseph Pisano (@pisanojm) is a respected music educator who does a great job of integrating technology into the classroom.  This list is a great reference for both students and teachers.

Idea: Musician’s own website as definitive source of all info

Derek Sivers (@sivers) is a modern day genius.  Much like his hero Seth Godin, Derek runs a blog that offers practical real world advice.  This post seems like common sense to me, but looking at other band websites, I can see how they can get distracted and become spread too thin on the internet.

In contrast to the Col. Bruce Hampton video, here is another interesting instructional video for all you college guys going back to school:

When I first heard of Col. Bruce and the Aquarium Rescue Unit I was taking guitar lessons at a local store and my teacher played me the “Mirrors of Embarrassment” album.  Everything about that album was totally cool from Jimmy’s blazing solos to the interplay with drummer Jeff Sipe and  bassist Oteil Burbridge.

I have recently got to know Oteil and Jimmy a little bit and it occured to me how important those ARU albums were to me and I never really spent time talking to them about it.  However, they did have a TON of great Col. Bruce stories.  From meeting Ralph Towner in DC on night to discussing the possiblities of any blood relation between Col. Bruce and John Abercrombie (they look like they could easily be brothers) it was one story right after another.  After a few of these you get the feeling that their former bandleader is a bit eccentric.

I came across these videos on YouTube and they perfectly describe the Colonel’s famous sense of humor.

Here is Part One:

Here is Part Two:

You can’t make this stuff up.

Warren came up playing with artists such as David Allen Coe and Dickey Betts before joining the Allman Brothers in 1989. In my opinion the Allmans wouldn’t be anywhere near where they are today without Warren’s presence. Derek came from more of a jazz and fusion background. Even though his uncle Butch is the drummer in the Allman Brothers, his solo band rarely covers similar territory.

Below is two masters doing what they do best, sitting around with a few acoustic guitars and playing some blues.

This comes as a bonus feature in their DVD The Allman Brothers Band – Live at the Beacon Theatre