"For The Love Of God" continued.

[mesavox]

For those discussing the whole college performance/student loans to buy guitars (Lol) thing, I thought I'd restart the discussion. It's probably played itself out, but it's been kind of healthy talking about it. I hadn't ever really expressed how I felt about my approach to that song before.... It was interesting finding the words to do that....


The link and the last post from the other thread:

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ8BBQDQO3k"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/nomedia]

Wow, thanks guys.

Interesting thing about that video.... Last semester was very tough on me. I had a relationship issue (broke up because of crazy schedules) that I didn't know how to deal with emotionally, and I was feeling rather inadequate musically. I mean, I was geting A's, profs encouraging me, etc. but I felt this strange pressure, and I was tired of the playing the guitar all together. I felt very not good enough.

My friend finished the video, and I uploaded it. The response I got from people like Paul Warren, Angus Clark, Tommy Farese, and even Dave Weiner when they saw it just blew my mind. I can see every thing that happened that I had intended to happen a different way when I see that. lol. I was very afraid to show it to anyone, but I knew it was important to risk it. At a time when I was VERY depressed, this scarey decision to upload that video reconfirmed the reason why I went to school (Oddly enough TSO and Tommy Farese had a lot to do with me going to school in the first place...)

It still scares me to show that video to anyone... I don't know why, but it does. lol

Dude, that was some serious solo playing! The travesty (to me) was the sedate, uninspired, and totally unappreciative applause you got when you were done. Where were the lit Bics? Where were the screaming fans? Where were the guys doing air-guitar to your licks and going "Wooooo!" at the end?

Anyway, cover or no, you pulled that one off with skill and aplomb. My hat's off to ya!

Jay

We are required to perform at least once every semester at forum. All music students are required to attend. We are a small department, so there were about 30 people in that auditorium at that time. A few stragglers that heard I was going to be performing this crazy song called "For The Love Of God." lol.

One of the purposes of forum in the eyes of the department head is to teach the students how to be an audience of a wider range of music, and the performer to announce themselves properly, etc. Usually, someone will perform and there are glorified golf claps for a few seconds. That round of applause was litterally a raucus compared to the norm. And, most people were just clapping with thier jaws dropped... they'd never heard a song like that before. The sensation I got when looking at the crowd was that they were watching Star Wars for the first time.... like that Star Destroyer was flying over thier heads for the first time in 1977. lol That's me praising the composer.... the song itself just blew thier minds... the idea that the guitar was written for in that way.

It's just a beautiful song anyway to me.... That's why, if you noticed, my approach is a lot softer than Steve Vai's. He really attacks that song. Really forcefull and aggressive... I hear it more soft and soothing. Especially when compared to the album version. I think it's the power of the song in it's general meaning.... I think he was trying to convey the vast ways people do things for the love of God, and I play it more how I see my love for God. To me it's all the grace, and to Steve he plays sections that are the grace, and he plays other sections that represent the violent histories, and sections that represent the ritual, etc. It's like he composed a song that is designed to be different depending on who plays it, and I think that's brilliant.

Yeah, I like Vai a lot. lol I wish I had a tenth of his magic (not technique, as amazing as it is, that's not what makes him great)....

 

[roburado]

I noticed your more sedate approach to the song. Now, I see it was an artistic decision. Still, great playing. I'd love to be able to play one of my favorite artist's songs the whole way through, nearly note-for-note.

 

[Katana6506]

That was incredible...

 

[peterd79]

Mesa-

I totally hear what you're saying... A year or so ago was really tough for me too through relational issues... and i was ready to throw it all away... I had no desire to play and then i realized... that my guitar is all i've got right now and BY GOD I'M GOING TO PLAY... and PLAY IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID!

To me being able to pick up a guitar (as I'm Staring down one of my acoustics) at any time to express my emotions is simply amazing... **NO JOKE** I have One guitar in every room at my house and several in different areas of my church....

But to once again reaffirm what's already been said... YOU'RE A FRIGGIN SAVAGE... I actually showed one of my friends your video this evening and his jaw was dropped. He and His wife had just put their son to bed and he was Like.... OMG! OMG! HE'S A FRIGGIN STUD!!!!! OMG!

So it's official... you're an amazing guitarist...

BP-- I SEE A POSSIBLE ENDORSEE!!!!

 

[Eilif]

In a word, awesome.


(But you've got the wrong brand of guitar there eh? )

 

[RichW]

Already saw the video a while ago--I think you posted it on the JP forum as well?--but it gave me the chills again this time. Awesome, awesome playing man. Very inspiring.

 

[gduquette]

Props

Awesome!

 

[roburado]

Kevin, from where did you get the backing track? Did you generate one yourself?

 

[brett8388]

Awesome!

+1! I was totally impressed with that. Please come to the Dallas Jam and play that for us.

 

[Sherry SK8]

Absolutely beautiful!

 

[surrealforreal]

May be better than Vai's...

 

[Sub1 Zero]

Interesting thing about that video.... Last semester was very tough on me. I had a relationship issue (broke up because of crazy schedules) that I didn't know how to deal with emotionally, and I was feeling rather inadequate musically. I mean, I was geting A's, profs encouraging me, etc. but I felt this strange pressure, and I was tired of the playing the guitar all together. I felt very not good enough.

ah man, i went to college with a scholarship to play trumpet, and i got that exact same feeling. i was the bigshot stud in high school, and when i got to college found that i was very mediocre. i had a very encouraging, very knowledgable trumpet professor, but i just started to feel awkward on the instrument. i think i am going to go the orchestral route with trumpet soon, as opposed to jazz, and see how that works. at the moment though, i am finding i feel much more comfortable as a guitarist, and i find it easier to express myself on guitar. i am REALLY having a blast, needless to say

that being said, i really enjoyed that performance man, so keep up the good work and keep it fun!

show them what us okies can do!!!

-Paul

 

[Spudmurphy]

Fabulous playing - great song choice.
man have no doubt about your guitar playing capabilities - I wish I had a fraction of your talent.

 

[Elmer Imperial]

That was excellent!

That's one of my favorite Vai tunes, I don't know that the man himself could have played it any better. You nailed Vai's tone on that song as well. What are you using for amps / effects?

 

[mesavox]

Holy cow... you guys are too kind. I mean, you guys are fans of such amazing artists, just on the MM roster... Albert Lee, Steve Morse, Luke, JP.... It's a bit hard to grasp that I'd have gotten such a response. I mean, I feel like I can do it because music is really the only thing I am good at. To quote Freddie Mercury, "I'm not very good at being a housewife." LOL But, at the same time, I hear the people I just listed, and others and see how far I have to go too. lol.

Kevin, from where did you get the backing track? Did you generate one yourself?

It came from the cd that came out a few years ago of Vai backing tracks. I actually lost the disc, but fortunately I had saved that song on my computer because I had been playing my, then POD, through the computer speakers.

It's funny... something else I remember about that day... I was really nervous... not because of performing... because I didn't know how the faculty would really react to that sort of thing. I found out that day, just how willing to think outside the traditional guitar student box the staff is.... It's really cool to be so confident in the faculty really taking the department somewhere after it completely died a few years ago....

 

[mesavox]

That was excellent!

That's one of my favorite Vai tunes, I don't know that the man himself could have played it any better. You nailed Vai's tone on that song as well. What are you using for amps / effects?

A Behringer VAMP2.... if you read though the thread this came from (I think it was there anyway. lol) there is a bit of a story behind that... lol. I never dreamed that little thing would support me so well. lol. Still, I wish I could have used the Mesa.... I can hear it now.... ahhh. lol

 

[jongitarz]

I thought that was really good! Do you have any original stuff to share with us?

 

[mesavox]

I thought that was really good! Do you have any original stuff to share with us?

The song that is on my band's myspace page I wrote most of, and the solos are all me.

It's a rough track... I didn't have time to finish the keys before a deadline, and I didn't mix the end like I wanted to (I didn't want it to go on and on and on like that...).... but I really like the moving 5ths after the clean guitar verse, wah solo, and my Brian May toneish bit of sequencing just before the last chorus.

I'm also the vocalist on that track... it was before we found Mallory. We're in the process of putting together a few years worth of ideas that have just been floating around as members came and went and Raymond and I tried to somehow keep writing. I'm pretty excited about the core of us right now... and today we did some arranging of a song I wrote that the drummer had never heard before.... he really clicked with my ideas and it was almost effortless to communicate. It's a more Metallica/Awake era DT sounding song than the one on the Myspace page, with longer instrumental bits, so I was very excited at how communication went....

www.myspace.com/enduvus

 

[roburado]

It came from the cd that came out a few years ago of Vai backing tracks. I actually lost the disc, but fortunately I had saved that song on my computer because I had been playing my, then POD, through the computer speakers.

Oh...was it this one?
http://www.activemusician.com/item--HL.00673247

 

[mesavox]

That's it I think... a friend of mine had it and gave it to me when he couldn't really do much with it. I never saw the book, but the black and yellow disc looks familiar.

Oddly enough, when he gave me the disc, I wasn't very much into Vai, and I didn't do anything with any of it other than FTLOG. I saved Answers other than that, and that was it. Now I wish I had the disc still. lol