Robben Ford Discussion

Aeolian · Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 1:57 pm Post subject: Buckethead

A little out of the Robben genre but these a bit of rocker in all of us right?
I saw Buckethead's Giant Robot last night. For anyone put off by the sthick, I urge you to go anyway. One of the most incredible guitarists I've ever seen.
For those who've never heard of this guy, he plays burning rock while wearing a KFC bucket over his head and an impasive white mask over his face, kind of Phantom of the Opera like. Definitely out there.
I've never seen anyone with this kind of control over an over the top electric guitar. In spite of using stomp boxes in front of some kind of Mesa Rectifier head, every note was as clear and distinct as if he was playing clean. And this was in the Catalyst in Santa Cruz which is large and echoy. Even guitar greats like Steve Morse can sound like indistinct buzzing bees in there. Buckethead can shred and pull off Holdsworth licks with abandon. Then he will turn arount and quote some goofy bit like a circus calliope. He did a rocking version of Rawhide and ended the night with a Led Zep medley. In between he did everything. He has this pushbutton switch on his LP that cuts the signal and makes it stutter. Folks have been turning down one pickup and using the pickup switch to do this for years but he takes it to a new level. But the stunts and getup gimicks aside, this is one phenomenal guitar player.
If he comes to your town, take a break from the blues and see this. Guaranty that you'll be inspired.
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Bluelobster · Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 9:34 am Post subject: Bucket head

Thanks Aeolian, last year i was wandering over guitar.com forum and the was a lot of Bucketheads fans (and some not) throwing pics and comments,
some even state that it might be Paul Gilbert or another Young gun having fun.
Glad to hear about he moved you , that could mean he is not only a schredder, as a big Zappa fan i love his look, like i said once he could be the crossing of a kentuckian with a chicken.
SO was he selling any CD or paraphernalia ? Is he really sponsored by KFC? does he play a dumble with 2 coloured shoes ? does he put a Chicken corpse up his neck ? Does he know how to manage a blues ( i heard P.Gilbert is pretty tasty when blues is to be played) ????????

Aeolian · Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 1:00 pm Post subject:

Lobby,
Apparently his name is Brian Carroll, and he is a bit of a recluse. Many years alone in his bedroom with a guitar and Friday the 13th videos. I heard a story where when he was a kid, the editor of GP brought him up to the bay area and organized for him so sit in with a local blues/rock trio so they could get some video. The story goes that he didn't know any of the blues tunes, and feigned that he didn't even know what a 12bar was, but once he started playing, there were jaws on the floor all around.
You'll also be happy to know that last Saturday in the middle of some Em thing Bucket got real Hendrix'y and they jumped into playing 'What I Know' (Band of Gypsies). I kept thinking that if Hendrix were still alive, this is what it would sound like. Imagine Jimi with a whammy pedal

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There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
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JohnnyZ · Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:24 pm Post subject:

Aeolian, I checked out Buckethead's website, and man, is he and his website ever bizarre! I had to come back here and re-read your initial post to make sure you were really serious about this guy. He is doing a show in Boston at the end of this month, and I'll trust you that it's a worthwhile take. But I doubt that I'll be able to convince the wife to go with me!

~JohnnyZ~
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Aeolian · Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 8:39 pm Post subject:

Johnny,

Well, it ain't the blues, and it certainly is bizare, but the guitar playing is truly out of this world. For years, friends have been telling me about this guy. Course they also raved about Scofield. And it took me awhile to get past Sco's tone. But eventually I recognized the brilliance of his playing. Similarly, with Buckethead, you either have to go with the flow on the weirdness, or dig it for what it is. Either way, if there's any rocker in you, and you ever played anything from the acid rock era (Hendrix, Cream, Led Zep, Big Brother) on into the beginings of heavy metal, this is where it ended up. You also have to hang in there as I've been told that some shows he starts out slow. On this show it was high power trio right from the start. If you can giggle, or better yet sing along, when he breaks it down and starts Travis picking "It's a Small World After All", then you'll really enjoy.
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There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
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LongIslandRod · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 4:17 am Post subject:

He did a stint with Guns and Roses, doing gigs with the bucket and mask. I saw some pics, it bizzarre seeing him on stage with the in that get-up. I give him credit, just like Kiss with their make-up- that's the schtick that's separates him from the other monster players - he whatever it takes.....

He's done session work too...

Mike Keneally raves about him too, says he's abilities are absolutley ridiculous.

JohnnyZ · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:44 pm Post subject:

Aeolian · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 2:42 pm Post subject:

Mountain? Wow, that's cool. I think that high school newspaper clipping I have was taken in the middle of "Never In My Life". Long live power trios!

Interesting how we come back to the blues. A brief flirtation with the first Butterfield Blues Band album in the late 60's was as close as I got to real blues for a long time. Last weekend waiting for the Bucket show, along with the new Jing Chi and Scofield, I picked up a reissued CD of Humble Pie's live album. I got rid of all these in the late 70's when I became a Joe Pass/Howard Roberts nazi. But I used to play everything off this album at parties along the north shore. Thought it was really rockin stuff. Now I realize that Humble Pie was a kick ass Blues Band! Plus it was great to hear Framton again playing all those "other" notes. This album was the first time I heard a rocker playing "jazz" licks. Opened up the world out side the "box".
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There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
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JohnnyZ · Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 9:07 am Post subject:

Aeolian et al,

The Mountain show was way cool, and I encourage you to catch them if they come to your area. And, from their tour schedule, they'll be playing in 5 CA locations real soon. Leslie West and Corky Laing sure put on a great show. The comedy antics between the 2 of them was really funny . Plus, lots of interaction between Leslie and the audience. And, Leslie's acoustic set was a surprising treat.

Also, Leslie and Corky took whatever time was needed to sign autographs and talk to everyone after the show. In the 30+ years that I've been going to concerts, never have I seen or been a part of such an intimate after-show gathering with the band. And, they'll sign anything and everthing. Some people came with their entire Mountain album collections! And, they also have lots of cool stuff for sale, including books.

Good time!

~JohnnyZ~
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Soul on Eleven