GP's Guitar Superstar 2010 Submissions -- Cool or Crap?

[Editor Boy]

There are a number of video submissions from guitarists vying to become one of the ten finalists in our GPGS 2010 competition posted here:

 

http://www.guitarplayer.com/superstar2010

 

Could some of you forum peeps look at a few of these players when you get the chance and comment? (There's a comment section for each entrant.)

 

Would love to know what you think about this year's crop of hopefuls.

 

Thanks tons for your time.

 

All the Best,

Mike

[skipclone 1]

Oh-didn`t comment in the comment section but-

I listened to a fair number of the players. Conclusion-I REALLY need to practice more!

Okay aside from that, well there`s an interesting variety of styles, kind of rock oriented but I suppose that`s to be expected. I did recently enter a `songwriter`s night` contest-one question that came up for me is, to what extent can you separate great playing from great composition? if someone is a great player but the composition is so-so will it hurt their chances and vice versa?

Another thing is, I don`t know to what extent this is supposed to be encouraging up-and-coming players but some of these guys are clearly stretching the definition-I mean, Gil Paris is a seasoned pro (an acquaintance of my brother BTW).

[Winston Psmith]

Started to look in - lot of entrants. Okay, I promise I'll take some time tonight to check out more of them, but right now, my money's on Gil Parris.

[picker]

The video stops every twenty seconds on pretty much all the clips, at least on my computer. I guess I'm just too impatient, but I really wasn't willing to sit and try and piece together performances to form an opinion on them. Sorry.

[hue]

OOPS ! I just posted regarding the same thing. http://tiny.cc/e03ap In my opinion. There are two or three really great players.

 

Steve Cunningham is phenomenal. Really great, musical shredding. Hidden theory and well thought out jazz-blues-country-rock fusion.

 

Gill Parris is quite good though somewhat generic in flavor.

 

Jeff Zampillo is nice. Maybe not a Superhero but I'd buy his cd.

 

Angel Vivaldi is really good. Underrated. My kind of shred.

 

There are others who I don't know what possessed them to enter.

[GuitarPlayerFL]

I only listened to a few before I lost interest. Somebody making a bunch of sound effects doesn't interest me.

 

Are there any entries that are on a level with a PLAYER like Doyle Dykes?

 

[video:youtube]dBRluhR6v8U

[happydog]

I've gotta be honest with you. I think Gil Parris and Charlie Crowe ought to be disqualified immediately, because they are paid professional musicians who have BOTH been featured in articles in your magazine. One of them even has a signature guitar. I would think that the Guitar Superstar competition would be for people who are not nationally recognized professional guitarists, with major-label recordings and international tours under their belts.

[picker]

I've gotta be honest with you. I think Gil Parris and Charlie Crowe ought to be disqualified immediately, because they are paid professional musicians who have BOTH been featured in articles in your magazine. One of them even has a signature guitar. I would think that the Guitar Superstar competition would be for people who are not nationally recognized professional guitarists, with major-label recordings and international tours under their belts.

 

Why? They aren't famous. I think if they have gotten as far as they have on their own, getting a boost from the contest might put 'em over. No reason to penalize them because they've worked hard and have a career in music, and I don't think I heard anything about the contestants being amateurs. Even the Olympics doesn't insist on that anymore.

[hue]

Well, I just can't help myself can I? Check out the all time top picks. It's pathetic. I hope DB wins. It will give reason to write off the contest all together as a joke. Yes. I am an ass. I have the same username there and I am trolling. If they would like to remove me from that page as a user, good riddance.

[happydog]

Famous isn't the point. Rock and roll is dead, rock stars are dead, and the music industry is devoted to perpetrating crap country and bad pop made with ProTools and a Mac as the true star. Parris and Crowe are never going to be Lady Gaga. If this contest was about making somebody famous they picked the wrong way to do it.

 

Parris and Crowe are paid studio musicians, hired guns. As such they have all the recognition they need. Most of the other players in the contest have never achieved that. Give THEM a chance, not the hired guns.

[goodybfortnight]

Just wondering... if rock is dead, rock stars are dead and the possibility of generating great music to the masses once again is dead... then I want to know why this contest is called "Guitar Superstar". What, I wonder, is the point of this contest, then? Is this one night only? A little glimmer of fun in one kid's life? His 15 minutes to knock'em dead in California? Why do you think pros like Gil Parris and Charlie Crowe are doing this contest? It's not to make them feel important or to reinstill the fact that they have chops. These guys know that they have both status and talent (and yet, not nearly what they deserve). I am assuming that for Parris and Crowe this contest is about something much more. Perhaps we should all do our research. How many great and yet unfamous artists do we know out there? Guys that have been shredding it up for years locally (or nationally) and have never gained the respect and stature they so righteously deserve? This is no throw-away contest for amateurs. This should be about the best... the SUPERSTAR, if you will.

First off, Guitar Player Magazine is a well respected mag. Secondly, you have what seems to be a funded album distributed by EMI. And thirdly, you have a platform to bring not only the artist, but the magazine to the heights they both deserve; they both serve to lift the other. I don't think this is about becoming "Lady Gaga". I think you, me and the rest of the world knows that the days of an instrumentalist ever gaining the fame and stardom of Gaga again, are sadly over. In fact, yes, 90 percent of the music industry has gone to crap, no doubt. But, why then, do we roll over to this "fact"? Why can't we take our best and do our best through the vehicle of this contest? I see no reason why any man or woman can't join this contest. In fact, I admire that Parris and Crowe entered themselves. If they "don't need it" then, why on earth would they do it? Because they have respect for the magazine and probably, they have the little hope that is left to make this industry right again. Whomever wins, I hope they remain true to their title. Because, I do not believe that rock is dead nor that rock stars are dead. It all regenerates and moves on adapting to its culture, as is the way of music. Rock on!

[Larryz]

Just like on American Idol, when you get to the top three, post them and we'll take a vote...You should have different levels (ie. beginner, advanced, amature, pro)...welcome aboard goodyfortnight, glad to hear rock's not dead yet...

[charliecrowe]

Hey, Charlie Crowe here. Would like to clear the air a bit.

 

First of all, I'm amazed at all of the talented players that have entered videos in this contest. It's a great thing to actually watch these submissions being performed. What a fantastic way to put one's mojo out there for the guitar enthusiast masses to opine about. Whether you get glowing comments and/or slings and arrows, I can't think of a better way to get feedback on one's six-string efforts.

 

Secondly, I'd like to address comments from a couple of viewers about my credentials. Yes, I had a pretty good run as a touring guitarist for a big time act. No, I'm not a paid studio pro. I was one of many "worker bees" in the Nashville touring machine. As a sideman, my job was to replicate what the studio pro played on the record. Learn the songs, be on time for bus call, hit your mark, nail the solo, and keep your job. I performed other people's work for 15 years.

 

Contrary to what few have posted or what many may think, I've never had a record deal or any kind of feature article in GP magazine. I'm just one of many work-for-hire guitarists out there chasing tones, riffs, licks, songs, and professional goals.

 

That being said, I hope to compete, meet and greet like everybody else in this contest!

 

Have a great weekend! Charlie

 

 

[Winston Psmith]

Greetings, Charlie. Thanks for your post - I hope everybody reads it. You get my respect for being in the contest at all, and even more for joining this discussion - I think a lot of people forget about the "working" part of being a "working musician". Good luck.

[skipclone 1]

goodbyfortnight

Welcome to the forum, and some very insightful comments.

[Gil Parris]

To fill you in on the "why" I guess I should jump in, Gil Parris here. You can Google everything, so here it is in a nutshell....Yes, it is true I am very thankful to have a had some success as a Guitar Player; A Major Label record deal(RCA/BMG), A Hot Licks Video, A Signature Guitar(Reverend), National Airplay, TV Appearances and yes, touring and studio work with big (& small acts), etc, etc... What you may not know is, in 2001 while I was on tour with David Clayton Thomas and BS&T, I was jumped from behind without warning and knocked out cold. When I came to, my hand was broken in three places. It took a long while to come back and relearn motor skills and CHANGE certain things totally! Ultimately, even though I thought I was in the clear, I had to have hand surgery in 2005. Since then, I had to leave BS&T of course and the staff and the label was all gone(even the secretaries!!), the business has changed quite dramatically and with ever increasing " technological advances " and dwindling radio stations subsequently, my mechanical royalties and BMI royalties have reduced dramatically. Perhaps I shouldn't have ...but, I put the videos up because it now requires some unique ways to get your music out there these days. And, yes I have been in featured articles in GP, but it has been over 8 years ! Can't we all just get along, no Lady Gaga here.

[hue]

@ Gil Parris and Charlie Crowe: I for one am glad that you both are in the melee. If for nothing else than to raise the bar. There's too much room for mediocrity and on the web everybody thinks they can play guitar. It's unfortunate though that there is at least a component of the whole ordeal that is merely a popularity contest that has little to do with being a skilled, much less, a talented guitarist.

 

Maybe my vision and my hearing is skewed but some of the highest rated and most viewed guitarists in this contest are bunk. For that matter where do you two rate so far? You don't. What? That's right. I don't get it. There's wankers in the contest that can barely play and are getting up into the top of the ranks. Whatever.

 

I'm glad that there is at least a panel to do the majority of the judging. Let's face it. If it were left to the viewing public some DJ would be the most talented "musician" out there.

[picker]

First off, Gil & Charlie, thanks for coming on the forum and sharing some of your stories with us. It's an honor.

 

Gil, I am so sorry to hear of your misfortune, but if it's not too patronizing, I'm proud of you for coming back from personal injury the way you have. I, for one, applaud your candidacy in the contest. And, I sincerely hope they find the sucker who did that to you, and lock him up with a bunch of guys who think he's really cute.

 

Charlie, it's sobering to hear that the high-profile gigs a lot of us lust after are pretty much glorified cover band gigs, but with even less room for personal expression and growth. It sounds to me like a person has to have some serious chops to land & keep the jobs you have. That takes long, hard work, and I hope your discipline and years of effort are rewarded richly.

 

I hope and pray that both you and Gil get a lot of attention and benefit from the contest, and that one of you wins. God bless you both, and good luck.

 

MIke Vande

Mission, Ks.

[skipclone 1]

Charlie and Gil

Thanks very much for taking the time to tell it straight-I for one did not mean to imply that either of you are in the contest for vanity points, or that you have it made for life just because you have had some good fortune in the business. But keep in mind that, as some are all too quick to point out, there are a lot of struggling musicians out there who should be working on the basics and enter these kind of competitions when they really shouldn`t. There are a lot of others who ARE talented but, they look at jumping in there guys like yourselves and get intimidated-an example would be my brother Brian, whom I believe Gil met on Long island. I would probably be at major risk of `rabbit on the road` syndrome as well if I had to weigh in against you guys. I can`t speak for others but for myself, I realize that there`s a long road and a lot of side streets between starting out and hitting the jackpot-but I still think there should at least be amateur and pro divisions, or some way to avoid having the white belts sparring with the instructors.

[hue]

skipclone_1: All due respect man but I think you're missing the point of the competition. It's not "Guitar HACK" or "Weekend Strummer", it's Guitar SUPERSTAR. And to be honest, if you can't hang with these guys, you're not a "Superstar". Everyone and their dog plays guitar. If you want to enter a hometown hero competition, have at it.

 

Of all the stupidity I've read in the comments of this years Guitar Superstar are comments to the effect of "music is not a competition". Well, guess what? Guitar Superstar is a competition. One that's supposed to bring out the best of the best. If it starts to come down to levels like beginners, weekend warriors and sporadic hacks, it's no longer a Superstar competition.

[Larryz]

Welcome aboard Charlie & Gil...good luck to both of you...and thanks for sharing your thoughts...

[skipclone 1]

skipclone_1: All due respect man but I think you're missing the point of the competition. It's not "Guitar HACK" or "Weekend Strummer", it's Guitar SUPERSTAR. And to be honest, if you can't hang with these guys, you're not a "Superstar". Everyone and their dog plays guitar. If you want to enter a hometown hero competition, have at it.

 

Of all the stupidity I've read in the comments of this years Guitar Superstar are comments to the effect of "music is not a competition". Well, guess what? Guitar Superstar is a competition. One that's supposed to bring out the best of the best. If it starts to come down to levels like beginners, weekend warriors and sporadic hacks, it's no longer a Superstar competition.

 

Hue

I get what you`re saying. I tried very clearly to state in my comments-maybe I didn`t do a good job-

that I was talking about exposure and opportunity, NOT ability or dedication. My impression is that this

kind of competition is to give a shot at the big time to ASPIRING superstars, not to those who are already most

or all the way there. Unless there are forum members who are in the latter category, I think the former one describes

most of us. If it doesn`t matter what your present status is, you might as well invite every studio sharpie in Nashville or L.A.,

as well as all the guys you know by one name-Clapton, Vai, Johnson etc.-and then what would be the point of asking this forum for submissions?

I think it goes without saying-most of us know personally or know about someone who is smokin hot on their instrument,

but toils away in obscurity while anyone who looks good in a halter top and has no problem with autotune or lip

synching has a better shot at stardom.

If that`s not the point here-and I said right form the start that maybe it`s not-then I stand corrected.

[A String]

skipclone_1: All due respect man but I think you're missing the point of the competition. It's not "Guitar HACK" or "Weekend Strummer", it's Guitar SUPERSTAR. And to be honest, if you can't hang with these guys, you're not a "Superstar". Everyone and their dog plays guitar. If you want to enter a hometown hero competition, have at it.

 

Of all the stupidity I've read in the comments of this years Guitar Superstar are comments to the effect of "music is not a competition". Well, guess what? Guitar Superstar is a competition. One that's supposed to bring out the best of the best. If it starts to come down to levels like beginners, weekend warriors and sporadic hacks, it's no longer a Superstar competition.

 

Hue

I get what you`re saying. I tried very clearly to state in my comments-maybe I didn`t do a good job-

that I was talking about exposure and opportunity, NOT ability or dedication. My impression is that this

kind of competition is to give a shot at the big time to ASPIRING superstars, not to those who are already most

or all the way there. Unless there are forum members who are in the latter category, I think the former one describes

most of us. If it doesn`t matter what your present status is, you might as well invite every studio sharpie in Nashville or L.A.,

as well as all the guys you know by one name-Clapton, Vai, Johnson etc.-and then what would be the point of asking this forum for submissiona?

I think it goes without saying-most of us know personally or know about someone who is smokin hot on their instrument,

but toils away in obscurity while anyone who looks good in a halter top and has no problem with autotune or lip

synching has a better shot at stardom.

If that`s not the point here-and I said right form the start that maybe it`s not-then I stand corrected.

 

I hear you skip. IMO, inviting professionals is a sure fire way to insure that the regular and "semi-pro" folks won't enter. Unless that's the point...

[skipclone 1]

At least I fixed that stupid typo-

Anyway, ya I mean, I think most of us know that success in the industry is a fickle thing to put it mildly, it doesn`t mean that someone is automatically a better player than everyone who hasn`t had it. But enough people FEEL like that`s the case that it would discourage them from trying, result-the next superstar-as opposed to stars looking to go super-is a missed opportunity. Having said that, much respect to Charlie and Gil for sharing their stories, it`s no permenent vacation even for the big guys.

[Winston Psmith]

Having taken some time to view even more of the videos, I have a different question in mind - what exactly are we voting on? For an admittedly absurd example, if we had Dave Baker & Eric Clemenzi swap guitars, do we really believe they would be able to switch out styles, as well? How about Micheal Jost and Doug Burris? Based solely on the videos, each of these players seems to have gone for one particular sound, style, technique, what-have-you, so we're not really voting for best all-around guitarist, which is what I think would qualify a Guitar Superstar - and which would leave room for very few amateurs, no matter how accomplished. There are very few musicians who can move from Jazz to Rock to Blues to Classical to Country, and we tend to hold them in the highest regard.

 

So, maybe the contest does need categories, or some kind of filtering process, not to weed out the pros, or semi-pros, but so we don't wind up comparing apples to oranges, or shredders to chicken-pickers.

[picker]

...maybe the contest does need categories, or some kind of filtering process, not to weed out the pros, or semi-pros, but so we don't wind up comparing apples to oranges, or shredders to chicken-pickers.

 

Yeah, the web-based part of the contest is likely to be a referendum on the most popular style rather than the best actual guitarist. But I guess the real judging will take place at the actual contest event, so it's not all that big of a deal if the web results are stylistically skewed.

[hue]

Skipclone_1: I still think you're missing the point. Amateur or not, if you can't keep up with the group, you shouldn't compete. I know at least a few very good amateur musicians who would do fine in this competition. Of course they are Canadian and can't compete. On the other hand they also seem to be of the opinion that these contests are bunk.

 

There are quite a few amateur musicians who are proficient guitarists. If a person feels he can't compete on this level, it's not because he's worried about "pros", it's because he's not there yet.

 

While I agree that genre categories would be appropriate, that shouldn't deter an accomplished musician from entering. That alone would probably increase the number of entrants. Even then, some of the above mentioned "artists" would be well outclassed in their own genre.

[skipclone 1]

Well you`re welcome to think that-as I said I`m not talking about how well someone plays. In any case I raised my concerns, not interested in belaboring it to death.

 

[wkoz]

Cool. Had a blast doing this.

 

http://truefire.com/gpgs/index.html?channel=d1_submissions&videofile=gpgs/69BBJ7D1

[Jasco]

I only had a few minutes to check them out. Several videos I clicked on were basically non-musical shred-wank fests.

 

One though had some nice flamenco-influenced playing. (Michael Jost)

 

I'll try to look at more later.