The greatest guitar solo ever

I’ve thought about this a lot lately: what’s the greatest guitar solo ever? I know that’s a purely subjective thing, so really what I’m asking is, what’s the greatest solo ever to me? Well, that’s surprisingly easy: Frank Zappa’s lead on “Any Kind Of Pain” from Broadway the Hard Way. In true Frank style this solo is improvised, and I’ve heard bootlegs of various shows from the 1988 tour which are cool, but not as magical as this one. The take heard on the Broadway The Hard Way album is actually an edited version of this performance, chopping out a big section in the middle. Although the solo’s great in its full version, the edit on the album seems to really kick it up a notch. Here’s the solo as it originally went down.
And here’s Mike Keneally playing it at the Zappa’s Universe concert, very much like the album version.
Satriani 3D film will be shown here in Oz!
Awesome! Click here for cinema locations. Can’t wait to see this – after all, it represents a rare chance to see Joe Satriani live (in a way) with one of my other favourite musicians in the world, Mike Keneally.
ONE NIGHT ONLY 3D HD CONCERT PERFORMANCE SCREENING ON MARCH 7 IN SELECTED CINEMAS AROUND AUSTRALIA
CinemaLive is proud to announce the Australian premiere of Satchurated: Live in Montreal- a concert film featuring the amazing talents of world- renowned guitar virtuoso, Joe Satriani in 3D with 7.1 Dolby Digital sound.
The concert was filmed live in Montreal, Canada in December of 2010 during Satriani’s The Wormhole Tour, supporting his studio album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards.
Captured expertly by GRAMMY and EMMY award-winning filmmakers Pierre and Francois Lamoureux, Satchurated captures Satriani at his searing best, with every chord documented by ten 2D and 3D high definition cameras. Fans will delight in the opportunity to catch this spectacular preview of the master at work ahead of his visit to Australia as the headliner and creator of the G3 concert series.
Screening around Australia on March 7th for ONE NIGHT ONLY, Satchurated promises to be a true musical spectacle and an absolutely unique cinematic experience.
Ticket price- $25 at the Box Office or pre-sale details via www.cinemalive.com

NAMM 2012: EMG artist signing schedule
Here are the NAMM signing times for EMG artists Mike Keneally, Tosin Abasi, Gary Holt, Alexi Laihi, Wayne Static, Adam Dutkiewicz, Stu Hamm, Rex Brown, Evan Brewer, Steve Smyth, Rusty Cooley, Michael Keene, Mike Inez, Tony Campos, David Ellefson, Richie Faulkner, Stephen Carpenter, Eric Peterson.

Mike Keneally to perform The Universe Will Provide in LA!

The exceedingly spectacular and awesome Mike Keneally recently send out the following to his mailing list (which you really should be on, okay?). Also, I see that Mike’s playing at The Baked Potato the day before I arrive in LA in January. DAMMIT! Mike, brother, I hope you’re playing a set at NAMM too. Please? Please?
US Premiere of The Universe Will Provide November 18 in LA!
Hey, all you Maroon 5 fans! What goes on?
Right now I sit, and alternatively stand, and play many Queen songs on the guitar. I scribble down my interpretation of “the middle part” of yet another insane slab of Brian May guitarchitecture. I do this for you, ladies and gentlemen, and for all kind souls who will attend our salute to Queen at the Roxy on November 9. By “our” I mean the masterminds and musical directors of this AIDS benefit event, Bear and Brendan McCreary, as well as Brendon Small, Rick Musallam, Joe Travers, Pete Griffin, myself and others who will perform a great wodge of awesome Queen tuneage for those with feet to arrive and ears to listen.
And then… and then, I plunge boldly forward into remembering how to frickin’ play the guitar parts to The Universe Will Provide in preparation for its long-belated US premiere, at REDCAT in Los Angeles on November 18. To say that I am ecstatic to have this hour-long orchestra-with-guitar instrumental suite finally being performed in the state I call home is a totally reasonable and accurate thing to say. Thank you Max Kutner at CalArts for being the spark that made this thing happen, and to Lauren Platt at CalArts as well and all others who are currently and will soon be working very hard to pull this off – this is no small undertaking and I am pretty overwhelmed with gratitude that all this energy and enthusiasm is being funneled toward the performance of my piece – I’m a lucky so-and-so.
NEWS: Dethklok, Vinnie Vincent, A Perfect Circle
Gibson USA Nighthawk 2011 – click the pic for more info
Here are my latest news stories on Gibson.com:
Vinnie Vincent to Re-Record 1988 Album
A Perfect Circle Road-Test New Song









Hi! I'm Peter Hodgson. I write for