That’s right, we all know that Petrucci is the greatest and most diverse guitarist alive today – no question, but if you happen to have doubts, read this.

In the early days

John Pertrucci, originally form Long Island, New York, began his incredible career by attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. This is where he hooked up with the legendary drummer Mike Portnoy, and with the help of childhood friend John Myung began a band called Majesty, which would later blossom into Dream Theater.

In Petrucci’s biography section on his website, he lists some influences such as Steve Morse, Al DiMeola, Steve Howe, Allan Holdsworth, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Rhoads, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Alex Lifeson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Rush, Yes, Iron Maiden, The Dregs and Metallica. Knowing as much as I do about his career and past work, I believe this list to be an accurate description of how he plays. Notice Rush and Yes have two mentions, the guitarists and their respective bands, it maybe redundant but I think it says something about his take on Progressive Rock.

Scenes from the Dream Theater

When I was about 14, I thought that if I could play any Metallica song, I would be great. Then at 15, I thought that if I could play any Iron Maiden song, only then would I be great. Then I discovered Dream Theater from a friend of mine and that was it for me. After listening to Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence and Scenes From A Memory I was hooked. Petrucci’s riffs and soloing may seem a bit flashy, but remember he is a progressive rock musician at heart; it just comes out of him. To this day when I dig into attempting a John Petrucci song, I still fall flat on my face. Its not that I am a terrible guitarist, it’s just that Petrucci is one of the best. Not only is he lightning fast, but when he needs to be, he is also crazy about rhythm, which can be incredibly tedious to emulate, but the challenge only makes you a better guitarist.

Listen to Liquid Tension Experiment 1 & 2, then tell me what Petrucci cannot do. The track Acid Rain, will humble the most boastful and tell them that’s ok, just practice more.

Shortly after becoming obsessed with Petrucci, I searched from articles, lessons and videos he has made to better my own playing. There is so much out there. I have a vivid memory in high school of sitting on the edge of my bed and watching the DVDs 5 Years in a Livetime, Images and Words Live in Tokyo and Metropolis 2000:Scenes From New York over and over again with a guitar in my lap. At that point in my playing, the only song I remember keeping up with is YTSE Jam. Petrucci also has a guitar lesson video out called ROCK DISCIPLINE (I made that bold and italic for a reason), ROCK DISCIPLINE is essential viewing for anybody who wants to discipline their fingers. Even at age 21, I still practice with exercises from this video to this day. Here’s a taste of some of his exercises:

Not only does he have an impressive career of his own, playing, writing and producing for Dream Theater, he also has side projects and features on other people’s albums, such as Jon Finn’s album Wicked. Jon Finn is a professer at Berklee College of Music in Boston, with whom I was lucky enough to take a class with one summer. Finn is and excellent guitarist and a fellow Ibanez endorser, which is how they met.

Music Man

Petrucci doesn’t support that 1980’s African inspired Ibanez anymore, now he has his own Petrucci Music Man.

Oh, and now he’s a body builder too

I cannot emphasize this enough. Petrucci practiced and practiced to get to the level he is at today, and he is at the top of his game. Petrucci is consistently named best guitarist of the year by various different organizations. He has the discipline of a saint when it comes to guitar and fairly recently, it has carried over into bodybuilding. We, as budding guitarists can all learn something from Petrucci, if you work hard, results will follow. My recommendation to all readers is to take a song of his that blows your mind, (there will be many) and dive right into trying to play it. I do not care what you use… tabs, sheet music, GuitarPro, whatever. Keep at it for a while. Weeks, months, in my case years of working on Glasgow Kiss.

Just start at half speed and work yourself up, pay attention to how you sound as much as grabbing the right notes, and anything else you delve into will benefit from this practice.

Oh, and if you get frustrated, watch these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbTnnjcIt7M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3okO9qGt7A4&feature=related

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Mike Kolbenson is a staff writer at SMG. Mike is a recent graduate from Purchase College, SUNY and absolutely in love with all things guitar. Email: mikekolbenson@sharemyguitar.com

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Canadian Rock band RUSH is currently conquering America with their 2010 The Time Machine Tour!

Being a HUGE Rush fan, the opportunity arose to see the legendary Progressive Rock band RUSH live in Las Vegas, Nevada last Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The show was nothing short of amazing!

I bought a ticket to the show last minute and walked outside The Hotel where I was staying to a shuttle bus that would take the excited Rush fanatics over to the gig straight away. I was so eager to get their, I arrived early and was the first on the bus. I was singing various Rush songs to myself and banging my hands away on the seat in front of me (doing my best Neil Peart drum solo) for a good ten minutes while the engine of the bus hummed away. I began to wonder… am I going to be the only one at this show?

Within about 15 minutes or so another 15 to 20 people boarded the shuttle and away we went! I began to chat with the fellow Rush fans around me and lo and behold, I met several cool guitar players. I asked them if they’d seen Rush before and between the three of us, we’d seen the band a collective 60 times! In a snap we arrived at the stadium and it was jam packed with people of all ages. Kids, teenagers, moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas… all there and all ready to rock! I grabbed a couple souvenir T-shirts and wondered over to my seat. The place was PACKED! 17,000 seats and not an empty seat in the joint!

Aside from the obvious killer catalog of music to choose from, Rush had several shows within the show itself. What do I mean by that? Well to begin with, there was amazing lighting that was remotely controlled and was zooming around and transforming (much like a real life Transformer). They had a huge mega screen with awesome imagery constantly cutting and moving along in perfect time with their beat. They even filmed and starred in a series of funny Time Machine themed shorts that involved Geddy Lee sporting funny facial hair and a Yiddish accent, Alex Lifeson hardly resembling himself but much closer to Humpty Dumpty with a thick Czech accent and Neil Peart donning a police badge, push broom mustache and Irish accent. They also spared no expense to add cool time machine gadgets about the stage, tubes that shot smoke and fire and there was even an actor who pushed a shopping cart on stage to feed the time machine. I think he may have even exited stage left, but don’t hold me to that!

The concert opened with the time machine motif launching the band into Spirit of the Radio. The crowd was energized and the band was flawless. Geddy was jumping around, running from side to side and hopping back and fourth. His bass lines where dead on perfect and his fingers just seem to effortlessly float across the maple neck of his Fender Jazz. Even though I didn’t have great seats, the mix sounded great. Alex is, in my opinion, one of the most under-rated guitarists out there. His licks were perfect from start to finish. He shreds as good as anybody and he brought a full array of guitars to boot! Then there was Neil who sported his trademark relaxed expression (like someone about to yawn) while he unleashed the most killer, hard hitting precision drumming ever seen or heard. These cats are the best in the biz.

For those of you who have seen the movie I Love You, Man, you will particularity enjoy the closing film they showed after the encore. I don’t want to give everything away, but it involves a hysterically funny scene backstage after a Rush concert where Geddy, Alex and Neil arrive to the dressing room only to find Paul Rudd and Jason Segel “slappin da bass” and eating Neil’s special sandwich. You really outta check it out!

Set List 1:

* THE SPIRIT OF RADIO
* TIME STAND STILL
* PRESTO
* STICK IT OUT
* WORKIN’ THEM ANGELS
* LEAVE THAT THING ALONE
* FAITHLESS
* BU2B
* FREE WILL
* MARATHON
* SUBDIVISIONS

Set List 2:

* TOM SAWYER
* RED BARCHETTA
* YYZ
* LIMELIGHT
* CAMERA EYE
* WITCH HUNT
* VITAL SIGNS
* CARAVAN
* LOVE 4 SALE
* CLOSER TO THE HEART
* 2112 OVERTURE / TEMPLES
* FAR CRY

Encore:

* LA VILLA STRANGIATO
* WORKING MAN

* * * * *

Mickey Richardson is the editor and staff writer for SMG. Mick is from Southern California and has played with a number of bands over the past 10 years. Email Mick

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Alright fine, I admit it. I play guitar and yet… I have purchased multiple versions of the popular video games “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” from local big box retailers.

The Video Game Controller Consists of an Actual Guitar!

It’s true that whilst playing these games, I’ve rocked out to some of my favorite songs along-side an animated Slash or the Beatles and I even had a rock-off against the devil himself. All and all, I kept this one quiet, as to not raise any annoyed eyebrows from  my “real” guitar playing buddies, until now.

News recently broke about a company called Seven45 Studios unleashing a new video game on the likes of Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but this one, “Power Gig: Rise of the SixString” uses a REAL GUITAR as the gaming controller. Yes, that’s right, with actual strings and everything!

Now, although Power Gig: Rise of the Six String will be equipped with an actual guitar, the game does not require that players be a shredmeister-extraordinaire. Think of the game as the next step in an evolution of guitar gaming. A hybrid if you will of the Guitar Hero style games, combined with player modes that have you press down on the correct string or shape basic chords for extra points. It may not make every gamer a great guitar player, but it’s likely to fuel interest in guitar to countless boys, girls, men and woman who might not have ever held an actual guitar in their hands or even touched an actual guitar string.

I can only guess that this game will help to spawn other more realistic type guitar games in the future. And that will be a cool thing for those interested in expanding their guitar gaming, jamming along to their favorite songs, or just wanting to waste time playing video games and listening to killer tunes!

The game is slated to be released in the Fall of 2010.

SMG’s Oscar Jordan talks with Michael Anthony at Rock Camp!

Have you ever dreamed of jamming with rock stars? Well now you can! Share My Guitar spent a day at the Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp in North Hollywood, California. On site were rock legends Dave Mason, Michael Anthony, Billy Sheehan, and Gary Hoey.

According to their website, Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp™ is the ultimate music experience, that allows musicians and enthusiasts alike the once in a lifetime opportunity to jam with legendary rock stars, play live on stage at major concert venues, and live their rock ‘n’ roll dreams. Simply stated, our mission is to bring people’s musical fantasies to life! Learn more about the camp here.

* * * * *

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Taken from HeXx Henderson’s website: musical influences include rock guitar heros like Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Beck, The Ventures, and Lonny Mack. Great Lap Steel Guitar players like Leon McAuliffe, Santo and Johnny, Buddy Emmons, Alvino Rey, and Little Roy Wiggins, pioneering lap steel Blues players Hop Wilson and Freddy Roulette, and jazz organ great Jimmy Smith also had a big impact on HeXx. Through his study of Rock, Blues, and Country’s greatest masters, and by playing with musicians of the highest caliber, HeXx doggedly earned a profound knowledge of music which enables him to weave many influences and styles together to form a very distinctive new sound. Rock, Jazz, Blues, Country, and Hawaiian music, with threads of Gospel, Pop, Surf, Heavy Metal, and Funk, all color the final, masterful design….

Previous Podcasts:

• Podcast 10: Interview with Gretchen Menn
• Podcast 9: Interview with Josh Gooch
• Podcast 8: Interview with Bob Wootton
• Podcast 7: Interview with Margaret Scranton
• Podcast 6: Interview with Steve White
• Podcast 5: Interview with Tom Stanton
• Podcast 4: Interview with LA Jones
• Podcast 3: Interview with Luke Mulholland
• Podcast 2: Interview with Tallan ‘The T-Man’ Noble Latz
• Podcast 1: Interview with Anthony Contreras

Show Notes:

1. Bob Wills
2. Beatles
3. Hendrix
4. Bass Guitar
5. Frederick’s of Hollywood
6. Acoustic Control Corporation 126
7. Johnny Winter
8. David Allan Coe
9. Steel Guitar
10. Eddie Van Halen – Eruption
11. Tribute to Hendrix – Star Spangled Banner
12. Dimebag Darrell
13. Dimebag Darrell killed in shooting
14. Carol Kaye
15. Bo Diddley
16. NAMM 2010
17. Joe Bonamassa
18. Asher Guitars
19. Trailer Trash Pedal Boards
20. ’73 Fender Super 6 Reverb
21. ’72 Fender Twin Reverb
22. ’78 Lab Series L11
23. ’37 Rickenbacker Model B
24. Bakelite
25. Leo Fender
26. Standard Lap Steel Tuning
27. Dolly Parton Signiture Series Guitar
28. Epiphone Les Paul 100
29. Foxrox Wah Mod
30. Seymour Duncan’s Twin Tube Classic Overdrive
31. Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
32. Boss TU-Tuner
33. HeXx Website
34. HeXx Myspace
35. Men who look like Kenny Rogers
36. HeXx Youtube Channel

This week’s review brings me to the special edition Fender Jaguar with Rock/Grunge modifications. This modified Fender Jaguar comes with an alder body giving it a beefier tone but adding a little extra weight. The neck remains the same just as the 65’ jaguar using the shorter 24” scale neck for easier string bending.

The “U” shape neck lends for extra grip while the gloss urethane finish adds a swift feel. This special edition Jaguar has a rosewood 7.25” radius fretboard with 22 vintage style frets. The Fender Jaguar also comes with two special design MIJ Dragster humbuckers to reduce noise and produce fatter, darker tones, making this new Jag perfect for Grunge, Punk or Rock music.

The special edition Fender Jag has a modified pickup switching system for unique coil taping configurations. The Jaguar has two on/off switches one for each pickup. It also comes with a vintage style adjusto-matic bridge with an anchored tailpiece.

The Jaguar uses Fender/Gotoh vintage style tuning machine heads with a chrome finish. The axe comes with the classic 3-ply black pickguard as well as black control knobs. The special edition Jaguar also comes with Fender Super 250R nickel plated steel strings.

The Fender Jaguar HH specifications:

• Controls
• Lead circuit
• 2-Position tone switch
• Volume
• Tone
• Rhythm Circuit
• Volume
• Tone
• Circuit Selector Switch

My over all opinion of the special edition Jaguar is that of mixed feelings. Although I am not partial to Fender guitars for reasons of personal playability, that does not mean I do not like Fender guitars. Everyone has a different feel to a specific guitar style. I will start with the guitar tone. The Jaguar’s tone is specially designed for dirty tones found in rock and grunge music, this is fine if you are only playing these genres of music. I found that when playing the Fender Jaguar Special Edition distorted it had a very chunky and dirty sound, great for that style. When played through clean channels at low volumes it was pretty smooth, however when played at high volume it gets very distorted. This is not necessarily a bad thing as that specific tone is highly sought after. I do like the unique circuits connected to the pickups as they can get some pretty interesting tones. The special edition Jaguar is a little heavy for my taste but it’s what the guitar needs for its dark tone. Compared to most Fender necks, this neck is a little bit easier to get around on. It feels thinner then the Stratocaster type necks.

If you are looking for the Seattle style grunge tone, then this is the perfect guitar for you. If you are looking to buy this model because of the looks then be warned that you are limited to what you can play, as this is not a clean sounding guitar. It is meant for distortion tones. All in all, the Fender Jaguar Special Edition is not a bad guitar at all, it just lacks in versatility. But don’t let that discourage you from trying one out, not every guitar has to meet your every need. Till next week, Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year from all of us at Share My Guitar. Keep on Shredding and thanks for reading.

P.S If any of our readers would like me to review a specific guitar that you are interested in, drop me an email and I will gladly review that instrument. Cheers Nick.

Alice in Chains perform live on Conan O’Brien 10.30.09

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Taken from Margaret Scranton’s myspace page: I started playing guitar the day after seeing Van Halen at the Cow Palace in 1982. I was a baby. Having four older brothers and sisters listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, I grew up on major rock bands. When I started playing, Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen were my greatest inspiration. Today I have new favorites, but those two guys bring me back to my roots. I was fortunate to meet Randy’s mom and give her a song I had written about him. She is a beautiful woman. When I set out to be a solo artist, I wanted to play with the best musicians I could find. The music was and is the most important thing. Tom Hunting formerly of “Exodus”, played drums. Brian Templeton, formerly of “Karma Coda”, played bass guitar. Then I did something I got from “Moby”. I had 4 singers come in to each sing a song. They are Chrissy Barlow, Katherine Sawyer, Diane Ahern and Ronda Najera. I wanted to use voice as an instrument, not have the singer define the music or it’s identity. Carlos Santana was also an inspiration to go in this direction. I included my first instrumental, which I think came out great. In 2007, I recorded another album, “Genuine Article”, with a new band. We are now “Scranton ” and are currently booking shows in the Bay Area. In my spare time, I play with the Hormones, an all-girl Ramones tribute band. In addition to my music, I teach guitar to kids, which brings me closer to music. I’m a fine art “film” photographer, and show my photography online and do gallery shows a few times a year. You could say Ansel Adams and Randy Rhoads gave me life.

Rock guitarist extraordinaire Margaret Scranton, lead guitarist of Scranton. Photo By Jane Tyska

Previous Podcasts:

• Podcast 6: Interview with Steve White
• Podcast 5: Interview with Tom Stanton
• Podcast 4: Interview with LA Jones
• Podcast 3: Interview with Luke Mulholland
• Podcast 2: Interview with Tallan ‘The T-Man’ Noble Latz
• Podcast 1: Interview with Anthony Contreras

Show Notes

1. Margaret Scranton in Nov 09 issue of Guitar Player Magazine!
2. Eddie Van Halen
3. Tallan Noble Latz
4. Jane Tyska
5. Benny Goodman
6. Randy Rhoads
7. Ozzie Osbourne
8. Led Zeppelin
9. Rush
10. Pink Floyd
11. Wendy Russell
12. Freddie Freelancer
13. The Hormones
14. Bonnie Raitt
15. Female guitarist who ROCK!
16. 1960 Reissue Les Paul Classic
17. Martin Acoustic Guitars
18. Fender Jazz Bass
19. 1971 Fretless Fender P-Bass
20. 1967 Gibson J45 Acoustic Guitar
21. Jaco Pastorius
22. Open Mic’s
23. Randy Rhoads CSUN Scholarship
24. Margaret Scranton Photography
25. Ansel Adams
26. Jane Tyska: Photojournalists Oakland Tribune
27. Motown Studio A
28. James Jamerson
29. Marvin Gaye

Be sure to check out Scranton’s links:

http://www.myspace.com/margaretscranton

http://www.sonicbids.com/scranton

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Margaret-Scranton-Band/37754801897
http://www.reverbnation.com/scranton
http://www.imeem.com/scranton
http://www.ourstage.com/epk/scranton
http://www.bandsofthebay.com/band/Scranton
http://www.bebo.com/scrantonband

The ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000 guitar

This weeks review brings me to the crunch machine ESP LTD Deluxe EC-1000. The first thing that caught my eye was the factory EMG pickups and quilted tops. The EC-1000 comes standard with EMG 81 and 60 pickups. The EC-1000 is very lightweight and comfortable in feel with its Mahogany body and Rosewood fret board. The metal given tone of this fine guitar will melt faces without melting your pocket book.

With its screaming high’s and deep mid’s and warm bass tones the EC-1000 will steal the show. Along with the amazing pickups, the EC-1000 houses a 24-3/4″ set neck with a thin U contour. The Rosewood fret board is sleek and fast to the touch. The EC-1000 come standard with 24 extra jumbo frets and abalone flag fret markers. The TonePros locking tune-O-matic bridge will keep you in tune through your entire set. Another unique feature of the axe is the 42mm Earvana compensated nut lending to the perfect tuning of this beastly instrument.

One unique detail about this guitar is with different colors you get different components. Such as Seymour Duncan JB/59s on the EC-1000 flame top. On the Black and Vintage models you will get gold hardware, yet on the amber burst you will get chrome hardware.

My over all opinion is the EC-1000 is a great metal, hard rock and classic rock guitar. It is very easy to play and feels great, however I would point out that due to the pickups you are limited in the variety of tones you are going to get. Don’t get me wrong I love EMG’s but certain EMG pickups are made specifically for metal playing such as the 81 and 60 models. Definitely a great rock guitar for a great price, but keep in mind that this guitar is made for metal and rock. Till next week, ‘keep on shredding.’

This week I will be reviewing the Ibanez S series 520ex. This sleek looking, mind numbing piece of weaponry is a must have for those looking for an array or tonal possibilities. With its ultra thin mahogany body the Ibanez S520 is super light weight while still maintaining a soothing warm tone. The 25.5″ scale Wizard II neck is lighting fast and very pleasing to the touch. The Wizard II is a 3pc Maple neck with a bound Rosewood Fingerboard. The jumbo frets eliminate string buzzing and give the player a better grip on the strings.

Some players may find it difficult at first to keep track of what fret you are on as the S520 does not have fret markers on the fingerboard. Do not “fret” my friends, there are fret markers on the top side of the guitar neck to keep your noodling in line. There is a 12th fret claw scratch inlay on the S520 giving it a very metal flavor.
One of the great things about this guitar is the Ibanez ZR (zero resistance) Bridge. This New Tremolo system improves on the older style tremolos giving it greater stability and string tension. The ZR bridge is very low profile giving the player more room to move the picking hand as the fine tuners are sunk down out of the way. One great thing about this tremolo is it sits on ball-bearings which provides better tuning stability. If one string breaks the other five strings stay in tune!

The Pick-ups:

The S520 comes with two Ibanez infinity pick-ups, one volume and one tone knob. In the bridge position houses the INF2 and the neck position the INF1. Although only having two humbucking pick-ups the S520 has a 5-way selector switch. The tonal possibilities are vast and beautiful. In my opinion the clean tone options on this guitar are nothing short of astounding. The unique switching system splits the pick-up functions in a different way then normal. In position one you get the solo sound of the INF2 bridge pick-up. A very bright and forceful sound with screaming harmonics and string clarity. In position two you get a coil tap crossing the top half of the bridge pick-up and the lower half of the neck pick-up. This combo lends for a warm bluesy sound. In position three you get the full effect of both bridge and neck pick-ups. I compare this to a SRV type tone with its super warm tone perfect for chordal melodies. In position four you get the INF1 pick-up (parallel connected) giving you a single coil tone without the buzz. In position five you get the INF1 pick-up in the neck position by itself perfect for all you soloing needs. The INF1 humbucker houses a ceramic magnet giving you that classic tone with excellent dynamics. The INF2 humbucker houses an alnico-5 magnet lending excellent lows enhanced mid range with a higher output for string clarity.

My thoughts:

The Ibanez S520 is an excellent guitar for every style of music. Although presented as a heavy metal guitar, The S520 is really meant for all genres. The clean tones are amazing with so many options to choose from you will definitely find the tone you are looking for. The blazing tone of the guitar while over driven will make your face melt. I usually swap out factory pick-ups right away but there is no need to on the S520, the pick-ups are perfectly matched in every way.

I am pretty rough on guitars and I have to say the ZR tremolo is by far the best I have used to date. It is really easy to fine tune and it stays that way even after the most brutal of solos. The S520 is an A+ in my book, affordable and versatile. However if you are interested in picking one up, I suggest that you are comfortable with your chord and scale positions. In low light its is easy to get lost on the fretboard. Alright, that’s my rant for the week.

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