I won Guitarnoize's "Name That Riff" Contest!

Well, time for a little self-bragging. If you're into guitar blogs, you've probably run across Jon Bloomer's Guitarnoize. This blog is a great source for guitar-related news and reviews, and it's fast become one of the most popular guitar blogs on the net. Anyways, Jon recently held Guitarnoize's first "Name That Riff" contest. The premise is pretty simple. Jon recorded a short clip of him playing a distinctive guitar riff each week. After 8 weeks, whoever had guessed the most riffs correctly received a prize pack. And that person was I, guessing a total of 7 out of 8 riffs correctly. Here's a list of each riff played:

Riff 1: Iron Maiden - "Two Minutes To Midnight"
Riff 2: Whitesnake - "Still Of The Night"
Riff 3: Alice Cooper - "Poison"
Riff 4: David Lee Roth - "It’s Showtime"
Riff 5: John Petrucci - "Curve"
Riff 6: Audioslave - "Sound Of A Gun"
Riff 7: Andy Timmons - "Deliver Us"
Riff 8: Def Leppard - "Excitable"

Not surprisingly, the one riff I didn't get was the last one. I've never been a big Def Leppard fan, and it obviously showed. However, my perfect score with the previous seven riffs still placed me ahead of everyone. Finally, all this listening payed off! Jon was kind enough to send a very generous prize pack worth almost $200. Here's what I received:

Lick Library "Quick Licks": Brian May DVD
Lick Library "Learn to Play...": Kiss DVD
The Rock House Method: Modes Demystified (with John McCarthy) DVD
The Rock House Method: Metal Guitar Level One (with Alexi Laiho) DVD
The Rock House Method: Metal Guitar Level Two (with Alexi Laiho) DVD
The Rock House Method: Metal Guitar Level Two (with Dan Jacobs) DVD
Guitar Masters Vol. 1 CD (featuring tons of great players, like Satriani, Morse, Beck, etc...)
Alex Ehrsam - "Djaz_Dtox" CD (AWESOME fusion player)
Steffen Schackinger - "ElectriGuitartistry" CD (another incredible player)



Thanks again to Jon at Guitarnoize! Be sure to give his blog a visit.

Queensryche Show Review (5/27/09, AMP, Fayetteville, AR)

My dad and I traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas (of all places) to catch the Queensryche show on the 27th of May. I had already been a pretty big Queensryche fan, but considering my age, I had never had a chance to see them live, much less when Chris DeGarmo was still in the band. Regardless, I think the band has written some incredible albums, and Geoff Tate was (and still is, for that matter) one of the greatest hard rock/metal vocalists out there.

However, the show in Fayetteville was a total disappointment. I could tell from the first song that the night probably wouldn't be memorable. I knew that Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren (Geoff Tate's son-in-law) were using that Digitech modeling gear instead of tube amps. Despite my opinion on modeling gear for live performances, I decided to remain open-minded and let my ears decide. Well, I did, and their tones were horrendous. I've been to three shows here in the past few months where the guitarists use modeling gear for their main rigs, and each one has sounded completely lifeless, sterile, and empty. Why do touring guitarists insist on using this garbage over and over? I can understand if you're a workingman playing bars, but these are professional acts with roadies and endorsement deals. There's no excuse.

Furthermore, the volume of the show was too low. I'm not saying that splitting ears is a necessity, but this show sounded just a tad louder than a run-of-the-mill bar gig.

Also, there were quite a few ridiculously cheesy moments during the show. To begin the show, Tate graced the stage with a goofy hat and suit that made him look like a used car salesman (as another reviewer said). OK, no big deal. The band played three extended suites: Rage for Order, American Soldier, and Empire. The first suite was tolerable, as it contained many obscure yet rocking 'Ryche tunes. However, the show started to go downhill quickly at the beginning of the American Soldier suite. A man dressed in an soldier's uniform marched to the center stage (greeted with an abundance of overly-patriotic "USA! USA! USA!" chants), only to surprise the audience by breaking into a hip-hop routine. At this point, I was asking myself, "Is this really Queensryche?" The most cringe-worthy moment occurred when Tate brought out his daughter and his saxophone. Yes, his saxophone. Since when do saxophones and metal mix? And I know Tate loves his kids, but his daughter doesn't belong on stage at a progressive "metal" concert, especially dressed in what looked to be a beauty pagent dress.

I will say though that, despite the sound and cheese factor, everyone in the band played rather well. Lundgren, the new guy, played his parts proficiently, as did guitarist Michael Wilton and the other veteran members. And Tate, when he could actually be heard, sounded dead-on, despite a more constricted vocal range due to years of singing. But the band did look overwhelmingly bored. I'd like to think the bleakness of Fayetteville was to blame.

Granted, it's disappointing that DeGarmo left and that Tate can't quite hit the same high notes as he used to, but those facts don't really bother me. Give a listen to Live Evolution. It's a great live album, and it was done without both DeGarmo and Geoff's old vocal range. Currently, I think the main issue with Queensryche is that too much of Tate's family is becoming involved with the band. First of all, his wife is now managing the band (she was actually working the sound booth, and I think this might have had something to do with why the mix didn't sound great...I don't mean to be sexist, but I would bet that it was her idea to have the daughter on stage too). You've also got his son-in-all law playing in the band. And now you've got his kids on stage, too. It just seems like a recipe for disaster to me. I can see why DeGarmo might have left the band if he knew it were headed in this direction.

Unfortunately, this show left me so uninspired that I stopped taking pictures after the first few songs, and even those didn't turn out too well.

Anvil Screening and Show (5/24/09, Malco Ridgeway Four, Memphis)

For most people, This is Spinal Tap is merely a funny mockumentary about the idiosyncrasies of the hard rock world. However, for the members of Canadian metal band Anvil, it mirrors the story of their lives.



If you keep up with film at all, or if you're a hard rock/heavy metal fan, you've probably already heard about the new documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil. The movie, which has been highly praised by such acclaimed filmmakers as Michael Moore, focuses on Anvil's struggle to "make it big" in the metal world, even after some 30 years since the band's formation. Ever since the previews appeared on VH1 Classic, I had wanted to see the film. Yet, as usual, it didn't seem as if the film would be playing here anytime soon. However, a few weeks later, I learned from our local paper that not only would the movie be screening here but that the band would actually perform a live set afterward. You must be thinking, "What? A live set where? In a movie theater?" That's right.

When I arrived at the quaint Malco Ridgeway Four (which often screens obscure, independent films), it appeared as if no one was there. A part of me almost thought that the show had been canceled. Anyways, I walked into the theater's lobby, and lo and behold, there sits Anvil guitarist Steven "Lips" Kudlow on the couch, munching away at a bag of popcorn. After a second of awkward staring, I introduced myself as a fan and asked for a photo op. With a mouthful of popcorn, he muttered something that resembled, "Well, I'm sitting right here!" He's not a talkative guy, but still, it was a neat encounter.

Then, I noticed a merch booth on the other side of the lobby, where drummer Robb Reiner (coincidentally the name of This is Spinal Tap's director) stood talking with a manager. He was a little more conversational. At this point, more people began arriving, and I saw some familiar faces within the Memphis guitar community. As usual, before any show, I spent the time chatting with fellow gearheads. By the time the Malco staff allowed us to enter the theater, an extremely long line had formed.

Seeing that this was a movie about metal, I opted for front row seats (not normal for me). In front of the screen was Anvil's gear, all set up and ready to be played after the show. Finally, the overhead lights dimmed, and the movie began, free of trailers and ads. At once, Anvil's most well known track, "Metal on Metal," began playing at a volume much louder than any other movie I've been to. At that point, I knew I was in for a treat.

Even for non-metal fans, the film is a well produced, riveting documentary that will surely capture some more awards in the future. We learn that Anvil, despite their lack of commercial success, remains well respected within the hard rock/metal community, as evidenced by the film's interviews with Slash and Lars Ulrich, both of whom cite Anvil as huge influences. The movie really reminded me of Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. In both films, you have has-beens who desire to hit it big again, simultaneously risking livelihoods and relationships in the process. When all is said and done, director Sacha Gervasi leaves us with a powerful film about success and failure in the modern world, as well as the often difficult pursuit of the American (err, Canadian in this case) dream.

The real magic of the night came with the short set the band played after the screening. They actually sounded extremely good. My front row seats placed me directly in front of "Lips," who was playing his trustworthy Flying V through his silverface Fender Twin Reverbs. It wasn't a special set up or anything. They didn't have big lights or a fancy stage backdrop. They weren't even mic'ed. But that fact didn't matter. They came out and played with such extreme emotion and passion. You could really tell that these guys really do love what they do, and it made me respect them that much more. I didn't really know any of their songs beforehand, but their little show was probably one of the most unforgettable ones I've been to. If you have a chance to see Anvil: The Story of Anvil or the band themselves, by all means, do so. You won't regret it.

Apparently, the movie has helped Anvil towards reaching their dreams. has now been selected by AC/DC to open at two huge stadium gigs later this summer.

Click here to view the rest of my pictures taken at this show.

Learn more about Anvil: The Story of Anvil.