God Bless the USA! And to those who are not fellow Americans, God Bless you guys too!

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.

-Jimi Hendrix

Let’s make babies, not war. Love all you guys and thanks for being our friends and supporters!

Chris Gibbs is one hard-working MF, playing an average of 250 performances per year in Western Australia.

Chris performs regularly both as a band member and a soloist. He plays lead guitar for up and coming WA artist CLAIRE CLARKE and lead guitar for his own new instrumental project, FASHION WITH A GUN. Chris’ other original act, KINGPIN, has recently completed a new album which is due for release in 2008.

Visit FASHION WITH A GUN and KINGPIN myspace pages here.

In 2008 Chris will release his first guitar instructional DVD, ‘Too Much Rock For One Hand - The Lost Art Of Two-Handed Tapping’.

And check it out, he even has his own signature pick!

Keep reading to learn more about Chris and how he has made guitar and music his career.

He has a lot of solid tips for how to make it as a successful musician that you don’t want to miss out on!

PS. Enjoy his song, Shifting Gears while you are perusing!

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Hi guys,

Welcome to my column. Let me introduce myself and my background, my name is Chris Horton. I’m a 25 year old guitarist, in a working band, and I play guitar for a local studio, Oasis Records. I also have worked as crew on some big name Australian acts. I got to see and set up first hand some great guitar rigs. This column is about achieving great guitar sound, so I’m gonna start from the very basics and work my way up.  Check it out!

Keep reading more to learn how to take your guitar sound to the next level of awesomeness: 

[Read more →]

Watch out guys, there is a young guitar ace you better watch out for on the music scene in Scotland. This 17 year old guitarist from Glasgow, demonstrates a maturity and command over the instrument that many never achieve. What sets this young man apart from others, however, is his sense of humor and creativity. Finding inspiration in everyday and not so everyday things ( Check out his song, The Inquisitive Sock Monster below or his Tangible Beach Ninjas on his myspace), Steve has a fun journey ahead of him, and it will be exciting to see his career develop!

Keep reading to learn more and listen to his song, The Inquisitive Sock Monster, while you are at it.

[Read more →]

I don’t have the right amp. I just don’t like how my neck pickup is sounding so I have to wait until I can afford to replace it. My hand is cramped up. There are just too many players out there who are better than me, so why practice and even try to make it as a professional?

My right arm is non-existent…

No more excuses about anything! Figure out what excites you and just do it.

Tight Squeeze by Jonas Tamas

Hey Jonas, thanks for taking the time for this interview!

Hey man, thanks for having me in GPZ! Well, each time I bump into the term ’taking the time’, this Dream Theater classic comes to my mind at once…

…Take The Time!

Yeah, Take The Time… so it is a cool start for this conversation (laughs)

For the readers who may be unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your music?
I’m a Hungarian guitar player and composer. I am both a solo artist and the guitarist of Wind’s Eye, a new progressive rock band from my country. We have just finished the recording of our first album ’The City’ and we are in the process of having negotiations with some indie labels on the release of the album.
In the meantime, I’ve started the recording of my first instrumental solo album. I’m hoping to have it finished until November. Besides this, I’m working with bassist Steve Sexton, drummer Gary Oppert & keyboard/guitar player Brandon Vaughn from USA on the second OSV CD. This is a progressive/fusion instrumental project, with various guitarists playing on the tracks. The guys from OSV have got together a killer lineup of guitarists, with one well-known guitar player as well, so it is really a huge project and I’m proud to be part of it.

Sounds cool! Can you tell us some names?

Well, I’m not empowered to go into details on that, it will be announced in one or two months on myspace.com/osproject, so stay tuned! Back to your previous question, as for describing my music, I would say melodic progressive instrumental hard rock nu-metal funk guitar! (laughs) Okay, I know it is a long name for a genre, but each item holds true in some of my songs, so I thought it would be a good summary…

Who are your main influences?

There is a bunch of them I can tell you! It would be a long list, but to name a few: Andy Timmons, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, John Petrucci, Neal Schon, David Gilmour, Michael Romeo, Stephan Forté, Scott Henderson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, Jorn Viggo (from Pagan’s Mind). On the other hand, I’m a huge fan of classical and baroque music, and one of my biggest influences besides the gentlemen listed above, is George Frideric Handel.

A lot of today’s musicians list Bach or Mozart as their favorites. But why Handel?

To put it simple: he is the biggest! Not only was he a brilliant composer, but he was a true rock ’n roll star of his era! As you may know, he lived in London, and he was popular, he liked dainty dishes, he liked beer and wine, he was loud and liked jokes, so he was a cool guy in all aspects. And he wrote the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard. A lot of people only know Water Music or Fireworks Suite from him, but he wrote an awful amount of great stuff, so dear readers - check his music out, you won’t be disappointed.

So how did you get started playing the guitar?
I started playing when I was 14 years old… so it’s over a decade now and I haven’t looked back since! I instantly knew that this was gonna be the path I would like to pursue. At that time, I was listening to Pink Floyd day and night, and the playing of David Gilmour simply blew me away… the melodies, the tone, the note choices, the use of harmonics, you name it… I’m still considering him one of the greatest of all time! Have you listened to his latest album, On an Island?

Yeah, it is a masterpiece…

… yes it is man! It is fabulous. He has the complete package. So I was heavily into Pink Floyd and at the time I only had a kind of small toy guitar with 4 only strings at home. I started noodling around trying to play some Floyd or Queen or Metallica stuff. As I mentioned, I soon got on to the fact, that this was my thing, so I got my first proper acoustic guitar, then I bought a Strat-like electric guitar, and there was no mercy (neither for the neigbours)!
Then, I was introduced to the musical worlds of Yngwie, Satch, Vai, and I tried to learn not just their amazing technique, but to find out, why they would play a certain lick or run. I was practicing really hard, my fingertips were bleeding, I was pouring out 5 buckets of blood on average in the bathroom at the end of each day (laughs). But slowly and steadily I started getting better and better, and the whole thing was making more and more fun!

How do you approach your song-writing?

I constantly hear sounds in my head… my physician says it is not a good thing, what’s your opinion? (laughs) No, I’m only joking, I’m totally fine, but that’s the truth – I hear melodies or rhythms and I try to capture, develope and orchestrate them, so there is no mysticism, at least in my case, in the process of songwriting – I write music that I would like, and hopefully the listeners will also like it.

What kind of gear are you using?
I have Ibanez, Fender, Samick and Schecter electric guitars for different sounds and styles, and a couple of nylon and steel string acoustics. I’m not an absoulute gearhead, I’m very content with my Boss effects pedal and Marshall and Mesa amps, so I don’t mess around a lot – just plug in and dial the knobs to eleven!

Describe a normal day for you. How much time do you spend practicing and playing, talking to fans, networking, etc. ?

I’m a maniac, without doubt! I try to practice a lot each day, though fortunately I’ve got to the point where practicing doesn’t mean playing three-note-per-string scales played at high speed, it is rather playing from the heart in different musical environments, or examining the compositions, approaches or lines of the greats. I am teaching a lot, which I like very much! Besides this, I have two online guitar columns, one is in Hungarian (http://www.mymusic.hu), the other is in English (http://www.blog.myspace.hu/jonastamas). I get a bunch of e-mails each day, of course not as many as the greats of the genre, and I try to answer all of them if I have time. Sometimes it takes more than a few days to get back to all the questions or comments, so my apologies to anyone if I’m not quick enough to answer, but I will try to do my best.

What is your main goal as a musician?

I think I have the hardest possible goals. I try to create music, which is challenging to write, challenging to record, challenging to play live. But on the other hand, the music should not be challenging for the listener to latch on to, and it should easily be recognizable after a few measures that it’s the style and approach of Jonas Tamas. This is of course a long-time goal, and I have to work very hard for years and years to have chances for reaching this – but I will try it, that’s for sure!

Do you have any advice for aspiring young guitarists who want to pursue a career in music or just better themselves as players?

I have two pieces of advice. The first one is about the general approach: if you feel that you are born to play music, then don’t let anything or anyone throw you off the track!
The other one is practical advice: always think in terms of notes, melody lines or rhythms (and combinations of these), not just scales, fingerings or fret numbers! I often encounter this problem while teaching – some guitar players are really good, have great technique and chops, but their mindflow forces them to think in terms of scales and tricks they are familiar with. So be aware of the notes and its correlation of the actual key you are in, and at the same time, try to look at your playing as a vehicle for creating music as a whole, not just using exercises or scales just on the top of the actual music. It is hard to explain in words, but I guess you will know what I mean.

Any other thoughts or words of inspiration?

Well thanks for reading this interview, guys! If you have time, visit my official homepage, http://www.myspace.com/jonastamas for more info and for more songs. In today’s time, thanks to the achievements of the internet, the mainstream media and the major labels have lost their power to tell us what to like or what to listen to or what is cool and what is not. Now everybody has the chance to choose the style of music (or film, or book) that he likes. No matter whose music do you like, you should support him or her by spreading the word, recommending the artist to the others in forums, blogs or communities. So remember: you are free to choose your favorites. Keep discovering new artists, there are tons of awesome unknown musicians and bands!

Find yourself getting asked this question each day as you stroll into your part-time or full-time job? Maybe you are starting to feel like everyday you have a “case of the Mondays.”

If you can find a fulfilling job that allows you to still be involved in music at the level you desire, then great! There are definitely things that are more important in life than guitar such as family and friends, but if you find yourself in an non-rewarding situation, are you willing to make a few sacrifices that may just lead to an overall increase in your happiness?

If you re-evaluated your life goals this weekend like we suggested, what did you discover that you value most?

Are you willing to make a little bit less money if it meant that you could surround yourself with music and music related activities? The following is a list of music industry related jobs just to help get your mind thinking about what possibilities there are to stay involved in music. [Read more →]

“Why am I troubled in this narrow cramped routine, when life, all life, with all its joys lies open to me?”-Leo Tolstoy

Do you seem to be asking yourself this question regularly? Are you leading the life that you have envisioned for yourself?

Maybe you are. But there is a good chance that something just doesn’t seem quite right.

This weekend is a great time to re-evaluate what it is you want to get out of life, your music, and your guitar playing. There are no right or wrong answers. If you want to be the next Jimi Hendrix, then go for it. But maybe you would rather be the guy in the background, writing hit songs and laying down flawless studio tracks for others.

If you decide to really open your eyes, you will see that there really are endless opportunities. It doesn’t matter whether you are living in California or South Carolina, they are there. Just because in the past no one has taken advantage of a potential opportunity, doesn’t mean it is nonexistent. Get creative!

That new restaurant that opened up down the street? Wouldn’t they love to have you bring in your fans as new customers and be willing to pay you per order that they receive for you? Of course they would. It’s a win-win opportunity.

Want to get your music exposed but live in a town of only 75 people? Start a music blog and post your songs and compositions for the whole Internet to see, just like our friend at Psychedelic Zen Guitar.

To quote our friend Tobias Hurwitz from The Book of Six Strings,

“Freedom goes hand in hand with fearlessness, which in turn spurs on creativity and change. The free soul makes his statement without fearing that it will be too much like someone else’s This very spontaneity forms the unique fabric of the statement. The free soul tries the new approach, ends the bad relationship or gets the rewarding job. The Zen Guitarist is neither paralyzed by fear nor blinded by ignorance. His path is walked in freedom, and he accepts the gift when given and returns it to others along the way. “

Free yourself from the cramped routine, and live without fear to find your own excitement and happiness!

We all know that the future of music is going to be drastically different than its past. We are witnessing the changes in the present as record labels are losing power, fans are becoming more influential, and bands who can effectively take advantage of technology and the latest promotion strategies can earn a great living playing the music they love.

This week GuitarPlayerZen.com would like to feature 4 insightful blogs, that if read on a regular basis, will definitely help your music career out. There are many ways to make money playing guitar and making music your livelihood. The key is to keep learning and educating yourself on the latest trends.

The following 4 blogs are ones you NEED to add to your RSS feeds or email subscriptions!… [Read more →]

Danny Devito may not be a virtuoso guitar player, but guitarist can learn a valuable lesson from him nonetheless.

You may be asking yourself, “What the Hell does Danny Devito have to do with guitar?”

Seth Godin, marketing genius had a very interesting post comparing Danny with George Clooney:

Can you imagine the career advice Danny got? The well-meaning people who explained to him (as if he didn’t know) that he didn’t really look like George Clooney? That perhaps, maybe, he should consider a job as a personal trainer or short order cook…

George Clooney is a movie star. He looks like one. He makes tens of millions of dollars a year, hangs out at Cannes and has starlets falling at his feet.

Danny Devito is exactly five feet tall. He was perfectly cast as the Penguin.

The math, however, tells us something different.

(number of people resembling George Clooney)/(jobs for people resembling George Clooney) is a much bigger number than the ratio available to Danny. For the math challenged: Because everyone in Hollywood is trying to be George, there are a lot more opportunities for the few Dannys willing to show up.

Invest in Danny. The edges usually pay off.

Just like everyone in Hollywood is trying to be George Clooney, everyone in the guitar world seems to be trying to be Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, EVH, or the epitomical “shredder.”

Now there is no problem with pushing yourself to the technical limits on guitar, and the discipline it takes to reach these levels is something to be very proud of, but are you really helping yourself out in the long run in terms of having a music career?

What is one aspect of your playing that sets you apart from others?

Can you name 5 to 10 of them?

I am interested in hearing what you guys have to say about what it is that makes you a unique guitar player.

Being different in music is going to help you get more gig opportunities and be remembered by others. For other tips on how to become a successful guitarist, check out our free informational e-book on how to have a successful career as a studio guitarist.