Live Musician Central

Tag: Musician Showcase

  • Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (video)

    For today’s Musician Showcase I’m featuring one of my favorite songs by the great Michael Jackson. As you know, I play lead guitar in my live band so my favorite type of music features a lot of electric guitar. My favorite Michael Jackson songs naturally have the guitar mixed front and center.

    The song “Dirty Diana” features the excellent guitar playing of Steve Stevens. Steve was at the height of his fame with Billy Idol at the time and Michael, being the genius marketer that he is, hired Steve to play on this song. I’m sure the decision was based on the great success Michael had using Eddie Van Halen to play on “Beat It”.

    What I love about this song is the dark sexiness it evokes. The video shows Michael busting off some of his sexier stage moves and the whole thing just rocks. I hope you enjoy it!     (more…)

  • Steve Vai Performs – I Know You’re Here (Live Video)

       What can I say about the great Steve Vai? The man continually blows my mind every time I hear him play. I’ve been a fan of Steve ever since his incredible 1984 solo release “Flex-Able”. I’ve tried to emulate many aspects of his playing in my own style to use with my live band.

       One of the greatest things about Steve Vai is his ability to play technically and still have great emotion in his playing. We all know he can shred and play a zillion notes per second but what makes him great is he makes every note count. He knows when to play a melody and when to play a scale-fill. Even his fast runs are very melodic and that’s a rare and beautiful ability.    (more…)

  • Bernard Purdie Drum Solo

       This is a truly musical and fun drum solo by drum master Bernard Purdie. He has an incredible feel for playing in the groove and keeping right on the beat while playing a melodic drum solo. Anytime a drum solo makes you feel like dancing, it’s a successful drum solo. At the end of his solo he shares some truly sage advice for playing a drum solo. His advice can be applied to any solo instrument.    (more…)

  • Video clip of The Who playing a cover version of The Beatles song “Saw Her Standing There”.

       I thought this was a very interesting and funny video clip. It’s the cross-mixing of two of my favorite bands of all time, The Who and The Beatles.

       It’s common knowledge that Keith Moon and Ringo Starr were very good friends and drinking buddies. I’m sure there was a sense of rivalry between The Who and The Beatles as well. This clip features The Who playing a cover of The Beatles song “Saw Her Standing There” during a filmed rehearsal in 1977.    (more…)

  • John Bonham – Moby Dick Drum Solo 1973 Live Video

       One of the main reasons Led Zeppelin was such a huge live band was because of the incredible drumming of John Bonham. His drumming style was huge and bombastic which really added to the entire feel of the Led Zeppelin experience. He also had a great feel for playing the proper drum fill in the perfect place in any song.   (more…)

  • Jeff Beck & Tal Wilkenfeld – Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers Live Video

       Jeff Beck is my very favorite guitar player of all time. I love his playing style and the amazing sounds he gets out of his Fender Stratocaster. He has recently been playing with an excellent live band that features the very talented Tal Wilkenfeld on bass guitar. Tal is 23 years old and has already played bass with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

       In this video clip from the 2007 Crossroads Festival Jeff is performing his beautiful song “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” in which Tal takes and extended bass solo. You can see that she really knows how to play and is continuing to get better on the bass guitar. I hope you enjoy this clip as much as I did.    (more…)

  • Joe Satriani – Flying In A Blue Dream (Live In San Francisco)

       What can I say about the amazing Joe Satriani. He is truly a guitar god and one of the finest live guitarists on the planet. This video clip is from his excellent live concert DVD “Live In San Francisco” which also features bass god Stuart Hamm.

       This song, Flying In A Blue Dream, is the first song off the album of the same name. Flying In A Blue Dream is an album that changed my entire approach to the guitar and this song kicked off that album. I’ve always loved it and in this video clip, Joe is in his finest form. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did.    (more…)

  • Stuart Hamm – Bass Guitar Master Playing Bass Solo

       Stuart Hamm is one of the finest bass players I have ever heard. He is amazingly skilled on the bass guitar and he also has mad skills as a live musician as well. The thing I like most about Stuart Hamm is his ability to play the bass with such great feeling. He has the flashy licks and can play as fast as anyone but I believe his strength is in his ability to inject true emotion into his bass playing.

       In this video clip you can hear a perfect example of what I’m talking about at the beginning of the clip. The little piece he plays moves and swells with great feeling. Then of course he starts horsing around but to his credit, it makes for a great show.

       This video clip is from a concert Stuart did with Joe Satriani and is from the “Joe Satriani – Live In San Francisco 2001” DVD. Stuart plays bass in Joe’s backing band when he’s not doing studio work or performing with his own band. If you listen to the audience it may sound like they’re booing but they’re really saying “Stuuuuu!!!” because they enjoy it so much.     (more…)

  • Steve Vai Demo Video For The Jemini Distortion Pedal

    Jemini Distortion Pedal by Steve Vai and Ibanez
    Jemini Distortion Pedal by Steve Vai and Ibanez

      If you’re a guitarist playing in a live band, then no doubt you’ve searched high and low for killer distortion pedals. Today I’m posting up a video of Mr. Steve Vai himself doing a demonstration of his Signature Jemini Distortion Pedal which he designed with Ibanez. Get ready, because killer playing ensues on the video!

       This video had me laughing out loud several times as Steve cracks jokes with himself. I’m not kidding you, there are two Steve Vai’s in this video and they even play an amazing guitar duet. I thought the “Jack Butler” reference from the movie “Crossroads” was pretty hilarious. Whoever did the video editing is a genius and Steve does a fantastic job interacting with himself in the video. So grab a snack, settle in and get ready to laugh and be blown away by Steve Vai’s incredible guitar (and acting?) skills!    (more…)

  • Eddie Van Halen Live Guitar Solo Circa 1983

       There are very few live guitarists that can compete with Eddie Van Halen. He is truly a master of the electric guitar. This video is from a live DVD made around 1983 and features Eddie doing his live solo at one of the high points of his career. It’s just plain fun to watch him go crazy on his Frankenstein Strat. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Eddie Van Halen!!    (more…)