The Key to Learning Two-Handed Tapping on Guitar

I’d been trying to learn two-handed tapping on guitar due to liking bands like Don Caballero and Maps and Atlases, this great new-to-me band Adebisi Shank, Marnie Stern, Hella, etc, and of course Van Halen etc but could never figure it out. I watched this video http://www.jamplay.com/guitar-lessons/full/basics-of-tapping-111.html and it taught me what I was missing! Basically, I was missing that you can “flick” the string to play a note you’re holding down, and you can flick it at a different fret than the note you’re currently fretting, at a fret that you’ll play later–so say you’re holding down the 3rd fret on the high e string, you can flick the high e with your right hand finger at the 12th fret to play the string, it will play the note of the fret you’re holding down such as the 3rd fret, then you can hammer on the fifth fret with your left hand, then with your right hand you can press down at the 12th fret or whatever for a cool two-hand tap triplet of the 3-5-12 notes. Anyway, I had been missing that “flick” motion to play notes, I had though you were supposed to sound certain notes by just hammering on, but the “flick” while actually holding down the note actually sounds a lot better. I would try to just hammer on say a 3rd fret instead of flicking the string first and it wouldn’t sound good or wouldn’t make any noise at all!

Picture of Ian Williams from:

Drive Like Jehu covered by…The Deftones????

I am a huge Drive Like Jehu fan…surprisingly, the Deftones (I always think of them as some nu-metal band I wouldn’t like) have come out with what I think is a pretty good cover of the Drive Like Jehu song Caress!!! I mean, I wish Rick Froberg and John Reis would rock out like this still! Part of the key is, they never, ever had another band with a drummer as colossally good as Mark Trombino…

Fucking Champs – Flawless Victory

Here’s another live video–

the Fucking Champs — Flawless victory (12/31/05) live at the Bottom of the Hill! (from the album: The Fucking Champs – III )

For good measure, here’s Voivod playing Inner Combustion and Nothingface…

Sesame Street Grindcore

There are some pretty sweet Sesame Street/Muppets death metal mashups floating around. Enjoy!

High Speed Dubbin–Prog Metal from Santa Rosa, CA

Here it is, I found this flier of the band High Speed Dubbin. Here’s the text:

“Averaging 21 years old in age, this Santa Rosa quintet’s hyper metal alternative rock are sonic assaults heavily influenced by the splendor of the cannabis revolution.

Their influences vary and cover bands like King Crimson, Rush, Bad Brains, Tool, and Primus. Chris Justin plays a five string lefty bass, Matt Hardwick, half Hawaiian and half Mascalero Apache, plays drums, Eric Carlson is the musical guitar prodigy and Eric Rosenbaum, a body piercer and tattooist, leads the attack with his throaty vocals. Their full length debut album is due for release in July with the band doing promotional touring in May and June, so watch for their show dates in your local paper. Look for their songs on the soon to be released St. Kilda compilation, Patron Saint of Pariahs.

1996 St. Kilda Records”

Looks like a Rob Hazelton exeutive produced the compilation, which didn’t have any High Speed Dubbin songs.
Okay, if you were in the band or are someone who knows anyone from the band, please leave a comment/e-mail me! I saw a great show they played at a co-op, Casa Zimbabwe, and heard a tape of a King Crimson cover they did, it was all very good!

Here’s a larger copy to preserve for posterity:

Meshuggah – Obzen, Combustion and Voivod

Obzen–the soundtrack to floating abandoned in space (“Forgotten in Space”) , or the soundtrack to the construction of the Death Star. Like Voivod’s Nothingface on steroids. Seemingly impossibly, it’s like the best parts of Voivod, Fucking Champs, Tool, King Crimson, Godflesh, etc. Possibly the most sci-fi thing I’ve ever heard. This is heavy metal/prog metal…but the secret is that with all of the crazy polyrhythms, this is really dance music…

Meshuggah – Combustion (Couldn’t find a real video, this is a fan-play along, but is still great)

Meshuggah – Rational Gaze

Meshuggah guitarist and other drummer–medley

Their new album Obzen is very good. Some parts are as compelling to me as Voivod’s Nothingface. They’ve got lots more winding technical riffs than on some of their other stuff, as if they’ve taken in lots of Fucking Champs and Red and Larks Tongue era King Crimson and Voivod. The bass and incredible tight double bass-filled drumming especially remind me of a lot of the drumming in Voivod’s Nothingface album, as well as some of the discordant riffs, along with some Dimension Hatross, Killing Technology-like parts. Some of it is even like Voivod’s Phobos album.

Can’t wait to see Meshuggah on tour!

And yes, Voivod rule (for their seminal prog-metal/math-metal trilogy Killing Technology, Dimension Hatross, and Nothingface, as well as the 17-minute long prog opus “Jack Luminous”!!!

Obzen review, Decibel Magazine:

““This Spiteful Snake” doesn’t only nod to the stage name of Voivod’s frontman, but perhaps unsurprisingly recalls the Canadian legends as well, beginning as a perfect mid-point between Dimension Hätross and Nothingface, before slamming on the bass-brakes, to the point where you’re reminded more of Swans or Neurosis than anything within thrash metal’s legacy. “Pineal Optic Glands” continues the Voivod space-thrash mood, before “Pravus” explodes to bring this particular phase of the album to an end.”

To counterbalance all this harsh music you might want to listen to some oldies music!

He Likes Voivod Nothingface as Much as We Do (and Slint does)

Clank the Robot plays many Voivod Nothingface songs perfectly…

Here’s some of his tab!

LAST CRACK–BLOOD BROTHERS

I’m a huge fan of Voivod, and the Fucking Champs, and Don Caballero…but none of them match this guitar work (Last Crack – Blood Brothers)!!! The highest pinnacle of complicated technical metal ever. Last Crack 4-Eva!!! There are some great tunes on both Last Crack albums…way underrated!!!

People, more pick squeals please!!!

Also, see and hear the amazing Last Crack – Burning Time album here!!!

I’ll post links to Wicked Sandbox, Precious Human Stress and Love Craig soon…I’m convinced they are parallel universe-ly related to Drive Like Jehu’s Caress and Sinews (riffs mirror those from Wicked Sandbox and Precious Human Stress) and Luau (riffs mirror those of Love Craig), must be some parallel-universe musical coincidence that makes sense only to me…although I WAS RIGHT ABOUT SLINT’S SPIDERLAND AND VOIVOD NOTHINGFACE (see Dave Pajo playing with Slint live, wearing a Voivod shirt below)

Long Thaw: Awesome Rock Spawn of Boyjazz, Stay Gold Pony Boy, Caza Zimbabwe/CZ

Long Thaw rules!!! Here’s their Myspace page. Heavy metal, post-punk, prog rock, indie spawn of Boyjazz, Stay Gold Pony Boy, the Casa Zimbabwe/CZ Berkeley co-op rock dynasty. That’s an awesome see-through guitar Andre!!! Great songs!!!

Lot’s of awesome riffs and twists and turns in Long Thaw’s music…very creative music, like the song European Ambulance! Here’s a review in the San Francisco Bay Guardian: Long Thaw: Feels Like the First Time.

Tour? Other music by Andre: Generalissimo.

This makes up for the fact that I never got a video tape of that High Speed Dubbin show at CZ (anyone)?

The High Speed Dubbin that was supposed to have an album on St. Kilda records and had a Hawaiian drummer and were from Santa Cruz…and sounded like a mix between like King Crimson, Slayer, and Trenchmouth or something!

Ululate – Super Awesome Chinese Black Metal

I lived in China for almost 5 years. I saw lots of bands: some decent, lots mediocre, and a few amazing. But of the amazing, one stood out from the rest….the mighty ULULATE. I was at the show below, and it rocked unbelievably hard. Crank up your computer speakers and fire up this video!