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The Legend of Guitarist Jason Becker
2007-10-09 21:35:00
Hey ATOMIC fans. We all just play guitar, but Jason Becker was (is still) musically gifted. Even at 18-years-old the man was as good as any of the top neo-classical and metal guitarists today. Put it this way. He would have given Steve Vai a run for his money skill wise. At 19 (1989), Jason Becker started breaking into the mainstream spotlight by going on tour with the David Lee Roth Band. In that same year, Becker came down with Lou Gehrig's Disease, which degenerated his body to the point where he could only move his eyes. Today Jason Becker copes with his illness by visiting a spiritual guru. He has learned to communicate words with his eyes alone. Believe it or not, he still composes music. If you saw what kind of shape he's in today, you'd think it's amazing the guitarist didn't give up on life already. But Becker still has his family, his mind, his friends, and fans. Although Becker will never again be able to play guitar, we'll always remember him and more ...
More About: Guitarist , Legend

Beethoven Rocks Hard Guitar Jam
2007-10-08 20:37:00
ATOMIC fans, today I rocked out some of Beethoven 's "Fur Elise." I find it hilarious. Beethoven rocks really hard on guitar. Play MP3.
More About: Guitar , Hard , Rocks , Oven

Like What You Like, Guitarist
2007-10-08 18:20:00
What's up ATOMIC fans? Everyone's a music critic. You can think of specific groups of critics as music/guitar politicians. We have guitarists who will tell you everything sucks but Pink Floyd and Hendrix, or Marilyn Manson and Mudvayne, or Steve Vai and Malmsteen, or the Silver Sun Pickups and Modest Mouse, or Nirvana and Green Day, or Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, you get it. Point is... don't let guitar and music critics determine what you play on your guitar. You couldn't please all of them if you tried. For example, say all your friends are die-hard Phish and String Cheese fans, but you like tunes with a little more edge. If you break out some Tool on your guitar, you'll probably see some bad looks. But if you were playing for another crowd, they would totally dig it. Same goes with music listening. If you like Alan Jackson, rock out some Country. Okay... You feel me? You're going to get criticized for whatever style of music you play on your instrument. So just do ...
More About: Advice , Guitarist

The Record Industry is Like a Bunch of Nazis
2007-10-08 02:36:00
Jammie Thomas, a single mother in Minnesota, was recently taken to court by the music industry and successfully sued for $222,000 (for illegally downloading 1,702 songs on Kazaa). And if she knew it was illegal, she deserved it. However... "First, thanks to the win, the RIAA will start gunning for even more P2P users, and two, the record industry thinks ripping tracks from a CD to your computer is theft. ?When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song,? testified Jennifer Pariser, an exec at Sony BMG." I am above the law! What a crock. If I want to rip some Metallica onto my computer and upload it onto my iPod, I'm going to do it. The record industry is worse than the Chinese government. This is even ridiculous for me to blog about. How much sense does it make? It may become illegal to upload songs from CDs I bought onto my own computer for personal use. First the death of free guitar tab, now this kind of crap. I swear. ...
More About: Industry , Opinion , Record , Nazis , Cord

Funny John Petrucci Videos
2007-10-07 20:05:00
These videos are from John Petrucci's Rock Discipline, except a guy name Adam has dubbed his voice over them. If you've seen Rock Discipline or know Dream Theater, this might crack you up.
More About: Videos , Funny , John Petrucci

Hook Up a Guitar Blogger Month
2007-10-07 19:45:00
ATOMIC fans, October should be "Hook up a Guitar Blogger Month " (internationally) because of the special service we provide to the internet, words from our big blogging mouths. At least once this month, do something for a guitar blogger. We deserve it for our dedication to talking so much about guitar that it makes some want to jump off a 20-story balcony. You can reply with what you did below. "Be the change you want to see in the world (Do cool things for guitar bloggers)." -Mahatma Gandhi Here's a list of guitar blogs I just hooked up with some traffic from a social media site. I love these blogs. I mean to do this on a daily basis, but it slips my mind. Only takes 10 minutes or so. Guitar Noize IG Blog Strat-O-Blogster Guitar MX Play Like a Girl Guitarz Guitritus Building the Ergonomic Guitar Electric Guitar Review Guitar Novice Truth in Shredding Thumbrella Music Ramble The Soul of Rock and Roll Guitar Lifestyle GuitarToyBox GuitaroJam News Music Gadgets The Guitar Chan...
More About: Hook Up

Punk Rock Feva Guitar Jam
2007-10-07 17:41:00
I have punk rock feva today, ATOMIC fans. I'm pretty sure I ripped someone off with this progression and some of the melodies, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe Bad Religion... Here's my punk jam: Play MP3
More About: Punk , Guitar , Punk Rock , Rock , Punk-Rock

Top 3 Gift Ideas for Guitar Players
2007-10-07 03:42:00
Christmas and Hanukkah right around the corner, you may or may not have a gift in mind for the guitarist or aspiring guitar player in your family. First I would like to say that you should buy online because for one, it's cheaper, two it's easier to shop for presents all at once at an online store such as Amazon. Here I have for you the Top 3 Gift Ideas for Guitar Players in your family, whether it be your son, daughter, mom, dad, or anyone else. Everything on this list is reasonably priced and top quality. They'll love any one of these. 1) A Subscription to JamPlay Video Guitar Lessons Whether your family member is a beginner, intermediate, or advanced guitar player, he/she'll love JamPlay. JamPlay is a reservoir of quality video guitar lessons created by professionals. A one-month subscription is only $20, while private guitar lessons are sometimes up to $50 per hour or more. Not only will he have access to top-notch guitar lesson videos, he'll be able to interact one-o...
More About: Advice , Gift Ideas

My Attempt at Metal Guitar Jam
2007-10-06 20:51:00
I'm not much of a Metal head, ATOMIC fans. But today I felt like using my Metal Zone pedal to actually play something that somewhat resembles Metal. Not even in Drop D, but I like this progression. Maybe you Heavy Metal guitarists out there can give some feedback. Hear it.
More About: Guitar , Temp

Do You Practice Guitar So Much That You Suck? What?
2007-10-06 04:52:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. My gal's having a girls only evening, so I thought I'd jump on here and pull a late night blog post sharing my opinion (my opinion... which you have definitely either grown to hate or love by now). A ton of "pro guitarists" practice so much guitar that their songs are rigid and without feeling, unless you like excessive amounts of cheese. I've been guilty of it myself (although I don't consider myself a pro). If you have no life, how are you supposed to get in touch with your music? The goal with writing music isn't to make it a sport or a blasting ground for all 250 exercises you practiced today. When you're out of touch, you're not going to touch anyone but maybe others like yourself who practice 10 hours per day. The reason behind putting your guitar down and having a life is to get away from being so mechanical and move toward expression you get from life experiences, that will then translate into potent, fulfilling music once you pick up your gui...
More About: Guitar , Opinion , Practice , Suck

"I Need $750 To Fix My Truck" Guitar Jam
2007-10-05 22:31:00
Well ATOMIC fans, I found out today that I need $750 to fix my truck! At least it's only those rodder (sp?) thinggys and new tires. Still pretty bad. So I rocked this out on my guitar, calling it "I Need $750 To Fix My Truck ": MP3
More About: Guitar

Teen Guitarists, Drugs are Bad Mmkay
2007-10-04 21:17:00
This one goes out to ATOMIC teen guitarist fans. Drugs don't make you better at guitar, they 1) Kill you, 2) Make you a loser, 3) Screw up your physical and mental health. What sparked this post was the recent news I got about an old guitarist friend of mine. In high school he was hooked on alcohol and weed, then coke, then X, then meth, then in his late teens and early 20s he shot heroin. After abusing his body all that time, his heart gave out in his sleep (the other day). R.I.P. old friend. Love ya brotha. At least 80% of old jam buddies and band members of mine did drugs. I remember back in the day a friend of mine ODed in the middle of a jam session. Luckily paramedics arrived in time to revive him (he had been dead for 10 seconds). Another friend of mine was late to a gig one night because he had nodded out and ran his car directly into a telephone pole. He survived it by luck. Some of my old friends are better off than others, but drugs have had a negative effect ...
More About: Advice

Velvet Underground Tribute Guitar Jam
2007-10-04 00:58:00
Here's a little tribute to the 1960s punk, rock, acid rock, (one of the most influential bands in history) the Velvet Underground . I kind of stole the two-chord progression and a couple Mixolydian ideas from VU's song "Sister Ray." But this is pretty much my own adaptation on the song all together. Hear it.
More About: Guitar , Tribute

Jazz/Shredder/Tech Rock Guitarists Just Don't Get It
2007-10-04 00:07:00
My lesson 6 Legato Dorian Guitar Speed Exercises got 800+ hits today, having been picked up by a social media site (apparently tons of guitarists liked it because it's pulled in around 2,000 hits in the past week). Along with the enormous amounts of traffic, I got a smug e-mail from a "guitar guru." I got the typical: "You're giving bad advice. These exercises will make guitarists only develop their left hands." I also got that the recordings are of bad quality and my guitar's intonation needs to be set differently... yada yada. You Jazz ers, Shredders, and Tech Rock ers just don't get it. We Alternative, Punk, and Rock guitarists KNOW your guitar work is technically more difficult than ours. We don't care. I don't like elevator music, Michael Angelo Batio(ish) cheesy garbage, etc. I like the sound of legato more than shredding. Yes, I'm also a lazy guitarist. I sometimes teach others how to play lazy too. I like simple, rockin' guitar work. Is that too hard to unde...
More About: Opinion

O.J. Simpson Stabbed My Head Guitar Jam
2007-10-03 01:39:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. I recorded this soft clean tune tonight while having a bad headache, which I'm calling "O.J. Simpson Stabbed My Head (in C Major)." Hear MP3
More About: Guitar

Van Halen Rocked Philadelphia
2007-10-02 22:23:00
Van Hale n rocked Philadelphia last night on their reunion tour. Were you there and was it everything you thought it'd be? Updated: This might actually be some video footage from last night! At least the YouTube page claims...
More About: News , Van Halen

Octavepuss Guitar Jam
2007-10-02 03:32:00
I have a whole lot going on today with work and freelancing, so I have just this short octave(ated) guitar melody called "Octave puss." Click me - MP3
More About: Guitar , Puss

Traffic Tool for Guitar Bloggers
2007-10-02 00:52:00
I recently became friends with some of you other guitar bloggers out there. I just want to give you a quick heads up about the new BlogRush. It's that widget on the bottom sidebar of ATOMIC. The famous internet marketer John Reese created it and it's great for driving free targeted traffic to your guitar blog. It'll actually work on any website with an RSS feed and in any niche. Whenever someone visits your site you get a credit for your guitar blog. Your posts' titles will be displayed on another music/guitar site within the widget. Spread the word. Talk to you later.
More About: Guitar , Traffic , Tool , Bloggers

Yay I Still Have a Job Guitar Jam
2007-10-01 20:53:00
Man, today has been the crappiest day. I got accused of fraud at work, but I was able to prove I'm not a bad guy, so my job is safe. Problem was with the system... Anyway, this simple, happy punkish jam put me in a good mood for a while. I call it "Yay I Still Have a Job." Click here to play MP3.
More About: Guitar

Radiohead's New Album "In Rainbows," Download it for a Penny
2007-10-01 19:49:00
Radiohead is releasing their new album In Rainbows on the 10th. You can pre-order it here. Uh... Radiohead is letting fans download In Rainbows for any price they choose? Not kidding. This could be mean one of many things: 1) Radiohead is frustrated with illegal downloading and are giving up. 2) They think they might actually make more money from hardcore friends. 3) This is a publicity stunt. Personally I never jumped on the Radiohead bandwagon because I'm not down with the lead singer's girly voice, but hey, I dig the guitar work and instrumentals. Even the vocal melodies aren't bad. But the singer gets on my nerves. Anyway, I'm sure In Rainbows will be a brilliant album by the English rock gods. You can get it for .01 plus whatever transaction fee you might have with Google Checkout or whatever they're using. Is it just me or do wussy, intellectual singers annoy you too?
More About: News , Download , Album , Adio

Michael Vick Should Have to Fight Randy Couture to the Death Guitar Jam
2007-09-30 22:40:00
Here's a little soft, monotonous Sunday guitar jam called "Michael Vick Should Have to Fight Randy Couture to the Death." Click to play.
More About: Guitar , Michael Vick

Girls Suck at Guitar!
2007-09-30 20:55:00
You used to think so. Take a listen to Lori Linstruth, a chick shredder from Sweden. Linstruth writes a guitar blog called Play Like a Girl.
More About: Girls , Guitar , Suck

Lauren from the Hills Should Have a Mohawk Guitar Jam
2007-09-29 18:31:00
I'm calling today's guitar jam simply "Lauren from the Hills Should Have a Mohawk (in D Minor)." Left click to play mp3: The Jam
More About: Guitar , The Hills

Today We Escape, an Upcoming Group
2007-09-28 22:02:00
Today We Escape is an underground group out of Greenville, South Carolina. Been following these guys for a little while now. Their tunes have a nice hybrid of Alternative, Metal, and Riff Rock guitar. Can't get enough of it. I have no doubt if they stay together they'll get noticed by somebody. Keep a lookout for this hot underground band who's pretty much just starting up. The fellas recently released their first album, as far as I know, unavailable on the net or in your local music store. You'll have to contact them at their website contact page or MySpace band page to get it. Take a listen to "Mind of a Criminal" (left click and download) and if you like, hear more Today We Escape songs at their website. Today We Escape is: Harrell Wilson Ligon II, Guitar and Vocals Jared Edge, Guitar Matt McCulloch, Bass Scott Hoffman, Drums
More About: Today , Group , Upcoming , Scape

Silverchair, this is a Straight Crime, C'mon Now
2007-09-28 20:29:00
Warning: this is biased and opinionated (yes, I am a guitar blogger). As young teens, Silverchair blew the hinges off the door to stardom with severely sweet (yet simple) rockin' guitar work on their mid-90s album Frogstomp. Remember "Tomorrow?" That junk was battery acid bad back in the day. Silverchair's career went a little flat after Frogstomp. Their albums weren't doing too well in the mainstream. Lead singer/guitarist Daniel Johns was having some mental issues or something. But who could blame him? He had a rough time being a rock star at 14-years-old. Actually in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Yeah, poor fellow. I would have totally hated being on MTV at 14." But, again, he was just a kid. The older Silverchair has no excuses left. You might already know Silverchair just broke back out onto the scene this year with "Straight Lines." Even when I saw the video I didn't realize it was Silverchair until someone (a teen who I was talking about music to) told me,...
More About: Crime , Opinion , Rime

The Guitar Blogosphere
2007-09-28 20:09:00
As far as I know, the guitar blogosphere is very, very minuscule. Just recently I was able to find a list of "serious" guitar blogs run by cool guitarists/great guys, which ultimately led me to create an ATOMIC Friends blog roll on my sidebar of my front page. Check these out. Feel free to comment below if you have one. Guitar Blogs Strat-O-Blogster Guitar Noize Guitritus Guitar Novice
More About: Blogosphere , The G

I No Like Grey's Anatomy Guitar Jam
2007-09-28 03:57:00
Hi ATOMIC fans. I recorded this guitar jam while my gal's watching the 1st episode of the new season of Grey's Anatom y . Click to play mp3: I No Like Grey's Anatomy Guitar Jam

Is Music Theory for Guitar Important?
2007-09-27 22:17:00
It's widely known that we guitarists get down about our lack of music theory knowledge. Don't dude. Yes. It's important to understand music theory (to a degree) so we can be more creative and venture into areas we never thought we would. Even rock guitarists should seek out music theory at some point in their playing. Signs of Not Knowing Guitar Music Theo ry You might think your songs are different, but truth is you might be playing in the same key all the time (even if you play strictly power chords). You might not be able to solo or create melodies along your entire neck because you don't understand scale and chord relationships. You're always playing the same old guitar tricks, riffs, runs, licks, scales, same sets of chords, etc. You're frustrated because you know you're not reaching your potential. So what can you do about it? Learn: How chords are created from scales How chords are related to each other based on scales Chord names 7 Modes of the Major Scale 5 Mod...
More About: Opinion

What did you listen to growing up that made you want to rock out on guitar?
2007-09-27 02:00:00
The Pre-Teen Years - 90s Alternative and Grunge Era Some of the first albums I had (when CD players became affordable) that first inspired me to play were the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream, Nirvana's Nevermind, Pearl Jam's Ten, the Offspring's 1st album with "Self Esteem," and Soundgarden's black-covered album with "Spoonman." The cranked up filthy distortion alone was enough to make me buy a crappy guitar and amp and start ripping power chords. The Teen Years In the teen years, I went on a tare finding all I could listen to. Some of the notable albums throughout those years were Pavement's Wowee Zowee, Pixies' Surfer Rosa, Phish's self-titled white album, Neil Young's Live Rust, Bob Dylan's Freewheelin', and a whole lot of underground rock albums by artists like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Pinback, and Modest Mouse (when they were pretty much Indie yet still on the Sony label). It wasn't until after these early years that I got into more complex guitar work like ...
More About: Guitar , Rock , Listen , Made , Growing

Guitar Soloing Challenge
2007-09-26 04:00:00
Let's have some fun. Note: It doesn't matter whether you discover this page years from the day it was published. This will be an ongoing challenge, so feel free to participate. I have recorded a New Rock/Alternative style jam track with the chords: E5 F#5 G5 B5 C5 G5 A5 Download this track. 1) Record your solo in your style over it, 2) publish it on the web somewhere (like a MySpace band page), 3) and put a link to it in the comments. 4) Tell your friends about the challenge so they can participate too. To Download File: Right Click Link, Select "Save As" or "Save Link As" Jam Track Here's my rip over it. You can just left click this link to hear it. My Solo I treated the chords as if in the key of Em. I used Em Pentatonic and Em Scale and its Modes.
More About: Guitar , Challenge , Halle