It’s highschool, the early 90’s and we have some free time during our music/choir class. My best friend an I would bust out our guitars and jam to whatever we felt like. Some songs were just made up others were the pop songs of the time. I remember playing “Tears in Heaven” quite a bit and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” for my friends. Brings back good memories of my Jr and Sr year in HS. But there was one song that was our the top request, especially the girls. If you played guitar in the early 90’s ,this was a must. Can you guess it?! It’s an essential part of the GenX guitarist repertoire.

As I wrote in the video description, if I had a dollar for everytime…. HA! But not complaining at all. It was a blast and fond memories of my early guitar and musical endeavours.

Question: What GenX classics do you remember that were staples back in the day and what are the “More than Words” songs of today that all guitarists need to know?

Making the switch

Was thinking about using cradle style capos instead of the Kyser spring loaded ones. I liked the aspect of being able to move my capo above the nut when I’m not using it; easy access and storage. I saw that Billy Strings does the same thing and it made sense. I found out that he uses Elliot Capos and I’m sure they make a fine capo but I’m not going to spend 200+ dollars on one. Settled on the D’Addario cradle capo and so far so good. I noticed that my intonation with this capo is better than with the Kyser.

Ditch the Kyser capo?

I won’t be ditching my Kyser capos. I love them and for the amount of guitars I have, they are more economical than the cradle capos. I will be using the D’Addario for my upcoming shows and the Kyser will be the backup. The biggest lesson is to always have a backup!

Note: I was able to fix my Kyser capo after comparing it with my others.

For Immediate Release

Hercules Castro of Colorado Springs Named a Finalist in International Guitar Competition Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition Centerpiece of Guitar Player Live! Weekend Celebration September 11-13

• Brendon Small to Host Competition; Judges Include Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson’s guitarist), Elliot Easton, Greg Hampton, and Steve Lukather
• San Bruno, CA (August 11, 2009) — Now in its fifth year, Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar competition will be the centerpiece of Guitar Player LIVE!, a 3-day celebration of guitars, music, and gear presented by the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center in Livermore, California, east of San Francisco, on Saturday, September 12, 2009.
• Ten finalists have been selected from among hundreds of entries to battle for the international title of “Guitar Superstar.” Across the globe, hundreds of “unknown” guitarists of all ages and styles answered the call to post their best performances at sonicbids.com. Ten finalists were chosen to perform onstage in front of a live audience and a panel of world-famous guitar stars that includes Elliot Easton (The Cars), Jennifer Batten (guitarist for Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck), Steve Lukather (Toto), and Greg Hampton, (producer of Alice Cooper, Ronnie Wood, Lita Ford). Host of this year’s big event is Brendon Small, (co-creator of Adult’s Swim’s Metalocalypse animated series).
• The celebrity judges will evaluate each original performance, and rate each contestant on technique, creativity, charisma, and overall vibe, and, at the end of the night, the 2009 Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar will be crowned, along with two runner-ups.

• Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition 2009

• Jim Fuselli, rock critic of the Wall Street Journal wrote about last year’s competition: “…I admired the contestants. With their reputations on the line in front of Mr. Satriani, Mr. Vai and the other judges, they performed with conviction.”,
• Vicki Genfan, the reigning Guitar Superstar, will perform at the competition before handing over her crown, and will also play on Sunday, September 13 at 3 pm along with Laurence Juber and Jennifer Batten.
• “It’s a dream to launch a weekend-long celebration of guitar with Guitar Player LIVE! and our fifth Guitar Superstar event,” says Guitar Player Editor in Chief Michael Molenda. “If you’re a guitar zealot, it’s like some 6-string Woodstock—total badass madness, from Friday night’s opening Shrapnel Records concern starring Richie Kotzen, Michael Lee Firkins, and Chris Duarte, to bands rockin’ hard all along the Livermore plaza, to Guitar Superstar on Saturday, to Sunday’s Triple Threat Guitar show with GPGS 08 champ Vicki Genfan, Jennifer Batten, and Laurence Juber.”
• The ten finalists, representing a wide range of guitar styles ranging from rock to country are: Dave Benzinger, Brodie Cumming , Brian Davidson, Hercules Castro, Danny Jones, Steve Langemo, Steve Senes, Krisz Simonfalvi, Doug Towle, and Jeff Zampillo. The contestants will perform with the GPGS house band Thud Factor, music directed by Bass Player Editor Jonathan Herrera.
• All ten contestants receive an all-expenses paid trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. The winner, First Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up of the event will receive custom trophies and complete gear packages. The champion will receive a feature article in Guitar Player magazine and prizes from event sponsors—including Harman International–Digitech, Mesa Boogie, Taylor Guitars, D’Addario, Planet Waves, GBase, Line 6, Sennheiser, Washburn, Randall and Gallien Kruger.
• The competition takes place Saturday, September 12, 2009, 8:00 p.m. at the Bankhead Theater, Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, 2400 First Street, Livermore, California. Admission $23.00. Tickets can be ordered online at www.bankheadtheater.org or call 925-373-6800.

• Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition 2009

  About the 3-day Festival:

• Guitar Player LIVE! includes concerts at the Bankhead Theater and free performances by well-known regional bands and exhibitor endorsees on four outdoor stages. Another highlight will be an exhibition of Bill Owens’ photographs commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Altamont Raceway Free Concert. To cap off the festival evenings, several local taverns and restaurants will also host local band performances, and the Vine Cinema will feature a special run of classic and cult guitar films.
• • Shrapnel Records Guitar Night Friday, September 11 at 8 p.m.
  • Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition Finals Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m.
  • Triple Threat Guitar – Featuring Laurence Juber, Jennifer Batten, Vicki Genfan Sunday, September 13 at 3 p.m.

  For packages, call the box office at 925-373-6800.

  About Guitar Player magazine:

• The Music Player Network of publications for musicians performing and producing music includes Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, and EQ magazines and related websites, TV, enews and events. For more information please visit www.musicplayer.com. Music Player Network is a division of NewBay Media, LLC.

Remember when alternative music was actually an alternative to popular music? As “alternative music” grew in popularity, by merit of terminology, one would have expected the label to change to “popular music”. But it did not. Nirvana, for example, was one of the most popular acts in the world, but they were still labeled “alternative”. Go figure. Now when someone refers to “alternative music”, I have no idea what they are talking about.

Along these lines is the phrase “Thinking outside of the box”. There was a time when this meant to think differently, more originally, from a fresher perspective. These days, it has become more of a catchphrase. It seems that everyone is thinking outside of the box. So if we want some different, fresh and original thinking, maybe we should get back in the box.

I thought that would be an amusing introduction to this entry, although tying the two together will be a stretch, at best.

Today’s topic is two-tiered. First, I’d like to talk about stepping out of your comfort zone, which I guess could qualify as “out of the box” thinking. Second, I’d like to talk about use of the pentatonic scale for blues applications. This one will plant us firmly back in the box. Why a discussion on both? Mainly because I just had a unique experience that got me thinking about both. I’ll share.

My background is heavy metal, shred-style guitar playing. My main influences have names like Van Halen, Vai, Malmsteen, Gilbert, Kotzen, etc… So when a friend approached me to sit in with his country/classic rock band for a party, I said “Oh, Hell no”. Not because I take issue with those styles. I have a lot of respect for players in those genres. My concern was that I would sound silly trying to squeeze in harmonic minor 64^th note runs, sweeps, taps and divebombs over “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (anyone remember the “Johnny B Goode” scene in “Back to the Future”?)

However, after some consideration, I started thinking that this might be a good opportunity to hone my skills by trying something I never would have bothered with, left to my own devices. Besides, I know the blues scale, and that’s pretty much all you use in country/classic rock, right? Well, I’m happy to say that that is not correct at all.

One of our songs was “Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits. A quick listen reveals some pretty cool lead work, complete with some quick runs, which is right up my alley. But after diving into it, I found some very unusual tonal structuring, intricate phrasing, and to my horror, finger-style picking. Another song we did, “Smooth” by Carlos Santana, actually featured some extensive harmonic minor work. This surprised me. In both cases, yes there was some pentatonic, bluesy lead playing going on, but there were other things happening that made it very interesting.

Long story short, I learned the songs (more or less), played the gig, it was fun, and I walked away with a new appreciation for musical styles I hadn’t really thought about previously. But best of all, I’ve got some new licks and techniques under my belt.

The moral of the story: It’s a good thing to throw caution to the wind every now and then. Step out of your comfort zone, and you’ll be rewarded with a fresher perspective and some new tools. You don’t necessarily have to love the material, you don’t even have to use what you gain, but it might just be the thing to bust out of a rut or amp up your technique to make you just that much better.

P.S. For all of you more evolved (older) players out there: Yes, I know that Santana and Knopfler influenced all of the guys who influenced me. You can feel all good that you knew that before I figured it out. Good job. Now get off my case or I’ll take your fiber and pill dispensers away from you. : )

Next week: Pt 2 – How to apply the pentatonic scale for happy blues and mad blues.

You can find out more about Hercules and his music at www.herculescastro.com or  his MySpace profile