Stevie Ray Vaughan
During the years I lived in Christchurch, New Zealand I often went to a club on Madras Street known as the Southern Blues Bar. Although I had doubtless heard Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble on the radio many times before 1996 I became more aware of his work at the Southern Blues Bar. The house band there were incredibly talented musicians in their own right and the lead singer wore an SRV strap on his guitar. The band did a number of good SRV covers during their sets as well.
Vaughan played a style of music best described as Texas Blues. Comprising a fusion of blues and hard rock underscored with his unique swing and groove Vaughan has a unique tone and deeply emotive style that has grown and grown on me over the last 16 years. A lifetime of practice would still leave me well short of this man's gifted musical style and complete dominance of the fretboard. Stevie has an uncanny knack of producing loud, clean, rolling riffs and it seems he can create feeling and tone from a series of notes that would sound discordant at anybody else's hands.
I particularly identify with Stevie as several years before his tragic death in a helicopter crash he had faced down and beaten problems with alcohol and cocaine abuse. After intense rehabilitation he emerged a whole and deeply spiritual ascetic man. He is well deserving of his real and everlasting sobriety and I pray that he is resting in peace. Stephen Ray "Stevie" Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American guitarist,vocalist, songwriter, and a notable recording artist. Often referred to by his initials, SRV, he is best known as the leader of the blues rock band Double Trouble, with whom he recorded four studio albums. Influenced by guitarists of various genres, Vaughan emphasized intensity and emotion in his guitar playing, and favored vintage guitars and amplifiers. He became one of the leading blues rock musicians, encompassing multiple styles, including jazz and ballads. Born and raised in Dallas as the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan, he moved to Austin at the age of 17, and formed the band, Triple Threat Revue, that evolved into a band called Double Trouble, in 1978. Accompanied by drummer Chris Layton, bassist Tommy Shannon, and later, keyboardistReese Wynans, Vaughan became an important figure in Texas blues, a loud, swing-driven fusion ofblues and rock. Despite the breakthrough success of Double Trouble's debut Epic album, Texas Flood (1983), Vaughn entered a period of alcohol and drug addiction. In 1986, he successfully completed rehabilitation and released the album In Step in (1989). On August 27, 1990, while departing a concert venue by helicopter in East Troy, Wisconsin, Vaughan was killed when the helicopter crashed into the side of a ski hill. His death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as 3,000 people reportedly attended his public memorial service in Dallas. Vaughan was highly rated and is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He has received critical recognition for his guitar playing, ranked at #7 on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists" in 2003. He ranked #3 on Classic Rock magazine's list of "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes" in 2007. Vaughan won six Grammy Awards, including Best Contemporary Blues Performance for In Step. Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000 and won five W.C. Handy Awards. As of 2012, Vaughan has sold over 11.5 million albums with Double Trouble.
David Gilmour
The first two albums I ever bought were AC/DC, Back in Black and Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon. Gilmour soars on DSOM and my appreciation for his style simply grew the more I heard. I have collected all the Pink Floyd albums over the years and I have some of his solo works as well.
David is the master of understated completeness, with barely a handful of notes he phrases and soars, taking me on a journey of the mind with his music.
David Jon Gilmour,[1] CBE, D.M. (born 6 March 1946) is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It is estimated that as of 2011, the group has sold over 230 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million units sold in the United States.[2]
In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charities over the course of his career.
In 2003, he was appointed CBE for his charity work and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.[3] In 2011, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him No. 14 in their list of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Tommy Emmanuel
I first saw Tommy Emmanuel along with his brother Phil performing live in Sydney in 1986. Tommy is probably the best fingerpicker in the world today. He takes guitar music beyond impossible to the sublime. His rendition of "Classical Gas" has to be seen to be believed and I also really like his version of Guitar Boogie.
William Thomas "Tommy" EmmanuelAM (born 31 May 1955) is an Australianguitarist and occasional singer, best known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar PlayerMagazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their readers' poll.[1] In June 2010 Emmanuel was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride and Joy
David Gilmour - Marooned
Tommy Emmanuel - Classical Gas
