ADVERTISEMENT

If you could put together your dream band for a one time show who would it be ...

This is how I feel about Joe Satriani. I'm amazed what he can do with his instrument, and can watch him on concert videos for extended times, but can I actually sit down and listen to his guitar fret gymnastics, well no, not for an extended period of time

I agree !! What’s crazy is guys like Satch and Stevie Vai can be so amazingly melodic players . I personally like both these guys better when they slow down because they’re so tasty . I feel like the still have to appeal to their Guitar gymnastics, million note a second crowd which is cool but it’s not my thing . Vai has a song called “Tender Surrender” that is absolutely gorgeous. However , half way into the song he just goes into shred la-la land and it just kills the song for me . Check it out , you will hear what I’m talking about . Guys like Jeff Beck and Gary Moore (RIP) could play blazingly fast but they used it so sparingly that it Just made it jump out so much more when they did it . To me Eric Johnson is just the perfect blend of all of it !!
 
  • Like
Reactions: redrogers
I agree !! What’s crazy is guys like Satch and Stevie Vai can be so amazingly melodic players . I personally like both these guys better when they slow down because they’re so tasty . I feel like the still have to appeal to their Guitar gymnastics, million note a second crowd which is cool but it’s not my thing . Vai has a song called “Tender Surrender” that is absolutely gorgeous. However , half way into the song he just goes into shred la-la land and it just kills the song for me . Check it out , you will hear what I’m talking about . Guys like Jeff Beck and Gary Moore (RIP) could play blazingly fast but they used it so sparingly that it Just made it jump out so much more when they did it . To me Eric Johnson is just the perfect blend of all of it !!
I'm just going to make one last statement, because I don't want to completely hijack this thread.
For those in the know, and for those who don't know, Eric Johnson is a consummate musician and whether you are into the "guitar gods" frame of mind or just interested in great musicianship this is someone worth checking out
Hey, if Chet Atkins respects your talent, I'm completely on board.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: redrogers
Ok I see you mentioned Jordan Rudess . Here’s my question ?? Do you actually enjoy LISTENING to Dream Theatre ??! As a musician I’m completely dumbfounded by what they can do and it’s completely utterly mind blowing but would I actually listen to Dream Theatre on a road trip or around the house ?? Probably not . I watch live videos and I’m literally stunned watching them pull off some of the stuff they do but it’s just not my thing . I love guys like Rush , The Police , Early Genesis who did some insanely complex stuff but to me it was still very musical . Sometime Dream Theatre just gets a little over the top for me . What do you think ??
Yes and No. :) Honestly, the only record I listen to consistently is "Images and Words" from 92. Do I sit around listening to every record? No but when I am in that mood, those guys can play like nobody....First time I ever heard them I was just amazed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goose cock
We already have the perfect band.
Joe Biden and the Cornpops
"I still cant remember what I'm looking for "
" sweet sniff the child of mine "
"Hey Joe, where you going with that inhaler in your hand."
 
  • Like
Reactions: importcock
Yes and No. :) Honestly, the only record I listen to consistently is "Images and Words" from 92. Do I sit around listening to every record? No but when I am in that mood, those guys can play like nobody....First time I ever heard them I was just amazed.

scenes from a memory is one of my all timers...
 
Agree totally with Steve Perry vocals....no one has pipes like him. and by the way no other bands music will stand the test of time like journey....I hear more of there songs now on the radio than I did in the 80s!!
 
Agree totally with Steve Perry vocals....no one has pipes like him. and by the way no other bands music will stand the test of time like journey....I hear more of there songs now on the radio than I did in the 80s!!
This is so true.
 
Going to go in a slightly different direction and pick some guys whose talent stands along with the many greats who have been mentioned in this thread but who don’t appear to have been mentioned yet here (my apologies if I missed some that have already been mentioned). I’ve also tried to keep two members from the same primary band out of the list, which eliminates some good names. If I had gone heavy jazz (only a couple included), the list would’ve looked totally different.

Vocals: Corey Glover, dUg Pinnick (both are rooted in gospel/blues with a hard edge)
Guitar: John 5 (if you enjoy Satch/Vai and love some country licks thrown in, listen to his stuff w/his backing band, the Creatures), Guthrie Govan; honorable mention to Paul Gilbert or Nuno Bettencourt
Bass: Tony Levin, Chris Squire (Jaco Pastorius got one mention elsewhere but would have been here otherwise)
Drums: Ginger Baker, Mike Portnoy
Keys: Chick Corea
Flex: David Ragsdale (current violinist in Kansas... classical-inspired solo material is really good)
 
I'm just going to make one last statement, because I don't want to completely hijack this thread.
For those in the know, and for those who don't know, Eric Johnson is a consummate musician and wether you are into the "guitar gods" frame of mind or just interested in great musicianship this is someone worth checking out
Hey, if Chet Atkins respects your talent, I'm completely on board.

Couldn’t agree more . EJ is just an absolutely genius . I got to see him live twice last year and was absolutely floored both times . He’s not from this planet . Also one of the nicest most humble dudes ever . I got a chance to talk to him for a few minutes after a show and he was just so kind even though it was obvious how bad I was fanboying !! Lol . I’ll tell ya , if you love EJ if you ever get a chance to see Eric Gales live don’t miss it . I think Gales is the best guitarists on the planet right now . If he’s touring anywhere close you gotta go see him . He’s absolutely insane .
 
Couldn’t agree more . EJ is just an absolutely genius . I got to see him live twice last year and was absolutely floored both times . He’s not from this planet . Also one of the nicest most humble dudes ever . I got a chance to talk to him for a few minutes after a show and he was just so kind even though it was obvious how bad I was fanboying !! Lol . I’ll tell ya , if you love EJ if you ever get a chance to see Eric Gales live don’t miss it . I think Gales is the best guitarists on the planet right now . If he’s touring anywhere close you gotta go see him . He’s absolutely insane .
Thanks for the tip, I'm always wanting to explore other artists I'm not familiar with.
BTW I had to read this twice, as there was a jazz guitarist back in the 70-80's named Eric Gale.
 
Thanks for the tip, I'm always wanting to explore other artists I'm not familiar with.
BTW I had to read this twice, as there was a jazz guitarist back in the 70-80's named Eric Gale.

Same guy . His story is quite amazing . He was a teen prodigy in the 80s and 90s and right when he started blowing up he ended up going to prison . He had a bad drug problem and to make a long story short he lost everything . When he got out he went straight and has been on fire ever since . Here’s a famous video with him and Joe Bonamassa from a with years ago it’s absolutely insane . Fast forward to about 4 minutes in . It ridiculous

 
Going to go in a slightly different direction and pick some guys whose talent stands along with the many greats who have been mentioned in this thread but who don’t appear to have been mentioned yet here (my apologies if I missed some that have already been mentioned). I’ve also tried to keep two members from the same primary band out of the list, which eliminates some good names. If I had gone heavy jazz (only a couple included), the list would’ve looked totally different.

Vocals: Corey Glover, dUg Pinnick (both are rooted in gospel/blues with a hard edge)
Guitar: John 5 (if you enjoy Satch/Vai and love some country licks thrown in, listen to his stuff w/his backing band, the Creatures), Guthrie Govan; honorable mention to Paul Gilbert or Nuno Bettencourt
Bass: Tony Levin, Chris Squire (Jaco Pastorius got one mention elsewhere but would have been here otherwise)
Drums: Ginger Baker, Mike Portnoy
Keys: Chick Corea
Flex: David Ragsdale (current violinist in Kansas... classical-inspired solo material is really good)

Wow glad to see Tony Levin and Guthrie . Guthrie is absolutely absurd . If god created the perfect guitarist it’s Guthrie Govan . Never in my life have a seen a guy who could play bebop jazz , Slide , Bluegrass flatpicking , funk , Fusion , blues , shred and do it so perfectly . Everything he does is just insane . I never even knew he played slide and i saw a YouTube video that would make Derek Trucks proud . Guthrie is not human.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Goose cock
Ok here’s the line up :
2 Vocalist
2 Guitarist
2 bassists
2 drummers
1 keyboard
and a flex ... basically any instrument of your choice

Think both in terms of performance and musicality

Vocals ; Robert Plant and James Brown
Guitar: Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmore
Bass: Bootsy Collins and Victor Wooten
Drums: John Bonham and Ike Stubblefield
Keys : Stevie Wonder (who else)
Flex : Miles Davis

who ya got
You cant have john bonham in there, he can only play with zeppelin and would only screw up anyone else
 
Ronnie James dio vocals
John petrucci guitar
Guthrie govan guitar
Gaddy lee Bass
Derek Sherinian keyboards
Neil peart drums

I’ll play the tambourine.
 
Ok I see you mentioned Jordan Rudess . Here’s my question ?? Do you actually enjoy LISTENING to Dream Theatre ??! As a musician I’m completely dumbfounded by what they can do and it’s completely utterly mind blowing but would I actually listen to Dream Theatre on a road trip or around the house ?? Probably not . I watch live videos and I’m literally stunned watching them pull off some of the stuff they do but it’s just not my thing . I love guys like Rush , The Police , Early Genesis who did some insanely complex stuff but to me it was still very musical . Sometime Dream Theatre just gets a little over the top for me . What do you think ??
Since I mentioned Portnoy in my list, I’ll weigh in on this as well, FWIW. I love Dream Theater and would absolutely sit and listen to them (I think I have all their albums except When Dream and Day Unite, their debut). However, there are only a few albums that I would listen to start to finish. Images and Words, Metropolis 2000, and the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence suite are all amazing as full bodies of work. Other albums I choose selectively from, songs like Voices from Awake and Lines in the Sand from Falling Into Infinity (the latter album was panned for the record company’s meddling to push them in a commercial direction, but LitS is just straight ahead powerful hard rock... and Doug/dUg Pinnick, who was on my list as a vocalist, sang backup on the tune). Stuff like The Astonishing I didn’t get, and other albums like Octavarium, Train of Thought and Systematic Chaos each usually have two or three songs that are in my regular rotation when I listen to them. Live (I’ve seen them a half dozen times or so), they are unparalleled, although James Labrie pre-vocal chord paralysis was a totally different singer twenty years ago.

I love Tony Levin not only for King Crimson but also for the Liquid Tension Experiment, DT’s instrumental side project. Would love to see Portnoy get back together with Rudess, Petrucci and Levin for one more album.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redrogers
Agree totally with Steve Perry vocals....no one has pipes like him. and by the way no other bands music will stand the test of time like journey....I hear more of there songs now on the radio than I did in the 80s!!
There’s a reason he’s called “the voice”. He arguably the best male
vocalist ever.

(Michael McDonald is also a excellent choice for vocals. ‘Blue-eyed soul’.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: stackems
Since I mentioned Portnoy in my list, I’ll weigh in on this as well, FWIW. I love Dream Theater and would absolutely sit and listen to them (I think I have all their albums except When Dream and Day Unite, their debut). However, there are only a few albums that I would listen to start to finish. Images and Words, Metropolis 2000, and the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence suite are all amazing as full bodies of work. Other albums I choose selectively from, songs like Voices from Awake and Lines in the Sand from Falling Into Infinity (the latter album was panned for the record company’s meddling to push them in a commercial direction, but LitS is just straight ahead powerful hard rock... and Doug/dUg Pinnick, who was on my list as a vocalist, sang backup on the tune). Stuff like The Astonishing I didn’t get, and other albums like Octavarium, Train of Thought and Systematic Chaos each usually have two or three songs that are in my regular rotation when I listen to them. Live (I’ve seen them a half dozen times or so), they are unparalleled, although James Labrie pre-vocal chord paralysis was a totally different singer twenty years ago.

I love Tony Levin not only for King Crimson but also for the Liquid Tension Experiment, DT’s instrumental side project. Would love to see Portnoy get back together with Rudess, Petrucci and Levin for one more album.

portnoy is on JP’s new album. Look up terminal velocity.
 
Since I mentioned Portnoy in my list, I’ll weigh in on this as well, FWIW. I love Dream Theater and would absolutely sit and listen to them (I think I have all their albums except When Dream and Day Unite, their debut). However, there are only a few albums that I would listen to start to finish. Images and Words, Metropolis 2000, and the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence suite are all amazing as full bodies of work. Other albums I choose selectively from, songs like Voices from Awake and Lines in the Sand from Falling Into Infinity (the latter album was panned for the record company’s meddling to push them in a commercial direction, but LitS is just straight ahead powerful hard rock... and Doug/dUg Pinnick, who was on my list as a vocalist, sang backup on the tune). Stuff like The Astonishing I didn’t get, and other albums like Octavarium, Train of Thought and Systematic Chaos each usually have two or three songs that are in my regular rotation when I listen to them. Live (I’ve seen them a half dozen times or so), they are unparalleled, although James Labrie pre-vocal chord paralysis was a totally different singer twenty years ago.

I love Tony Levin not only for King Crimson but also for the Liquid Tension Experiment, DT’s instrumental side project. Would love to see Portnoy get back together with Rudess, Petrucci and Levin for one more album.

Nice !! Well said . I recently discovered Polyphia . Have you checked them out . Those kids are absolutely ridiculous. Super weird but from a musical standpoint their insane . The drummer is just unreal .
 
No fantasy band. Got to be an original group. Nothing more tiring than when they try these superstar "jams" on stage. For some reason they always seem to include Bruce Springsteen. But usually is awful with all the superstars trying to hog the mic and TV time.
 
Going to go in a slightly different direction and pick some guys whose talent stands along with the many greats who have been mentioned in this thread but who don’t appear to have been mentioned yet here (my apologies if I missed some that have already been mentioned). I’ve also tried to keep two members from the same primary band out of the list, which eliminates some good names. If I had gone heavy jazz (only a couple included), the list would’ve looked totally different.

Vocals: Corey Glover, dUg Pinnick (both are rooted in gospel/blues with a hard edge)
Guitar: John 5 (if you enjoy Satch/Vai and love some country licks thrown in, listen to his stuff w/his backing band, the Creatures), Guthrie Govan; honorable mention to Paul Gilbert or Nuno Bettencourt
Bass: Tony Levin, Chris Squire (Jaco Pastorius got one mention elsewhere but would have been here otherwise)
Drums: Ginger Baker, Mike Portnoy
Keys: Chick Corea
Flex: David Ragsdale (current violinist in Kansas... classical-inspired solo material is really good)
Chick Corea has speed runs on the piano that are so clean , he can send you into an epileptic seizure! I saw him and had to hit the lobby for a few.... my mind was completely blown! Hey was with Lionel Hampton, and the precise musicianship was beyond what I could comprehend!
 
No fantasy band. Got to be an original group. Nothing more tiring than when they try these superstar "jams" on stage. For some reason they always seem to include Bruce Springsteen. But usually is awful with all the superstars trying to hog the mic and TV time.

I couldn’t disagree more . Some of the coolest musical moments I’ve ever seen were impromptu superstar jams . Here’s just a few that stand out to me .


 
  • Like
Reactions: Kuga1414
Same guy . His story is quite amazing . He was a teen prodigy in the 80s and 90s and right when he started blowing up he ended up going to prison . He had a bad drug problem and to make a long story short he lost everything . When he got out he went straight and has been on fire ever since . Here’s a famous video with him and Joe Bonamassa from a with years ago it’s absolutely insane . Fast forward to about 4 minutes in . It ridiculous

I was thinking Eric Gales too... did some good work recently with Pinnick Gales Pridgen (two studio albums). There is an Eric Gale (no s) who was a jazz guitarist as well. Died a number of years ago IIRC.
 
I was thinking Eric Gales too... did some good work recently with Pinnick Gales Pridgen (two studio albums). There is an Eric Gale (no s) who was a jazz guitarist as well. Died a number of years ago IIRC.

i don’t get Gales nor Bonnamassa Neither belong in a conversation of Guthrie, Paul Gilbert, petrucci, Tommy Emmanuel etc.
 
Vocals - Phil Collins, Bono
Guitars - Billy Gibbons, Eddie Van Halen
Bass - Leon Wilkerson, Sting
Keyboards - Billy Powell, Daryl Hall
Drums - Keith Moon, Charlie Watts
Flex - Clarence Carter, Ian Anderson
 
i don’t get Gales nor Bonnamassa Neither belong in a conversation of Guthrie, Paul Gilbert, petrucci , Tommy Emmanuel etc.
Gales is a self-taught blues player, sort of rough around the edges and not a “technical” player, so he’s not really in the same stratum (although he’s quite good... give a listen to a version of Custard Pie that he, Matt Tutor and Derek Trucks did on a House of Blues tribute album to Zeppelin... good stuff). Bonamassa is a more technically gifted player than Gales but could never be a hyper-technical shredder type (Tommy Emmanuel is in his own class and is an amazing technician of a different type). Their virtues are greater or lesser depending on what type of band you’d want to start.

Although Gilbert and Govan are both accomplished slide players (I think Gilbert’s personal Ibanez Fireman guitars have magnets mounted in the lower bouts under the pick guard for a clip on slide), I could think of a bunch of guys I’d build around if I were starting a hard-core blues band. Of course, Gales and Bonamassa would look like fools if you plopped them down in Dream Theater, The Aristocrats or Racer X, and Govan, Petrucci and Gilbert would do a passable job regardless of what type of music you asked them to play. Although it may not be totally accurate, I consider the three of them great musicians and great guitarists, but guys like Gales are just great guitarists.
 
Last edited:
Nice !! Well said . I recently discovered Polyphia . Have you checked them out . Those kids are absolutely ridiculous. Super weird but from a musical standpoint their insane . The drummer is just unreal .
Thanks for that recommendation... had not heard of them but did some listening last night. They’re definitely good!
 
Thanks for that recommendation... had not heard of them but did some listening last night. They’re definitely good!

Yeah at first it’s really hard to digest but when you really listen the stuff is insane . Those kids are ridiculously talented .
 
i don’t get Gales nor Bonnamassa Neither belong in a conversation of Guthrie, Paul Gilbert, petrucci, Tommy Emmanuel etc.

Yes and no . I would argue that it would be hard to put anybody in a category of Guthrie , Gilbert , Petrucci etc etc on sheer technique . However none of those guys play with the same soul and passion of Gales and Joe B . Guthrie maybe but he’s not from earth so he doesn’t count. It’s kinda like comparing Yngwie or Eddie to Gary Moore or David Gilmore . Its really impossible to compare because they all have something completely ... them, I guess . I’ve always been a fan of guys like Eric Johnson or Andy Timmons that have a foot in both worlds .. super melodic but amazingly technical also .
 
Here is a candidate for most haunting vocals. LOVE this guy. He is a friend of mine from way back....Love his solo stuff (Matthew Ryan) but this is with Hammock under the name The Summer Kills....Cannot tell you how much I love this cat's music...
 
Yes and no . I would argue that it would be hard to put anybody in a category of Guthrie , Gilbert , Petrucci etc etc on sheer technique . However none of those guys play with the same soul and passion of Gales and Joe B . Guthrie maybe but he’s not from earth so he doesn’t count. It’s kinda like comparing Yngwie or Eddie to Gary Moore or David Gilmore . Its really impossible to compare because they all have something completely ... them, I guess . I’ve always been a fan of guys like Eric Johnson or Andy Timmons that have a foot in both worlds .. super melodic but amazingly technical also .

true. EJ is awesome and Timmons tone is as good as it gets. Gales and Bonammassa remind me of me sitting in my bedroom playing pentatonic scales repeatedly.
 
true. EJ is awesome and Timmons tone is as good as it gets. Gales and Bonammassa remind me of me sitting in my bedroom playing pentatonic scales repeatedly.

I love joe but he 90% of what he does is straight form Eric Johnson . In joes defense he openly admits this!! He’s 100% a EJ fanboy . Gales is just another animal . Some of the stuff he does is insane . He has a lot more of a soul and gospel influence than the others . Listen to it this and see if I can change your mind .

 
2 Vocalist - Freddie Mercury, Stevie Nicks
2 Guitarist - Slash, Eddie Van Halen
2 bassists - Gene Simmons, Dean Feldber
2 drummers - Tommy Lee, Phil Collins
1 keyboard Elton John
1 Flex - Boy George
 
Vocs: James Brown/Van Morrison. Guitars: Duane Allman/Charlie Christian. Bass: Ron Carter/Allen Woody. Keys: Bill Evans. Drums: Buddy Rich/Elvin Jones. Flex: Coltrane (who else?)
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT