I’ve been reading a lot about trying to improve lead guitar solos. Reading theory, scales, modes, ear training and improv. All that stuff. I was giving the advice by some musicians that to get better, I should learn guitar solos from other cover songs note for note, so I can get musical and get a better ear. Sorry, but I disagree. I would probably stay away from learning guitar solos from other cover songs. My plan is, I’m just going to learn the theory stuff, get better at ear training and come up with my own style of lead guitar soloing.

I’m never going to play the “Stairway to Heaven” or Jimi Hendrix tunes note for note. Yes, I’ll still play cover songs, I’ll play the rhythm parts of the songs note for note, but the guitar solos on cover songs, I’ll make the solos sound like that I wrote it.

I think it’s better if you want your own style, your own sound. Don’t copy from anything else. Don’t play like Jimmy Page, Hendrix or Clapton. You want to sound like you. I’m trying to have a good ear with music and practicing ear training, it’s getting better for me.

I’m trying to be a better guitar player and doing the best I can to make it happen. I would consider myself an intermediate guitar player. I’m not even close to the advanced/pro level yet, but I hope to get there soon. I want to prove people that I can be a good musician.

I should be getting, “Band In a Box 2011” software soon. I’ll be able to make my own jam tracks with that software and that’ll be perfect practice for jamming on guitar solos. The main reason I’m trying to improve as a guitar player ’cause I want to get a band going. When I get a band, I’m probably going to do all guitar work myself, play both rhythm and lead. I’ve been spending so much time on guitar, it’s all I’ve been doing lately.

Kev

I posted this in a facebook status yesterday:

“I don’t play music for fame, popularity and money which so many musicians seems to be obsessed with playing music for. I play music for the passion of it. To enjoy myself and be happy. Just wanted to put that out there.”

There are too many unsigned musicians and bands these days, wanting to make it to the big time or become well known or make lots of money playing music. That stuff maybe nice, but like I always say, I honestly don’t care about any of that shit. I’ll repeat myself, I play music for me. To be happy and be proud of something I’m doing.

Bands shouldn’t worry about fame, popularity and money too much, when it should be about the love of music.

Kev

So you wonder. Why don’t I play more gigs? Why don’t I make a real album? Why don’t I sign to an indie label, go on US tours with my music? The answer is simple, guys. I just don’t care!!!! I never cared for popularity, fame or money, and bands/music artists seems to be obsessing with that stuff lately. Yes, I can understand musicians want to get their music heard by as many people as possible but honestly, musicians need to not worry about that stuff too much.

I never really cared about opportunity in music. Never cared about bringing my music to the next level. I never had that kind of ego if you have noticed.

Sure, I like getting my music heard and I like getting new fans. I would like to get a band going and get a CD made, all that stuff myself someday. The reason I didn’t do any of this yet is because I don’t want to get so ahead of myself. In other words, not rushing things.

The thing is, music is just for all in good fun for me. It’s my passion and in my blood. If I don’t get all the success and popularity, that’s fine. I’ll just continue to do what I do. Write songs, play my guitar, and rock out. Bands in facebook are desperate for popularity and wanting to get known.

That stuff maybe nice, but you need to worry about your own music and not worry about publicity. Writing songs is pretty much all I care about, it’s a drug to me.

The reason I’m writing this post is because I’ve been wrongfully criticized and judged by other bands, that I just sit at home and do nothing while other bands go out there getting success. Proves my point that you bands out there have the biggest egos I’ve ever seen.

I feel that I’m a successful musician if I continue to write the songs that I’m proud of writing. If I don’t get to play a big festival or don’t get to open for a famous band, that’s okay with me. Screw that shit. It makes me happy enough just writing the songs, putting them out there and having people listening to it.

I don’t have the rock star attitude. I do music for myself, plain and simple.

Kev

I love Blu Ray discs. I would love to start collecting them. If I did, I would only buy the movies on Blu Ray’s that are my favorite films. The reason is, Blu Ray movies are very expensive. As a matter of fact, I have already started a Blu Ray collection but only own 2 so far. They are “WWII in HD” and “Memento – The 10th Anniversary Edition”. I didn’t buy “Memento”. It came to me in the mail for free, since I helped promote this company that wanted me to spread the word about the “Memento 10th Anniversary” screening. The company gave me two copies of the “Memento” Blu Ray. One to keep for myself, and the other to give away for a contest for my site, which I will plan something soon. I will play a trivia game on any random Christopher Nolan movie. Not just “Memento”, any of them. The first person gets the questions right will be an immediate winner of the Blu Ray. I will start this contest very soon, just got to plan out instructions, rules, and questions.

Yes, sometimes movie companies mail me free things after helping promoting for them in this blog. I don’t do this blog for money, but I don’t mind getting free DVD’s or Blu Ray’s from  movie companies which has happened before. I got a free “Family Guy – Season 6” box set for helping them promote the 100th episode in this blog.

See, this is another reason I blog. Hoping to attract the attention of the  movie business and Hollywood, and it’s slowly working. This is one of the reasons I don’t give up what I do. My goal with this site, is I hope this site will be more like “Deadline.com” or “AICN”, yes, I’ll admit it, I’m kind of competing with them a little bit. Hoping this site will one day get national exposure. I’m not afraid to say that.

I’ve even gotten “Exclusive” news items like once or twice before in the past.

Back to the topic of Blu Ray’s, while I would like to start buying them someday, that still doesn’t mean I will give up DVD’s. I will continue to buy DVD’s if I want to blind buy a movie I haven’t seen which I continue to do. Blu Ray’s are very nice and impressive, definitely better than DVD, but they are too pricey, but the price on Blu Ray’s are fair since I’m sure it was pricey for them to make.

I will videotape the “Memento” contest, so I can prove that a movie company really did sent me this. It will come soon.

Kev

I was gonna do this on video, but then I figure it would be better to do it here instead.

Yes, I still seem to be getting haters on the internet, but that’s okay with me. Some people make the mistake that I might be upset or pissed off that people talk trash about me online in a hateful manner, but to tell you the truth, it doesn’t bother me. It used to bother me in the past, but I’ve been dealing with haters for so long that it’s gotten to the point where I get used to it. So now, I’m used to it.

It’s just people with nothing better to do. They just go online, go around the internet, looking for quotes that I say to make fun of or laugh at. They pick out things I write whether it’s on here or twitter or in youtube. People even like Rayford Faulkner go as far as making videos to talk trash about me. It’s also mostly musicians online that go around to find things to laugh at about me.

Look, if you were a real musician or whatever, then you’ll just concentrate on your own thing but nope, you’re just this bored and obsess with me instead. What’s wrong with that picture? I don’t care what people think or say about me. I’m better than that. All I care about are two things: 1) Working out at the gym 2) Playing my guitar. That’s it.

Sure, I’m not always right all the time of the things I say in this blog. I’ll admit it, I say stupid things sometimes that I shouldn’t have said but hey, we’re not perfect, right? Everybody says stupid and wrong things all of the time. It’s pretty normal.

Most of the things I say on here, I mean well. I will always support the 1st Amendment and Freedom of Speech. I will always stand behind it and will always support it.

From the Constitution itself:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Learn it, live it, support it. I know Freedom of Speech works both ways, so if you want to hate me, go for it. As Charlie Sheen would say, I would say his quote in my version, “You’re either on Team Brock or you’re with the trolls”.

I too have been a target where people make nasty lies, rumors about me that are not true. I try my best to  destroy the nasty internet tabloids, but they just keep coming.

I got good things going, I’m a pretty happy guy these days and prefer to keep it this way. Internet trolls will not bring me down, although they try, so keep trying. My life isn’t perfect but nobody’s perfect.

I’m just a guy that enjoys speaking my mind. That’s just me. That’s what I blog for to publicly express myself. It’s good for the mind. That’s all I have to say about this for now.

Kev

Just so you all know, Charlie Sheen will be having his own radio show online and for Sirius radio tonight at 9:50 which I will be listening. You can watch the interview, here at Ustream.

I’ll be listening as I’m sure it will be a laugh riot and entertaining. Can’t wait!

The blog’s been slow today because not much to post. Not much inspiration. So I spent some time playing my guitar most of the day, doing some reading and played some Black Ops online. Yep, pretty much a boring Saturday today so I’m just trying to keep myself busy to kill time. Today is my day off and relaxing from the gym.

I will be watching SNL with Miley Cyrus tonight too.

Kev

Why should all guitar players learn improvisation/ear training and music theory? The answer is very simple. So you can be called, an actual “musician”. I’ve known plenty of bands and guitar players that aren’t good with this stuff, even though they claim they are good at it. There are too many guitar players that uses an electric tuner to tune with the electric guitar with. Tuning by ear is the way to go, in my opinion. Learning how to tune the guitar by ear, without a tuner is very easy. Not that hard as you think. All you gotta do is memorize the sound in your head by humming along to it or whatever. That’s what I’ve been practicing on, learning how to tune the guitar by ear because one day you’re going to need this.

There are also too many guitar players that uses chord charts and guitar tablature to play guitar on. The point of practicing ear training and improvisation is learning things without guitar tab. Being able to play what you hear on the guitar.

I know very few guitarists out there in this area who are actual “musicians” and can play just about everything they hear. The fact is that ear training and improv is the most under practiced skill of guitar players. Sad but true, think about it. I bet if you walk up to any guitar player, to talk about the 7 modes and how chords work, they won’t know what you’re talking about.

I’ve been accused of being an amateur guitarist many times and been called that I’m not a true musician. Well I got something to prove. I’m going to learn and get better, to prove everyone wrong that I will be an actual “musician”.

I’m seriously learning this stuff folks. Buying books from the store, reading about music online, and practicing on my guitar at home. You can tell in the newest audio tracks I’ve been posting lately that I’ve been getting better. It feels good to learn music again.

Kev

Studying music theory & scales/modes, all that stuff, is so easy, even a little kid can learn it all. I wished I learned music theory when I first started playing guitar and I would have been a much better guitarist now. Theory is interesting stuff, and if you want to be called, an actual “musician”, you have to learn this stuff. You are not a real musician if you don’t know theory.

Most people make the mistake that famous guitarists like Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton, all use complex stuff in their lead guitar playing but not really. Those guitarists I just mentioned, use the simple and basic scales like most guitarist uses: the typical minor pentatonic scale and various blues scales, using modes to go along with them. Randy Rhoads uses a lot of Phrygian stuff in his solo playing. Why? Because Phrygian is a good mode for classical and metal, both. Randy is a classical guitarist, that’s how he always played his electric. Jimmy Page uses Pentatonic scales in almost everything. See? Nothing too complicated.

After I learn all this theory stuff, I would be able to come up with my own style of lead guitar soloing. I would be able to figure out what scales & modes is best for me to use. I really am trying to focus on my playing. I would like to be respected as a guitarist, so if I wanted to be respected as a real musician, I figure I’d get my shit together and learn better guitar. Go from amateur to pro. That’s my dream that I’m trying to achieve.

I’m enjoying myself and it’s feeling good. If I want my own band one day, this is another reason why I need to get better.

Kev