Rolling Stone Magazine Article From 1982

ken01fan · Post by **ken01fan** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:43 pm

EVH was the first to put tapping on vinyl, but he DIDNT invent it! I saw Steve Lynch [Autograph] once at a seminar he was giving. I talked with him personally after the course,because my Randy Rhoads T-shirt sparked a conversation. He swore to me that he was tapping before he knew EVH. And to add to his proof he played "eruption" with ONE hand

He really respected Randy and said he still had alot to show the world. He also said Randy hated his solo spotlight on "suicide" except for the classical stuff. He said Randy only played the tapping and fast licks because thats what the kids wanted to hear.

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:47 pm

ken01fan wrote:EVH was the first to put tapping on vinyl, but he DIDNT invent it!

Ace Frehley was tapping in 1975... Zakk didn't invent the pinch harmonic, but it became his signature.

Randy often said he hated the solo spots because it was all flash to impress the kids and he preferred being musical over being flashy.

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:59 pm

Rudy Sarzo wrote:The most unusual thing about Randy was the fact that he didn't have to play copy material to survive. So he didn't have the same background as a lot of players who have to go out and do disco, blues, or Steely Dan music. Randy didn't need that because he had been teaching for about ten years. Instead of going out to play clubs, he would teach and make excellent money. So his playing influences are unusual--mainly classical music and late '60s, early '70s English rock guitar players. Later on he came to really admire Gary Moore and Eddie Van Halen. Those were his top two guys. By the time he got to England, he was not like a typical American guitarist who has influences of R&B, country, and things like that, because he never played that.

Randy Rhoads wrote:I have a lot of influences from everywhere. I like a lot of classical music and blues rock. As far as the classical, I just like it. I think it's a real technical thing. I wouldn't call myself an accomplished classical player at all, though. Again, I never had the patience to go through it. I wish I could be good at it.

There are many great players. Eddie Van Halen is great--I don't want to get near competing with people like him. I love Allan Holdsworth's playing. He's got a lot of great jazz scales. Andy Summers of the Police is definitely unique. Pat Metheny does some great acoustic stuff. John McLaughlin is technically great, but his is not one of my favorite styles. Leslie West was very important to me. He has a great feel. He is powerful and moody. I like Earl Klugh. Jeff Beck can do anything--he can play one note and it's great. Ritchie Blackmore was great; I loved his expression. I love B.B. King. I like Michael Schenker's and Steve Lukather's playing a lot. I also like Ronnie Montrose, especially with Edgar Winter. I like the way he bends; I could never bend like that. I liked all the English players in the '70s who used a lot of vibrato.

rice_pudding · Post by **rice_pudding** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:10 pm

i sure have missed a lot...

well, for the record i've got nothing against EVH, i think he's a great guitarplayer/musician.

as for a rhoads signature...hmmm... well you could pinpoint his use of scale shapes and use of certain notes for creating/releasing tension... there are a couple o things like that but do they qualify as sig's - damned if i know.

personaly i think randys signature of such went beyond a specific technique you can pin down... to me at least you can just tell when its randy playing just like with Jeff Beck... he's mixed in more genres than most yet you can hear him a mile off

Post by **The Flying Dutchman** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:59 pm

RockyRhoads wrote:
The Flying Dutchman wrote:
RockyRhoads wrote:Tapping is Ed's signature,
You forgot something...
What? Like the whole innovative whammy bar thing that nobody else could do before Ed perfected it and inspired Floyd Rose to create a locking nut?

I'd need a whole new thread to talk about Ed's innovations that changed guitar playing as we know it.

As with Randy, Ed's signature was his whole playing:

-the whammy bar technique you mentioned
-Tapping
-tremelo picking
-Harmonics
-False Harmonics (a little facet in his playing that became one of Zakk's trademarks)
-extending pentatonic scales with chromatic figures
-he's use of Marshall amps (dummy load setup, variac, I strongely suspect Randy copied that, at leat the variac for Blizzard )
-his great dynamic unique live sound
-his upstroke rythym playing unlike downstrokes most people do

And I may very well forget some things.
Ed's playing was one of a kind. (imo

)

But some say he copied from Jef beck and Allan Holdsworth.....

Post by **skezza** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:59 pm

You could say the three note per string riffs that Randy put in solos such as Mr Crowley were something I like to associate his name with. I am not trying to swing this argument in any direction, but just a thought.

Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:04 pm

skezza wrote:You could say the three note per string riffs that Randy put in solos such as Mr Crowley were something I like to associate his name with. I am not trying to swing this argument in any direction, but just a thought.

One of Randy's trademarks but Ed already did that too, one thing I forgot.

Listen to some solos on VH1.....

Listen especially to "I'm on fire" solo on VH1. You hear a lot of 'Randy' there.
Same 3 note runs Randy used in his concert solo and Mr. Crowley, second solo.
btw Listen to the brigde before the "On fire" solo and you'll hear where Randy got his "Steal Away" riff from.

CHI-TOWN2 · Post by **CHI-TOWN2** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:48 pm

again...the VH material is dated...their songs are simplistic..this upcoming reunion i keep hearing about ...geez...50 year old has-beens singing about sex and girls and partying

...as with all artists, theres maybe a 3-5 year window of relevance....after that, they are yesterdays news. Randy's material is timeless....he was a serious musician and it shows in his playing and writing.

deansolo · Post by **deansolo** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:03 pm

The Flying Dutchman wrote:
RockyRhoads wrote:
The Flying Dutchman wrote: You forgot something...
What? Like the whole innovative whammy bar thing that nobody else could do before Ed perfected it and inspired Floyd Rose to create a locking nut?

I'd need a whole new thread to talk about Ed's innovations that changed guitar playing as we know it.
As with Randy, Ed's signature was his whole playing:

-the whammy bar technique you mentioned
-Tapping
-tremelo picking
-Harmonics
-False Harmonics (a little facet in his playing that became one of Zakk's trademarks)
-extending pentatonic scales with chromatic figures
-he's use of Marshall amps (dummy load setup, variac, I strongely suspect Randy copied that, at leat the variac for Blizzard )
-his great dynamic unique live sound
-his upstroke rythym playing unlike downstrokes most people do

And I may very well forget some things.
Ed's playing was one of a kind. (imo )

But some say he copied from Jef beck and Allan Holdsworth.....

Hey Dutch! You forgot about Ed having a footswitch on the motor of his Echoplex...where he could stop the motor and let it slow down naturally...decreasing the pitch way beyond what a whammy bar at the time could do,.... then turn it back on and let the speed, and pitch, ramp back up.

Great trick!

frank · Post by **frank** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:09 pm

holy cow. i bait paul with a provocative statement and all hell breaks loose. how manipulative of me!
listen guys, let's just agree to disagree.
this thread is played out.

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:39 pm

frank wrote:holy cow. i bait paul with a provocative statement and all hell breaks loose. how manipulative of me!
listen guys, let's just agree to disagree.
this thread is played out.

Come on Frank, it was fun... I didn't have much to do today so I got to annoy some folks with my witty banter...

By the way, do you think Randy had any "signature" licks in his repertoire?

NicDots · Post by **NicDots** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:46 pm

Tapping was around way before VH. I've seen a classical guitarist do it...that was in a video from the early 70s I believe. It's not a totally new idea.
Randy and EVH might have used similar techniques, but their writing style is so completely different. Two different animals in the same zoo, as they say.

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:50 pm

Both Ed and Randy did that harmonic tapping (playing a chord and tapping each individual note an octave up to produce a bell-like chime) thing, did anyone else do it before them?

Randy did it in his QR solo spot and Ed did it on VH2, I believe it was on Women in Love.

Jeepman · Post by **Jeepman** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:04 am

RockyRhoads wrote:
Come on Frank, it was fun... I didn't have much to do today so I got to annoy some folks with my witty banter...

Annoy...yes. Witty....not so much.

Sarab · Post by **Sarab** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:28 am

Holy Crap! I go to bed early last nite, and log on late today, and look at all I have missed!
Frank.... you have lots of 'splaining to do mister.....