Travis Dickerson Recording Studio Forum

In the other thread we started to talk about the bucketbashing over at the Gibson forum, saying he plays with no emotion. I thought I would start a new thread about it.

Hex pointed out one example here:
This emotion thingy is repeated by Slash fans all over since - ahem, ya know...
 
Just have a look at the Gibson message boards if you want either laugh or cry.
 One example:
http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=11670

Those posts on the Gibson boards blew me away (and probably a few of you too). I have never seen so much hate towards BH. I was getting pretty pissed off reading them. At least a few people came to his defense, I really loved what this guy said...

I suspect that the grumpy old farts of the rock establishment is actually scared of the guy. Much in the same way your parents were scared of the musicians and music you listened to. Scared of anything different. Bucketheads music does not always comply with the ultra conservative rock dogmas that rule so many. Stuck in the same trite licks and the same sounds from 30-50 years ago - now, that\'s grating. How refreshing with someone that isn\'t a clone.

It\'s clear from many anti-buchekthead postings that the authors have never really listened to his music - perhaps had a quick look at a youtube clip or two at best. The fact is that he masters the guitar in so many styles and moods. And the way he plays; he\'s one with the guitar in a way I\'ve not seen before. Someone mentioned that they don\'t like his tone - which of his tones? He covers a spectrum of guitar sounds that is unheard of, including classical rock tones.

I\'m having fun listening to Thanatopsis as I type, an example of a record that all the bashers probably knows nothing about (you won\'t find that album on Youtube). He\'s got more talent in his pinky, as the saying goes, than you lot can ever hope for. And his music and act is often humourous and quirky, not that pretentious wannabe guitar wanking dullards necessarily understand those concepts. Buckethead is for people with open minds and imagination - ouch, that eliminates 90% of the dogma rockers then...

A novelty act? He\'s been playing for around 28 years, released 25 albums or so, contributed on another 50, collaborated with a bunch of good musicians, and he\'s not likely to quit anytime soon. Oh, well ignorance is bliss, it\'s your loss.

It\'s OK to not like a musician, but acting like a bunch of insecure kids, ganging up on the strange guy... well, that only tells me that the strange guy has something unique that the bland masses is devoid of. In any case he\'s not passed by in silence.

All in all, Buckethead is the last rock\'n\'roll rebel!

^that last line says it all!

I\'m not sure there is even a lot to discuss here, we all love Big B and I\'m sure the haters would never lurk around here. After reading those negative comments I hope more than ever now that Buckethead gets a signature model Les Paul so those guys over at the gibson forum can poop their pants.

If someone has an account for that message board, here\'s some quotes to put there:

Dave Mustaine:
But then you see some guy like Buckethead... Buckethead is probably twice as good a guitar player as me and Slash combined, and can stand having fried chicken rubbed up against his face all night for a couple of hours.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=101182

Answer by Slash:
L.A. Weekly: I interviewed Dave Mustaine [MEGADETH] awhile back at Guitar Center Sessions and he sang your praises but then said, "Buckethead [former GUNS N\' ROSES guitarist] is probably twice as good a guitar player as me and Slash combined, and can stand having fried chicken rubbed up against his face all night for a couple of hours."

Slash: Well, that is actually true. Anybody who knows me knows that technically I couldn\'t play my way out of a paper bag. [Laughs] Or a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket, for that matter. I manage to do what it is I do based on a certain kind of feel and sound. I\'m getting better at it but I\'ve never been what you\'d call a technical guitar player so he\'s totally right [laughs].
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.NET/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=106446

Not to forget John McLaughlin (yes, not this one, but we might fool them a bit, ok?):
If you don't know who Buckethead is, you owe it to yourself to check him out. He is the best guitar player alive and he can shred like Joe Satriani, rip like Kerry King (Slayer) or play with feel like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd).   Buckethead is simply amazing!
http://www.examiner.com/x-3323-Denver-Hard-Rock-Examiner~y2009m2d18-Guns-N-Roses--Chinese-Democracy

I\'ve got even more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Guitarists/Buckethead_task_force/Quotes

And of course Rolling Stone on "Electric Tears":
The spacey bleeps and funky wah-wah sounds in "Mustang" would make for a nice Sunday-morning chill-out soundtrack; and six minutes into the plodding "Padmasana," there\'s a piercing ax wail that recalls early David Gilmour.
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/buckethead/albums/album/166189/review/5942311/electric_tears

I think that quote from Slash basically points out why people focus on the emotion thing with Buckethead.  He is obviously supremely talented and so it is pointless to try to argue otherwise.  But saying he plays without emotion (which I certainly think is completely off base) is not something that can really be soundly refuted.  I mean, how do you quantify that?  It gives them something to fall back on that can\'t be refuted in order to claim their favorite guitarist is in some way better than Buckethead.  That said, I will don;t really understand the need to say so and so is better than this other guy.  I don\'t really care where Buckethead ranks on Guitar World\'s greatest guitarists.  I know that he makes music that I get.  In some way (without knowing me or even knowing of me) Buckethead gets me.  His music strikes something in me and blows me away.

These quotes do not only address the emotion claim but also the "don\'t take this guy serious because he\'s got a bucket on his head" arguments.

Another one from Rich Maloof and Pete Prown, from their list of the top 30 speed demons in their book Shred!:

Part of the \'90s generation of funky shredders, the mysterious but brilliant guitarist known as Buckethead continues to amaze all with his blistering runs and earthy fretboard feel. His peers include such soulful technicians as Derek Taylor, Ron Thal, and Scott Stine.

And there\'s the latest issue of Guitar World:
From the extreme violence and atonal brilliance of the Cuckoo Clocks of Hell to the serenity of the mostly acoustic Colma, Buckethead\'s playing encompasses just about every emotion imaginable, including ones that are decidedly nonhuman. Sure he can shred at superhuman speeds but he also coaxes soothing melodies from his guitar that can make listeners weep like children. (source: Guitar World, April 2009)

We of course could let them die stupid but since we\'re nice guys...  

Wow, that Guitar World one is great.  Sounds like Buckethead is finally starting to get the respect he deserves.

Someone posted that on TK a while ago, didn\'t you see it? I today received my issue of the mag and so can confirm it.  

I think BH gets alot of respect and envy from the indusrty. He is respected for his musical ability, independentness and artistic form and probably envied for the same things.

Lots of people in the music industry see a musician like BH and think how can I make money off him? and when he doesn\'t comply they make fun of him. I can\'t find the interview but I remember reading Ozzy talk about BH when he was considering playing with him and since it didn\'t materialize Ozzy made fun of his look. Ozzy has admitted that his whole "satanic" image was a gimmick to sell records, and because he uses gimmicks he probably feels like everyone else does too. He must have bucket-envy because we all know BH is the real deal, not a sell out.

QuoteI can\'t find the interview but I remember reading Ozzy talk about BH when he was considering playing with him and since it didn\'t materialize Ozzy made fun of his look.

I tried out that Buckethead guy. I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the fucking bucket. So I came back a bit later, and he\'s wearing this green fucking Martian\'s-hat thing! I said, \'Look, just be yourself.\' He told me his name was Brian, so I said that\'s what I\'d call him. He says, \'No one calls me Brian except my mother.\' So I said, \'Pretend I\'m your mum then!\' I haven\'t even got out of the room and I\'m already playing fucking mind games with the guy. What happens if one day he\'s gone and there\'s a note saying, \'I\'ve been beamed up\'? Don\'t get me wrong, he\'s a great player. He plays like a motherfucker.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=31127

QuoteIn the other thread we started to talk about the bucketbashing over at the Gibson forum, saying he plays with no emotion. I thought I would start a new thread about it.

Hex pointed out one example here:
This emotion thingy is repeated by Slash fans all over since - ahem, ya know...

Just have a look at the Gibson message boards if you want either laugh or cry.
One example:
http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=11670

Those posts on the Gibson boards blew me away (and probably a few of you too). I have never seen so much hate towards BH. I was getting pretty pissed off reading them. At least a few people came to his defense, I really loved what this guy said...

I suspect that the grumpy old farts of the rock establishment is actually scared of the guy. Much in the same way your parents were scared of the musicians and music you listened to. Scared of anything different. Bucketheads music does not always comply with the ultra conservative rock dogmas that rule so many. Stuck in the same trite licks and the same sounds from 30-50 years ago - now, that\'s grating. How refreshing with someone that isn\'t a clone.

It\'s clear from many anti-buchekthead postings that the authors have never really listened to his music - perhaps had a quick look at a youtube clip or two at best. The fact is that he masters the guitar in so many styles and moods. And the way he plays; he\'s one with the guitar in a way I\'ve not seen before. Someone mentioned that they don\'t like his tone - which of his tones? He covers a spectrum of guitar sounds that is unheard of, including classical rock tones.

I\'m having fun listening to Thanatopsis as I type, an example of a record that all the bashers probably knows nothing about (you won\'t find that album on Youtube). He\'s got more talent in his pinky, as the saying goes, than you lot can ever hope for. And his music and act is often humourous and quirky, not that pretentious wannabe guitar wanking dullards necessarily understand those concepts. Buckethead is for people with open minds and imagination - ouch, that eliminates 90% of the dogma rockers then...

A novelty act? He\'s been playing for around 28 years, released 25 albums or so, contributed on another 50, collaborated with a bunch of good musicians, and he\'s not likely to quit anytime soon. Oh, well ignorance is bliss, it\'s your loss.

It\'s OK to not like a musician, but acting like a bunch of insecure kids, ganging up on the strange guy... well, that only tells me that the strange guy has something unique that the bland masses is devoid of. In any case he\'s not passed by in silence.

All in all, Buckethead is the last rock\'n\'roll rebel!

^that last line says it all!

I\'m not sure there is even a lot to discuss here, we all love Big B and I\'m sure the haters would never lurk around here. After reading those negative comments I hope more than ever now that Buckethead gets a signature model Les Paul so those guys over at the gibson forum can poop their pants.

Extremely well put my friend!!
Buckethead\'s prodigious output speaks for itself, I am no spring chicken (51 years old) & stumbled on Buckethead by pure chance when watching the Special features on the Ghosts of Mars DVD & I thought: "I need to check this guy out"!!

I dived in with the "Monsters & Robots" album & was immediately hooked!!
Since then I have avidly soaked up anything I can get my hand on done by the great man!

I am a Guitar player myself and a fan of many types of music from Classical Guitar to Metal & all in between & I have to say that NO!! Player I have ever heard in all those years has captured & held my attention the way Buckethead has......he just has something that is unique but hard to quantify in my opinion.

^^Also well said bucketbot, my thoughts exactly!

For myself, I find that instead of getting angry at other people\'s ignorance...I like getting happy about my own intelligence.  I just smile inside...and maybe outside too and become grateful that there are some illusions I have risen above.

Rock on Buckethead!

QuoteFor myself, I find that instead of getting angry at other people\'s ignorance...I like getting happy about my own intelligence.  I just smile inside...and maybe outside too and become grateful that there are some illusions I have risen above.

Rock on Buckethead!

I also feel the same way. Why get mad...  I\'m not the one missing out on all the gory fun. Poor saps.

Agreed.  I just feel bad cuz people don\'t know what they are missing, and Big B is just so hard to describe.

Quote


I tried out that Buckethead guy. I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the fucking bucket. So I came back a bit later, and he\'s wearing this green fucking Martian\'s-hat thing! I said, \'Look, just be yourself.\' He told me his name was Brian, so I said that\'s what I\'d call him. He says, \'No one calls me Brian except my mother.\' So I said, \'Pretend I\'m your mum then!\' I haven\'t even got out of the room and I\'m already playing fucking mind games with the guy. What happens if one day he\'s gone and there\'s a note saying, \'I\'ve been beamed up\'? Don\'t get me wrong, he\'s a great player. He plays like a motherfucker.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=31127

+1 Ozzy didn\'t make fun of his look and he also praised buckethead for his guitar playing.