Steve stevens who is he

So, I really gravitated towards the guys like Steve Powell, Robert Fripp, Steve Hackett, just because they incorporate every style of guitar there's a concept of wanting to create soundscapes within the context of a rock song. Steve Stevens: For any of my non tremolo style guitars, I use a 10 to 48 set that I put together myself. And, I still remember my first set of super Slinkys came in the pink package. We had head shops back then they sold the incense and and pipes to smoke grass and they sold Ernie Ball strings and they kind of fit in with the times and they certainly fit in with the head shop because it kind of looked psychedelic and definitely had that kind of San Francisco thing about it.

For me, it's a great little home base to have and the company's been so supportive of and when you're out in the middle of nowhere and "Oh man, we ran out of strings. Oh, you got to get Ernie Ball on the phone.

I'm just an Ernie Ball guy. I like the way they feel and they just feel like great guitar strings to me. Steve Stevens: It's really cool actually now to be a guitar player because I went through a period of things got very excessive in the 80s with the shred guitar thing and then the nineties hit and everybody kind of dumbed down. And, once Nirvana became popular, it was like almost embarrassing if you could play well. And, we almost went through an entire decade of that kind of stuff.

And, I remember seeing guitar players that I knew technically capable, moping around looking at their sneakers. I was like, "well that's kind of a drag, you know? I'm fortunate that 34 years later, I'm still with Billy Idol, the guy I started with. Steve Stevens: And, when I go into a memorable guitar thing, a riff or an intro or something, when you have 18, people that all go, and sometimes you play a country where people sing the guitar solo and they're not going to be able to do that if you're going a [strange blurb noise ].

So, I try and find solos that at least have melody to them that are memorable. And, then if you want to give them a couple of bars or some flash or something, that's great. But, I try and play stuff that that is memorable. Steve Stevens: It was never to just be, "Hey, check me out, how fast I can play" and all this.

I just wanted to have enough vocabulary of stuff that if something called for it that I could use it rather than having to constantly challenge myself and be limited by my own technique and I'm still limited by certain things that I always want to play better. I wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, pick up a guitar and go, "man, I wish I knew how to do so-and-so. It's endless and it's always, there's always more that you can do on it.

Steve Stevens: I'm so lucky that I picked up the guitar in a time when rock stars and guitar players were larger than life. And, the only way that you could connect with them was to go to a concert and it was such a huge, massive event.

First concert I went to was the James Gang and then I went to see all of my favorites. And, I just thought, "that's what I want to do. And, I was too young to pick up the guitar to want to get chicks or get laid.

Seven and a half years old you don't even know what that is. But, I just wanted to, I guess, express myself and be able to join in. Steve Stevens: The best thing about a guitar is when you're jamming with other musicians, when you're in there and you're communicating and you're jamming and it's all working, there's no better feeling, and you're on that you're just riding that kind of euphoria of having this musical conversation. That is truly the greatest thing about playing this instrument.

If you're at home and you're shredding and you're working on something that you know you really want to do, you're going to pass this plateau as a player, especially for young players, once you've got it, you can't wait to get new room and jam with people. Pull that sucker out. And, everybody goes, "man, I didn't know you could do that.

And, I still get that feeling, working with musicians and playing shows, doing gigs around the world never changes. I'm really fortunate that that feeling has never escaped me. Sign up for the Ernie Ball mailing list. You may unsubscribe at anytime. Around the same time, Stevens reunited with Idol , appearing alongside the singer on 's VH1 Storytellers, and also found time to issue another solo release, Flamenco A Go-Go.

AllMusic relies heavily on JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to use the site fully. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Jazz Latin New Age. Aggressive Bittersweet Druggy. Energetic Happy Hypnotic. Romantic Sad Sentimental. Sexy Trippy All Moods. Could you describe how your artistic relationship has changed with him over the years?

He really enjoys getting in there and rehearsing with the band. We all travel together, we all stay in the same hotels, and we all hang out together.

He respected that I was going to try something musically on my own, and he kind of gave me his blessing to do that. You said that or you said this! Billy Idol With the London Souls. Call , or visit seminolehardrockhollywood. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Support Us South Florida's independent source of local news and culture. I support.

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