Wolfgang Van Halen just posted a photo of himself with Dave Grohl and Josh Freese to social media. So I did a google search on Josh to see what he has been up to and this old article from 1991 came up regarding Dweezil on the “Confessions” tour. Thought you guys would dig. Didn’t know where to post this but here it is…very tangentially related to VH just by virtue of how I got to it https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-05-ca-1828-story.html
The newer Tortex picks are cool. They help when it comes to pinch harmonics. But, when it comes to playing rhythm parts, you have to REALLY hit the strings harder to get those dynamics. I have been using Steve Vai's picks lately and those have a great balance to them.
To the best of my knowledge, the Fender pick material hasn’t changed. There was a brief period around 1955 when real tortoise shell was used to make the brown tortoise colored picks, but I believe it’s just the same old celluloid material and as far as I know the thickness has remained to within negligible tolerances.
Following up on some of the comments here, it's no surprise that VH 3 was different and surprising to so many. But, over time, as I was a fan of it when it first came out, there are so many experiences to draw from that it would be wrong to exclude of all of them ( and that includes Blues' and James' feelings ). Some laughed at it, some thought it was genius. For me, I liked it but as the album grew on me, the more I saw where Edward was going for the MUSIC. And, in some cases, the critics of the album missed the point of the music while the fans grew to like things that were darker than most people realize ( the recent Chris Gill/Brad Tolinsky EVH book explores the emotional terrority Edward was dealing with when VH 3 was being made-pretty insightful stuff ).
In some ways, Edward and Frank Zappa were so similar in terms of the alignment of making music for personal reasons: If you liked it and no one else cared for it, then it was good. I can't tell you how many people laughed at me when I used to play " St. Etienne " in my car stereo, hearing my friends state that it " sounded like a beginning guitar player not playing right " whereas I heard a composer exploring new sonic territory in a deeper way. And, truth being told here, most folks simply don't have a musical education: It's either good or bad for these folks. But, for those who like to explore new musical sounds with a large amount of musical knowledge, there is no such thing as good or bad. VH 3 fits into that last category. I truly believe that if more folks explore the album in deeper detail, there is A LOT of grand musical information there ( the overdubs to " From Afar " to the solo/ rhythm parts to " Dirty Water Dog " are just AMAZING ).
I enjoy Blues' and James' feelings because they weren't that much different to the feelings I heard when I first listened to VH 3 ( let alone listening to Frank's music ). In fact, VH 3 isn't the first time Edward caused people to scratch their heads. In 1988, after OU812 came out, guitarist Robben Ford was asked what he thought of " Finish What You Started " in a 1990 Guitar For The Practicing Musician Magazine issue ( they used to have a spot where artists were asked what their thoughts were on a select group of tracks ). Ford's reaction wasn't too dissimilar to Blues' and James' reactions, as I recall ( Ford said something to the effect that his idea of Van Halen was loud guitar playing via " Eruption " and was surprised with the 1988 track ).
I find it's important to include all feelings to any music because it's all part of the human processing experience of hearing/seeing something DIFFERENT. However, if Blues and James take some more time with VH 3, I'll bet they'll change their minds.
Wolfgang Van Halen just posted a photo of himself with Dave Grohl and Josh Freese to social media. So I did a google search on Josh to see what he has been up to and this old article from 1991 came up regarding Dweezil on the “Confessions” tour. Thought you guys would dig. Didn’t know where to post this but here it is…very tangentially related to VH just by virtue of how I got to it https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-05-ca-1828-story.html
^
I saw Z play at the old London Marquee club, in 1991. Awesome gig!
Apologies for not keeping up but I was trying to go back to an old comment about Ed's picks --the old Fenders.
Allen G.: do you know if the plastic formulation has changed since the late 70s/early 80s? .. and the thickness of the medium/thin Fender picks?
Semi-related question to the community: any thoughts or comment on on the striped Tortex picks Dunlop is selling these days?
Otherwise, thanks a bunch to DZ and the rest of you EVH nerds! can't get enough of this stuff!
The newer Tortex picks are cool. They help when it comes to pinch harmonics. But, when it comes to playing rhythm parts, you have to REALLY hit the strings harder to get those dynamics. I have been using Steve Vai's picks lately and those have a great balance to them.
To the best of my knowledge, the Fender pick material hasn’t changed. There was a brief period around 1955 when real tortoise shell was used to make the brown tortoise colored picks, but I believe it’s just the same old celluloid material and as far as I know the thickness has remained to within negligible tolerances.
Hi DZ! Any estimate when the Line 6 Helix VH presets will become available for us subscribers?
Ok Blues. I'll take VH3 over your TRANSMISSION OK any day of the fucking week. Two seconds of "swimming"... Marcus Is Out. Peace Brother.
Following up on some of the comments here, it's no surprise that VH 3 was different and surprising to so many. But, over time, as I was a fan of it when it first came out, there are so many experiences to draw from that it would be wrong to exclude of all of them ( and that includes Blues' and James' feelings ). Some laughed at it, some thought it was genius. For me, I liked it but as the album grew on me, the more I saw where Edward was going for the MUSIC. And, in some cases, the critics of the album missed the point of the music while the fans grew to like things that were darker than most people realize ( the recent Chris Gill/Brad Tolinsky EVH book explores the emotional terrority Edward was dealing with when VH 3 was being made-pretty insightful stuff ).
In some ways, Edward and Frank Zappa were so similar in terms of the alignment of making music for personal reasons: If you liked it and no one else cared for it, then it was good. I can't tell you how many people laughed at me when I used to play " St. Etienne " in my car stereo, hearing my friends state that it " sounded like a beginning guitar player not playing right " whereas I heard a composer exploring new sonic territory in a deeper way. And, truth being told here, most folks simply don't have a musical education: It's either good or bad for these folks. But, for those who like to explore new musical sounds with a large amount of musical knowledge, there is no such thing as good or bad. VH 3 fits into that last category. I truly believe that if more folks explore the album in deeper detail, there is A LOT of grand musical information there ( the overdubs to " From Afar " to the solo/ rhythm parts to " Dirty Water Dog " are just AMAZING ).
I enjoy Blues' and James' feelings because they weren't that much different to the feelings I heard when I first listened to VH 3 ( let alone listening to Frank's music ). In fact, VH 3 isn't the first time Edward caused people to scratch their heads. In 1988, after OU812 came out, guitarist Robben Ford was asked what he thought of " Finish What You Started " in a 1990 Guitar For The Practicing Musician Magazine issue ( they used to have a spot where artists were asked what their thoughts were on a select group of tracks ). Ford's reaction wasn't too dissimilar to Blues' and James' reactions, as I recall ( Ford said something to the effect that his idea of Van Halen was loud guitar playing via " Eruption " and was surprised with the 1988 track ).
I find it's important to include all feelings to any music because it's all part of the human processing experience of hearing/seeing something DIFFERENT. However, if Blues and James take some more time with VH 3, I'll bet they'll change their minds.