John Hendow

David Torn is a mad scientist / guitarist / composer who has something of a gift for sonic mayhem. He’s worked with some of my favorite musicians including David Bowie, Mick Karn, Tony Levin, Laurie Anderson, and so on. David was a student of Leonard Berstein, and was also taught by another of my favorite guitarists, Pat Martino. David Torn is something of an “experimental” musician. He tends toward incorporating unusual constructs in his music such as loops, heavily processed tones, and non-idiomatic playing techniques. I have long enjoyed his music and consider him a tremendously interesting artist. Read the rest of this post for recommended listening.

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A friend of mine from college has a nine-year-old son who is a total rock star and goes by the stage name Vincent Blackshadow. So far he’s played three gigs and they’ve all been pretty amazing. He has invented a KISS-styled makeup look for himself, along with a total rock costume complete with bowler hat. Take [...]

Back in 1975 I became aware of KISS for the first time. At the age of 11 it was pretty much a perfect combination of forces: loud, scary, and completely parent-disapproved. There was also something really cool about the four characters in the band. Overall, it really resonated with me.

I freely admit that I still think KISS is pretty cool. And for pretty much the same reasons as before. Ultimately, either you get it and like them, or you don’t. No amount of explanation will convince you either way.
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Today I found out Prince will headline the US Superbowl halftime entertainment on February 4th. I, for one, applaud this choice. He’s a stunningly talented musician / songwriter / performer. I have long been a fan of his royal purple funky weirdness, and this will make the Superbowl all the groovier. It’s up there with the [...]

Einstürzende Neubauten first performed on April 1, 1980 in Berlin. They’re generally considered an “industrial” band, and that is a reasonable description of their sound, although most people think of industrial music as having more of a techno beat, e.g. Nine Inch Nails or Skinny Puppy. I would be tempted to classify their music as being [...]

Back in 1988 I was a subscriber to “Guitar Player” magazine. In the back pages of each issue, the editors would review musical submissions from up-and-coming guitar talents. One of the big mentions that year was an enigmatic guitarist who called himself “Buckethead”. It’s generally believed that his real name is Brian Caroll, but he is something of a mystery. Buckethead wears a white plastic mask covering his face and a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head. He is 6’6″ tall (over 7 feet tall with the bucket) and never speaks when on stage. And he claims that he was raised by chickens and lived in a chicken coop. Moreover, he is fascinated with Disneyland, particularly the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. His web site is essentially a strange haunted amusement park full of monsters and robots. Many of his CDs carry this theme as well.
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