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Guitar heroes of this century


polara

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To me, a guitar hero isn't necessarily the most brilliant technical player (though can be) but someone who wields a guitar like a magic sword, who is known for the instrument and for being a swaggering badass. Very importantly, NON-GUITARISTS... people who don't know how many strings are on a guitar but know they like music... have to think of them as a guitar hero. They're a popular celebrity who is inextricably associated with guitar.

Marc Bolan was a good example of a guy who maybe wasn't gonna beat Al DiMeola in a head-cutting contest, but had the swagger and look and riffs. Hendrix was probably the ultimate, and Page, Clapton, Beck, the usual suspects.

In the 21st century, who do we have? I'm thinking... I may not necessarily dig all these guys and gals but they have the guitar-celebrity thing.

  • Matt Bellamy (Muse). They sell out stadiums, and when I've seen them, people cheer when his red glitter Manson guitar is put on its stand. Seriously.
  • Jack White
  • Dan Auerbach
  • Ani DiFranco. I've witnessed many young women grab a guitar and start writing crappy "dear diary" songs and do lots of percussive acoustic stuff because of her.
  • Nita Strauss (maybe not selling millions of albums but has that mass appeal)
  • Ed Sheeran. Hate all you want, but that guy has got to be driving sales of acoustic guitars.
  • And I've finally, after years of really not getting it, come around to digging Annie Clark. The show below definitely showcases "I am a star and I play guitar."
     

Who else? Remember it's more about being a star and a hero to the masses than being a "Musician's musician." We may all love Jason Becker but this celebrities who make kids want to rock our on tennis rackets. 

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1 minute ago, joshoowah said:

Though it may pain me to say it, by your criteria, John Mayer qualifies.

Dates celebrities and is famous for guitar. Yeah, probably the king of 21st century guitar heroes.

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This question has me stumped. This century seems short on guitar hero’s compared to the previous century. But rock is not at the forefront anymore. I’m aware of good bands with good players but the star tag might not apply. The hero’s  seem to be holdovers from the previous century. So I’ll default to Nita Strauss. Makes the guitar mags, shows up at non music events like WWF matches, does the radio blog quest frequently and slings a mean guitar for Alice. 

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I'd say, someone like Greg Koch is a hero for musicians. Maybe not in sales, but the guy is a fantastic player, very entertaining and his YT clips get watched. I always look for what gear he uses. While I was watching clips of the Fender Acoustasonic Tele I got aware of the talent of Nathaniel Murphy. But one thing is for sure, all those yesterday's guitar heroes would have been nothing if they hadn't had an equally great band with them.

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2 hours ago, svl said:

Justin Hawkins.  Riffs.  Soul.  Style.  Say no more.

 

 

I think we got our guy. The Darkness started in 2002 (just checked), and Justin brought back the guitar fun to mainstream rock. WINNER!!!

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15 minutes ago, DaveH said:

I'm pretty sure they are from the previous century...

Yeah, obviously, I totally missed the topic here. B)

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19 hours ago, zorrow said:

I think we got our guy. The Darkness started in 2002 (just checked), and Justin brought back the guitar fun to mainstream rock. WINNER!!!

New album supposed to be out this week! I‘ll certainly order.

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4 hours ago, SSII x 2 said:

I'm told that nowadays, more young women than young men are taking up guitar,

owing to Taylor Swift?

Yeah.  As much as I wanted to say I was kidding, I wasn't.  One of the first criteria for guitar heroes should be inspiring others to play, and no doubt she's doing that in spades.

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6 hours ago, gorch said:

New album supposed to be out this week! I‘ll certainly order.

Out on Friday (the 4th).

Concept album, here's the title track...

 

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49 minutes ago, svl said:

Out on Friday (the 4th).

Concept album, here's the title track...

 

Sounds kinda Queen meets Rush. I love it! Thanks for sharing!

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8 hours ago, ArnieZ said:

Can't leave Brad Paisley off the list and Keith Urban deserves consideration as well

ArnieZ

Brad Paisley rules, absolutely. And hopefully he’ll inspire some young people to pick up a guitar and play.

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