Guitar Center brought back King of the Blues

[rich2k4]

http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/index.cfm

anyone going to sign up and give it a shot?

[re-animator]

alright! i'll sign up. I did it last time in 2006. It was a lot of fun. I think I'm a much better player now, and tone wise .... i mean, come on!!

[MikeNiteRail]

My buddy did that, got totally robbed after regionals, was going to do it again but the school he works at asked him to judge. Since he works for a sponsor he can't do it. :(

[AnthonyStauffer]

While the 'title' is a joke IMO, and I don't get into the competition aspect, I have been jamming to the rockin track with the back beat, thinking about participating just for kicks. Thinking of stealing some licks from that Howlin Wolf London sessions record with Clapton playing on the Rockin Daddy track...

[fazendeiro]

"Hey, there goes Barney, he's King of the Blues, you know."

Har! :roll:roll:roll

[tone4days]

ya think you'd have to play a gibson to win even at the store level ? ... i can't seem to convince myself that they'd have a youtube clip out there with a guy playing a strat or tele for the win

[Jazzydave]

Blah...

[aeolian]

How do you play blues over tracks produced by a country guy? I was hoping they would get some decent backings together. I'm no blues nazi, but this stuff was not very easy to let go over. I was in the San Jose store finals last year, but I'm not sure about this go around. I thought it would be fun. The hang and meeting some new folks was cool. Trying to play even modern blues over those tracks was not.

[guitarua]

I just signed up. What the hell, ya know? Anyone else on board for this? :dunno

[tone4days]

even if i won, i'd really only be a assistant to the deputy undersecretary for nothing important in a small hamlet just outside the blues ... king of the blues is just not realistic for me
:D

[stratocat63]

I don't get why there is guitar on those tracks. Well maybe I do, and disagree with the concept.

[GuitarsFromMars]

even if i won, i'd really only be a assistant to the deputy undersecretary for nothing important in a small hamlet just outside the blues ... king of the blues is just not realistic for me
:D


I was gonna say that I believe the expression 'King Of The Blues' belongs to a guy by the handle of Riley B. King. I could be mistaken...

:cool:

[rhinocaster]

King of the blues is going to be defined by the judges.

No thank you.

[waylay00]

I absolutely hate the provided backing tracks! I'm gonna enter it though.

[gennation]

I'm going to get the paper work for my son today. He performed two times a few years ago while while he was still under 16 years old. The last time he got himself into the finals but couldn't win because of his age. Who knows now that he's 17, and much better too.

[telecopter]

Maybe...if I can find my bowling shirt....!

[tone4days]

I was gonna say that I believe the expression 'King Of The Blues' belongs to a guy by the handle of Riley B. King. I could be mistaken...

:cool:
plus, albert and freddie have a way better claim to the thrown than i ever will
:D

[solphilcox]

The criteria and everything about this competition is just absolutely absurd. search youtube for the past years' winners for a good LOL.

I'm entering though. Could be a laugh.

[drgonzoguitar]

Maybe...if I can find my bowling shirt....!

:rotflmao

:stir

[lamentation]

Since I live in Nashville, I think I'll pass.

[Bobby D]

went to one of those things.

it GAVE me the blues.:jo

[RickC]

Does anybody ever show up and just do a total noise-freakout-skronk solo all over one of the backing tracks? I'd pay to see that

:dude

[Bobby D]

Does anybody ever show up and just do a total noise-freakout-skronk solo all over one of the backing tracks? I'd pay to see that

:dude


that would be AMAZING......go Henry Kaiser on them.

hmmmm.......maybe i will enter using a fake name, and go do EXACTLY that :dude

[Guitar Dave T]

alright! i'll sign up. I did it last time in 2006. It was a lot of fun. I think I'm a much better player now, and tone wise .... i mean, come on!!

I cut my electric guitar teeth on blues in '70-'71 when my parents allowed my brother and I to quit piano lessons if we'd agree to go with another instrument. We both chose guitar and were enrolled in private lessons with a local blues picker who spent most of our lessons teaching us rhythm so he could solo over us, and the rest of our lessons making dope deals on the phone. But something good settled in during that time period.

Now, almost 40 years later of steady playing, the more I play the better I realize what I can't play.

But I'm signing up anyway.

[telejammer]

I was contacted by one of the salesman at GC and asked if I wanted to enter, when I declined they asked me to be a judge. I also passed on being a judge not wanting to to be tied up with all the Thursday nights of competition.Might ,stop in and check out the talant one night.

[LP51122]

I think I could do pretty good in this, but I'm not old enough.

[Bobby D]

i'm gonna enter as "Crippled Lemon Sqeezer, the Blues Geezer"

and bring the SKRONK. :dude

[shark_bite]

I'd kind of want to go in there and play my solo with only one note.

I'm sure I'd do okay at the store level, at least in terms of the talent pool, but I'm also pretty sure there'd be at least one (if not many more) people there who could wipe the deck with me. And they're either friends of mine who pass gigs back and forth with me, or they're people who can't play rhythm. BUT chances are whoever wins will probably not be the best player.

I think I'll just continue working on my rhythm chops, thankyouverymuch. That's what gets me gig action... not face-melting Gary Moore blues solos.

[CharAznable]

I signed up for kicks. I think I should be able to do decently.

I think did fairly well last time, although I lost to a 16 year old slide wizard and some shredder guy.

I really dislike the backing tracks though...

[re-animator]

I think I could do pretty good in this, but I'm not old enough.

you should think about coming down anyway. there were some very cool players there last time, and i was acquainted witha lot of new styles i hadn't really experienced before.

[Nergalled]

Can't be a pro, so no. It would be fun to do some blues for a change, like the good ol' days. Well, maybe not so good, but fun.

[CharAznable]

:D :D :D

:banana

[Arnie Guitar]

:D :D :D

:banana

Looks like someone won tonight.
Congrats.:beer

[tone4days]

tonight was round 1 ... anyone have any field reports?

i couldnt make it, but i will be there doing my turn next thurs night ... to practice, i am having my wife and sons stand in front of me scowling with their arms folded

:D

congrats, CharAz - which track did you play to? which tracks were most popular?

i am gonna give #8 a go

[Arnie Guitar]

i am gonna give #8 a go

Little Girl Shuffle? Good choice.

I go next week too...although I don't know why I put myself through it,
like they're going to pick an overweight grey haired old fart like me...

[CharAznable]

tonight was round 1 ... anyone have any field reports?

i couldnt make it, but i will be there doing my turn next thurs night ... to practice, i am having my wife and sons stand in front of me scowling with their arms folded

:D

congrats, CharAz - which track did you play to? which tracks were most popular?

i am gonna give #8 a go

Didn't win, but made runner up, which is good enough to go to store finals.

The winner was a fantastic chicken picker who played to Devil's Corner.

I played to Second Line Blues, which is really cool because it's funky Meters style and has some nice altered chords to show off your "harmonic sophistication" i.e. wrong notes sound right anyway.

Lots of people choose Laid Down Blues because it's an easy blues in E. I'd suggest avoiding it. If tonight was any indication, playing the hard tracks and doing them right pays off with the judges.

The amps were a Marshall JCM2000, a Deluxe Reverb, and a Mesa Boogie Electradyne. I chose the Electradyne with no pedals and it sounded fantastic. Everybody else pretty much opted for the DR as a clean platform with their own pedals.

The cord they gave me was cracked so by the end of the song the guitar was cutting out intermittently. I was not happy, and they gave me the chance to come next week and compete again. I still made it to runner up so that won't be necessary.

[JRDill]

Our store had some great players tonight! Can't wait for the next few rounds!

[CharAznable]

Little Girl Shuffle? Good choice.

I go next week too...although I don't know why I put myself through it,
like they're going to pick an overweight grey haired old fart like me...

Trust me that doesn't matter. The guy that won was a 50 something pot-bellied balding dude who was a monster player.

[telecopter]

I was one of the judges at my favorite GC. Good talent, not a whole lot of what I call "Blues", but it was fun anyways!

I'll be doing it again next Thursday.

I take bribes...hint, hint.

[jazzandmetal?]

Didn't win, but made runner up, which is good enough to go to store finals.

The winner was a fantastic chicken picker who played to Devil's Corner.

I played to Second Line Blues, which is really cool because it's funky Meters style and has some nice altered chords to show off your "harmonic sophistication" i.e. wrong notes sound right anyway.

Lots of people choose Laid Down Blues because it's an easy blues in E. I'd suggest avoiding it. If tonight was any indication, playing the hard tracks and doing them right pays off with the judges.

The amps were a Marshall JCM2000, a Deluxe Reverb, and a Mesa Boogie Electradyne. I chose the Electradyne with no pedals and it sounded fantastic. Everybody else pretty much opted for the DR as a clean platform with their own pedals.

The cord they gave me was cracked so by the end of the song the guitar was cutting out intermittently. I was not happy, and they gave me the chance to come next week and compete again. I still made it to runner up so that won't be necessary.

Out of the 5 guys that played tonight, 3 chose that one.:puh Out of 25 choices, that is going to be the most popular. We had 4 people cancel for another night. Usually the competition is packed out with up to 4 alternates....but not this year. Maybe people still don't realize it is going on since we didn't do it last year.

[55hz]

Yea, you are right.... The folks who played "laid down blues" must be some lazy non-players.

[SarasotaSlim]

I was one of the judges at my favorite GC. Good talent, not a whole lot of what I call "Blues", but it was fun anyways!

I'll be doing it again next Thursday.

I take bribes...hint, hint.

It's my first time judging anything and I feel weird doing it.
The Tampa GC had a Marshall a Vox and a Fender DeVille thingy. None of the twangers used a clean sound and the "blues" is decidedly harder than what I call blues. I'm looking forward to some young whippersnapper who knows how to open up that can o whup-ass.:boxer

[JRDill]

no one did laid down blues at our store. we had Little Girl Shuffle, Austin Skyline, and one other. out of six. The guy that did Little Girl Shuffle played on a ridiculously clean older L5 that made me droool!

[CharAznable]

Yea, you are right.... The folks who played "laid down blues" must be some lazy non-players.

It's not that they are lazy non players.. some of them were really good.. it's just that the song itself, even when perfectly performed, is a really safe choice. You have to hit it out of the park, whereas you can impress people with "Devil's Corner" by merely pulling it off. I probably couldn't do it myself.

[jazzandmetal?]

My idea for this whole contest is to put the backing track in the cd player and hit shuffle. The contestant plays to whatever song comes on.:phones

I told my friend that competed tonight that I was going to do that.....I didn't care what track he had been practicing to.:rotflmao:rotflmao

He wasn't amused.

[A-Bone]

My idea for this whole contest is to put the backing track in the cd player and hit shuffle. The contestant plays to whatever song comes on.:phones

I told my friend that competed tonight that I was going to do that.....I didn't care what track he had been practicing to.:rotflmao:rotflmao

He wasn't amused.

I have to say that I think this is a great idea for the contest. Really keep people on their toes.

[Arnie Guitar]

My idea for this whole contest is to put the backing track in the cd player and hit shuffle. The contestant plays to whatever song comes on.:phones

I told my friend that competed tonight that I was going to do that.....I didn't care what track he had been practicing to.:rotflmao:rotflmao

He wasn't amused.

Really, that was my thought too, reduce the number of tracks, and let the track to be played to come up randomly.

[55hz]

I wouldn't mind the shuffle thing, or the shuffle thing with only 30 seconds of each song at a pop. Actually, I'd be amused.

[jazzandmetal?]

I wouldn't mind the shuffle thing, or the shuffle thing with only 30 seconds of each song at a pop. Actually, I'd be amused.

LOL. I forgot about the 30 second part. And now since you have said you don't mind, shuffle it is! ;)

BTW, nice job tonight and congratulations.


Too bad I didn't have a camera to take a picture of your sweet blooz faces.:rotflmao

[55hz]

What's the general opinion of the big band tune? I think it's the 1st one?

[55hz]

Which one is the robben ford track? ;)

[CharAznable]

Which one is the robben ford track? ;)

You can't bring your own Dumble, sorry!

[tone4days]

what kinds of guitars are being seen? ... i am leaning towards my ej strat - "the fat cat with a strat and a hat" :D

... i could bring my prs sc245 if the prevailing mood is for double humbucker sounds ... i sound equally badly with either of them :D

[CharAznable]

I brought my Strat. I think my greatest achievement last night was playing a Strat and resisting the urge to do SRV rakes. I was the only Strat, surprisingly. I was expecting an SRV wankfest, but half of everyone had Teles. Chicken picking is the new shred and Nashville is the new Hollywood. Someone, who I'm sure is a TGPer brought a really nice Les Paul and a small pedalboard with about $2k worth of pedals. A kid brought in a 3 pickup SG custom. Another kid had an awesome red Gibson ES-135 and had great tone. Half of everyone had Big Muffs. The influence of Jack White?

[tone4days]

cool

i was thinking to just bring my zendrive for a little oomph as i try to 'build the tune's momentum' to a climax ... it's such a bummer that the backing tracks are so compressed and have precious little dynamics ... although, i guess it leaves it to the player's note choice and performance to add that element - could be the thing that separates the champs from the chumps

[CharAznable]

cool

i was thinking to just bring my zendrive for a little oomph as i try to 'build the tune's momentum' to a climax ... it's such a bummer that the backing tracks are so compressed and have precious little dynamics ... although, i guess it leaves it to the player's note choice and performance to add that element - could be the thing that separates the champs from the chumps

Zendrive would probably be an excellent choice. As you said, the backing tracks are really compressed and lacking in dynamics, so it's up to the player to bring some air into the proceedings. 6 out of 10 people played with fuzz pedals, and I don't think it really worked with the backing track, although the guy who brought a Sunface got a really cool Led Zeppelin I tone.

[Arnie Guitar]

I wish there was the option of no backing track,
just lettin' 'er rip, solo guitar.

Talk about being naked onstage,
that would be the epitome of playing without a net,
and really separate the...oh, you know the rest.

...ah, but if you had to play without a backing track,
few would enter...which may be as it should be...

[musicofanatic5]

What if a chick wins; is she still "King"? Is the runner up the Queen of the Blues? Will they be required to be royally conjugal? Will there be a prince and princess? I would enter but am fully satisfied with my title of Emporor and Supreme Highness (reely high!) of the Blues. This is almost as exciting as America's Got No Talent or one of those other culturally advancing shows!

[CharAznable]

I'd be happy with High Chancellor Lord Exchequer of the Blues

[tone4days]

good luck to all the TGPers who will be playing at GC's KOTB tonight ... i'll be takin' my turn at the Towson, MD store ... from the way i was sounding last night practicing, i will be lucky to be named the "8 of Blues" ... i hope to be able to a) get a video and b) figure out how to get it on youtube ... the coupla dozen youtube videos i've seen of last week's efforts are all over the map from weak to extremely decent .. so we'll see

cheers
t4d

[tone4days]

alas, it's up to the other TGPers to carry the TGP flag onward into battle .. t4d has fallen, my tattered remains carried home in a gig bag

forget tone for days, i didnt even have tone for 3:30 ... i was pretty revved up getting sorted and didnt really get the fender twin dialed in the way i had hoped with the zendrive ... they kept askin me 'are you ready?' starting at about the 0:30 mark of my alloted 5:00 prep time and i just didnt have the presence of mind to ask them to please stop asking me and just let me know when i have 0:30 left and that i would tell them when i was ready ... when i thought i had a decent level ready, they told me it was too loud ... so i turned down a coupla notches but then the sustain wasnt really happenin ... well, i couldnt hear myself very well over the backing track once it started and i was already off to the races by then

but more important than the tone was my absolute crap playing .. just a lot of clams and then a complete "wheels comin' off" during the chromatic stop changes at the turnaround of the first A section ... i had worked out some really hip (to me) lines, but i just choked hard on the first one and it was downhill trying to recover from there ...

lessons learned include:

- practice standing up if you will be performing standing up ... i did entirely too many takes at home sitting down ... totally different hand position and visualization ...

- if they give you 5 minutes to dial in your tone, take the full 5 minutes ... settle your mind, calm your energy and make sure you are happy with the tone

- if possible, bring your guitar and any pedals a few days in advance to dial in a tone on the gear they have available

- play stuff that you can NAIL ... not stuff that you can play perfectly, but rather stuff that you absolutely CAN NOT play wrong .. one of the guys that won tonight played very very solid stuff, nothing was incredibly well phrased or adventurous, but he didnt make a single mistake - he was really really good for the entire take even though he just stood there starin' at his shoes essentially expressionless ... a clean take can not be overrated ... i needed to play at 101% of my ability to get the stuff i was trying for - not a good strategy

- bring a loving, supportive, encouraging, gorgeous wife and two fantastic kids with you - makes the ride home so so so much sweeter

- don't watch the video replay unless you go through to the next round

best of luck guys
t4d

[deeval]

I find that your time to set is plenty,and unless you carry a mess of pedals 5 mins will do!
I played The Twin last night,and it was a crappy one at that,but I was glade I took my Tim pedal,which made it sound better,Also I used my Delay pedal in the loop which worked really good,I also find that the least amount of notes played so much better,just good notes with feel worked for me,I go to the next round in about 3 weeks or so.

[tone4days]

congrats deeval - best of luck moving on

which track did you play to? will you play to the same one in the store finals or pick a different one?

[deeval]

Hey Thanks.. Tone4days
I did the Laid blues,which is the slower heavy backing,as I figured to do kind of the Jimmy Page kind of tone with that Track,and with the delay and Tim pedals it worked very good,plus everyone else was doing basiclly all the big band and Robben Ford kind of Tracks,Also Played my 58 ri Lester and I was very happy,everyone else played strats,tellys and 335,s I was the only Lester carrier.

[tone4days]

of the eight players last night, there were 2 tele's, 3 strats, an epi joe pass (that a guy pulled off the wall and played with the hang tag floppin about!) and two shredder superstrats with floyds ... 5 guys used the twin , 1 guy used the mesa, and 2 guys used the marshall ... all but the epi guy brought at least 1 pedal .. winners were tele (with a duncan twintube classic) thru the twin and shredder (with a swirly steve vai double pedal) thru the marshall

[jazzandmetal?]

of the eight players last night, there were 2 tele's, 3 strats, an epi joe pass (that a guy pulled off the wall and played with the hang tag floppin about!) and two shredder superstrats with floyds ... 5 guys used the twin , 1 guy used the mesa, and 2 guys used the marshall ... all but the epi guy brought at least 1 pedal .. winners were tele (with a duncan twintube classic) thru the twin and shredder (with a swirly steve vai double pedal) thru the marshall

I just watched your video linked in the other thread.

You looked like you were having a GREAT time. Your comments almost made me spill my coffee on my computer.:)

[jumpnblues]

What if a chick wins; is she still "King"? Is the runner up the Queen of the Blues? Will they be required to be royally conjugal? Will there be a prince and princess? I would enter but am fully satisfied with my title of Emporor and Supreme Highness (reely high!) of the Blues. This is almost as exciting as America's Got No Talent or one of those other culturally advancing shows!


Jon,


I just knew there was something about you????????????? :huh:huh LOL!! Now I'll have to start genuflecting when your name comes up here. :bow ;)


Tom

[C.SCAN3]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SBePbYMRaM&feature=player_embedded


I dug this dude's performance!!

[shark_bite]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SBePbYMRaM&feature=player_embedded


I dug this dude's performance!!

Holy tomatoes, there was some neat stuff in that one, especially on acoustic at the end!

[ganzosrevenge]

I wonder if anyone's done a "freakout" on stage with moogs and other odd pedals?

[tone4days]

I just watched your video linked in the other thread.

You looked like you were having a GREAT time. Your comments almost made me spill my coffee on my computer.:)

LOL - glad you enjoyed ... laughin' takes the sting away a bit, yunno?

[Ken Ho]

Funny thread.........

A whole bunch of cynicisdm from the "too cool for school" crowd, and a whole bunch of positive experiences from people actually involved.
Oh yeah, despite all the flaws, don't forget the "fat bald guy with monster chops" who won last time.
I doubt GC really thinks they are crowning the all time KOTB, but it's a handy enough marketting tag to get people interested.

GC - +1
Cynics - pwned !!

[blindtc]

i have signed up for the king of the blues contests. Acctually i have made it to the store finals. Thery're being held tomorrow at my guitar center! wish me luck! I signed up just to have some fun and meet some other serious blues guitarist in the area!

[tone4days]

congrats and best of luck
let us know how it goes!

good luck to all the store finalists .. check back in to let us know how ya did

t4d

[Julia343]

Next year.

[tone4days]

Next year.
yup - and all year 'tween now and then!

[drod2045]

i signed up and played 9/3 in totowa, nj.

i dont like to criticize, but id say that a guy came in and had a noise round and won (2nd but moves on). He mouthed notes and missed a ton. But he was red in the face from trying so I guess the judges appreciated his 'emotion.'.. and the guy that won didnt play a single blues lick/sound/style. He tapped, shredded, etc...and not even cleanly.

still had a good time and it was nice talkin to some other players. I think its great to have the opportunity to sign up and play to begin with. Kudos to GC for putting on the event.

Also - i Was not a fan of the backing tracks. I think I found only 1 that I liked and 2 that were workable. The one I did was Funky Woman