Category: guitarbloke

  • Left Hand Riot

    This is a mid-tempo rock track partly inspired by the tones I got out of the Neural DSP Mesa Boogie Mark IIc+ suite. The IIc+ is famous for being the Metallica Amp, but it’s also great for classic rock rhythm and lead sounds.

  • Cathedrals

    I’ve mentioned it a couple of times before, but as someone who was introduced to modern rock guitar by Joe Satriani’s The Extremist (before quickly discovering Surfing with the Alien and Flying in a Blue Dream), I’ve continued to have a huge affection for up-tempo instrumental rock tracks that are less about showing off, and…

  • Christmas at the Beach

    Christmas isn’t just about snow and wellington boots and a big roaring fire; in fact that only really applies in the Northern Hemisphere. This song was written after a rather nice Christmas Day spent working on my tan. As it turns out, warm, laid back, summery sounding guitars actually go surprisingly well with sleigh bells.

  • My Good Nature

    This is another very Satch-esque track in the vein of something off “Unstoppable Momentum” or “What Happens Next”, with a bit of a twist in the form of an intro which channels the sort of guitar/bass tapping duet that Billy Sheehan is known for (with about 1/100th of the talent). This one is all about…

  • Hang On

    This started out as an exercise in figuring out how to take advantage of the low strings of my 8-string. Then I added a coda which somehow turned into its own whole song. This was pretty heavily influenced by both Devin Townsend and Astronoid. Because MP3 players are still pretty bad at seamlessly transitioning between…

  • Jericho

    This song is a bit of a Van Halen tribute. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of their actual songs, but they were a bunch of amazing musicians with a unique sound, and whose influence can’t be overstated. American music from that era exudes independence and confidence in a way which…

  • I Need a Beat

    Sometimes, I just set an audio track to record and sing the first thing that comes into my head. In the case of this track, it was the “I need a beat…beat…beat….beat” line. After that, it was pretty much inevitable that this was going to turn into one of those songs that’s just about writing…

  • Yes I Am

    I’m not a good lyricist. If anything, lyrics are probably the biggest source of delays in getting my music into a finished state. Sometimes, the best thing to do is just open my mouth and see what comes out. What’s this song about? Nothing.

  • Gingere

    This song dates all the way back to the nineties. That version had really wild, more dance-oriented drums and plenty of guitar histrionics but it was way too complicated for its own good. I decided to revisit and simplify the whole thing a bit. The keyboards are heavily influenced by the Tron soundtrack by Daft…

  • Grid 2

    I love the guitar and drum parts in David Lee Roth’s “Skyscraper”. I don’t really like anything else about the song, which honestly seems as if it doesn’t know where to go after it establishes that great opening riff. So, I wrote something rather similar and didn’t even try to add a vocal part. A…