Mike Campbell doesn’t get inspired by modern guitarists: “Nobody new has really thrilled me to the point where I want to figure out what they’re doing”
Mike Campbell prefers to listen to the classic artists he grew up on, as most modern guitar work doesn’t leave him feeling inspired.
Campbell isn’t alone in feeling divided on modern guitarists. As trends tip towards shreddy and speedy playing, there are just as many music fans out there who aren’t keen on the absence of emotion or feel in new guitar records, as there are who absolutely love such complexity.
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Speaking to Total Guitar in its latest print issue, Campbell explains, “I tend to listen to guys I grew up on, and I go back quite a bit. I’ve been around a long time, and I’m still drawn to the ‘60s. I hear new music, but I haven’t heard any guitarists more inspiring to me than George Harrison, Jimmy Page, classic Jimi Hendrix or Chuck Berry.
“Nobody new has really thrilled me to the point where I want to figure out what they’re doing per se. To my ears, the ‘60s is when all the cool stuff happened. Those are the places I go now. I don’t really keep up. I’ve tried, but most of the new music just leaves me cold. If I want to be inspired, I listen to the stuff that originally inspired me.”
Interestingly, many young guitarists themselves have a very different view. Acoustic virtuoso Marcin just recently spoke out against those claiming that guitar-led music is a dying art.
Speaking of his tracks Guitar Is Dead and I Killed It from his forthcoming album, Dragon In Harmony, Marcin told Guitar Player: “It’s essentially a cheeky response to purist or obsolete thinkers saying that players like me, Tim [Henson], Ichika [Nito] or any of the young players trying to change things in the guitar world are somehow destroying the legacy of the guitar. We’re doing bad things, unthinkable and unlistenable, and that’s not what you’re supposed to be doing. That’s not how you play the guitar.”
He added, “If they’re saying that evolution is a bad thing, then essentially the guitar is dead. I don’t know what they want us to do. Play Cmaj#11 in a different position? That’s not evolution.”
Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs’ latest record, Vagabongs, Virgins & Misfits, is out now. They head out on tour this September.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
