One of early my inspirations for playing guitar was Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. To this day, I still listen to Sultans of Swing at least once a week. I just love the tone he gets with his fingers! Plus, that guy is one of the coolest cats on the planets. Here’s a video from a few years back. When I saw it yesterday, I must’ve watched it 5 times. What technique and feel!
Posts Tagged ‘top dawg’
Inspiration: Mark Knopfler
Posted in top dawg, tagged guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, top dawg on October 23, 2010| 2 Comments »
Artist Profile: Doug Doppler, Guitar Hero Extraordinaire
Posted in Guitars, tagged doug doppler, gear, get killer tone, guitar, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitarists, Music, musicians, top dawg on April 30, 2010| 2 Comments »
Nestled in the hills in a small town east of the San Francisco bay lies the house of Doug Doppler, a man so unassuming and humble and possessed of such a warm heart that it’s easy to forget that he is just about one of the greatest guitar talents in the world. Last Tuesday, April 27, my close friend, Jeff Aragaki and I had the privilege to spend the day with Doug at his house for a behind-the-scenes look into the making of his upcoming DVD series, “Get Killer Tone.”
This meeting came about because Jeff lent Doug his incredible Aracom PRX150-Pro attenuator so Doug could use it on “Get Killer Tone” (I’ll have a video regarding this coming soon). Doug has since purchased the unit because in his words, “It’s saving my ears!” And taking advantage of Jeff’s relationship with him, I threw out the idea of getting a behind-the-scenes look at Doug’s process of creating the series; something Doug excitedly agreed to, much to my delight.
And a delight it was! My initial thought about the meeting would be that I’d just do a simple video interview with him that wouldn’t take more than an hour or so. But that hour turned into another hour, then another hour, then another hour, to the point where my video camera ran out of juice! Luckily I had brought my AC adapter! Needless to say, Doug had a lot to say, but it wasn’t at some 
condescending, “I do this and that, and look Ma! See how well I can play” level. What Jeff and I were treated to was a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse into the life of a musician who graced us with his passion, knowledge, and wisdom. All in all, we spent almost six hours with Doug, and honestly, I’ve had to let that experience sink in for a couple of days before I wrote anything about it.
It’s a given that Doug is simply an incredible talent on the guitar. That man can shred like there’s no tomorrow, but he can also play tons of different styles, and in his various demonstrations, he switched in and out of styles both seamlessly and effortlessly. I could go on all day about that, but frankly, that’s not what impressed me the most. What had the biggest impact on me was who Doug is as a person.
If I were to distill down my various observations of Doug to a single word, that word would be “genuine.” Doug is genuine about pretty much everything, and never in all the time we spent with him did I detect even the slightest air of falseness. When you spend time with Doug, it really is WYSIWYG!
Doug is also a very deep and passionate man, and he’s not embarrassed to share his philosophical or even moral views on various subjects; and it came through in our conversations. Even on the simplest subjects, Doug imparted a depth that went far beyond just surface chit-chat. This isn’t just some “Yo dude! Look what I can play” musician who leaves it at that. Doug is a deep thinker, and when you watch and listen to him play, he’s not someone who’s going to just do a bunch of “linked licks.” There’s real depth to the phrases he plays which is in turn a reflection of his personality; in other words, with Doug, there’s always more than meets the eye, and I mean that in a good way!
Doug’s enthusiasm about everything is contagious, and combined with his natural warmth and friendliness makes it easy to rap about anything; and he undoubtedly falls into the someone-you’d-love-to-hate-but-can’t-because-they’re-so-nice category because he’s such a nice guy that easily draws you in. He talks a million miles per hour, but it’s so incredibly engaging, you never get tired of talking with him.
As a guitar player, what can I say? It’s no accident that he was chosen to track the Guitar Hero game. His technique is absolutely incredible, and he weaves in and out of styles of playing seamlessly. Just watching him play was incredible! But the interesting thing is that he just did it. No pretentiousness, no attitude of having to prove anything. Doug’s confident about his playing without being condescending. Yeah, he’s a self-professed shredder, but after watching and listening to him play for a couple of hours, there’s not much he can’t play.
If you ever get a chance to see him (he does clinics for Ibanez and will be doing stuff for Orange as well), don’t hesitate to speak with him personally. Like me, you’ll find out just how great a guy he is! I’m very honored to have been able to spend so much time with him!
Top Dawg: Anton Oparin
Posted in guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, top dawg, tagged guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, top dawg on February 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
13 years old and can play like Paul Gilbert! This kid rocks the house! He’s the real thing fo-sho! Not just your mechanical prodigy, this kid has feel. Check it out!
More of the Absolutely Amazing Sungha Jung
Posted in Guitars, tagged guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, sungha jung, top dawg on November 5, 2009| 1 Comment »
What strikes me the most about this child prodigy is that not only does he have incredible technique, he has emotion and passion in his playing, so that what he plays isn’t merely a regurgitation of a song, there’s musicality in his playing. I have nothing but high hopes for this kid! His playing literally brings tears to my eyes. I’ve seen lots of other prodigies and while I am impressed with their skills, they mostly come off as a novelty; not Sungha Jung. I can really connect to what he’s playing – and he’s only 13 years old! Amazing!
Top Dawg: Greg Koch
Posted in guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, top dawg, tagged guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, top dawg on June 5, 2009| 5 Comments »
If you’ve never heard of him, Greg Koch is one of the finest guitarists around. A Fender clinician, he spends much of his time extolling the virtues of Fender guitars. This dude can play! Amazingly enough, there doesn’t appear to be an arrogant bone in his body. Greg is really the consummate showman as you’ll see in the video below.
As I said, that dude can play! But as you saw in the video, he shows his skill in a completely non-arrogant way – it’s pure entertainment. That’s what makes Greg Koch a Top Dawg!
Sungha Jung: The Kid We All Aspire To Play Like
Posted in guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, tagged guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, sungha jung, top dawg on May 18, 2009| 3 Comments »
Ever since I discovered this kid a couple of years ago, I’ve been absolutely blown away by the maturity of this guitar playing. This kid is AMAZING! It’s not just that he can play at the level he plays at such a young age – he’s simply a great player in his own right!
It’s funny, but a lot of people come to GuitarGear.org by doing a Google search for “Sungha Jung.” It’s great for me because I appreciate the traffic. But irrespective of that, this kid is someone I’m going to enjoy watching grow up.
I spent the last hour going through his videos on YouTube. His playing is so natural and his whole attitude is completely unassuming. You can tell that he plays for the pure joy of playing. That’s a lesson all we jaded musicians should remember.
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