Back when, when I was holed up in Terre Haute, Indiana for a month or so, I was rooming with a fellow whilst attending some classes on graphic design and such. This was about 1990 and he was very much into three musicians I had never heard of: Joe Satirani, Yngwie Malmsteen, and the band, Jane's Addiction. One righteous mixtape and a year later, I was dreaming of what Jane says, gypsy-klezmer-rock mashups, and macking it with that girl I met in Model U.N. It was also in 1991 that teenage Brian Carrol (later to be known as Buckethead) moved into the basement of Guitar Player Magazine's editor, Jas Obrecht, and thus began the artist's passage from strength to greater strength: huzzah! Carrol was brought to the attention of avant-improvisers, collaborators and producers Bill Laswell and John Zorn (which is how I heard of him). Just as I was beginning to learn about new ambient through the likes of Laswell's Axiom releases, astralwerks, Silent/Flask, and the FAX label, word of Buckethead was spreading across the ambient/noise genre through the metal community. Appearing as subliminal blips on Space Ghost Coast to Coast also helped, but I wasn't entirely aware of Buckethead until my computer was chronically ill recently and I was listening to KLSU 91.1 Baton Rouge full time in stead of my inaccessible musics. It was well worth the break for I heard Buckethead's rawk ballad, "Nottingham Lace" released on his 2005 album Enter the Chicken.
This is about the most heavy metal guitar I've heard in a long time that I've been willing to put up with. Something about this track is just putting me under a spell. Part of it is that Buckethead changes focus and his direction so often. I don't know why I like it so much. I lost interest in Joe Satriani pretty quickly, but maybe this means I should revisit him. What's happening to my ears?! Buckethead has attested that Satriani and Malmsteen were huge influences on him, so perhaps my ears have found a hook on patterns I hadn't heard in the last half of my waking life. Click on the link above (or on the picture below) to hear "Nottingham Lace"... I think, if you can get past the bluesey electirc guitar riffs (?) at the beginning, you'll hear what I'm talking about, and if you do, let me know what you think.
I'd also appreciate any further Buckethead related suggestions. Danke shöen!
My Trusted MOGs
Here's a youtube video of a live performance of "Nottingham Lace" by Buckethead, date and venue unknown. I like the album recording better but for those who have never seen him before, this is as good an introduction as any:
My Trusted MOGs
Extra crispy, please! Oh, thank you so much.
My Trusted MOGs
I had no idea - I thought he was simply a guitar goof with a bucket on his head, perhaps from trying to shield his poor senses from Axl. Relieved to be corrected.
My Trusted MOGs
Hard to believe I found out about this guy by listening to Hearts of Space ... one of the Guitar Shows they feature periodically. If you want to hear Buckethead make nice check out the album that HOS featured that night: Coloma. It's sublime and still edgy. Wouldn't I love to know how this guy's brain works.