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Guitar One
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March 2000
BEST
IN THE U.S.
- By
Michael Mueller
A little
over a year ago, GuitarOne invited its readers to share with us the
names of the unheralded, phenomenal guitar players in their hometowns
who deserve national recognition for their talents. If you remember
reading about this, it should also come to mind that we said they
had to be good, really good. Well, many of you came through, and after
a long decision-making process and tons of research and phone calls,
we have put together a collection of 10 guitar players, representing
a wide variety of musical styles, whom we feel are among the best
in their respective genres. Throughout the process of putting this
piece together, we were astounded by how true the phrase "It's a small
world" really is. While trying to track down featured blues guitarist
Bugs Henderson, I spoke with David Card, owner of Poor David's Club
in Dallas, Texas. In our conversation, David said that he'd get me
in touch with Bugs, but he also wanted me to check out this other
hot, young player who had recently lit up his club-Monte Montgomery.
After chuckling to myself, I replied, "Funny you should mention him,
David. I just interviewed him yesterday" Later that day, while talking
with a good friend of mine in California about this feature, I found
out that she and Monte's wife are third cousins-and it doesn't end
there. Another of our featured guitarists, Rick Rossano from West
Palm Beach, Fla., shares some mutual friends with Bugs. Jazzers Richard
Boukas and Jack Grassel worked together at the National Guitar Workshop.
Country phenom Scotty Anderson also knew Richard from the Workshop.
And fusion man David "Fuze" Fiuczynski was familiar with Richard's
work. After a while, it seemed that everyone in this feature knew
or was familiar with at least one of the other players. When planning
this feature, we had to decide how to evaluate the submissions. After
tossing about several ideas, we came to the conclusion that we'd know
it when we heard it. For example, while listening to featured rock
guitarist Joy Basu, we were thinking at first, "Okay, this guy's got
a great funky groove; he's tight," and then, about 30 seconds into
the song, we were saying "Holy shit! Rewind!" And that's what our
selection criterion basically came down to: The music had to make
our jaws drop, and make us feel the incredible need to rewind and
hear it again-immediately! Now that we've kept you waiting, it's time
that we get down to business and introduce them to you. So here they
are: the "best in the U.S."
-Michael Mueller
JOY
BASU
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif. Musical Style: Rock Latest Recording:
Extraordinary Magnitude
Info/Contact: wwwjoybasu.com
Joy
Basu is a talented young guitarist in Los Angeles. While this description
could apply to literally thousands of peole in the city of Angels,
Joy certainly stands out. Currently performing with a band called
FYF, as well as with the Derek Jones Band, Joy also teaches at Musicians
Institute and at the L.A. Music Academy. He has previously taught
at Berklee College of Music and the Summer Guitar Workshop. To top
it all off, Basu recently performed with Jennifer Lopez at the 1999
Blockbuster Music Awards. Upon receiving a tip to check out Joy,
we firsi went to his web site, where we downloaded some of his sound
files and were fairly impressed. But tin' clincher was hearing Joy's
CD. I don't think it took more than one minute to decide that Joy
would bo included in this feature. This guy can fly!
Gear: Joy is endorsed by ESP guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups,
and Rocktron. Specifically, he uses the ESP Vintage Plus and the
ESP Eclipse with a Les Paul-scale neck. For amplification, Basu
uses Hughes & Kettner amps and a Fender Deluxe Reverb. And for 99%
of his work, he runs through the Rocktron Chameleon.
Practice: Joy's practice regimen is based on his pending
jobs. Much of his practice time is consumed by learning new songs
as a "hired gun." Basu told us that his big turnaround in getting
better results from his practice sessions was when he learned to
pay attention while practicing. "Many guitarists try to practice
while watching TV or catch themselves daydreaming during their sessions.
They don't realize how much more they'll get out of practice when
they concentrate on what they're doing." Another important aspect
of practice, according to Basu, is to play with other musicians.
"I've been gigging since I was 13 years old. I've learned more about
playing music through that experience than any private or bedroom
practice routines. There's a huge difference between bedroom chops
and stage chops."
Influences: As with many guitarists who began learning the
instrument in the early '80s, Joy was originally a fan of player
s like Eddie Van Halen, Neal Schon, Paul Gilbert, and Yngwie Malmsteen,
among others-and these influences are evident in his playing. But
lately, Joy has found himself more influenced by strong songwriting,
particularly the industrial sounds of Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie,
and Marilyn Manson, as well as the R&B grooves of Babyface, Diane
Warren, and Marc Anthony.
In His Own Words: While we categorized Joy as a rock guitarist,
that doesn't really come close to describing his sound. On his sampler
disc, you will hear lead lines a la Paul Gilbert interspersed with
Reznor-like industrial grooves, all with a funky appeal that could
find Basu as co-captain of the P-Funk mothership. Considering this,
we asked Joy to describe his sound and style. "I think I've created
a melting pot of rock, industrial, R&B, pop, and funk in my sound.
I listen to a wide variety of music, and I think it comes out in
my playing and writing."
Turning Point: "I knew that this is what I wanted to do since
I was a young boy strumming a tennis racket. But the real turning
point, for me was when I figured out that 'who you know' is a very
important concept in this business. I've been fortunate enough to
have gotten a few great gigs, and word spread. Since then, work
has been oretty steady". But it hasn't always been like that, right
Joy? "When I was about 21, I responded to an ad for a blues guitarist.
The guy on the phone asked me, 'How old are you?' I told him that
I was 21, and his response was, 'And you think you can play the
blues?' and he hung up." Well, to whoever that man on the phone
was: I think you might have made a mistake.
- By Michael Mueller
*Note: 9 other guitarists were featured in this same story.
Photo of Joy used in this feature is not available.
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