Joe Satriani
Instrumental rock guitarist and teacher, and a recognized virtuoso rock guitarist.
I assume most guitar players are like me. They're playing, having fun; then they get a magazine in the mail that says "Shred Is Dead" and they say, "What the Hell?" They throw it away and keep on playing.
I'll tell you one thing: I will always play the sh** out of my guitar.
When you hear an instrumental song someone is singing over, you know right away it's wrong.
...Is the greatest guitar player in the world.
I've always done "the wrong thing" and had a pretty wonderful time doing it.
When these guitar mags bring up that stuff up and say such and such came up with this and that which is pushing the boundaries, I just say, "let's step back for a minute and admit something: nothing has happened for the last 100 years." And it's okay. It's not a bad thing ... We're all working with "tools" that have been in existence for the last 100 years and there hadn't been a new "tool" for a long long time.
When you think about where guitar playing is going today...: it's going everywhere at the same time.
There's a fine line between giving the sense of freedom and being too free.
Guitars are fun. There are plenty of different kinds to play. They look cool. They sound cool. Don't *you* want to play guitar?