DrewJD82
Well-known member
Billy can be annoying when he’s interrupting but I think once I saw a couple of these and started to understand why he interrupts or why he can be pushy with getting a certain answer from a guest, they were easier to tolerate. I still probably said “STFU!” 10x during the Vai interview, but I get the idea that Billy has both felt he’s been misunderstood and actually has been misunderstood quite a bit over the years, so when he’s really trying to connect to someone or connect an idea to a question, he’s a bit over the top in ensuring it happens. His drummer is probably the only person on the planet that ever tells him to shut up.
He’s more intelligent than I ever gave him credit for, some of the insight he’s let out during those interviews is telling of that, particularly the Gene Simmons one where it almost seemed like Gene would throw him a bone every now and then by giving him an intelligent answer instead of “For money, duh” over and over. Both intelligent guys, but I get the idea Gene likes keeping his intelligence under wraps as where Billy is always looking for a chance to show people how intelligent he is.
He’s more intelligent than I ever gave him credit for, some of the insight he’s let out during those interviews is telling of that, particularly the Gene Simmons one where it almost seemed like Gene would throw him a bone every now and then by giving him an intelligent answer instead of “For money, duh” over and over. Both intelligent guys, but I get the idea Gene likes keeping his intelligence under wraps as where Billy is always looking for a chance to show people how intelligent he is.
R
Robostyle
Well-known member
Yeah, but for how long?
Vai is obviously the more talented player imho
DrewJD82
Well-known member
There’s no way in fuck Billy Corgan would or could ever write something like “For The Love Of God”
There’s also no way in fuck Steve Vai would or could ever write something like “1979”
Alas, those dudes don’t care about that shit, much in the same way a roofer doesn’t give a fuck how good a plumber is at plumbing, they’re entirely different jobs serving different purposes.
That said, Billy wasn’t lying about being into the shred guys when he was a teen-
Think about this after watching the clip- You’ve now heard Billy Corgan shred more than the overwhelming majority of members of any guitar forum.
SonVolt
Well-known member
You can make the same argument about Vai vs Hendrix... but we both know that's a silly argument. Vai has technical chops, but little else. It takes a lot more than that to be part of the cultural musical zeitgeist, something Corgan very much was for several generations of kids. Vai never was or will be.
DrewJD82
Well-known member
For sure, though I strongly disagree that his technical chops are his biggest selling point because the chops are just a means to an end to him, with the end being composition. That dude writes some crazy ass shit that gets lost on anyone who isn’t keen on theory, he’s not just solo’ing over basic backing tracks.
Shit, that Corgan interview addressed it better than anywhere else I’ve heard Vai discuss it-
Writing shit like this isn’t something one can do simply because they have the ability to play fast or technical-
R
Robostyle
Well-known member
This clip was not really impressive to me, but then again i'm not a shredder.
I'm a big Zappa fan, so mainstream stuff is not the end all, be all for me.
I like some SP songs, and yes they sure were on the radio back then. I'd rather listen to FZ over SP, much more interesting imho.
Corgan is a decent player too, not knocking him.
R
Robostyle
Well-known member
I was never making this point. This is simply my opinion of their guitar playing abilities.
The "cultural musical zeitgeist" is something that does not interest me.
Devin
Well-known member
Certainly an unpopular opinion but for me personally Fire Garden is absolute PEAK Vai
DrewJD82
Well-known member
Same for me, mainly because that was the first Vai album I got after he blew my 14-year old mind at the ‘96 G3 show. I can absolutely see why Passion And Warfare was his big one, but I think Fire Garden is the first time we got to really hear Vai being Vai. While I don’t think he compromised himself with anything prior I don’t believe he was unaware that P&W was going to get some recognition due to the guitar hero aspects of it all and that was built-into the album to a degree.
marvcus
Well-known member
How did this turn into a Vai vs Corgan thing?
Corgan comes across as a self-absorbed, shit interviewer and that’s that. A 6 year old could’ve taken a better interview of Vai.
Corgan comes across as a self-absorbed, shit interviewer and that’s that. A 6 year old could’ve taken a better interview of Vai.
WizardAmpIphoneClip
Well-known member
Billy Corgan could make anyone nauseous
BABMusic
Well-known member
No one would probably listen to his podcast if he weren't Billy Corgan. I am a Pumpkins fan, but Billy has always been kind of annoying at times.
cragginshred
Well-known member
I cannot name one 'song" by whatever his band was
Vai replaced EVH in Dave's band nuff said! And Yngwie in Alcatraz
cragginshred
Well-known member
Was Billy the guitarist in pumpkins ? If yes while I was at Dave Friedman's shop last year they were re tubing his JJ 100 and he has glued spots where he wanted his dials. Dave and the tech working on the amp literally were saying 'what a dumb ass to put glue all over his amp while working on it.
thegame
Well-known member
You serious bro?
BABMusic
Well-known member
I didn't know Corgan used a JJ100. This was an amusing story.
BABMusic
Well-known member
I did a little "research" into this, and it turns out that it's James Iha (the other guitarist) who uses the JJ100.
SonVolt
Well-known member
Ask your grandkids.
overthemountain
Well-known member
It's not perfect but overall I think a great interview, and nice to see it coming from the viewpoint of an interviewer who has actually lived the experiences they are discussing, and not just a journalist. Need to check out some of his other ones.