Shrapnel guys that kept growing musically

John 14:6 said:
Vinnie Moore, Jason Becker, Tony MacAlpine and Paul Gilbert come to mind. I took lessons from Darren Housholder and he is Shrapnel guy who can play anything
Click to expand...
I too took lessons from Darren. Great player, but couldn't play the same thing twice in a row without making a mistake, which explains why the two solo guitar two handed pieces on his first album were the actual 8 track home demos, he couldn't do it in the studio. He also seemed to have a problem with any of the other guys on the scene that weren't Shrapnel guys. He idolized Paul Gilbert, hated George Lynch and Zakk Wylde, etc. Weird guy. Got caught up in some nefarious business dealings with his Psycho Pharma supplement brand later on.
 
paulyc said:
I too took lessons from Darren. Great player, but couldn't play the same thing twice in a row without making a mistake, which explains why the two solo guitar two handed pieces on his first album were the actual 8 track home demos, he couldn't do it in the studio. He also seemed to have a problem with any of the other guys on the scene that weren't Shrapnel guys. He idolized Paul Gilbert, hated George Lynch and Zakk Wylde, etc. Weird guy. Got caught up in some nefarious business dealings with his Psycho Pharma supplement brand later on.
Click to expand...
I was gonna take some lessons from him in 94 but I didnt have a car and he lived in sherman oaks.. Cool dude-lil hyped up lol, I went with John Tapella who was really chill and sincere.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
It's pretty crazy how quick the world caught up to VH isn't it? All these guys are monster players in their own right and weren:t too far behind.
Click to expand...
True but EVH really opened the door. Even at the time Ed hit guitarists were taking it up a notch. Rock guys like Gary Moore & Schenker, fusion guys like Di Meola, session guys like Luke. I mean the LA Scene alone was just amazing for the amount of players that were swimming in the same waters at the same time. The envelope was being pushed then Ed exploded, the lid was off. Followed by Rhoads, Sykes, Campbell, YJM, Vandenberg. All those Shrapnel guys that would follow suddenly had a ton of stuff to pull from and add to their arsenal.

As an older dude that grew up in that time, it was freaking fun and amazing.
 
paulyc said:
I too took lessons from Darren. Great player, but couldn't play the same thing twice in a row without making a mistake, which explains why the two solo guitar two handed pieces on his first album were the actual 8 track home demos, he couldn't do it in the studio.
Click to expand...

I follow him on IG and kind of got this vibe from him too - some of the stuff he posts up is pretty incredible and then some of it is kinda sloppy
 
paulyc said:
I'm pretty sure they used Prairie Sun in Cotai Ca ? The studio is still there, they have a FB page, VERY well appointed studio.
Click to expand...

I think you are right after looking at a few of the albums and seeing where they were recorded. I guess they used the limited budget for studio time rather than hiring anyone to mix and record.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
I think you are right after looking at a few of the albums and seeing where they were recorded. I guess they used the limited budget for studio time rather than hiring anyone to mix and record.
Click to expand...
I think those albums sound dated, sure, but they're not as bad as I think you guys seem to think they are.
 
paulyc said:
I think those albums sound dated, sure, but they're not as bad as I think you guys seem to think they are.
Click to expand...

Bad is such a relative term, but I remember a few of them just being god awful.
In their defense, it ain't easy recording a million notes a second with machine gun
double bass drums pummeling underneath everything.
 
Wayniac3 said:
I'd LOVE to hear the Racer X stuff with the guitar tones & production from the Scream CD.
Click to expand...

My benchmark for amazing heavy production around that time was Operation Mindcrime.
That LP cranked on a good system is absolutely amazing.

Always wondered what something like Tears of the Sahara would have sounded like with
similar quality production.

Who the hell signed off on this snare drum????

 
Donnie B said:
My benchmark for amazing heavy production around that time was Operation Mindcrime.
That LP cranked on a good system is absolutely amazing.

Always wondered what something like Tears of the Sahara would have sounded like with
similar quality production.

Who the hell signed off on this snare drum????

Click to expand...

Yeah but cool tune though with Lynch jumping in.
 
Devin said:
Butcher is a kick ass amp though; I guess whatever studio gear they were using was weak as fuck (or the engineer/producer was)
Click to expand...
Wasn't a Butcher though, I know Tony and Vinny both used Tony's Peavey Classic to do their first albums, and that's the one with the transistor preamp and 6L6 poweramp. There MAY have been a Rockman used as the front end though, bypassing the SS Peavey preamp. There's a pic of the amp on the back of Edge Of Insanity.
 
I was a Junior in high school whrn Tony Macalpine's "Maximum Security" came out and floored me. Listen to "Autumn Lords". Those decending runs after the first verse are him playing the keyboard, followed by guitar. The guy is phenomenal.
 
paulyc said:
I too took lessons from Darren. Great player, but couldn't play the same thing twice in a row without making a mistake, which explains why the two solo guitar two handed pieces on his first album were the actual 8 track home demos, he couldn't do it in the studio. He also seemed to have a problem with any of the other guys on the scene that weren't Shrapnel guys. He idolized Paul Gilbert, hated George Lynch and Zakk Wylde, etc. Weird guy. Got caught up in some nefarious business dealings with his Psycho Pharma supplement brand later on.
Click to expand...
???? Darren LOVED George Lynch and they are still friends. I never heard him trash talk anyone other than someone from Guitar World whom he referred to as a c@@k. Darren said his favorite guitar tone was probably George Lynch's Wicked Sensation tone. And Darren never had a problem playing his stuff or others note for note, or transcribing things accurately note for note. He did the same thing many artists have done over the years when recording, which is go with the demo version sometimes because it has a certain vibe that is hard to recreate. He could show me any song of his that I wanted to know note for note without having to think about it.

A few years back he started breaking down some of his original songs on YouTube videos. Darren was always laid back and loved teaching. I was his last lesson on Saturday afternoons, and he enjoyed teaching me and my passion for learning. He often took a break and grabbed a sandwich and took his time with me. Sometimes the lessons would last a couple of hours. He was an extremely cool guy and teacher. You and I had completely different experiences with Darren.

 
Ron Thal has to take the cake as to who has kept growing musically. Other than Kotzen, most of the others shot their wad and that was that. Of course they all got better, but in terms of musical growth... my vote goes to Thal, followed by Kotzen
 
Last edited:
kmanick said:
Greg Howe, tony MacAlpine and Vinny Moore are by far my favorites from that era. Howe has really grown a lot
Tony Macalpine as well
Click to expand...
These are by far my favorites too!

I'm so thankful to have had Greg Howe rent a space in my old guitar shop years ago and heard him practice and give lessons.

I don't know why, but Tony MacAlpine's music touches me the most in this list. I appreciate his adventures in different genres, 7 string, and just continued advancement in all of his musical skills.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top