David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)

Name: David Jon Gilmour
Born: 6th March, 1946 (Cambrige, England)

Profile: He is an English rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist, one of the lead singers, and one of the main songwriters in the progressive rock band "Pink Floyd". In addition to his work with "Pink Floyd", Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist.

History: Gilmour attended The Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and met future "Pink Floyd" guitarist and vocalist Syd Barret, along with bassist and vocalist Roger Waters. Gilmore studied modern languages along with Barrett, and spent his lunchtime learning to play the guitar. They were not yet bandmates however, and Gilmour started playing in the band "Joker's Wild" in 1962.

In 1966, Gilmour left "Joker's Wild" and busked around Spain and France with some friends. However, they were not very successful, living virtually a hand-to-mouth existence, and about a year later he returned back to England.

In 1967, Gilmour was approached by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining "Pink Floyd", which he did in January 1968, making "Pink Floyd" briefly a five-piece band. He was used to fill in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the front man was unable to take a consistent part in "Pink Floyd's" live performances.

When Syd Barrett left the group, Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist and shared lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright in Barrett's stead. After recording 'Animals' album, Gilmour thought that his musical influence had been underused, and channeled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album in 1978, which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills.

Gilmour's solo style is often characterized by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. He is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He plays bass guitar (which he did on some "Pink Floyd" tracks), keyboards, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track 'Dominoes', and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.

Taking time off from "Pink Floyd's" schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer for a wide variety of acts which included former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, Eric Clapton, BB King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.

In 1985, Gilmour was member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album 'Boys & Girls', as well as the song 'Is Your Love Strong Enough' for the US release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film 'Legend'. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film. He also took part in a comedy skit titled 'The Easy Guitar Book Sketch' with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Lemmy (Motorhead), Mark King (Level 42) and Gary Moore.

In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game 'Tuneland', along with the additional saxophonist for "Pink Floyd", Scott Page. In 2001-2002, Gilmour held a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine included Gilmour in the list of hundred greatest guitarists of all time.

Influences: Jimi Hendrix

Axology: Fender Stratocasters, Fender Telecasters, Fender Esquire, Fender Bass VI, Fender Precision bass, Fender Jazz bass, Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, Gretsch guitars, Ovation guitars, Takamine guitars, Martin guitars, Taylor guitars, Guild guitars, Charvel guitars, Music Man Fretless Stingray bass guitars, Steinberger GL, Jose Vilaplana nylon string guitar, Fender amplifiers, Mesa/Boogie amplifiers and Hiwatt amplifiers

Signature song(s): A Saucerful of Secrets - Pink Floyd (A Saucerful of Secrets, 1968) and Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 - Pink Floyd (The Wall, 1979)

Link(s):

http://www.davidgilmour.com/ (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5LcMAlR7nc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGV1lfoKhi0&feature=related

Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe)

Name: Robert Alan Deal
Born: 4th May, 1951 (Terre Haute, Indiana, USA)

Profile: He is the lead guitarist and songwriter for American hard rock band "Mötley Crüe". In his career with "Mötley Crüe", Mars has created the aura of being a somewhat mysterious figure, letting the other members of the band speak for him in public and in print, despite being the eldest and most articulate member of the band. In what public interviews he has conducted, Mars often comes off as a very reserved and somewhat quiet individual.

History: After his family relocated from Indiana to California, Deal dropped out of high school and began playing guitar in a series of unsuccessful blues based rock bands throughout the 70's. After nearly a decade of frustration with the California music scene, Deal reinvented himself, changing his stage name to Mick Mars and dyeing his hair jet black, hoping for a fresh start.

In 1981, he put in a want ad in the LA newspaper 'The Recycler', describing himself as 'a loud, rude, and aggressive guitar player'. Bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee contacted him and after hearing him play decided he would be their guitarist. Upon Lee's prodding, they persuaded a former high school friend of Lee's and local rock & roll singer Vince Neil to join. It was Mars' suggestion that the band be called "Mötley Crüe", a name that had stuck in his head from his days as a member of a band called "White Horse".

Unlike many of the hard rock/heavy metal guitarists of his era, Mars' guitar style is steeped in the blues tradition. He employs frequent use of a metal slide in his soloing and takes on both the rhythm and lead guitar duties of the band. In the studio and live, Mars frequently tunes his guitar down a whole step to get a stronger and crunchier rhythm sound. The altered tuning also increases string slack to enable his characteristic hammer-on trills, pitch bending, and pinch harmonics during soloing. Mars also introduced the pedal steel guitar to many of "Mötley Crüe's" later recordings and live sets, and also taken a critical role in songwriting for the band, coming up with many of "Mötley Crüe's" best known riffs.

Recently, he contributed his songwriting skills to John LeCompt (Evanescence), "Machina" and to the Swedish band "CRASHDÏET". Mars also played lead guitar for "Hinder's" 2008 album 'Take It to the Limit' and "Papa Roach's" 2009 album 'Metamorphosis'. Currently, Mars is on tour with the three other original members of "Mötley Crüe", supporting their newest album, 'Saints of Los Angeles', which has revived a strong public interest in the band more than 25 years after its formation.

Influences: Unknown

Axology: Gibson Les Paul customs guitars, BC Rich Warlock guitar, Hamer Blitz guitar, Gibson Flying V, Guild Flying Star, Kramer guitars, Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters and Marshall amplifiers

Signature song(s): Too Young To Fall in Love - Mötley Crüe (Shout at the Devil, 1983)

Link(s):

http://www.mickmars.tv/ (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfU502fvO2Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNMuzKc_0Mg

Bryan Adams (Sweeney Todd)

Name: Bryan Guy Adams
Born: 5th November, 1959 (Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Profile: He is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for contributions to popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world. He is also a well known photographer.

History: Adams musical goals began during his teenage years and took music seriously. He started to play musical instruments like guitar and piano. At the age of 15, Adams quit school to play in nightclubs with bands like "Shock" and "Sweeney Todd", who released an album called 'If Wishes Were Horses' as the lead singer.

In 1978, at the age of 18, Adams sent a few demo recordings to A&M Records in Toronto. Not long afterwards he signed with them, some of the first demos have surfaced over the years, most notably 'I'm Ready' and 'Remember', which was recorded on his first album. Both songs were covered by other artists even before his first album was released.

In 1980, his self-titled debut album was released and marked the beginning of what was to become a long songwriting partnership between Adams and Jim Vallance. The Adams/Vallance partnership wrote songs for many other artists notably Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond and "Kiss", to name a few.

In 1983, Adam's third album 'Cuts Like a Knife' was released. Singles from the album like 'Straight from the Heart' and 'Cuts Like a Knife' was the most successful songs which made Adams achieved international recognition, popularity and sales. The next year, Adams released another album 'Reckless', which included the hit singles 'Heaven' and 'Summer of '69'. The 'Reckless' album was Adams best-selling album in the United States and was certified five times platinum.

In 1991, Adams's next album, 'Waking Up the Neighbours', sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album featured the power ballad '(Everything I Do) I Do It for You'. This song was featured as 'Original Soundtrack' in the movie 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves', and spent a record-breaking 16 weeks at number one on the UK singles chart. It also achieved record-breaking sales of 4 million copies in the US.

In 1993, Adams released a compilation album entitled 'So Far So Good', that again topped the charts in numerous countries. It included a brand new song called 'Please Forgive Me', that became another number 1 single in Australia as well as reaching the Top 3 in the US, the UK and Germany.

With great albums and powerful songs which he composed and written, Adams is still in the music business. Recently, Adams released 'One World, One Flame' in Fabruary, 2010 - a track which will be used as a theme song by the major German TV station ARD for their Olympic TV Coverage of Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Influences: Unknown

Axology: Fender Stratocaster, Gibson acoustic and Guild acoustic guitars

Signature song(s): (Everything I Do)I Do It for You - Bryan Adams (Waking Up the Neighbours, 1991) and Please Forgive Me - Bryan Adams (So Far So Good, 1993)

Link(s):

http://www.bryanadams.com/ (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7b37l_B4vI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcoUoWTNp7U

Pete Townshend (The Who)

Name: Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend
Born: 19th May, 1945 (London, England)

Profile: He is an English rock guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for "The Who", as well as for his own solo career. His career with "The Who" spans more than 40 years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the most influential bands of the rock era. Townshend has also been a contributor and author of newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, as well as collaborating as a lyricist (and composer) for many other musical acts.

History: Born into a musical family, his father was a professional saxophonist in "The Squadronaires" and his mother was a singer, Townshend exhibited a fascination with music at an early age. In the mid 50's, he was drawn to American rock and roll. When he was 12, his grandmother gave him his first guitar, a single pickup Harmony Stratocruiser. He did, however, learn the banjo joining a traditional jazz band "The Confederates" playing with John Entwistle as trumpet.

From this beginning Townshend and Entwistle joined "The Detours", the lead guitarist Roger Daltrey at the time, sold him an Epiphone. In 1964, they renamed "The Detours" to "The Who". The band comprising Daltrey on vocals, Townshend on guitar, Entwistle on bass guitar and Moon on drums. The band raw and high-energy music, strongly influenced by American R&B, reflected the youthful frustration of their generation and became synonymous with the mod movement.

Townshend was to channel his self-expression through the group's overall sound, the songs he wrote for them, his rhythm guitar and his on-stage image. This separated him from most of his peers; Eric Clapton, for example, were very much lead guitarist. Townshend was not. Frustrated because he was unable to get the kind of sounds that Clapton could, he discovered his own solution.

One night, while he was on stage at a club in West London, he accidentally put the head of his guitar (a Rickenbacker) through the false ceiling above him, snapping off the neck. When the audience started to laugh, he smashed the rest of the guitar to pieces, picked up a 12-string guitar and continued to play for the rest of the show as if nothing had happened. Subsequently, ritualistic equipment-smashing became the climax of many of "The Who's" stage and television appearances.

By this time, Townshend, the inventor of the 'rock power chord' and a pioneer user of controlled feedback, had developed a unique playing style. Laced with on stage acrobatics and his trademark (windmilling arm motions), it provided a solid, powerful foundation for the rest of the band.

Influences: Link Wray, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and Hank Marvin (The Shadows)

Axology: Emile Grimshaw SS De Luxe, 6-string and 12-string Rickenbacker semi-hollow electric guitars, Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster, Vox Cheetah guitar, Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul DeLuxe, Gretsch 6120 guitar, Guild acoustic, Takamine acoustic, Boss OD-1 overdrive pedal, T-Rex Replica delay pedal and Marshall amplifiers

Signature song(s): My Generation, Anyway, Anyhow, Anytime, I Can't Explain and Substitute

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5yymadwxj8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AXnr6Gg3s0&feature=related

"... possibly the greatest live band ever" - Eddie Vedder

Duane Eddy

Name: Duane Eddy
Born: 26th April, 1938 (Corning, New York, USA)

Profile: He is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was one of the earliest guitarist to have a signature series guitar (under Guild guitars endorsement deal).

History: He took up guitar at the age of 5, learning first on an old Martin acoustic. For his 13th birthday, he was given a Gibson Les Paul, which he had traded in for a Gretsch Chet Atkins by the time he was 15 years old, when he was sitting in at local roadhouses with Al Casey's band.

In 1954 (Arizona), Eddy met Lee Hazlewood, who would become his longtime partner, co-writer and producer. They both moved to Phoenix, where Eddy formed a band known as "The Rebels", his commercial success was all about sound, feel and basic melody. He reaped considerable benefit from this enforced discipline, becoming the biggest-selling instrumentalist of his day.

In 1957, Eddy was 19 years old when he cut his first hit song at Audio Recorders Studio, Arizona. At the time, many people thought that he tuned his guitar down. In fact, Eddy would write and play most of the tunes in A and E, allowing open-sting rot notes to ring on. Later, he would tune his guitar down a semi-tone so that his fingerings would be the same but he could play in A flat and E flat, or he would tune up a semi-tone to play in F and B flat. Later, he experimented further.

Influences: Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Howard Roberts, Charlie Christian, B.B. King and Barney Kessel.

Axology: Gretsch guitar model 6120 Chet Atkins, Guild guitars signature series, Magnaton amplifier and Tom Macormack custom-made 100w

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVveJKV4ivQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=o_76N2Q0NOo&feature=related