Jason Becker on Axl Rose, Buckethead and Chinese Democracy

[MeanBone]

in a recent interview for metal sludge, Jason had this to say about Axl, Bucket and Chinese.

For those of you who don't know who Jason is and are goin to bash Jason, be sure to google him before and check out his story and imense talent. he is one of the most brilliant guitarrists that has ever lived. He suffers from a rare disease that got him paralyzed and he only moves his eyes. From what i understand he has a machine that can get him to make sentences thru eye movement, so it takes a lot for him to do an interview, and he still does it and doesn't bitch about him, so if you're goin to bash him at least be sure to see who it is you're bashing.

5. Rate a scab. This is where you rate the scab player 1-10. Scab is a guy who joined a band taking the ?original? players place. And of course a 1 is a scab who sucks, or sucks in the way he fills the other guys shoes, and a 10 is a great scab and a guy who kicks ass.

This is pretty much of an impossible thing for me to do because I haven?t heard most of these scabs. I saw Wolfgang on youtube and I would say he sounded great. I give him a 9.5. He doesn?t get a 10 only because he isn?t Billy Sheehan. Michael Anthony was great too. I have gotten burned by Yngwie?s albums too many times to check any more out. The same thing over and over can get annoying. With that said, I would love to work with Yngwie on a piece of mine in the future; it would be a thrill. People keep tell-ing me I need to check out Buckethead, but when I do, I am not into it. I am probably not listening to the right stuff. I do appreciate his eclectic tastes. In my last Metal Sludge interview, I think I didn?t give Slash enough credit. I think Robert Trujillo is so incredibly awesome, but so is Jason Newsted. I recently met Metallica at one of their shows. They were all so sweet to me. Great band!

Tommy Thayer replaces Ace Frehley in KISS =
Robert Mason replacing Jani Lane on vocals in Warrant =
Al Petrelli replacing Marty Friedman in Megadeth =
Johnny Solinger singing in place of Sebastian Bach in Skid Row =
Wolgang replacing Michael Anthony in Van Halen =
Stevie D replacing Yogi on rhythm guitar in Buckcherry =
Tim ?Ripper? Owens replacing the last several singers in Yngwie?s band =
Eric Singer replacing Peter Criss in KISS =
Buckethead taking Slash?s place in Guns n? Roses =
Robert Trujillo replacing Newsted in Metallica =

6. Axl recently put out the long awaited ?Chinese Democracy? CD. What are Jason Becker?s thoughts and opinions on the release, and/or the Axl Rose story over the last decade?

Well, I hadn?t heard any of it when I read this question, so I just went to itunes and bought the two most popular songs, ?Better? and ?Chinese Democracy.? I liked ?Better? a lot. ?Chinese Democracy? didn?t do anything for me. It usually takes me two or three lis-tens to a song before I know if I like it or not though. I don?t know enough about Axl?s story to comment on it. Michael Lee Firkins told me he auditioned for GNR. Axl was sit-ting in the dark. He told Firkins that he used the whammy bar too much. HA HA! That made me lose a lot of respect for Axl. He obviously has no ear for brilliant and unique guitar playing. I think he blew it by not hiring Firkins.

When I was staying in Roth?s condo off of the Sunset Strip, right above Tower Records, I guess Axl was staying there too, because I ran into him on the elevator. He had a huge body guard with him. Axl and I nodded to each other, but I felt like he would prefer that I didn?t say anything, so I kept my trap shut.

[estebanf]

weird, coming from such a huge talent like Jason.

the worst shit ever written by Buckethead is better than any creation from Slash after he left GNR.

[MeanBone]

yeah i found that weird as well, i would've thought bucket would be something he'd like, but then again he did say he may of have not heard the right stuff.

i for one still find buckethead brilliant and inspiring.

and i'd have to agree with axl, firkins uses the whammy bar way too much, regardless of how good his playing is.

[Gunner80]

Who?

[Howard2k]

Jason Becker:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jK978921Yw

Or maybe here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYIZP1hrfZI&feature=related

[Agno]

One of the most talented musicians ever! I love Jason Becker   

http://www.myspace.com/jasonelibecker listen to his great music! He compose the music with his eyes today.

[Saul]

Somebody outta fix the machine that types for him - I think it's broken.

Fixing Jason Beckers typing machine starts now!!

p.s. I was a Jason Becker fan back before he had this disease, that kid had a chance to be really huge in the guitar world. His playing on DLR's solo album but was great if not somewhat 'confined' - I guess a band situation doesn't give you a chance to really stretch out as you have to learn to serve the song more. But I think he would have settled in to a band enviroment really good had he not got the disease.

[ppbebe]

I think you hear music differently depending on your condition..

[Smoking Guns]

He is amazing.  I think he is saying Slash in GNR is better than Bucket in GNR.  That is all.  Also, even the best of players admit some of the stuff Slash came up with, by luck or skill, is still amazing.  Some of his note selections in solos are just awesome.  Becker is a sad story, but a great guy.  Bucket is an awesome player. 

[SoulMonster]

so if you're goin to bash him at least be sure to see who it is you're bashing.

so you are telling us that just because the guy has a disease and he could play really fast in the 80s, we cannot criticize what he said? lame.

the fact he doesnt know bucketheads work speaks volumes...meaning someone in the guitar world not being aware of it. he is stuck in the 80s, which is his era and he only likes guitarists who are from the 80s or heavily duplicating the 80s. buckethead (although influenced by the 80s) does completely new things....and unlike becker, actually plays expressive instead of just technical.

firkins i happen to have heard of, and yes, he has his fingers glued onto the whammy. why becker thinks it was a weird comment by axl....? its fact, he uses the whammy like there is no tomorrow. a whammy bar fanatic playing jungle, paradise or better....yeah, so there becker also fails.

[mrlee]

No idea who this guy is.

But i see people are raping bucket.

Bucket is absolutely crap, just because someone doesnt like buckethead, does not mean they are "stuck in the 80s". Even so, some of hte best guitar playing was around that time, so go figure.

[MeanBone]

so if you're goin to bash him at least be sure to see who it is you're bashing.

so you are telling us that just because the guy has a disease and he could play really fast in the 80s, we cannot criticize what he said? lame.

the fact he doesnt know bucketheads work speaks volumes...meaning someone in the guitar world not being aware of it. he is stuck in the 80s, which is his era and he only likes guitarists who are from the 80s or heavily duplicating the 80s. buckethead (although influenced by the 80s) does completely new things....and unlike becker, actually plays expressive instead of just technical.

firkins i happen to have heard of, and yes, he has his fingers glued onto the whammy. why becker thinks it was a weird comment by axl....? its fact, he uses the whammy like there is no tomorrow. a whammy bar fanatic playing jungle, paradise or better....yeah, so there becker also fails.

lol, lame.

[ppbebe]

it is one thing to bash a person, and another to comment on their remarks.

basically I don't know the poor guitarist and i don't care much about what he thinks about a band that didn't take his friend and about a guitarist the said band took.

[+Rocker+]

weird, coming from such a huge talent like Jason.

the worst shit ever written by Buckethead is better than any creation from Slash after he left GNR.

The worst shit ever it's pretending that Slash didn't write anything in GNR. The best work of GNR is on Appetite and Illusions, that's a fact. Why?, 'cause Izzy & Slash were there.

[ppbebe]

The worst shit ever
 The best work of GNR is on Appetite and Illusions, that's a fact. Why?, 'cause Izzy & Slash were there.

not worse than stating your personal opinion as 'fact'.

[+Rocker+]

The worst shit ever
 The best work of GNR is on Appetite and Illusions, that's a fact. Why?, 'cause Izzy & Slash were there.

not worse than stating your personal opinion as 'fact'.

Maybe, but it's turning a "fact" when the most of people think the same.

[ppbebe]

not until the most of them have listened to the new album properly.

[RitzWalker8]

I really could care less.  Am I alone?

[+Rocker+]

not until the most of them have listened to the new album properly.

the New album it is not enough good to change the mind of the most of people. Sorry, Chinese is cool but it can't compete with one of the best album ever, neither the Illusions.

[SoulMonster]

so if you're goin to bash him at least be sure to see who it is you're bashing.

so you are telling us that just because the guy has a disease and he could play really fast in the 80s, we cannot criticize what he said? lame.

the fact he doesnt know bucketheads work speaks volumes...meaning someone in the guitar world not being aware of it. he is stuck in the 80s, which is his era and he only likes guitarists who are from the 80s or heavily duplicating the 80s. buckethead (although influenced by the 80s) does completely new things....and unlike becker, actually plays expressive instead of just technical.

firkins i happen to have heard of, and yes, he has his fingers glued onto the whammy. why becker thinks it was a weird comment by axl....? its fact, he uses the whammy like there is no tomorrow. a whammy bar fanatic playing jungle, paradise or better....yeah, so there becker also fails.

lol, lame.

whats lame is your 2 word response and that you try to pose like slash in all your pics. how about you answer properly or dont? if you can mock, i can too

give me a link to becker playing an expressive lyrical emotional solo which isnt about wanking like a hairspray metal monkey on crack.

then give me a link to firkins not touching the whammy longer than 1 minute in a solo.

im waiting