Totally Agree with you there...



As for Justin Bieber, there is a client here who has a pretty good business going with a Rock show he does for kids. They were hired to play at a hospital for children and Justin Bieber was there as well... this is how pathetic it has gotten. The majority of the kids did not know who J.B. was and obviously they have more important things to think about. Well... the production staff came supplied with "we love you Justin" signs and handed them to all the kids.

I'll keep my opinion to myself in the notion of who i think is overrated... I'm definately getting a kick out of this thread though.

And People think the political threads are heated.

Nirvana

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

yes, I do! LOL...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Dear Mr. Ninja--

First of all, I want to say I respect you as a musician and as a person. While you and I don’t play similar styles of music, your posts, opinions and world view are always interesting and informative. I seek out what you write, because you're usually right on target and entertaining.

Also, even though I am a white Christian guy from Texas, I don’t usually advertise that because it causes others to put in place a negative stereotype that colors every part of my existence. I am not a jingoistic xenophobe (if I were, I would be a hypocrite, since both my family and my wife’s family have been in the States for less than 100 years), I’m not a racist (my wife is of Mexican descent, my best friend is Jewish and my bassist is black) and I resent the fact that many Europeans/Brits think that everyone from the South are rednecks living in a trailer park while married to their combination sister/cousin.

I don’t want to get into an urination contest with you (because everyone loses), so please take this in the spirit it is intended.

You mentioned that Americans “wouldn’t be aware of blues if it weren’t for…” various British Artists…and you are partially right—Clapton, the Stones, et al brought blues into the forefront in the 1960s, when it was at a low point as an art form. For that, I thank those artists.

By your argument, however, SRV was highly influential due to the fact that he was at the forefront of the blues revival of the 1980s. Robert Cray, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and many, many other (already-established) bands were thrust into the public eye because SRV&DT made blues marketable. While none of those artists had gigantic hits, they had been languishing in small clubs and minor recording contracts before “Texas Flood” came out and sold well enough that record companies saw a potential for sales. Also, the attention SRV got helped to re-ignite the stateside careers of dozens of older blues artists such as Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and your own countryman John Mayall.

Speaking of which, you seem to think SRV’s lack of chart-topping success somehow make him over-rated; by your argument, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are the greatest artists in the world at this point (although I do like watching Katy Perry). Also by that standard, Peter Green, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Billy Joe Shaver and a thousand other “touchstone” artists that musicians of all types look back to are overrated.

You mentioned that you have been coast-to-coast in the US (I have too); but I don’t know if you were actually here in Texas during the 1980s. There was a movement of huge importance to blues fans…ZZ Top was already established, but became internationally famous with the release of the “Eliminator” album and videos…SRV & DT released “Texas Flood”…the I-35 interstate corridor (from San Antonio to Austin to Fort Worth and Dallas) became a life line of music (not just blues) as never before; new bands sprang up everywhere, new clubs were established, and there really was a movement of Texas Blues that was new and exciting, while still respectful to their forebears. Describing the importance of this movement and this “scene” to someone who wasn’t there is hard to do…for a good overview, get the DVD “Antone’s—Austin’s Home of the Blues”.

I like Stevie Ray Vaughan (a lot), but I don’t think he is the end-all/be-all of blues. His albums could be thought of as somewhat formulaic (a fast instrumental, a slow-burn blues song, a funky remake of an obscure blues song, a Hendrix cover [or Hendrixian original], a jazz instrumental, then repeat), but I like his music. He did influence some of the things I play and some of the instruments I chose (especially early in my life)…I’ve always played more like Jimmie Vaughan (regular picking) and Muddy Waters (slide) than SRV.

As a player, SRV was interesting—he combined a hundred different influences (including Hendrix) and made his own playing style. What makes him less impressive in this day and age is the fact that there are too many imitators that have diluted his individual “sound.”

The fact that John Hammond, Albert King, Albert Collins, Lonnie Mack, Hubert Sumlin, Derek O'Brien, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, BB King, David Bowie, Nile Rogers, John Lee Hooker, Billy Gibbons, Buddy Whittington, Bugs Henderson, Mick-n-Keef, Eric Clapton (and a hundred other guys I forgot) all sang his praises while he was alive (not just after death) makes him relevant as an artist.

He wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t just a Hendrix retread, either…maybe you see him as such because (as a Brit), you can claim Hendrix as a hometown artist just as much as Americans can. I really can’t speak to the international influence of SRV, but I know he was/is huge in my neighborhood.

I do have this question, however…do you like blues? If not, I can understand your extreme dislike of the esteemed Mr. Vaughan, because he was primarily a blues artist who was influenced by everything before him.

People are sometimes shocked when I say I don’t like prog-rock bands like Yes, Rush, etc. or bands like Boston, but I don’t get angry or upset if people disagree with me. You’re obviously passionate about this, and I hope this doesn’t start a war of sorts, but I respectfully disagree that SRV was overrated.

Good Vibes to You!

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

yeah that's why they keep track of sales . . . . .

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

it's most the press wich overates bands, hype hype hype and later also often fall down. no overates bands for me. either i like a bands music or not.

cheers

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It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting - paulo coelho

You sir have not only made your point but it was backed up by real knowledge of the individual, the era, and the history that was made and influenced by the individual. I too, have always enjoyed niki's opinion but like I said earlier I'd have to agree to disagree. I'm not sure what the rant was about.

The saving grace for this thread is that NOBODY said Rory Gallagher ... other than that...

Had someone mentioned Rory, I would have flat gone off.....or at least known for sure that no one knows what they're talking about.

Pearl Jam

Good band...bizzare vocals.

Don't know about overated, how about just annoying
Bon Jovi
U2
Sting

Anyone with a recording contract.

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Don't worry, Be happy.

guns n roses of course

How about for total smoke and mirrors....

Milli Vannilli gets the most votes.. ( how do you spell that anyway?) not that it matters.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Well, I have read through this thread, and it would seen everyone has missed the mark here.

The band most deserving of the title "Most overrated" is the one with a lead singer that if you removed the "F" word from his songs would loose half of there lyrics, the one with a guitarist that in guitar world claimed that hitting the root note was not that important and along as you hit around it was close enough.

The one that has fallen out of favor of late, but inm the late 90's was on top of the world, that band....

Limp Bizkit

The complete example of the talentless band if there ever was one.

I win, no need to look further.

Don't believe me?, watch this for yourself....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MI-_jWAmlE

Now who can argue with that?

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Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.