Lament

Yesterday was my friend Curtis’ birthday. I miss him. He was one of my closest friends and, for the record, he was much, much cooler than I ever was:

I was thinking about him the other day. The new Polyphia single dropped, the one featuring Steve Vai, and all I could think of was how Curtis would have loved this revival of highly-technical guitar music. He was years ahead of me in appreciating this stuff; hell, I’m pretty sure he introduced me to the musical magic of Vai back in the 80s. He was really into it, and I often didn’t appreciate what he was into until years later.

He would have been a kid in a candy store today.

As much as I dig this stuff, he would have really felt it on a level I just don’t have. I know “He would have really loved some of the niche music today” is a weird thing to think about an absent friend, but that’s how that kind of loss gets you. You see or feel something that the two of you had in common, something that you would have raced to share with them, and then there’s this hole where they used to be.

So, if you are into this sort of things, here are some bands I think Curtis would have liked and that you might as well:

Covet (Yvette Young) – She reminds me of Tony Levin on the Chapman Stick with her complete mastery of tapping and fluid sense of rhythm.

Ichika Nito – Just otherworldly stuff. I don’t have any touchstones to compare him to, but he’s one of those players for whom the instrument literally feels like an extension of their body rather.

Manuel Gardner Fernandes – I usually see him playing an acoustic, but when he brings his classical techniques to the electric, it’s special.

Marcin – You thought I was going to leave out acoustic guitars? Heh. Marcin is an absolutely terrifying talent and a fabulous showman.

Animals as Leaders (Tosin Abasi) – Yeah…I’m not even going to try to describe Tosin. He’s doing something that’s beyond my ability to describe. That’s probably why he had to start his own guitar company.

Jason Richardson – Like Abasi, it’s a little heavier than I generally like, but the man is a player’s player. The range he shows in this song is pretty amazing.

Finally, here’s the Polyphia track I was talking about because I really, really believe Curtis would have loved them, and not just because they hail from our hometown. Steve Vai has such old-school king energy in this. Here’s ya go Curtis. This is for you: