If you could ask something to Allan Holdsworth, what would it be?

[dasein]

I would love to know what he thinks of Tim Miller?

I recall an interview with him back around 2008 or so in some guitar magazine where Allan said he really enjoyed Tim's playing.

as for questions, I would be curious to see whether Allan would consent to being filmed with something like Troy Grady's hi-speed camera to get a better idea of his right-hand technique.

I suspect -- admittedly, only a suspicion -- that he picks a lot more notes than one would first assume, but he's just very good at hiding the attack.

[djangoles]

this solo has got a ton of blues licks in it to my ears.....

@1:27

[henryrobinett]

It does kinda huh? Isn't that from his most hated first album? Wasn't he really upset when it was released?

My comments about him shooting himself if he ever played a blues kick comes from a relatively recent interview. It was posted here someplace about 7 months ago. I'll see if I can find it later.

[djangoles]

yes.... from his most hated record.....but I don't think he likes any of them too much.
He said this was a rehearsal that got released into the record without permission...

[WESTON]

I'm willing to bet anything that the "shadowing Allan" thing is a worthless piece of urban legend. Sounds like exactly the kind of jealous/sour grapes thing a disgruntled jazz fan would concoct in a transparent attempt to put EVH in his "place" in comparison to their hero. Pathetic. If anything Allan would have been shadowing Eddie. EVH is as much of a genius as Allan.

You really should do a two minute search before posting comments. It's definately not sour grapes since it is well known that Holdsworth is revered by the hard rock and shred guitar crowd:

EVH
"I'd Just like people to like what I play. I don't want people to say, "You're Number One." It's a matter of taste. To me Allen Holdsworth is Number One. Other kids might listen to him and not even understand what he's doing. Older people might think I suck. "

At least you qualify with "I'm willing to bet" instead of stating your opinions as fact this time.


Also, not to get too far off topic but I don't see much influence from Ollie Halsall in Holdsworth playing. Completely different league and both from about the same time. Best progressive rock player I can think of was Jan Akkerman:

[jbernstein91]

A classic Ollie Halsall solo, starting at 2:24:

[GuyBoden]

"Allan, did you see the Tour de France in your home county of Yorkshire this year."

[MarkRhodes]

I think things have gotten heated between Larry Graves and Henry Robinnet and from what I can glean is that this is based on a misunderstanding.

Let's start over.
What's been said has been said. (Though perhaps not understood as intended.)

Larry, what is it that Henry has said that you find objectionable? (This is all the more confusing because it seems to be said something Henry said to richb.)

Do you think he has dissed Holdsworth?

What's the real issue here?

[WESTON]

Holdsworth from 1969. Kinda hit or miss but a lot of this sounds nice, and a good rhythm section also.

[larry graves]

I think things have gotten heated between Larry Graves and Henry Robinnet and from what I can glean is that this is based on a misunderstanding.

Let's start over.
What's been said has been said. (Though perhaps not understood as intended.)

Larry, what is it that Henry has said that you find objectionable? (This is all the more confusing because it seems to be said something Henry said to richb.)

Do you think he has dissed Holdsworth?

What's the real issue here?

I just thought Henry was being condescending that's all! As you say Mark, a misunderstanding maybe....L..

[henryrobinett]

Never thought I was being condescending. I can definitely see how you could take it that way. If a person can't read, doesn't know what chords are called, no matter how much they play their ass off? That person has holes in his education. It makes it difficult to communicate with other musicians who are. AH is ons of the greatest guitarists of all time. I kind if said that in the follow up to the post you referenced. Lagrene is similar.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Maybe.

[MarkRhodes]

Well that sounds much better, if not 100 % authentic.... ;o)

[djangoles]

[docbop]

Well that sounds much better, if not 100 % authentic.... ;o)

Aw our own Oprah. Picks for everyone today!!!!

[monk]

Just don't let Eddie Van Halen knock you down. When I was at GIT Holdsworth came to play and do a seminar. Van Halen just shows up and is shadowing Holdsworth everywhere. Holdsworth was in town for a few days to play a club and supposedly Van Halen followed him everywhere. Stories have it Holdsworth got to point of asking people not to let EVH know where he was going.

I'm willing to bet anything that the "shadowing Allan" thing is a worthless piece of urban legend. Sounds like exactly the kind of jealous/sour grapes thing a disgruntled jazz fan would concoct in a transparent attempt to put EVH in his "place" in comparison to their hero. Pathetic. If anything Allan would have been shadowing Eddie. EVH is as much of a genius as Allan.

Sorry but it happened. EVH is a huge Holdsworth fan.

Richb, good to see that you are, as always, willing to jump in with a positive comment.

docbop is absolutely correct. I was a student at GIT when this happened and saw it myself. Holdworth was setting up to play and EVH walked in to the school auditorium with a six-pack of Heineken and sat stage right smoking and drinking the whole time. The night before at the end of Holdworth's concert at The Roxy, EVH jumped on stage with his guitar and included himself in the finale. To be kind, he was not in his milieu.

[henryrobinett]

Wow. I didn't even notice that richb said EVH was as much of a genius as AH!! I just glossed over that comment. It's just so wrong on every level. And that's not taking a thing away from EVH. AH is completely from a different planet when we talk about talent.

[james8382]

If you ask him those questions, be prepared for a non-answer. If you're looking for technical analysis, your best bet might be to go in with an extremely specific question about something you've heard him do, or you could ask how he worked to incorporate certain specific sounds or concepts into his playing. Even then, you might not get much. The thing with Holdsworth is that he doesn't seem to like talking much about the nuts and bolts. Imagine somebody asks you how to play an open G chord. You can show them the fingering, but at some point you'll probably be like "just do it". I suspect it's a similar thing with Allan and his approaches--it's tough to talk about stuff that's so ingrained that it's no longer an entirely conscious process. It's also possible that there is a degree of the embarrassment or self-doubt of the autodidact that might contribute to his reticence when discussing this stuff.

The good news is that it's all on his records, so pick something cool, transcribe it, and try to figure out what he might have been thinking. Sometimes you might not be able to say definitively how he was conceptualizing something, but it might give you some ideas anyway. Also, he doesn't seem to mind talking about gear, so if you're into that, he will be able to tell you what he uses, etc.

(I guess I should also plug this thesis http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&u act=8&ved=0CFQQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwesscholar.we sleyan.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D196 0%26context%3Detd_hon_theses&ei=LarFU9vQBfPJsQT1i4 LwDA&usg=AFQjCNHemroUSOPWoSk2LVRhhWjQRQOF1w&bvm=bv .71126742,d.cWc that I wrote about the man himself. There's some transcriptions that may be of interest.)

One other thing you could do is check YouTube for videos of clinics that he's done. This will give you an idea of what kinds of questions he will or won't answer, then you can try to plan accordingly. Whatever happens, please do let us know what he has to say!