Kingfish is a pretty solid player. I think Derek Trucks is pretty close to the cream of the crop out there. Also, check out Marcus King. He is in his mid 20's and has played on stage with Allmans, Tedeschi Trucks Band. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys has produced some of his solo stuff.
There are still plenty of exceptional guitar slingers out there, but popular music is largely based around single consumption songs and most "stars" don't have the staying power that they used to. There are not many bands in the pop realm, either; it's mostly one-off stars that do what they do in the studio and don't have a consistent backup band.
That said, I listen to a lot of Metal. Within that realm, there are plenty of guitar stars, mainly because heavy music still uses guitars primarily. One name that comes to mind is Dave Davidson of the band Revocation. This guy is up there in my book, and can shred with the best of them. His solos have a distinct sound that make them his; he incorporates a lot of Fusion Jazz phrasing and other stuff he pulls out of nowhere that just blows me away.
This one especially melts my face off, and it's not even the 1st solo in the song!
Another one that's HUGE is Tosin Abasi from the band Animals As Leaders. I can't even wrap my head around the way he plays. It's other worldly.
Also, another strong prerequisite that you're a true Guitar God: you need your own signature model. Both these guys do. Then again, so does Machine Gun Kelly, so maybe not.
What about Tom Morello? All those crazy sounds you here? That's Tom dicking around. Putting in a cut out switch to your pickups was brilliant.
I'd say it's far more likely than not.
Tastes change. Pop music today isn't what it was 5-10-15... years ago. So it's natural that guitars will be back again someday. They are certainly not dead- especially in the era where it's really easy to get ears to independent music.
There are SO many styles of music out there, I can't see one of them drowning all of the rest out. So there will be a guitar player who is as good as Jimmy Hendrix again. Maybe even better.
Will they be super known? Maybe not.
Modern music on the radio was very accurately defined by Blues Traveler in 'Hook'. It's all about voice inflection to make the listener feel a certain way.
I've watched plenty of YouTubers take up guitar after watching SRV, so I think it's more a matter of what people have been exposed to.
BTW, some of y'all need to check out Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, and Roy Clark. Eddie Van Halen used to beg Alice Cooper to introduce him to Glen Campbell so he could learn stuff and pick his brain. Roy Clark playing Malaguena on The Odd Couple show is something else. The frame rate of the cameras back then couldn't keep up with his hand.
It seems like I get videos like this in my feed once a week. So, yes. There is a generation of new guitar gods, but as Keith said... where will they be utilized? Popular music doesn't favor the guitar anymore unless you're in the singer/songwriter vein.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:My 19 year old had his rap blasting in my car a while ago and of course I complained because it is not (in my elderly opinion) very good music.
As a friend of mine once said, "the 'c' is silent." :)
I'm sure when Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton came on the scene the old fogeys at the time appreciated the music and respected their talent.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
If what I hear on Spanish radio is any indication, the next thing in pop music may be accordion lords instead.
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