KevShmev's FAVORITE 25 MUSICIANS (#1 now featured!!)

[ronnibran]

Can't tell if serious... lol

No disrespect if this is #1, just not what I expected haha.

[KevShmev]

Oops, wrong thread.

The real number 1...

1. Alex Lifeson



My favorite member from my favorite band, just happens to also be my all-time favorite musician.  I'll be the first to admit that there are certainly better musicians than him, but he has a style and a vibe that is just so special; I cannot imagine any other guitar player having been in that band.  And Alex Lifeson the person is a big reason why he is number 1 here, too. Basically, he acts how I would if I were a successful musician: serious when he has to be, but just silly the rest of the time; he works hard and he plays hard.  Plus, I ultimately view him as the heart and soul of Rush's music.  While Geddy was more the brains, Alex was more the heart (although both brought plenty of both to the table).  Lerxst is a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, and that part of his personality just oozes out of his playing.  Even in Rush songs where they went nuts with the playing, he would always bust out a solo or two that just dripped with emotion.  He has been my favorite musician since 1992, and I doubt anyone will ever overtake him.

[erwinrafael]

Cue the Bastille Day riff...

[Cool Chris]

Thank you for the thread, Kev, this was an enjoyable read!

[?]

Alex rocks (as do Neil and SW)! His playing style is one of the biggest reasons why I love Rush as much as I do, and on top of that he's a hilarious dude.

Nice list, Kev!

[erwinrafael]

Thanks for the list, Kev. Because of this, I am reconsidering checking out Neal and Roine's work.

[Stadler]

I have no problem with this pic. In fact, she has aged gorgeously. That lovelyh smile is still there without that ridiculous hair.

Killing myself to think who I danced with in middle school to 'Eternal Flame.'

Seconding a couple posts here:

1. Susanna Hoffs is just as beautiful now as she was in her heyday.  She has really aged gracefully.
2. Steven Wilson Does.Not.Compute.  I just don't connect with him.  I love some of his work with others - "Sunsets on Empire" may be Fish's greatest solo song, and the Crimson remasters are the standard by which all others should be judged from here on out - but I've tried and tried and... let's just say that if there was a "supergroup" with Devin Townsend and Steven Wilson, I wouldn't walk across the street to see them. 
3.  Not sure he's my number one, but I like the Alex Lifeson pick; he's surely the most underrated member of Rush, and watching him play little snippets of things in the Snakes and Arrows documentary just shows how much more he's capable of beyond Rush.    Plus he has the biggest hands.   

[Mladen]

Hell yeah, a fellow Serb. 

Yep, Alex is awesome. Great player, unique style, and an extremely funny guy. I love him. 

[King Postwhore]

My guitar idol.  His chordal phrasings are second to none.  He can fit any mood for a song and I love hearing him solo.  So emotive.

[TAC]

Excellent choice.


Kev, can you or do you play any instrument?

[KevShmev]

Nice list, Kev!

Thank you for the thread, Kev, this was an enjoyable read!

Thanks for the list, Kev. Because of this, I am reconsidering checking out Neal and Roine's work.

Thanks!

And thanks to everyone who read and participated in it. 

Because of this, I am reconsidering checking out Neal and Roine's work.

Sweet.  Feel free to ask for recommendations. 

1. Susanna Hoffs is just as beautiful now as she was in her heyday.  She has really aged gracefully.

Damn right.  Call it good genes, but someone shouldn't like as good as she still does (or did a few years ago when I saw a picture of her at like 52 years old).

Hell yeah, a fellow Serb. 

Yep, Alex is awesome. Great player, unique style, and an extremely funny guy. I love him. 

 

My guitar idol.  His chordal phrasings are second to none.  He can fit any mood for a song and I love hearing him solo.  So emotive.

 

Kev, can you or do you play any instrument?

No. I dabbled with the piano about 20 years ago, but just never put in the time necessary to get good at all.  It actually was for lack of trying. 

[NunoTenniscourt]

I get why some are not big fans of Devin.  A couple of friends (who have known me for 25+ years) have on several occasions expressed a lot of surprise at how big a fan I am of Devin, considering his style is not usually in my wheelhouse.

I think it really depends on what they've been exposed to. His music is all over the place, so it's very easy to believe they simply haven't heard the songs that might make an impact on them.
I avoided Devin's music for many years myself because the very little I heard seemed like pure silliness. Then I saw/heard "Deadhead" from the Royal Albert Hall Show early last year and was floored. I waited my whole life to hear something like it. Of course, this prompted me to dig a bit deeper into his stuff, and wow, I became a huge fan very quickly. Luckily, he stopped in my city on September 11th of last year, and it was amazing. I met him and the band afterward. Great people all around.

And Anneke. Damn. Talk about an instantly recognizable and distinct voice.....and that smile.

[KevShmev]

Ironically, it took me over 10 years to really appreciate how awesome Deadhead is.  For a long time, it was on my "good song that I rarely listen to" list.  Not anymore.

[DragonAttack]

What I appreciate, Kev (and which also infuriates me in a good way), are the good topics that you come up with.  I am not as 'hip' on all of them, but I LEARN from them.  Some of your artists, due to a lack of input from my older inner circle, I have never heard of.

Nice guys, such as Mike Miles, Peter Buck, etc..........I 'initially' never heard of, but cohorts of the time pushed them on to me in a good way.  Those times are over.....except for posts such as yours.

I'll be a putz as to Lifeson for one reason:  the two times I saw Rush in Baltimore this decade, he wore a plaid flannel shirt.  The 'C'mon, Man' line came to mind.  If you are a lead guitarist in a rock band (unless it is grunge), you don't wear plaid.

On a personal note, rearrange the positions for Freddie Mercury and Geddie Lee, as with Brian May and Alex, and we're good.  Thanks for the education.

[LudwigVan]

I have no problem with Neal Morse being "formulaic", since he's formulaic in the same way that Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies that each had 4 movements of allegro, adagio, scherzo and rondo.

And while I'm not religious, I love his lyrics. Not a great vocalist, but there is an "every man" or common man quality to his singing that just works well with the subject matter of his lyrics.  He's not preaching. He's making a very personal appeal.