Musician By Night: Brad Whitford

Showing posts with label Brad Whitford. Show all posts

Friday, March 9, 2012

Brad Whitford from Aerosmith turn’s 60

Happy Belated Birthday to Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford • 02.23.12

Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, the oft-overlooked man behind Joe Perry, turned 60 this year.

We’re very sorry, we’re not overlooking you Brad. Happy Birthday. I just saw you play on Tuesday evening with the EXPERIENCE HENDRIX CONCERT TOUR and as always, you were right on and blazing away with hot rock rhythms and leads when called to play them.

(photo courtesy of Aerosmith.com)

Whitford certainly hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves. Often billed as Aerosmith’s rhythm guitarist, he’s quite the axe-man. The team of Perry and Whitford certainly give the band it’s raunchy, blues-based guitar melodies. Coupled with Steve Tyler’s voice, the guitar duo really completes the formula for the band’s lengthy success.

Anthony Joseph “Joe” Perry,

(born September 10, 1950) is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith. He is influenced by many rock artists especially The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was ranked 48th in the Rolling Stone's list The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Whitford’s also ventured elsewhere over the years, including the moderately successful Whitford/St. Holmes Band. With one album in 1981, the band paired Whitford with former Ted Nugent rhythm guitarist and front man Derek St. Holmes. The album produced a relatively successful hit single titled “Shy Away.”

Mostly, of course, Whitford has been a fixture on stage with Aerosmith. He joined the band in 1971 as a replacement, and stuck around through the present day, even when Perry was briefly replaced after he formed The Joe Perry Project in the late ‘70s.

Recent rumors are all over the place on Aerosmith following Tyler’s on-stage injury. But it seems pretty certain that Whitford will remain in the lineup if the band does carry on.

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Brad Whitford is truly an unknown rock hero that helped make Aerosmith and Joe Perry what they are today; rock legends . . .

Watching him on stage with the EXPERIENCE HENDRIX CONCERT TOUR artists where he is more than just a rhythm guitarist, I got to witness what Whitford has in his basket of rock & blues-rock guitar licks. He is quite the lead guitarist that, over the years, got hidden behind a more prominent guitarist in Joe Perry. Even though they worked very well together in Aerosmith, Brad’s lead guitar work had been stifled so that Joe Perry would ultimately shine.

Brad Whitford is another American Rock & Blues-Rock guitarist and songwriter that if you really love your rock or blues-rock music, you should listen to when you get the opportunity. Here is one of his CD’s that you may want to pick-up the next time you’re at your local music store, or if should you choose to purchase them from http://www.Amazon.com .

I will continue my research into some of the other guitarists from the EXPERIENCE HENDRIX CONCERT TOUR and after I do the research, I’ll publish a post in the artists name.

Once again, I continue to encourage you to leave your comments and suggestions as it will help me build a more reader friendly site for all to enjoy.

Until next time,

“Let’s Keep the Blues and YES, Blues-Rock Alive”. . .

Musician By Night . . .

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Scenes from the Experience Hendrix Concert at Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, MD

March 6th, 2012

I had the pleasure of attending the famous ‘EXPERIENCE HENDRIX’ concert last night at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Being an avid follower of more than half of the artists featured in that venue, my eyes were glued to the stage from the moment we were seated until the last song.

It was my first concert at the Strathmore and as I walked in the place, I just knew that the sound was going to blow us away with minimal professional mixing. The ceiling was taller than any other concert hall that I’ve ever been in or heard of; therefore, I knew right off the bat that the drummers bass drum and tom-tom’s as well as the bass guitar would simply sound incredible and they did for a better part of the concert.

Of course when you have professional musicians such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd [1], Billy Cox [2], Mato Nanji [3], Brad Whitford [4], Dweezil Zappa [5], Eric Gales [6], Jonny Lang [7] and the infamous Buddy Guy [8], all hitting the stage in one show, you’d better be prepared for a jam session like you’ve never heard.

I did my best taking photos with my cell phone and a small Sony point and shoot camera, so let me share some of them with you. I would have brought our DSLR camera but when we called they told us that no camera’s were allowed so I didn’t want to take the chance of having it taken from me.

Here are some of my better shots; I hope you enjoy them.

[1] Kenny Wayne Shepherd,

(born Kenny Wayne Brobst, June 12, 1977, Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician.

[2] Billy Cox,

(born October 18, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix. As of November 2008, Billy is the only surviving member of both The Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Band Of Gypsys. He recently was inducted into the Musician's Hall of Fame and continues to honor his friend, performing dates with the Experience Hendrix Tour.

[3] Mato Nanji,

Indigenous is an American blues-rock group that came to prominence in the late 1990s. The band originally consisted of two brothers, Mato Nanji (Maiari) ('mah-TOE non-GEE' vocals and guitar, born 1974), Pte ('peh-TAY' bass guitar), along with their sister, Wanbdi ('wan-ba-DEE' drums, vocals), and their cousin, Horse (percussion).

[4] Brad Whitford,

(born February 23, 1952) is the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith. He graduated Reading Memorial High School in 1970. Along with fellow Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, Whitford was included in the Guitar World book The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2007.

The rock music of Jimi Hendrix filled the Strathmore Music Center and after the first 30 minutes of the show, all of the guests were finally seated and rockin’ with the tunes of the band playing on stage. Eric Gale put on a hell of a show with Dweezil Zappa joining him.

[5] Dweezil Zappa, (born September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist. Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Gail Zappa, He is the second of four siblings, the others are his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger brother Ahmet.

[6] Eric Gale, (aka Raw Dawg) (born October 29, 1974, Memphis, Tennessee ) is an American blues-rock guitarist, originally hailed as a child ...

[7] Jonny Lang,

(born Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr., January 29, 1981, Fargo, North Dakota, United States) is a Grammy award-winning American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter and recording artist. Lang's music is notable for both his unusual voice, which has been compared to that of a forty-year-old blues veteran, and for his guitar solos. His solo patterns have especially been noted for the constant use of wide vibratos.

[8] Buddy Guy,

(born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. Critically acclaimed, he is a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation. "A key influence on Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy put the Louisiana hurricane in 1960s electric Chicago blues as a member of Muddy Waters' band and as a house guitarist at Chess Records.

EXPERIENCE HENDRIX TOUR 2012

Once again, what a great evening of the psychedelic rock songs of Jimi Hendrix performed by some of the greatest guitarists, bassists and drummers that the stage has ever seen. I am so glad that I didn’t miss this incredible evening and I look forward to the next concert that I will attend so I can review it and share more photos with all of you.

I also want to say thanks to Chris Hauska and Nik Kosmas for joining me last night; we are still looking for an experienced drummer and keyboard player for our blues, blues-rock band. If you happen to know anyone or you’re interested yourself, just comment on this post and leave me your contact information so I can get back in touch with you.