Ramblings from an Independent Music Artist

  Let me preface this by saying I was appalled at Ace's weird political takes over the last few years. There were some live videos of performances where he goes off on a pro-tRump tirade that would've made draft-dodging statutory-rapist Ted Nugent proud. I did not like "this" Ace. "That" Ace was unhinged and cringey as hell, with most of his pro-tRump rants being as unsolicited and from out-of-left-field as those by the orange pedofelon himself. "That" Ace was a dick, and was not the guitar hero I considered integral in my own guitar playing (directly, and through other influences). Unfortunately, like a lot of music, I was around insufferable people who tried to "force KISS" into the previously-punk-rock sound of one of my early bands (a move that would essentially ruin the band, I hate to say), and I went through a phase where I wanted nothing to do with the band, but over the years I was reintroduced to them by my bandmates Kenny and L...

  Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) A while back I happened upon an article (here:  https://guitar.com/news/music-news/adrian-smith-drop-d-tuning-iron-maiden/ ) where Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden was talking about being the only guitarist in the band to utilize drop-D tuning . Personally, I like the idea of just one guitarist using an alternate tuning, because it adds a unique layer to a song, be it a new tune or a reimagined classic.  I didn't really get into Iron Maiden until I was probably in my late 20s or early 30s, but I was especially intrigued when Adrian came back into the band and they kept both Dave and Janick around, making it a three-guitar band. I usually don't really care at all for bands that have more than two guitar players, but Maiden and the Foo Fighters get a pass on this one, because they both distribute the duties well, with each player adding their own chord voicings and differences in tone , and the overall sound in both cases ends up being huge . But...