Thoughts for the "Lead" Guitarist #2 : Hear Me Roar! Please??? (The "LEAD Guitarist" Mentality)

 First off, I AM a guitarist, so I have every right to say everything I'm about to say. While some blogs I write are a little more from an objective, general perspective, many of the guitar-centric ones I write are written from my point of view as a guitarist with a conscience. And I realize that guitarists HATE to be scrutinized, just like vocalists, drummers and other musicians, but especially by other guitar players. Well either stop reading or put on your big-girl panties if you're a "lead guitarist" who might be a little sensitive on the topic.

Oh so many years ago when I started playing guitar, my primary influences ranged from AC/DC to the Sex Pistols to Nirvana, and I just wanted to be a guitarist in a good band. In the beginning it was all power-chords and downstrokes, punk rock fury at its finest. When I actually started learning a couple of simple scales (ones like major, minor, blues, pentatonic, etc. that are the foundation of "guitar solos"), my confidence boosted quite a bit and I actually began incorporating guitar solos into songs. Once I started learning to cop some Angus Young and John Christ licks I was branching out from Johnny Ramone "chords only" playing, and it felt good. After a couple of failed attempts at bands, finally in my senior year I put together my first "serious" band, Idle Minds, of which (in its ORIGINAL TRIO INCARNATION, prior to adding a 4th member, switching drummers and taking on some really corny attempts at a "big dumb live show" mentality) remains one of my fondest periods of musical memories. Along with Danny (drums and vocals) and Zack (bass and vocals), I got behind the mic for the first time in a serious capacity and started really writing songs. Some forgettable, others I haven't played since the band split but I will always remember and could whip out my guitar and play right now. Why? Because songwriting came FIRST and I tried to write memorable, meaningful material. When I had put together groups in high school, I wanted to play "lead guitar", and thankfully I remained just a couple of notches ahead of my co-guitarists in skill so I was just that. But even after only a couple of situations where I found myself battling for volume, hearing duplicate parts mushed together instead of a mesh of different voicings (in other words, we were playing the exact same parts at times, which was redundant as hell, and sounds like crap most of the time) and just sometimes experiencing overall clashing of egos with someone who needs more validation than just being part of a non-shitty band, I decided that unless I were to find my perfect match as co-guitarist, I wanted to be the sole 6-string in a band. Not a "lead" player, per se, but THE player. BIG difference. If I couldn't either find a "Malcolm" to my "Angus" or even a "Ronnie" to my "Keef" (or vice-versa...lol), then I was going to combine the individual styles of my favorite guitarists and cover all the territory I possibly could on one guitar. Not an easy task, but definitely more rewarding than having to deal with the aforementioned afflictions often associated with dual guitars in a band. Kind of like why I preferred to front a band while playing an instrument (or have another instrumentalist in the band front the group) instead of having to deal with some whinging meat-mic-stand who fancied themselves a "vocalist"---to this day, I still abhor working with "vocalists", maybe more than ever thanks to more bad experiences with them.

The reason this subject has come to mind again is because for over ten years in a row, we have a fellow--we'll just call him "Jimmy" for now-- locally who continues to seasonally put ads up on Craigslist looking for a band, and it's attitudes/perspectives like his that unfortunately represent a pretty narrow, shitty attitude towards playing in a "band" (aka: a "team effort"). Here's one of the ads, copied and pasted, sans personal details (because, frankly, I'm embarrassed for him):

Blues Rock/Rock LEAD Guitarist (Greenville Upstate)

I am an experienced lead guitarist looking for a gigging band in the Upstate. My style is heavily influenced by Hendrix, Satriani, Gary Moore, David Gilmour and Rory Gallagher.

I am looking for a rock, blues, and or - blues rock band; please no metal, or church bands.

I am very effects friendly and I can emulate organs, strings and bizarre noises. My tone is all Marshall based, check out the link at the bottom!

I like male and /or female fronted bands, blue to melodic rock. Serious inquiries only please.... And please notice, it says LEAD not Rhythm, I dont do rhythm, Im a lead player - THANKS!!!

Transportation, TEAM PLAYER, non drinker, hard working guitarist with a massive drive to make the band the best it can be.

For a taste of what I can do.... Http://www.reverbnation.com/jam*****ton

Wow, right? "Too cool for chords", huh? Well, apparently other CL readers thought so as well, because he got a couple of public "responses" worth noting (both anonymous, but nonetheless still valid and SHOULD be seen as great constructive criticism by the guy who posted the original ad). Here they are:

First response reads:

Scotty Anderson, which is arguably the master of the electric guitar today, has always said that being a good rhythm guitar player was much more difficult than playing single note lead guitar. Even his lead lines are harmonized, and not with a pedal, by his own knowledge and ability. The best lead players are the ones who know and understand chords and harmonic balance. I'm a guitar player, and a strong enough player to not have to rely on a 'rhythm player' or a 'lead player' because I play both as needed. I'm not looking for a guitar player, but as I've seen you post on this forum for years, and obviously to no avail because you post regularly... Maybe take it as a sign to change your attitude, or at least the projection of it because any seasoned player isn't going to want to play with someone that stresses they are a 'lead player.' That's like saying I play 'Lead Piano' or 'Lead Steel Guitar.' I think that it is implied if you play an instrument and understand music theory at all, then you can play lead...

Well put, my man. Here was someone who followed this guy's retort:

I couldn't have said it better. I have wondered why J***s' postings have been on here so long. I listened to reverb nation and got half my answer.

I also wondered,,,,if he doesn't play rhythm at all, does he just stand there thru the song and only play when the leads come in or does he play leads thru the whole song?????? 

So, thankfully I'm not the only person out there who feels like the "don't burden me with trivial 'rhythm' guitar parts" point of view is fucking lame. In my experience, people with this mindset have so for a couple of reasons (outside of sheer narcissism, that is), both of which make you as undesirable a candidate for a band as the singer who can't hold pitch or the drummer who lacks dynamics.

One, it means you "don't like learning songs". Many times people use euphemisms like improvisation to sell themselves, but most of the time it simply means that he/she simply doesn't like to be bothered with the little things, like actually having to learn the songs entirely. I've seen this in people ranging from those "hey man, let's jam" types to even some guys who consider themselves "pros" (or at least "local rockstars"), including one in particular who blew a legit professional gig due to lack of musical commitment (and evidently a bit of a drug/alcohol problem to boot), and it's pitiful.

Secondly, it means that regardless of your claims, you more than likely are NOT a team-player, and have no truly constructive contribution to the overall band outside of your own musical masturbation. No wonder you spend the majority of the last 20 some-odd years of your playing looking for a band to join, because no self-respecting band will hire you based on your self-serving demands, or after having watched you embarrass yourself at a tryout.

Summing it all up, why don't you just say you want to be the ONLY guitarist in a band? Assuming of course that in all your massive talent you can actually hold your own as the band's only guitarist. Then you don't have to worry about labels and rank. Then you're TRULY contributing to a band instead of just noodling around acting like top rooster when you're really just another cock. Even to this day I don't like working with another guitarist for the most part. Unless the parts are well-defined, or in the case of the other player being a primarily-acoustic player, I've found it to be more annoying than not, and more headache than it's worth. Especially when I've worked with people 20 years older than me who still don't know what real "tone" is, or who don't play their parts right to begin with. I can think of 2, MAYBE 3 guitarists I've actually enjoyed playing with over my career, and particularly after my tenure in a band I like to call "Shitterville" (IYKYK), and the brief time I had to share guitar duties with a drunk asshole who only played a third of the time in a certain 90's cover band, I won't be taking any offers to join a two guitar band seriously ever again. I don't need some other lousy guitarist ruining the experience for me. Thanks to having learned how to be in a band in general, I frankly don't NEED another guitarist in most cases, period. Is it nice to have someone occasionally helping to fill-out performances and "make it sound like the studio recording" on some things? Yeah, absolutely, if the person actually can play the right parts. But not required, and most of the time not desired. It keeps the stress and drama down, not having to pollute my time and space with that kind of nonsense.

Guitarists are a dime a dozen, outnumbered only by the amount of wannabe "vocalists" who want to front a band, so you have almost limitless choices for either, should you decide to take out an ad or audition players to fill your missing spot in your band. And I recommend you audition them, take notes, and watch for red flags to make sure you don't end up having to hire someone else when that person fails miserably to successfully provide your needed musicianship or complete your team unit. Also never forget that there's ALWAYS a better player out there, perhaps with a better attitude for working/playing with others. So do NOT commit until you know you are a good match, both ways.

In closing, I honestly can't think of one band that's going to hire someone so full of themselves as to say "I'm too good to play rhythm guitar in any capacity". Readers, can you?

Yeah, I didn't think so.