Steven Rosen of Ultimateguitar.com interviewed former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, who had some interesting comments about legendary guitar player, Jimi Hendrix. Read Friedman’s thoughts on Hendrix, and other topics, below.
UG: In the last 10 years since you previously played in the US, the metal scene has definitely changed. Are you aware of any of those changes?
MF: Everything I’ve become aware of has been kind of force fed through Prosthetic Records. Not through their artists but through the people at the record company there and only for practical reasons. For example, choosing opening bands [Exmortus] and people that I should know and people I should hear. Some things I found on my own.
UG: What did you find?
MF: This band called Deafheaven. I totally recommend them. It’s fresh and it’s mindblowing. I love these guys. And of course I’m good friends with Sky Harbor and I’m a big fan of theirs. Just the sheer amount of guitar music that has come out in the last couple of years is very encouraging. I have to be thankful that a lot of these people are so kind to cite me as an influence.
UG: It seems like everywhere you turn, there’s some new guitarist playing incredibly well.
MF: It’s not enough. You have to do something that makes people happy and that takes a lot more time than just developing abilities on the instrument. For all the guitar players and guys like Jeff Loomis and all these guys who are really, really good, they’ve been for around for a while and it’s taken a while to get their stuff to the people. I applaud all these guys who have taken their abilities and shaped them in such a way that many more people can enjoy them rather than just beginning guitar players.
UG: What are your feelings now looking back on Megadeth?
MF: I wouldn’t have wanted to bypass any of the Megadeth stuff. It was wonderful. The music was important but it was also much more important to be able to, like they say in kindergarten, play well with others. A lot of people qualities: a lot of learning about how to deal with people; deal with situations; deal with people from different cultures; and every possible situation completely unrelated to music happened in Megadeth. So it was such a great life rewarding experience that it can only help to grow as a musician from that. I strongly believe that people who practice their instrument a lot and study music may become good at it but they’ll have a narrow palette of phrases and things to emote to other people. They’ll be able to play a symphony or whatever but when it comes to taking music from their soul and bringing it from themselves to people listening, it really is quite narrow.
UG: Dave Mustaine is a very talented guitar player but he’s probably not the easiest person to play alongside.
MF: Yeah, well, you know, in some ways, I’m the same way when it comes to my music. That’s what I kind of liked about him; there was no bs when it comes to making music; there was no compromises and I’m the same way. So we got along just great. As far as music is concerned, nobody is more of a perfectionist than I am so I like being around people like that.
UG: When you talk about the actual theater element of a live show, nobody did that better than KISS. You’ve been a huge KISS fan forever, right?
MF: There are so many guitar players that started from KISS. The great thing about music is everybody has the right to their own opinion and that’s what makes it interesting. I used to play with Jason Becker and he was the biggest Bob Dylan fan in the world. And to me, I’d rather chew glass than listen to Bob Dylan. But that was fine. You’ve got to have those differences in opinions. There are certainly no good and no bad in music. It’s all what it means to you. It has nothing to do with tonality or pitch or talent or tone or any of those things. It everything to do with the experiences in your life around this music.
UG: What kind of music don’t you like?
MF: I’m not a huge fan of hardcore rap and stuff, but then at the same time, you have to respect any artist or anybody who can make hundreds and thousands and millions of people happy with what they do. Here’s one that will get ya. There are so many guitar players that started from Hendrix? I’d rather chew glass than listen to Hendrix.
UG: That is so weird to hear you say that. I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to a guitarist who didn’t love Jimi.
MF: I never got Hendrix. When I think of Hendrix, an image comes in my mind about a lot of hippies rolling around in mud tripping on acid and it just doesn’t turn me on at all. And all that noise and feedback and I’m like, “Play in tune.” I’m a big tuning guy and that’s probably why I don’t like Dylan because things go out of tune and it kills me. But then again, all of my favorite guitarists hail Hendrix. I’m a big Uli Jon Roth fan and he’s the most beautiful guitarist. He probably loves Hendrix as much as Hendrix’s own mother does. All the guys I respect love Hendrix so I know there’s something there. It’s just that I never got it because it never fit into my experiences.
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source: ultimate-guitar.com
31 Responses
Completely ridiculous regarding Jimi Hendrix. Beyond stupid.
No, it’s just an opinion, nothing wrong with that. I’ve been plucking the old 6 strings for 30 years and I wouldn’t list Hendrix in my top 10 favorite players. In fact I’ve never owned any Hendrix music. It just never appealed to me, outside of a couple of tunes, like Watchtower, which he didn’t write anyways.
Like Marty, I can appreciate what he did, but I don’t really care that much about his music. Same thing can be said about Clapton throughout most of the 70’s and 80’s. Slowhand? How about boringhand?
Now, could Marty have been a little kinder? Sure, but I thought we liked people that expressed unpopular opinions, or are we too PC or conservative to handle a different POV? I guess so.
No, Mike, just a stupid opinion.
I think what Friedman fails to comprehend is he has been influenced by Hendrix whether or not he ever “got it” or not.
Play in tune ? Really? Sorry there were no Floyd Rose equipped guitars back when Jimi was Reinventing and revolutionizing electric guitar as we know it. Also when I think of Megadeth I think of guys moshing to heroin addicted a–holes.
Jimi Hendrix was a genius. Think of how music, especially guitar playing, was before he arrived on the scene and how it was afterwards. There’s a reason you can’t turn on a rock or classic rock station without hearing Jimi’s music and it’s because his music is brilliant and timeless. And I’m not a “hippie rolling around in mud tripping on acid”. If that’s all he thinks Hendrix’ music is about then he never really listened to it. So he can just go chew on glass.
Thanks Marty.
I know, it’s off topic, but Marty is all about the music, so, in that spirit, I present my top 20:
The Captain and Me-The Doobie Brothers
From Elvis in Memphis-Elvis Presley
Aftermath-The Rolling Stones
Skullduggery-Steppenwolf
Give the People What They Want-The Kinks
The Completion Backwards Principle-The Tubes
Night Fade Away-Nils Lofgren
Purple Rain-Prince
Abbey Road-the Beatles
Love Gun-Kiss
Van Halen-Van Halen
Mob Rules-Black Sabbath
Who’s Next-The Who
Russ Ballard(1984)-Russ Ballard
“I Surrender”/”Jealous Lover,” “Weiss Heim”-Rainbow
Master of Reality-Black Sabbath
Screaming for Vengeance-Judas Priest
Diary of a Madman-Ozzy Osbourne
Thunder and Lightning-Thin Lizzy
Yngwie J Malmsteen’s Rising Force-Yngwie Malmsteen
I have no idea what this list is about but your posts are always great and you mention the eponymous RUSS BALLARD which got heavy MIAMI VICE play as well as ACE FREHLEY covering IN THE NIGHT. That whole album is great in an 80s sort of way. Happy Birthday Elvis and good for Friedman for trashing legends. They can take it. VOICES is one of my favorite songs ever. Bob Dylan once said:
THE SUN’S NOT YELLOW / IT’S CHICKEN. Pure genius. Why can’t this guy trash those two? I like them but so what? I like LULU and I don’t care who knows it. Also, MONEY by PINK FLOYD is the worst song of all time and….and….Bob Seger is better than LED ZEPPELIN….but I wonder which ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER, Marty prefers : Dylan, Hendrix or U2’s?
These are my desert island discs, and that Russ Ballard record is really something; in no small part due to Simon Phillips’ drumming. These are the kinds of songs that some hack drummer would think are easy. Not true, Simon brings this swing to the songs, along with very tasteful fills. In other words, you have a drummer who matches the artistry of the songs themselves, and this really makes the record great. Russ is 70, and he still can cut it by the way; he still sings his songs in their original, intended key. and his playing is still sharp. He also just released some new music that doesn’t disappoint.
Another record that really surprised me was Yngwie’s first record. If you notice, there actually isn’t one note of gratuitous playing on the whole thing. Every single lick serves a musical function, and this record has stunning beauty, there is no other way to say it. It also completely revitalized the music scene, it injected new life into it; things were starting to get stale.
Bob Seger is better than Zeppelin, and I actually totally get what you mean by that. Thanks Michael, you could’ve written for Creem.
Fine albums all, but are you familiar with anything done after 1985?
I like a lot of that music, I have much of it in my collection, and I play it, but it doesn’t affect me like this music does. Rock and roll stated to get watered down after ’83-’84. Up to that point rock and roll had these very deep roots in music that wasn’t rock and roll, and it made the music sound very original. In the mid 80s you had bands that were copies of the copies, their roots didn’t go as deep…
But just imagine how much worse it would have gotten if Yngwie hadn’t come along, his own watered down albums notwithstanding…
I’ll give you props on Purple Rain Clown. Prince never got his due as a musician and creative force. Marty makes some decent points, especially about Dylan….just terrible noise. Hendrix is important to rock history but Bo Diddly is more important to rock than Hendrix.
DR, you surprise me., yes, that is a great record all the way through.
The thing with Hendrix is that his albums sounded like crap, so that is probably why Marty doesn’t get into his stuff.
Oh geez we’re agreeing on multiple points now. Hendrix albums do sound like complete crap. The production whether intentional or not is terrible. The real interest in Hendrix lies in what he would’ve done down the road had he not passed away so soon. He was an influencer per se. But not like Page, Iommi, Clapton (who I also can’t stand) or even someone like Frehley. If you dig Hendrix I get it. But I think his death gave him immortal status that will never be reversed Back to Prince, it would be great to see him do a complete rock record. He’s got the chops for it. But it’ll never happen.
PRINCE on a metal site? You bet PURPLE RAIN is a great album. No argument here. The guitar solo at the end of LET’S GO CRAZY is reminiscent of the late great DICK WAGNER. PRINCE is a genius and here is a MIKEY FUN FACT: PRINCES fascination with purple stems from the Minneapolis native being an avid MINNESOTA VIKINGS fan.
That’s funny, I always thought that the end of “Let’s Go Crazy” sounded like KK Downing; when both were just copying Hendrix.
No. Alice Cooper Goes to Hell: Wish You Were Here. My favorite guitar solo of all time.
I , actually agree with him . I can’t stand Hendrix , or Bob Dylan . I also have a dislike for The Beatles , The Rolling Stones , Grateful Dead , & Pink Floyd . My taste is more Kiss , Ozzy , Twisted Sister , Sabbath , Dio , Iron Maiden , Judas Priest , W.A.S.P , AC/DC……well I’m sure you get the point lol . To each their own I suppose