PLAY FOR ME WINNER

Well, as expected, it was really tough making a decision as to who the featured player should be because there were just so many incredibly impressive entries. In the end, however, I finally made the decision to go with Pash Zaburuev from Moscow.

Pash Zaburuev Winning Video:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=13333470

Before I go any further I’d like to say that as conflicting or hypocritical or contradictory as it may sound, I really don’t believe in critiquing musicians or artists in general.

The purpose of this event is to give unknown players an opportunity to get some recognition and exposure by plugging them into an established fan base.

The method I used for selecting the “picks” was based on the use of two sets of ears. (Both of which I own…luckily)

1) Guitar player/musician ears

2) Fan of Auditory pleasure ears Very Happy

The Guitar player/musician ears were critiquing performances after having evaluated musicality-based categories one might typically expect to be critiqued in. Those categories were the following:

 Phrasing

 Execution

 Feel

 Conviction (Passion)

 Originality

The Fan of Auditory pleasure ears (while theoretically having no intellectual ability to differentiate a highly developed musician from a much lesser developed one) were critiquing performances based on answering the only sensible question they could have asked themselves, which is “Are we entertained by this auditory experience?”

In many ways I think the latter set of ears may actually serve to be more valuable in that they allow for more creative options. Although it’s difficult for us to imagine being entertained by a player whose approach couldn’t be critiqued based on any of the above mentioned criteria (with the exception of “originality”) I feel it’s important to assume that it’s possible. In other words I believe it’s possible (although unlikely) that a performance could exist that was extremely entertaining but not necessarily musical in the conventional sense. Perhaps there might have been the unique use of noises or sound effects etc, whereby an attempt at assessing it based on the above mentioned criteria would prove to be irrelevant.

The majority of the entries displayed high-level proficiency in many of the categories, and like I said, it was really difficult to make a decision, especially since there were some friends of mine in there…(don’t be mad please).

Finally, however, after listening, re-listening, pacing the room, and re-listening some more, I decided to feature Pash, who, in addition to scoring high marks in all the above-mentioned categories, particularly impressed and entertained me by exhibiting what seemed to be an innate sense of unpredictability while never loosing sight of musicality. His phrases were clever, unusual, interesting, confident, and exciting. I was also drawn to the “Scofield-ish” (laid back - behind the beat) feel.

At the age of 23, I believe Pash Zaburuev has many good reasons to feel optimistic about his future in music. Congratulations!

Greg Howe

Honorable Mentions

Eric Wirsing (Pennsylvania) http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15963908

Great technique in all areas – The use of different techniques and approaches kept it interesting and exciting – Nice use of “bop” influenced phrases within the overall “shred” context

Thorsten Praest (Germany) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JXRofqDKEE

Very impressive, clean, smooth legato chops – Lots of conviction and passion – Addressed chord changes effortlessly – Phrase Ideas are mature and easy to digest – Everything feels like the appropriate notes at the appropriate time

Cesar Huesca (Mexico) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIypQfaWKZM

Great conviction – Phrase ideas are very defined and logical – Great tone (focused, warm, and smooth) – Nice vibrato (very pronounced and energetic with perfect intonation) – Great marriage of note selection and phrase during chord changes.

Rick Graham (U.K.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsN7BfrYtXk

Superb Phrasing (Clever use of motifs) – Great Tone (round yet focused) – Vibrato is very musical and relaxed – Impressive two handed chops – Overall very relaxed and confident (Transitions never sound nervously anxious or hurried)

Richard Lundmark (Sweden) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKqJm1mALT4

Very accurate and passionate bends/vibrato – Great technique overall – Tone is very clean and appealing – Great use of altered or “alternative to the obvious” scales – Phrases are very confident, accurate, and musical

Magnus Lindbloom (Sweden) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDmVVd4kdpQ

Great use of altered scales – Very good picking technique (precise and aggressive)

Congratulations!

Too bad I lost my firewire cable and was unable to upload my take on time....

Meh, here it is anyway: Very Happy

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qtktHCjMJdI

And thanks to Greg for hosting the comp!

I think Greg made the right chose, but all of the others were great too.

Congrats Pash!

It would be interesting to know how many entries there were in total!