Indie Rock Guitar Heroes

[xxxHunterxxx]

Doug Gillard — His parts make songs better and he never descends into wankery. Check him out playing beautiful, delicate acoustic guitar for a band he’s not even really in:

Tommy Keene - He didn’t just write great songs, he was a guitar virtuoso and he made it look ridiculously easy.



Whatcha got?

[version sound]

Rowland S. Howard - influenced pretty much all the indie guitar heroes who followed (Thurston and Lee, J. Mascis, Kevin Shields, etc.), or at least the ones I care about, then died in obscurity while Cave cashed in.

[JGJR]

Greg Sage; I could post a lot of examples here, but this is one that highlights his amazing playing and tone. Check out the solo here.

[xxxMidgexxx]

Brooklyn's most amazing Dave Rick.

Phantom Tollbooth, King Missle, Bongwater.

And a sweet guy as well.



Greg Sage and Doug Gillard are spectacular as well. I played Nada Surf's 'Let Go' more times than I can count. And Wipers 'Over the Edge' and 'Youth of America' too.

[JGJR]

Greg Sage and Doug Gillard are spectacular as well. I played Nada Surf's 'Let Go' more times than I can count. And Wipers 'Over the Edge' and 'Youth of America' too.

You and me both re: Over the Edge and especially Youth of America. I just wanted to post something later than the 1st 3 albums since that stuff is way less known.

Also agreed on Gillard. Hunter, I'm almost positive he's been a member of Nada Surf for most of the past decade, but I'd have to double check.

[Fillavoid]

Steven "Mave" Hinrichs (For Against) - His use of arpeggios echoes Johnny Marr and Peter Buck, but it's his own thing. I absolutely love his playing and tone. I wish he did more stuff.



Andrew Chalfen (The Trolleyvox, I Think Like Midnight) - Again, like Hinrichs, he has a unique style that incorporates arpeggios. His sound has more twange and he uses vibrato to great effect. Underrated player.

[xxxHunterxxx]

Andrew Chalfen (The Trolleyvox, I Think Like Midnight) - Again, like Hinrichs, he has a unique style that incorporates arpeggios. His sound has more twange and he uses vibrato to great effect. Underrated player.

Don’t forget the Wishniaks.

[Fillavoid]

Andrew Chalfen (The Trolleyvox, I Think Like Midnight) - Again, like Hinrichs, he has a unique style that incorporates arpeggios. His sound has more twange and he uses vibrato to great effect. Underrated player.

Don’t forget the Wishniaks.

I wasn't aware he was in an earlier band... I will definitely check them out!

[scannest]

Trying hard to avoid anyone I consider 'punk', I offer:

Tom Verlaine & Richard Lloyd
Robert Quine & Ivan Julian
Chris Stamey & Mitch Easter
Bob Stinson & J Mascis
Thurston & Lee
D. Boon & Pete Buck
Pete Phillips & Jason Victor
Tad Kubler & Jon Auer

[lewdd]

no votes for the Pixies or Bob Mould?

[scannest]

no votes for the Pixies or Bob Mould?

Thought about Bob, but he is (or was) punk more than indie.

I like the Pixies, but I don't think of Frank or Joey as guitar gods.

[lewdd]

If JGJR hasn't left us again, he surely has to give a vote for the Pixies.

[version sound]

Adam and Jimmy (Swervedriver) - these guys play together like they’re finishing each other’s sentences. I didn’t realize how the parts fit together (seamlessly) until the time I saw them when Jimmy had technical troubles and Adam played a song with just his parts.

[version sound]

Billy fucking Corgan - the most traditional of indie guitar heroes. He may be an asshole, but he sure can play.

[scannest]

Indie Rock Guitar Heroes - Current Edition:

Mary Timony and Betsy Wright of EX HEX. Probably the best 1-2 punch in rock right now

[JGJR]

Andrew Chalfen (The Trolleyvox, I Think Like Midnight) - Again, like Hinrichs, he has a unique style that incorporates arpeggios. His sound has more twange and he uses vibrato to great effect. Underrated player.

Don’t forget the Wishniaks.

I wasn't aware he was in an earlier band... I will definitely check them out!

I'm very impressed that you know who Andrew is, fillavoid. He's an old friend from my days in West Philly (so is Jim from The Wishniaks, FWIW), but I knew him from another message board /mailing list even before that. I interviewed him in 2008 when the last Trolleyvox album came out. I really like I Think Like Midnight, too.

I also very much like your For Against pick. Do you like the earlier and later records with Harry Dingman, too?

[JGJR]

If JGJR hasn't left us again, he surely has to give a vote for the Pixies.

I like their guitar interplay, but I don't think of Charles or Joey when I thin kof indie guitar heroes for whatever reason. I think Greg Sage, J Mascis, Doug Martsch (Treepeople/Built to Spill), Kevin Shields (MBV), etc. Mould is a great choice, though.

[version sound]

Rowland S. Howard - influenced pretty much all the indie guitar heroes who followed (Thurston and Lee, J. Mascis, Kevin Shields, etc.), or at least the ones I care about, then died in obscurity while Cave cashed in.

Cocteau Twins, too:

Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie once told Melody Maker: "I remember listening to The Birthday Party on the radio thinking, 'fucking hell!' We'd be down the front at every gig, follow them around everywhere. When we were still young and stupid, these people were big stars to us. It was that big guitar noise you got on 'The Friend Catcher' that was one of the things that inspired us."

[xxxMidgexxx]

For Against are/were underrated.

This one alone is a work of art.

In fact, imma bust it out right now.

[drew]

Brian Baker! I mean, srsly. BB rules. His Dave Mustaine solo on 12XU still jumps off the record.

[JGJR]

For Against are/were underrated.

This one alone is a work of art.

In fact, imma bust it out right now.

Good one; my favorite is December. I like them so much that I bought this box set.

https://www.discogs.com/For-Against-Ech ... se/5171274

[Fillavoid]

Andrew Chalfen (The Trolleyvox, I Think Like Midnight) - Again, like Hinrichs, he has a unique style that incorporates arpeggios. His sound has more twange and he uses vibrato to great effect. Underrated player.

Don’t forget the Wishniaks.

I wasn't aware he was in an earlier band... I will definitely check them out!

I'm very impressed that you know who Andrew is, fillavoid. He's an old friend from my days in West Philly (so is Jim from The Wishniaks, FWIW), but I knew him from another message board /mailing list even before that. I interviewed him in 2008 when the last Trolleyvox album came out. I really like I Think Like Midnight, too.

I also very much like your For Against pick. Do you like the earlier and later records with Harry Dingman, too?

Hey JGJR, I had a feeling you might know Chalfen because I remember you saying you were from Philly. It's funny you should mention interviewing him in 2008 as that was the year I discovered The Trolleyvox. (Sidenote: I discovered them via the Julie Ocean Myspace page, so thanks xxxHunterxxx for that one. ).

As for For Against, I appreciate Harry Dingman's playing, too. I love Never Been from 2009, and those early For Against records are fantastic. With that said, I tend to favor the albums after December and Echelons. I'm thinking Aperture, Shelf Life, Mason's California Lunchroom, and Coalesced. I love the combination of Jeffrey Runnings's voice, Paul Englehard's drumming, and Steven Hinrichs's guitar. Just curious, I know that The Big Takeover has championed the band over the years. Have you interacted with the band much? Or seen them live? I noticed they played The Big Takeover's 30th Anniversary Show.

[neutral knieval]

ash bowie of polvo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9eLKJ-Trc

[JGJR]

Hey JGJR, I had a feeling you might know Chalfen because I remember you saying you were from Philly. It's funny you should mention interviewing him in 2008 as that was the year I discovered The Trolleyvox. (Sidenote: I discovered them via the Julie Ocean Myspace page, so thanks xxxHunterxxx for that one. ).

As for For Against, I appreciate Harry Dingman's playing, too. I love Never Been from 2009, and those early For Against records are fantastic. With that said, I tend to favor the albums after December and Echelons. I'm thinking Aperture, Shelf Life, Mason's California Lunchroom, and Coalesced. I love the combination of Jeffrey Runnings's voice, Paul Englehard's drumming, and Steven Hinrichs's guitar. Just curious, I know that The Big Takeover has championed the band over the years. Have you interacted with the band much? Or seen them live? I noticed they played The Big Takeover's 30th Anniversary Show.

I'm not from Philly, but I did live there for 11 years (spent my 30s there, essentially) and go there frequently. It makes sense that you would discover The Trolleyvox via Julie Ocean since my friend Jim (who I mentioned before as a bandmate of Andrew's in The Wishniaks) put out both records on his excellent, now defunct Transit of Venus label. I didn't think about that yesterday!

As far as For Against goes, I did get to see them play back in 2010 at the aforementioned 30th anniversary party in Brooklyn (I'm a long-time writer for The Big Takeover), but I haven't really interacted with them except a little with Jeff R via FB. I think it's their last show to date, at least in the U.S. All of the ones you mentioned (and the post-Coalesced ones from the 2000s with Harry Dingman) are really good. I just know the '80s and '00s stuff better.

[xxxMidgexxx]

Maybe I said this before, but I'm thinking that the Tom Verlaine - Richard Lloyd combo on THIS album is even better than their first 2 better known albums:

Their tone blending and playing is stunningly incredible.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televisio ... sion_album)

[scannest]

Maybe I said this before, but I'm thinking that the Tom Verlaine - Richard Lloyd combo on THIS album is even better than their first 2 better known albums:

Their tone blending and playing is stunningly incredible.

Not shocking, from the man who thinks David Johansen's first solo record is better than anything by the Dolls.

[FormerLurker]

Chris Brokaw all day long.

[xxxMidgexxx]

Maybe I said this before, but I'm thinking that the Tom Verlaine - Richard Lloyd combo on THIS album is even better than their first 2 better known albums:

Their tone blending and playing is stunningly incredible.

Not shocking, from the man who thinks David Johansen's first solo record is better than anything by the Dolls.

And this from the Lloyd/Verlaine fan that can't even name 1 song from their 3rd album.

[version sound]

Chris Brokaw all day long.

YAS QUEEN

[version sound]

Maybe I said this before, but I'm thinking that the Tom Verlaine - Richard Lloyd combo on THIS album is even better than their first 2 better known albums:

Their tone blending and playing is stunningly incredible.

Not shocking, from the man who thinks David Johansen's first solo record is better than anything by the Dolls.

And this from the Lloyd/Verlaine fan that can't even name 1 song from their 3rd album.

Are you talking about that Tom Verlaine solo record the other members of Television played on?

[jaybird]

+1 on the Doug Gillard love... this ranks up there with My Sharona in my Best Guitar Solos of All Time List. The main riff rules too:

[JGJR]

Chris Brokaw all day long.

YAS QUEEN

Thirded; 1st Codeine album = I love it bigly.

[JGJR]

Maybe I said this before, but I'm thinking that the Tom Verlaine - Richard Lloyd combo on THIS album is even better than their first 2 better known albums:

Their tone blending and playing is stunningly incredible.

Not shocking, from the man who thinks David Johansen's first solo record is better than anything by the Dolls.

And this from the Lloyd/Verlaine fan that can't even name 1 song from their 3rd album.

Are you talking about that Tom Verlaine solo record the other members of Television played on?

I'm sure you already know this, VS, but maybe other reading this don't. IIRC, his debut solo Lp was supposed to be a Television album originally or it consisted of songs Television definitely played live, most famously "Kingdom Come" since TV put it on his aforementioned s/t solo debut Lp in 1979 and Bowie covered it a year later on Scary Monsters.

[version sound]

I'm sure you already know this, VS, but maybe other reading this don't. IIRC, his debut solo Lp was supposed to be a Television album originally or it consisted of songs Television definitely played live, most famously "Kingdom Come" since TV put it on his aforementioned s/t solo debut Lp in 1979 and Bowie covered it a year later on Scary Monsters.

My comment was meant to be a (maybe too) subtle jab about the fact that the third Television LP sounds more like a TV solo record than a group record. As for his actual first solo record, yeah, some of those songs go back at least to 1975. Also, it sounds more like a Television record because TV hadn’t changed his vocal style yet. The version of Breakin’ My Heart on that record is a top 3 Television track for me, in no small part due to Ricky Wilson’s contribution.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I'm sure you already know this, VS, but maybe other reading this don't. IIRC, his debut solo Lp was supposed to be a Television album originally or it consisted of songs Television definitely played live, most famously "Kingdom Come" since TV put it on his aforementioned s/t solo debut Lp in 1979 and Bowie covered it a year later on Scary Monsters.

My comment was meant to be a (maybe too) subtle jab about the fact that the third Television LP sounds more like a TV solo record than a group record. As for his actual first solo record, yeah, some of those songs go back at least to 1975. Also, it sounds more like a Television record because TV hadn’t changed his vocal style yet. The version of Breakin’ My Heart on that record is a top 3 Television track for me, in no small part due to Ricky Wilson’s contribution.

The interplay on the S/t 3rd Television album is some of the absolute best documented TV/RL committed to tape. Marquee Moon will always be the bands biggest album, but the 3rd album is better than 'Adventure' and I'd say pretty much that its also my favorite at this point especially after repeated listening on a good set of headphones.

[FormerLurker]

Chris Brokaw all day long.

YAS QUEEN

Thirded; 1st Codeine album = I love it bigly.

Except he drummed on that...

[target]

Mary Timony

[Knutsen]

Knut Schreiner / Euroboy

[JGJR]

Chris Brokaw all day long.

YAS QUEEN

Thirded; 1st Codeine album = I love it bigly.

Except he drummed on that...

Oh d'oh; always forget that he's the drummer on there, too; he does play guitar on some of it, but forgot which tracks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigid_Stars_LP

I do like Come as well; finally got to see them a few years ago. When I saw Codeine in '94, I don't think he was in the band at that point.

[JGJR]

The interplay on the S/t 3rd Television album is some of the absolute best documented TV/RL committed to tape. Marquee Moon will always be the bands biggest album, but the 3rd album is better than 'Adventure' and I'd say pretty much that its also my favorite at this point especially after repeated listening on a good set of headphones.

Adventure is my favorite; still so incredibly underrated. Ducking....

[xxxMidgexxx]

Knut Schreiner / Euroboy

oh?

[version sound]

The interplay on the S/t 3rd Television album is some of the absolute best documented TV/RL committed to tape. Marquee Moon will always be the bands biggest album, but the 3rd album is better than 'Adventure' and I'd say pretty much that its also my favorite at this point especially after repeated listening on a good set of headphones.

Adventure is my favorite; still so incredibly underrated. Ducking....

Overall, Adventure is probably my favorite, though the song “Marquee Moon” is probably my favorite Television track.

I listened to the S/T record yesterday. I liked it better than I remembered, but it’s still a distant third among the studio LPs and behind a couple of live records and TV solo records overall. It’s just so polite. If it wasn’t billed as Television, I would think it was TV solo. Richard Lloyd isn’t exactly a strong presence...

[scannest]

I got obsessed with Television bootlegs for awhile. Most of the best ones are available here:

https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr. ... television

Some faves included Portland, OR (7/2/78) , CBGB's (12/28/76) and Roslyn, NY (6/10/78).

Seriously, fuck the Grateful Dead. I'd rather endlessly debate the best version of 'Little Johnny Jewel'.

[JGJR]

The interplay on the S/t 3rd Television album is some of the absolute best documented TV/RL committed to tape. Marquee Moon will always be the bands biggest album, but the 3rd album is better than 'Adventure' and I'd say pretty much that its also my favorite at this point especially after repeated listening on a good set of headphones.

Adventure is my favorite; still so incredibly underrated. Ducking....

Overall, Adventure is probably my favorite, though the song “Marquee Moon” is probably my favorite Television track.

I listened to the S/T record yesterday. I liked it better than I remembered, but it’s still a distant third among the studio LPs and behind a couple of live records and TV solo records overall. It’s just so polite. If it wasn’t billed as Television, I would think it was TV solo. Richard Lloyd isn’t exactly a strong presence...

Right there with you on just about all of that; sometimes I like "Carried Away" and "The Fire" more than the rest of their stuff, even "Marquee Moon," but I'd argue that "Marquee Moon" is their greatest moment. I like the 3rd/self-titled record just fine, but I don't think it's anywhere near the quality of the 1st 2 or the live stuff from that era like Old Waldorf, etc.

[scannest]

Chris Brokaw all day long.

YAS QUEEN

I can't get over how good his new record is. Reminds me of a more 'classic rock' version of what the Thurston Moore Group has been up to lately. Super excited excited to see them in June, free and outdoors.

https://chrisbrokaw12xu.bandcamp.com/album/puritan