Interview with Scotti Hill of Skid Row

[vernschrock]

I don't know the video or the player.

Plenty of players who play in standard tuning play with shapes and patterns of scales and chords as a reference point and cannot tell you the name of every note on the fretboard or in a chord or scale.

So, if someone has learnt the fretboard (if only partially) in standard tuning and is someone who tends to think in shapes and patterns. And then that player plays in a different tuning, those shapes, and patterns in standard are still probably being used as a frame of reference rather than the actual names of the notes themselves or the sounds of them.

He’s the founder/guitarist of A Perfect Circle. Before that, he was guitar tech for a whole host of bands; most notably Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails (which is where his number 1 Les Paul comes from, after the headstock got damaged from being thrown into the crowd at a concert, and he glued it back together), and Tool (he met Maynard during this time, who would eventually sing for APC).

I get what you’re saying with people that use a few chords and patterns here and there as reference points.

But Billy doesn’t seem to be a pattern-based player. The riffs he comes up with are so far from standard box patterns. That’s why I like his playing in the first place. It’s highly inventive and not what you would consider typical.

So that’s why it’s baffling to me. Because he is such a great player, and his riffs are so out of the ordinary. It’s clear he didn’t just rework a few Jimmy Page or AC/DC riffs, and call it a day. Not that I like everything he's done. I suppose I'm way too arrogant and opinionated for that. I love the first two APC albums, but I think Eat The Elephant is absolutely horrible.

 

[stratamania]

But Billy doesn’t seem to be a pattern-based player. The riffs he comes up with are so far from standard box patterns. That’s why I like his playing in the first place. It’s highly inventive and not what you would consider typical.

He may be more of an intuitive and experimental player rather than basing things on theory and fretboard knowledge etc. If then someone like this must stop and describe it, they may have to think and use whatever frame of reference they use to do so.

Thanks for describing more about him. Though I recognise some band names you mention, it is not a genre, I am that familiar with.

 

[vernschrock]

He may be more of an intuitive and experimental player rather than basing things on theory and fretboard knowledge etc. If then someone like this must stop and describe it, they may have to think and use whatever frame of reference they use to do so.

I think you described it perfectly. That must be what it is.

Thanks for your response, to help me see it from a different perspective.

 

[oliviaadair]

He’s the founder/guitarist of A Perfect Circle. Before that, he was guitar tech for a whole host of bands; most notably Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails (which is where his number 1 Les Paul comes from, after the headstock got damaged from being thrown into the crowd at a concert, and he glued it back together), and Tool (he met Maynard during this time, who would eventually sing for APC).

I get what you’re saying with people that use a few chords and patterns here and there as reference points.

But Billy doesn’t seem to be a pattern-based player. The riffs he comes up with are so far from standard box patterns. That’s why I like his playing in the first place. It’s highly inventive and not what you would consider typical.

So that’s why it’s baffling to me. Because he is such a great player, and his riffs are so out of the ordinary. It’s clear he didn’t just rework a few Jimmy Page or AC/DC riffs, and call it a day. Not that I like everything he's done. I suppose I'm way too arrogant and opinionated for that. I love the first two APC albums, but I think Eat The Elephant is absolutely horrible.

Billy Howerdel is the founder and guitarist of A Perfect Circle, a band known for their unique blend of alternative rock and progressive elements.

Before forming A Perfect Circle, Howerdel had an extensive career as a guitar technician for various bands, including Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails, and Tool. It's fascinating to learn about his journey from behind the scenes as a guitar tech to stepping into the spotlight as a musician in his own right.

 

[Scab Pickens]

Billy Howerdel is the founder and guitarist of A Perfect Circle, a band known for their unique blend of alternative rock and progressive elements.

Before forming A Perfect Circle, Howerdel had an extensive career as a guitar technician for various bands, including Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails, and Tool. It's fascinating to learn about his journey from behind the scenes as a guitar tech to stepping into the spotlight as a musician in his own right.

Still just doing your "bot" thing, then? Did you ever figure out what those instruments are in your avatar photo?

 

[mayfly]

Oliviaadair, (or whoever is behind you) It's disingenuous to mis-represent yourself like that. It's not cool man.

 

[Eddie-Applegate]

I don't know the video or the player.

Plenty of players who play in standard tuning play with shapes and patterns of scales and chords as a reference point and cannot tell you the name of every note on the fretboard or in a chord or scale.

So, if someone has learnt the fretboard (if only partially) in standard tuning and is someone who tends to think in shapes and patterns. And then that player plays in a different tuning, those shapes, and patterns in standard are still probably being used as a frame of reference rather than the actual names of the notes themselves or the sounds of them.

100%. This is the case for me— i play in several tunings and outside of standard, mainly it’s the intervals between the notes that I’m concerned with

(Tho if I’m playing with other people, i’ll play in a standard or simple dropped tuning so that i can communicate with the other players properly)

Michael Manring, the virtuoso bassist, indicates that he operates the same way when playing the dynamically-tuned Hyperbass

 

[timanator]

Check out the interview I did with Scotti Hill of Skid Row. Just posted it on the Warmoth blog. He was such a genuine and nice guy. I'm a fan!

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Skid Row's first 2 albums are in my all time favorites!