Well, there are different audiences for different folks... institutionalized sexism may have had a lot to do with it, y'know, what sells and what won't, but even if it's an uphill battle to achieve recognition ( which she did ), you still have to do it by relying on and believing in yourself. Jennifer Batten probably believes in herself completely, but if she had really, reeeeallly wanted fame, she probably could've found it.
"institutionalized sexism"...? I would bet that for every female guitarist held back because she was not taken seriously, several have gotten rich and famous despite not really being anything special. Batten is a legend and a true guitar hero, but her solo music has never captured the interest of mainstream audiences. It's for guitar nerds, and guitar nerds rightly worship her for it.
Met her a long time ago while she played with "Pearl" in Del Mar, California. Nicest person and super dedicated to her craft. While her band took five, she would sit by herself in one corner of the stage doing her scales and stuff. I am very happy she's made it this far....If anybody deserves it.......
I saw her at the Les Paul tribute in Cleveland. Stunning. You had to have been there. She was layering her guitar over a device Les Paul made. I lost my mind it was so good. Billy Gibbons / Slash / and Steve Lukather was there as were others ... but all I remember was her. She spanked ! It was amazing.
This is amazing!! (I wish I had $9,000.00 to purchase an Adrian Belew signature Parker !! ). Jennifer has been using "13 pin" gear for many years, and is one of the few who incorporate new technology seamlessly into her performances. She is an inspiration!
Jennifer Batten is the best female guitarist I have EVER seen as of 23rd Dec 2018, this was shown to me by my brother, sharing my 66th birthday yesterday that was.....in NZ ...on the 22nd.
This is probable the best guitarist to have ever lived. So fluent ,so relaxed , a teacher and better than the rest at this stuff. Not my style but then i could not do it but i love to see it played and still have musical fluid content. X
Is that one of those Digitech Whammy pedals she's using? Never liked those damn things. They make a guitar sound like a bunch if digitized computer noise. Other than that, she's got some solid technique.
Genuine question - seeing Jennifer Batten play it is obvious there is no reason why a woman cannot play guitar as well as a man. Sure there are plenty of female guitar players out there but most are playing acoustic or strumming. Why are there so few female shredders? Anybody have any idea?
Hey Jennifer... Please marry me!? Not just on a musical level, but on a personal level etc., etc. Lol! I saw you many moons ago, with MJ. Superb! I just love the Les Paul Tribute! To all the dicks who don't 'get' this (horrible tone etc.), try listening to the mighty Les Paul - this was, and always will be, his tone/style. The man was a humble genius! He has become, posthumously, a hero of mine! Jennifer, you nailed this! Nice one! Now, did i mention marriage...? Lol! \m/ (:o)
I'm a Musician and I know what I'm talking about, and I don't know of three male Guitarists in the World who have such amazing Technology. After Steve Vai, I have to start thinking
Very cool: her overall technique and specifically her tapping, reworking of Les' "Lover", using the 1st generation Adrian Belew Signature Parker Fly, incorporating a Whammy/Whammy-style pitch-shifting into her playing, Uncool: Her big, clunky string mute that's been rendered obsolete by the simplicity of "FretWraps".
+Shardicus im guessing she knows its a tone sacrifice but embraced it for this piece to keep everything 'modern' if u know what i mean... shes playing basically old material but whammied + pitch shifted, with a trippy, modern day guitar .. the computerized bee tone is in keeping with the whole modern/retro feel. And yes the whammy pedal does that.
+Shardicus tone is something subjective though. as long as you can hear the notes. i think in this performance the tone matches the "weird" phrasing that occurs with the whammy. Absolutely dreadful is a bit harsh here. You dont like it, thats all. absolutely dreadful is really something like home made recordings of teenager punk/rock bands.
We totally agree on what is cool, but Jennifer probably prefers the mounted damper for the same reason I think I would; it seems easier to lift and drop than slide that band on and off the neck; or so it looks to me; wouldn't mind testing, but not for $30. For the most part, I want the harmonics anyway.
+larsenpeople the effect used (whammy pedal) degrades the sound in a harsh grainy way. it cant be helped ,as this piece relys on the effect. I think some newer ones will be better but they're already been out 20 years..
lol! so what? all i said was that he didnt invent the damn thing. all he did was come up with the 2nd most popular electric guitar design ever... btw, Krystal Clouser didnt invent anything either...