-THIS Guitar Instructional Made Me Question REALITY! Check out all my lesson vids at: www.the-art-of-guitar.com Facebook: / fansoftheartofguitar / theartofguitar Thanks!!!
I loved institutional videos of the 80's . I was a teenager in those days . I learned how to play solo guitar from the Steve Lucather institutional video .
Henry is fucking awesome. Teaching to "play like yourself" jesus christ what a deep quote. I see no ironic enjoyment in him, only real, pure joy and excitement.
Yeah I'm sure it worked on all the people who had no plans to ever get better at guitar.. instead they just started making noise and pissing everyone off around them.
Amen Anybody can say some clever thing in the comment section of a video like this... Just like anybody can study and practice any kind of song or Master any kind of scale or timing etcetera. I had a friend of mine when I was a kid who spent way too much time idolizing and worshiping guitar players who he admired until I explained to him that "dude you can learn how to play what he's doing in fact anybody can do that and pretty much anybody can almost play anything. Reason you admire him is not because he can play the song it's because he made it up/wrote it. THATS the magic, not skill that anyone can achieve with practice" And that might seem obvious to many, sure. But I noticed this guy and so many other players I knew growing up, who totally limited themselves because they set the bar at whoever they thought was great, instead of being inspired by their creativity.
At least his tone was TERRIFIC!! With a vintage rack like that and a Dumbo in the room, you don’t even need talent to sound extra ordinary. 😂 *EDIT - I went and looked it up, and I used the wrong word…I always mix these two up. I meant to say TERRIBLE. Also, isn’t it weird that if you remove the space between extra & ordinary it changes the definition from textbook average to something that is a once in a lifetime experience. Is it just me, or are those two “words” & definitions WAY too far apart to be represented by the written language equivalent of nothing. It’s extraordinarily weird. Did ya see what I did there?? I used the word in question like a champ!! Now to figure out how to remember Terrific & Terrible in a way that sticks. Hmm…..
John French, the drummer in the video, drummed for Captain Beefheart. The bassist Andy West played in the Dixie Dregs. Henry, Andy, Prairie Prince of the Tubes and Mike Keneally had a band called The Mistakes which released one very awesome album.
Makes sense, reminds me of something in the same realm. A lot of those weird session musicians worked together back in the day from what it seems. I can't imagine how cool some of those sessions were
This is like something you’d see on Adult Swim at 3am in 2010. I love it. I admire this (I guess you could say) postmodernist style of music every now and then.
Wang Report: I remember reading an article back-in-the-day written by Joe Satriani, probably in 'Guitar for the Practicing Musician,' where he described different whammy bar techniques. He used the term "wang bar" throughout the article and even closed the article with this proverb: "Sometimes the best way to wang is not to wang at all." (Basically concluding that wanging can be lots of fun, but don't overdo it.) I distinctly remember the line and being so impressed that I used it for my high school yearbook quote.
I appreciate your sincerity and open mindedness. Most RU-vidrs would just goof on this video. You are a true musician and while amused, seemed to be able to glean useful techniques from this unique guitarist.
I agree. It bothered me so much that I would see clips of this video on youtube and everyone was just assuming he sucks at guitar without context. You can see he has skill with conventional guitar when he decides to play simply, but it's just not what he wants to do. Wether it's enjoyable or interesting will vary by listener, but he is doing something truly unique, and I don't think it should just be written off because it sounds weird.
I’m reading all these comments waiting for someone to explain who Henry Kaiser is. He’s on a LOT of records, written film scores, and is a knowledge ethnomusicologist. Read the Wikipedia page, but don’t accidentally read the entry for his grandfather, the famous industrialist. Sure, he’s weird AF, but he’s pushing boundaries, and believe me, it was influential to some serious players. He was part of a wave of avante garde musicians at the time Ex: Herbie Hancock had him on not one, but two of his albums
Listening to Kaiser, not just his music but his words, makes one ask why we create music in the first place. Are we "following rules" or "playing the right thing" or are we doing something else. Maybe expressing our spirit the best we can through a musical medium.
@@totallyfrozenLimited, reductionist thinking. There are more sounds and types of music out there than what a five year old child is willing to enjoy the first time they hear it. Sure, music is there to be enjoyed, but there's always more depth you can add that might not be immediately palatable, or not palatable for everyone. It doesn't make it right or wrong, but you can make more unusual types of music that can be mind-blowing if only for a limited audience. That still has worth. In fact, most of us will probably agree that "the lowest common denominator" type of "enjoyable" music (e.g. chart topping hits of today) is usually rather uninteresting. How much spiciness you need and what kind to get to your favourite type of sounds just varies from person to person.
You did a great job of highlighting the uniqueness of Henry's playing, without being dismissive or trying to ridicule him. Thank you for being so fair and open-minded. I'm sure Henry would be appreciative as well.
In the late 80's early 90's a lot of players in print would call a whammy a wang bar. In Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine it was like the trendy term or something
I remember a lot of interviews and references to Kaiser in the 80's and 90's. He actually went to Antarctica and took photos underwater that were used in Herzog films that he scored as well. His brilliance and genius are (admittedly) beyond my comprehension, but he is still widely respected in the music community. Good find.
I saw that film and wholeheartedly agree that it was the perfect medium for his Musical abilities. The weirdness of his music matched perfectly the Mysterious World of the ocean under the ice.
@@ooferrell ..... its the same as that asshole who put a Jesus statue in a jar of piss and called it art....his having the ability to create legit art, does not mean that everything he creates is legit art. This guys guitar playing is a jar of piss with Jesus in it and your pretending its not, is dishonesty in a lame quest to be seen as some cool nonconformist.
This video is a true goldmine. Thanks for bringing this UFO to us. His entire instructional video legitimately makes question reality 😂🤯 and that's part of the beauty of it. I think you gave it a fair, honest and generous take, which is so enjoyable. Cheers !
He reminds me of Adrian Belew. There is this video him playing Psycho Killer with Talking Heads and he bends the guitar to get a lower pitch, uses feedback like a theremin. It totally blew my mind the first time i saw it. It's taking an electric guitar and using it as a sound machine rather than a traditional western instrument. Here is a link to the video I'm talking about, Adrian Belew starts the solo around 3:57 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-galXYbepW_s.htmlsi=T1aFgq6dr9mtQfR5
You actually convinced me to love this guy. His praise of other musicians and musical cultures is admirable and they sound surprisingly tight as a band!
As a big prog fan (Dream Theater, Rush, Yes, King Crimson etc.) I really really really enjoyed his playing. There's definitely big moments where I question his musical sense/skills but that could be chalked up to him just improvising on the spot and not having a planned arrangement, the segment where he sounds like Rush blew my mind, I wonder if he has experimented with psychedelics. Honestly he would slay soloing for Meshuggah.
Henry Kaiser, Fred Frith, and the group Henry Cow were a late '70's Avant Garde group. This has been going on a very long time: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/With_Friends_Like_These_(album)
I remember this video. Henry Kaiser is one of my favorite guitarists. He’s got a lot of videos on RU-vid and still going strong. The guys got a huge discography including stuff with Nels Cline, Fred Frith and Richard Thompson and of course Drumbo (John French) who was Captain 😅Beefheart’s drummer and arranger among many others. Henry was lucky enough to be born into a rich family and so could truly dedicate himself to art. He’s a fixture in the Bay Area improv scene.
I have a satriani book full of his columns from 80s guitar world and he actually called it a wang bar too. I have jammed with older people that called it that as well.
I'm old enough to remember when there was no guitar center. I got my guitar tab from sheet music stores and Guitar World magazine from the grocery store.
Never heard of the guy, but boy - not only does he have a Dumble amp, he actually has Alex Dumble on site. That digital fart sound @8:30 is the stuff of legends! Thank you for unearthing this rare gem!
@@philhogan5623 Yes! A Nose Guard for the NY Giants when they ran a 3-4 defense, who made amps as a hobby, is the last thing I imagined. I like his playing though.
This was sort of like inviting Enzo Ferrari, remove a wheel from your 458, put it in reverse, and use your foot to guide the car as it parks. Dude would have the mob kill you.
There’s a definitely a method to his madness. I can’t understand it from watching but I do admire the ability to “imagine a new color” type of thinking. I think that’s incredible
The amazing thing about this video is that he got Andy West to play bass for him. Andy West is one of the finest bass players on the planet; why he would play with Henry Kaiser is beyond me. As a matter of fact, I wrote to Andy West some years ago after seeing this video to ask him what the hell he was doing in the video. I remember he wrote me back right away and was extremely diplomatic with his answer, but for the life of me I cannot remember whether he actually answered my question.
Sounds like he was inspired by Beefheart and Zappa, plus the Dumble bit is awesome! Didn't think it was awkward, it's awesome, it makes me want to reconnect with why I started playing guitar. Wow! Free improvisation, absolutely great. But then both Skip James and Derek Bailey are familiar names, Bailey was born right here in my home city, Sheffield, England.
I spent a lot of time listening to his records back in the 90s. You have to sift through which ones are for you as not all experimental hits the same, but there’s some really beautiful music that he’s created
Henry Kaiser is great! I was a big fan of his back in the eighties...saw him live once back then, I had a front row center stage seat about 5 feet away from him. (and you should definitely check out Skip James!... I saw Derek Bailey once too, strange stuff! Almost forgot about him)
Extremely weird and unintentionally hilarious, but just shows that with enough conviction you can make your style anything you want it to be. I wouldn't want to see a gig of his, but fair play to him for following his muse.
Nice video bro. You gave the dude the proper respect and didn’t just shit on the guy for being different. It takes all kinds! Thanks for highlighting this mad genius
Kaiser's ability and creative forethought should be clear immediately upon hearing the first performance of this instructional video. The use of extended technique to get that faux reverse-tape sound requires incredible determination and knowledge and the creative choice to do such a thing to begin with was tasteful and surprising in a way only an expert could come up with
Yeah I have watched him. I always believed that anything was possible. He does it with total confidence and with that monster backing him up makes him even more legit. R.I.P. most expensive amp guy in the world.
Of course that picture is gonna turn into a bird and fly away. This Henry Kaiser is obviously operating on a totally different plane of logic. I thought "atonal" meant some of A. Holdsworth's excursions- this Kaiser's all over the place!! Good to see you Mike- thanks for the video.
You know how sometimes in movies or TV an alien trying to seem human will talk saying actual words but with really stilted and weird syntax? This guy is like that but for guitar.
I came here for mindbending guitar playing, and stayed for you shirt. This is honestly really cool. New players could use some of this to see what new wonders await.
i remember seeing that Paul Gilbert one for the first time!!! The Cheerleaders helped him tune his guitar "Give me an A...." ya super cool I downloaded it from Napster
I have seen this before and was wondering when he was going to break character. He still hasn't. I never knew you could play in Q, X and Z-minor either. He also uses a tuning of RSFHJN most of the time.
Well, I give him a shit load of credit for having the "wait, theres a box?" style of thinking (referring to the phrase "think outside the box").However, the sounds coming out of my sound system has a different opinion on the matter lol
I've never heard of Henry Kaiser, but I see how all music I love now has flowed through him. -The Playing -The attitude towards making music -The Dumble Man -The Beefheart drummer -Awesome bass pick-playing -The Derek Bailey call-out -Our humble host, (Art, of Guitar), laughing uncomfortably and slowly coming to appreciate the mind blow This is my new favorite youtube vid. Move over, David After Dentist!
This is amazing! I grew up with mainly influences from British psychedelia, acid jazz, prog and classical (I was the weird kid as this was like 2009 haha) but I hear a lot of the stuff I used to try and do and learn in this but done a lot better!
I feel like most of the instructionals were/are more on the technical…this is how to shred!..flavor, so I give this guy some props for going in a more philosophical route. A lot of the ads I get sent on RU-vid/etc. are like that. Of course there are techniques and things to learn, but it’s all about making what you need work for you vs. trying to “master” guitar.
Damn dude. That was insane. And i was dying during the credits when you had enough time to read, talk on the phone, play 3 different guitars, that crazy keyboard/guitar thing, read again a book again and then get out and read what looks to be an Iron Maiden tab book. 😂😂
That second live clip where he's singing in that deep voice is a ZZ Top song, "Manic Mechanic" from Deguello. I think Billy Gibbons' vocal on that recording was recorded to a sped up tape playback to make it much lower when played back and mixed at normal speed. Anyway Kaiser is a legend of the NY avant garde scene. I'm sure Nels Kline was very aware of Kaiser. He and especially Glenn Branca were huge influences on Sonic Youth. Skip James wrote the song "I'm So Glad" which Cream famously covered on their debut album, though their version is quite different. You should check out a guitarist named James Blood Ulmer for some slightly more conventional but still quite out jazz/blues playing.
I always enjoy your videos but this is my favorite. I am crying. 😂 I worked in a guitar store in the early 90s, and we had so much fun with harmonizers when no one was around. This brought back some great memories.
One of the best teachers I ever had once told a kid, "You have to be incredibly smart to act so incredibly stupid on purpose". Same idea here. This guy has to be incredibly great at guitar to play only the wrong notes…or should I say, the right notes at the wrong time lol.
Hey, just a little information about the two pieces of music you used to introduce Kaiser with. They’re both covers. The first is a piece by Albert Ayler - Ghosts - and the second is a VERY faithful cover of a ZZ Top song - Manic Mechanic.
When I was about 17, a band I played in had a guy like this. I played drums and he played guitar. But he bank rolled the hole band, so he did what he wanted. This reminds me of that time about 25 years ago.
Very interesting video. I looked up this guy, because he has some amazingly expensive stuff, and also "Henry Kaiser" is a pretty famous name, and yup, he's the famous multi-millionaire's grandson. Henry Kaiser Sr. was a builder and industrialist. He helped build the frickin Hoover Dam, and when World War II broke out, his Kaiser shipyards cranked out "Liberty ships" (cargo/transport) along the West Coast to get men and materiel across the Pacific. To attract workers during wartime, when wages were frozen to prevent rampant inflation due to labor scarcity, Henry offered company-sponsored medical care to his employees, and this eventually became the insurance company Kaiser Permanente. (This is literally the reason most companies offer their employees health insurance today) He also started a car company, Kaiser Motors, which later made Willys Jeeps, the consumer ancestor to our modern Jeeps. Henry the Guitarist's cousin, Edgar, was a Stanford grad and Harvard MBA, and he owned the Denver Broncos for 3 years, earning almost $50 million profit from the sale in 1984. So yeah, I guess Henry the Guitarist could afford to play Jerry Garcia Space music on a Dumble, and have Dumble there to tune it for him. (By the way, this is one of the last times Dumble was seen on camera until 2021, when Eagles guitarist Don Felder showed him working on his Fender amp, Dumble passed away aged 77 in 2022, a great age considering how obese he was in Henry's video). As mentioned elsewhere, Henry himself is a film producer, videographer and photographer, and he has been all over the world filming, especially on land and under water in Antarctica.
The Kim Jin-hi jam has a very curage the cowardly dog vibe to it, manic, spooky, and surreal - i love it! As a musian who's first influences were world music, jeff beck, and experimental noise, this guy's worldview really speaks to me.
Henry Kaiser is one of those people that likes to make weird music. Although he shares the weird zone with Captain Beefheart, and Yoko Ono... it's a completely different kind of weird.
Not trying to offend anyone, but watching him "jam" is like being an outsider going to one of those churches where people speak in tongues and roll around on the floor.
Why am I just now hearing about this guy? I am a huge Ween and Zappa fan. This should absolutely be on my radar for that reason alone. He is the dictionary definition of “Brown”. Ween fans will know what I mean.
I saw on a church sign once, "Be yourself, everyone else is taken" and that stuck with me. Be yourself. Play guitar how you want to play. Don't be afraid to be different. Don't try and be like other people.
Oh the outsider! Love seeing content done about this place where you're free to explore whatever feeling you have and do some kind of art to communicate it. Doesn't matter what the world says it is or it is not music.
I will admit to owning several Henry Kaiser CDs. Not everything he does is "out there" but some really is. I prefer him playing more composed "ordinary" pieces. The big influences on him are Beefheart and Grateful Dead. Beefheart seems to give him permission to be weird and Grateful Dead the permission to be weird for a very long time. I think it's fair to be horrified by what he does provided we remember that some very tasteful and capable people rate him and have worked with him.
What a find :D Wild how it's like half guitar lesson, half Tim & Eric sketch comedy. Also kind of wild this even got made and distributed in the first place. It's not like today where any one can shoot a video and upload it. Like, they had to hire a crew to film it, rent the set, and then get a distributor to make the VHS tapes. Wild.
There's a lot to digest here. Henry makes a Freddy Krueger voice towards the beginning. The drummer is dressed like Freddy Krueger at the end. Maybe it's all just a nightmare. Can you imagine your parents getting you this tape to go along with your first guitar? It's an instructional video for people who own eventide equipment, which is almost nobody. You wouldn't learn anything directly from this tape, but it does deliver a message of freedom in doing unconventional things. The guy's playing the Dumble with the purity of the electrons in the vacuum and has a processed through all this digital crap. This kind of reminds me of the Adrian Belew tape, which is also about odd noises that you can make with your guitar and effects.
He was also in the extended Grateful Dead scene. There was some chatter back in the day of him replacing Garcia after his death (not that the band themselves ever seriously considered carrying on). The Dead gave rise to a whole bunch of companies involved in amplification and sound reinforcement back in the day.
That was really something! I think your takeaway at end is spot on. Be creative! (Btw, I think the term "wang bar" might be an age thing. I'm 66 and have heard it pretty commonly over the years.)
