REB BEACH IS STILL THE FUCKING MAN
Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 2:12pm by Vince NeilsteinSay what you will about Winger, but Reb Beach was one hell of a fucking guitarist, surely up there with Nuno Bettencourt in the late-hair-metal-era-EddieVanHalen-inspired-underrated-guitarists category. Beach took EVH’s fretboard tapping, Floyd Rose dive-bombing sound and upped the cheese factor to the next level. But the dude had undeniable skill and he’s still got it, as evidenced by this video of him performing in the Suhr Guitars booth at NAMM last week:
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And in case you doubt my assertion that he ever had it to begin with, take a look at this clip of Winger performing “Headed For a Heartbreak” live on MTV circa 1989. If you don’t have the patience, just fast-forward to the mammoth solo at 3:35. Oh… fuck… yeah! The thought of a nearly two-minute solo airing on MTV seems so distant these days… as does the thought of a five and a half minute song… as does a band performing live… as does rock music… as does any music…. sigh. But I digress. Watch this fucker go. The vid is after the jump.
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Reb is great but he’s no Jason Becker.
Thnk You!!
So many bands got the hair metal rap…when they had truly talented players
dude, Reb is the shit! He’s so badass…you guys should all watch the live vid of ’seventeen’ it’s seriously off the hook!
Firstly: Winger is pretty undeniable. Yeah they’re cheesy and gay and lame but in all the best ways imaginable. The first time I saw a picture of Kip Winger I said to myself: “I can see why these guys were huge; that guy is PRETTY.”
Secondly: I can remember staying up late and watching MTV all night becuase I knew that they would be playing some great videos sooner or later. I can’t imagine what a kid today would do. Stay up late for that killer “Real World” episode? Catch a live broadcast of some fake-titted broad lip-synching in a “live” performance? This video made me nostalgic for the days of Music Television, not “Reality” Show Television.
Beach is a fine player.
As a side note, Kip Winger is one of the biggest douchebags I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting in my entire life.