Who brought paradigm shift to the guitar player world?

As some of you may've read in previous interviews here on the Underdogs page inspiration can be sourced of various things. But paradigm shift? Something that changed things for times to come? That doesn't happen often I think.

Today we have a nice little article preview for you out of the hand's of the Rock Candy magazine talking about this subject. The mag is a print product available online and in many shops worlwide. It is put together by respected UK rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson and Malcolm Dome, all frontline writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine in the golden era.

The cover of the February / March 2018 edition of Rock Candy magazine, (c) by Rock Candy magazine, used with kind permission

It talks about iconic as well as more unknown acts of past and present days (for instance the making of Judas Priest's "Screaming for vengeance" album). You can get your copy from the papermag's homepage and follow them on Facebook.

Read on and find out what Steve Vai say's about paradigm shift in the world of guitar players.

Speaking exclusively about his deep appreciation of Edward Van Halen in the new issue of Rock Candy magazine, Vai told editor Howard Johnson, “There are so many guitar heroes I love, and maybe even prefer over Edward in a sense. But the two guitar players who really created a paradigm shift in my opinion were Jimi Hendrix and Edward Van Halen. Everybody else has contributed wonderfully to the art form. But when you look at scope of their individual contributions and how they became pivotal turning points for guitar playing, those two guys were the most effective.”

In a wide-ranging interview all about the Van Halen legend that forms part of Rock Candy mag’s 14 page VH feature in the current issue, Vai recalls hearing Edward’s playing for the first time when he was a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston in the late ‘70s.

“’You Really Got Me’ came on the radio, with the ‘Eruption’ solo tagged on at the start,” he explained. “We were just all completely stunned.”

In a long and illustrious career, Steve Vai has produced some of the most loved guitar music ever recorded, while also bringing his outstanding combination of flash and technique to some of rock’s greatest acts, including Whitesnake and, of course, David Lee Roth. Between 1985 and 1989 Vai performed a number of Edward’s songs alongside the former Van Halen frontman during the height of Roth’s solo career.

“Playing Van Halen songs is such a hoot,” he told Rock Candy. “Especially when you’ve got David Lee Roth singing them! ‘Panama’ is just great. ‘Unchained’ and ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love’ too. We’d play a whole lot of Van Halen tunes and they were always wonderful. The parts were constructed perfectly, because Edward has real completeness as a guitar player.”

The full interview can be found in the issue February / March 2018 of Rock Candy magazine. Other bands also featured in this issue are:

CINDERELLA
MICHAEL SCHENKER
JUDAS PRIEST
MOTORHEAD
DEEP PURPLE
THE US FESTIVAL
POISON
FOGHAT
RUSH
MARILLION
RATT
HANOI ROCKS
GARY MOORE AND PHIL LYNOTT
VENOM
AC/DC
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
GENE SIMMONS
JIMMY BARNES
DIO