Eruption (band) Songs

[Suyay Escarsega]

Eruption is of course a classic guitar piece and legendary for being highly challenging (or at least it sure sounds tough to the untrained ear.) I was recently given the tabs to it in an old issue of 'total guitar' and was wondering just how difficult it really is. At this point, my absolute best speed is 16th notes at 125 bpm (picking every note in a major scale). Is eruption out of reach for me right now? For those of you who can play it, how long had you played guitar for when you first conquered it?

it's not that hard. I had probably been playing about 3 years before I could play it. You have to have above average natural ability and dedication to develop those chops though. A majority of guitarists will never be able to play it.

Question: does the eruption solo have to be played exact? The reason I ask is because when I learn and play any solo, I usually don't learn it note for note, I learn the main passage scales and I play similiar but with my own flare and style.

You of course can't go by what EVH says, or said. He said he was warming up, playing it and Templeman said to put it on the album. He went on to say they played several takes and chose the best one and Don landee put his magic to it. The production is phenomenal.

BTW, you should find a good teacher that's really into VH to help you through it. I was/am an old VH nut and there are quite a few things that the tabs always seem to get wrong in that There are a few parts that are pretty simple but the transcriptions make it all goofy. You just can't get the proper conviction when it's not played right. You can get the notes but it's still only half way there.

I'd have to know what you're referring to specifically, but my answer would be a resounding no. What could be perceived as sloppiness is more of the feel and phrasing he's going for in his solos and rhythm... a tapping part won't start on the 1, a rhythm part might overlap the measure, etc. These are not mistakes.

This is great stuff. I obviously know nothing. But what do you know? You know absolutely nothing about me, but I now know something about you. I won't say. However, I will stick to my story. I asked if others thought Eddie sounds sloppy.

Further, I've known a few who could play Eruption just like the album. A few had only been playing 5 or so years. If your eyes were closed you'd think it was eddie himself. It didn't look that hard to me. And the whole style is that of an unlearned musician. Not that an unlearned musician can't play, but that Eddies style seems to be full of alot of technicque and randomness. By the way, did I mention that I love everything Eddies done?

If you are a good player, you should know that when someone does something skillfully, they make it look easy. But it's really not. I do a very decent Eruption, but it has taken me many years to get it, I'd figure little parts out over time. Not reading tab! I'd bet my house those guys didn't play it right. There's some very different things that everybody seems to miss. Like I said before the mags always come out with there "new and improved versions". It is not extremely difficult to play totally correct. I'm talking down to the correct pick strokes as well as frets, to get the correct phrasing. working, teaching for 17 years, Playing for 25. I don't think I've ever heard anyone play it right! Sure they get the main parts and go off and fake the others, but that's not really playing it is it!

To really play Eruption, it's not a matter of just frets and notes, you have to get inside Ed's head, and understand how he looks at the guitar and see the patterns and pick in the manner he approaches the guitar. How he chooses to use the upstroke when most would use a down stroke is very important. How he uses open strings with simple patterns, are always overlooked for some crazy BS that makes me laugh at most eruption attempts. To really play it, it's really very different from reading tab.

I think it's very difficult for any intermediate player. Like I said, I've heard many clips of it, some from high end amp makers who feel they are great. A lot of people wankin' around like they have it, but don't. Most here would probably say close enough. I was/am a die hard Eddie fan and none were close enough from what I hear and see.

I guess you could say it's somewhat challenging to play from a technique point. But to me, if someone is playing the notes or forms wrong, it's still wrong and therefore still difficult for them. They may have the chops to execute but they don't have the ears or knowledge. So it is difficult.

That was my initial point. That we don't need to play it exact. We can play it similar and add a hint of our own ability. In this way we would not be a failure who could not play it correct, but instead we'd be a player who isn't trying to play it exact, but with our own flavor.

By the way, nobody who can come close to emulating eddie is a failure. On the contrary, Eddie has a technique to playing that I've only seen few emulate all around. Many have a lick here and there, but few play fluintly with his style.

No my point is the licks are the same. He may interchange them but the same frets/convicition is there. I've watched/listened and analyzed a ton of 'em, including pre contract VH. The proper execution/conviction is what's missing when I've heard people playing it. Sure, everybody and their brother can get the opening pentatonic thing and the two hand hammered cadenza down. That's not hard. The phrasing of the other licks is what I'm talking about and that just happens to be the coolest part of it. That's the part people neglect most often. Why? because they can't get the phrasing!

You never hear anyone really change up the cadenza ending. 'Cause they can do it. So the only reason they change up or "add" their own little censored, is because they can't do the original justice. And that's what it is- censored. If they can't do it right, they shouldn't do it and should go home with their tail between their legs.

Like when I played Cliffs of Dover with my old band. It took me a long time to get it down. They said, forget it you got it already and I said No, I don't. Because I am not gonna just do my own thing to a piece like that. I had to get it down right. To play that, the pick stroke direction is very important. Some guys alternate pick and it destroys the tune. You have to learn the inticacies of the artist. That's how it is with Eruption. I'll do my own thing with it, after I'm able to do it the way Eric did. But I had to first show I can do it right or it's a total cop out.

its like when heavy metal bands cover NON heavy metal songs, and then flare it up in their own style... are they trying to show off how they can play it? no. Most of the guys in these bands LOVE the band they are covering, you'd be suprised what most heavy metal musicians listen to (guitarists anyways). They play it like they do to more do the song/artist justice... its more like:

and I think that pays more respect to an artist then trying to outright copy them and show "hey I can play this song EXACTLY like you..." to me that would be more of an insult... someone showing that what I do is not hard by immitating me exactly...

when someone does a stroke for stroke copy of a work, its a "forgery" and looked down uppon in the art community, but if you do something influenced by one of these pieces (and state your influences, dont forget that part)... then you are showing that it was such a strong moving piece, it influenced you to create new art of your own.

Yeah I see that point. But when they're covering a song, fine. I actually hate when it's done just like the original. Unless, it's presenting a level of skill ala Eruption etc.. Otherwise, why not write your own?!

Now, to me, I can tell a great player that's able to do a certain piece justice and then they change things up to add something fresh to it. That's cool. With a good player, the skill shows and it's clearly evident that he could play it the "right" way as well. But to change up a lot of it? Why not make your own. That's my opinion. Classical music is similar. You need to prove yourself first. Do the piece justice before you take liberties.

Again my point about when anyone happens to play it, they never really change the two handed part at the end. But most do change a few of those middle parts. I mean, if they were being creative with it, why weren't they so creative on the easy parts?

I learned how to play it two years ago. Its difficult, but I spent an hour a day breaking down the piece and after about a month I could play it all the way through. I'd need to warm it up a bit if I wanted to play it again. My favorite part is the tapping sequence at the end.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 4, 1995. The first thing you notice about a Dave Matthews Band concert is the homogeneity of the crowd. White prep school and junior high kids wander around in a Head of the Charles-like social scene. At last Saturday's sold-out show at the Orpheum, the girl behind me asked her friend, "Have you seen anyone yet?" I don't know how she could answer that, considering everyone looked the same in a plaid flannel, fleece jacket and baseball cap combo.

The Dave Matthews Band, poised on the brink of hitting it big with its 1994 album, the 1993 Under the Table and Dreaming, depends on this crowd for its success--its first album,Remember two Things, sold 100,000 copies even thought it was available only at concerts and through mail-order.

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It is this catchiness and accessibility that scare away many purists, or perhaps cause them embarrassment when their secret enjoyment is discovered. However, there is a depth to the Dave Matthews Band that sets them apart, as was evident at the electrifying Orpheum show.

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