MARTY FRIEDMAN: 'I'd Rather Chew Glass Than Listen To JIMI HENDRIX'

August 11, 2015

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has told Ultimate Guitar in a new interview that he is not a fan of the 1960s musician Jimi Hendrix.

"I'd rather chew glass than listen to Hendrix," he said. "I never got Hendrix. When I think of Hendrix, an image comes in my mind about a lot of hippies rolling around in mud tripping on acid and it just doesn't turn me on at all. And all that noise and feedback, and I'm like, 'Play in tune.' I'm a big tuning guy and that's probably why I don't like [Bob] Dylan, because things go out of tune and it kills me."

He continued: "But then again, all of my favorite guitarists hail Hendrix: I'm a big Uli Jon Roth fan, and he's the most beautiful guitarist. He probably loves Hendrix as much as Hendrix's own mother does. All the guys I respect love Hendrix, so I know there's something there. It's just that I never got it, because it never fit into my experiences."

Marty has since elaborated on his comments, writing on his Facebook page: "When I was a beginning guitarist, all the good players in town would tell me I should listen to this guy or learn from this album, and check out this guitar master or that one. Of course I wanted to impress my friends as well as 'learn from the best,' so I diligently checked out all the most respected players. I soon realized that although the artists that were suggested to me were certainly brilliant masters, I found little joy in analyzing their music, because I just plain didn't understand it or even like much of it. It meant nothing to me, like homework from a teacher in school."

He continued: "When I dug into the music that I did actually like, even though much of it was a bit obscure and not 'approved by the local big-shot guitarists,' I really enjoyed the process of learning and as a result, I wound up easily and subliminally able to decide what I want to play in my own music."

Marty added about the Ultimate Guitar article: "Good interview below: Of course their headline makes me look like an a--hole, but that's how I talk to my friends, and that's how I consider all of you out there, so enjoy."

Find more on Megadeth

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).