Grace Bowers

Th4fonz

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

lustycourtier

victorludorum said:

soma1975 said:

victorludorum said:

The only things she seems to do on that song is play the solo. Does she sing normally?

So she's basically Marc Ford...

I think Marc Ford plays rhythm too though.

Marcs made many solo records where he sings. GReat voice too

monquixote

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Jimmy Vaughn said if you want to get a gig learn to sing or buy a van.

I think it will be very hard for her to get significantly famous without becoming a singer or paring up with one. 

A lot of people in guitar forums like to think that John Mayer is famous for playing blues guitar, but the truth is he's famous for singing syrupy acoustic ballads and he happens to play the guitar as well.

Philly_Q

monquixote said:

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Jimmy Vaughn said if you want to get a gig learn to sing or buy a van.

I think it will be very hard for her to get significantly famous without becoming a singer or paring up with one. 

A lot of people in guitar forums like to think that John Mayer is famous for playing blues guitar, but the truth is he's famous for singing syrupy acoustic ballads and he happens to play the guitar as well.

I think it would make a difference if she sang... it just seems to be the way things work in the blues genre.  I'm sure people could name counter-examples, but as I sit here thinking of well-known blues guitarists, most of them are/were also singers.

I've always thought it takes something away from Kenny Wayne Shepherd that he has a singer, it's his band, he should be front and centre (I think KWS has sung on occasion so maybe I'm not up to date).

But she's very young.  Things can change.

Lewy

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Well one thing that's special about her is she's played at Crossroads festival and Newport Folk Festival, played with Dolly Parton and done a bunch of other high profile gigs. Yes, there's likely a significant machine behind her, and probably a decent amount of financial patronage from somewhere, but you can't pull off gigs like that without being seriously on it as a player, with all the things that separate the pros from the amateurs. Most people, including very proficient players, couldn't rise to the occasion and she clearly can.

fretmeister

Her name was always going to get used whether she was singing or not.

Rock and a Hard place time. She has a great SM following and she's marketable. If she uses her name and doesn't sing she gets shit from the gatekeepers who demand the "rules" of the genre are sacrosanct. If she doesn't use her name then she's wasting her SM audience that already exists and she doesn't sell any records.

She can't win.

But what I do know is that she will encourage her generation and younger to try the guitar and for all the "she's nothing special" - "she's 200% manufactured" horseshit we ought to be pleased about that. It's like the abuse that Ed Sheeran gets on here, but with added sexism. Anything that gets more people playing is fine by me. 

She's 17. Be nice FFS.

OilCityPickups

Lewy said:

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Well one thing that's special about her is she's played at Crossroads festival and Newport Folk Festival, played with Dolly Parton and done a bunch of other high profile gigs. Yes, there's likely a significant machine behind her, and probably a decent amount of financial patronage from somewhere, but you can't pull off gigs like that without being seriously on it as a player, with all the things that separate the pros from the amateurs. Most people, including very proficient players, couldn't rise to the occasion and she clearly can.

That's probably what inspires the surfeit of acidulated deciduous woody vine berries on display in this thread ;-)

fretmeister

Lewy said:

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Well one thing that's special about her is she's played at Crossroads festival and Newport Folk Festival, played with Dolly Parton and done a bunch of other high profile gigs. Yes, there's likely a significant machine behind her, and probably a decent amount of financial patronage from somewhere, but you can't pull off gigs like that without being seriously on it as a player, with all the things that separate the pros from the amateurs. Most people, including very proficient players, couldn't rise to the occasion and she clearly can.

Not remotely my genre - but damn I'd love to play with Dolly!
Proper legend that goes beyond genre limits.

MagicPigDetective

fretmeister said:

Her name was always going to get used whether she was singing or not.

Rock and a Hard place time. She has a great SM following and she's marketable. If she uses her name and doesn't sing she gets shit from the gatekeepers who demand the "rules" of the genre are sacrosanct. If she doesn't use her name then she's wasting her SM audience that already exists and she doesn't sell any records.

She can't win.

But what I do know is that she will encourage her generation and younger to try the guitar and for all the "she's nothing special" - "she's 200% manufactured" horseshit we ought to be pleased about that. It's like the abuse that Ed Sheeran gets on here, but with added sexism. Anything that gets more people playing is fine by me. 

She's 17. Be nice FFS.

Amen to that 

OilCityPickups

fretmeister said:

Her name was always going to get used whether she was singing or not.

Rock and a Hard place time. She has a great SM following and she's marketable. If she uses her name and doesn't sing she gets shit from the gatekeepers who demand the "rules" of the genre are sacrosanct. If she doesn't use her name then she's wasting her SM audience that already exists and she doesn't sell any records.

She can't win.

But what I do know is that she will encourage her generation and younger to try the guitar and for all the "she's nothing special" - "she's 200% manufactured" horseshit we ought to be pleased about that. It's like the abuse that Ed Sheeran gets on here, but with added sexism. Anything that gets more people playing is fine by me. 

She's 17. Be nice FFS.

This in spades ... 

Lewy

fretmeister said:

Lewy said:

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Well one thing that's special about her is she's played at Crossroads festival and Newport Folk Festival, played with Dolly Parton and done a bunch of other high profile gigs. Yes, there's likely a significant machine behind her, and probably a decent amount of financial patronage from somewhere, but you can't pull off gigs like that without being seriously on it as a player, with all the things that separate the pros from the amateurs. Most people, including very proficient players, couldn't rise to the occasion and she clearly can.

Not remotely my genre - but damn I'd love to play with Dolly!
Proper legend that goes beyond genre limits.

It would be amazing. But the depth of quality of musicianship (pocket, situational awareness, everything being absolutely nailed down to the nth degree, production etc) to just be able to hang in that environment with whoever is in that band would be well beyond me!

Bigsby

OilCityPickups said:

victorludorum said:

Philly_Q said:

RocknRollDave said:

stickyfiddle said:

victorludorum said:

The only things she seems to do on that song is play the solo. Does she sing normally?

Not that I'm aware of, which is fine if her band consists of the right people. 

Derek Trucks doesn't sing. And god knows we'd all be better off if Bonamassa didn't... 

I bet Trucks would have a decent voice if he gave it a go. 

And it feels like Trucks is the leader of his band.  In that video Grace Bowers looks like a 17 year old kid sitting in with somebody else's band.  Which is fine, that's probably exactly what she's doing and there's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't feel like it's her record.

To be fair to Bonamassa, his voice is really not bad, it's just that he's singing songs that don't suit it.

This Grace Bowers Band is a marketing effort. She's young, got some talent for playing solos (and clapping), is camera friendly and seems like a nice girl who will probably do well, but it feels 200% fabricated.

So it didn't take us that long to get to the 'is camera friendly' bit. That's a statement that just wouldn't be made about a male artist. 

I'm pretty sure they did about Peter Frampton... but then he had the same hair as her, can't be a coincidence. I guess it's all a bit hairist really.

fretmeister

Lewy said:

fretmeister said:

Lewy said:

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Well one thing that's special about her is she's played at Crossroads festival and Newport Folk Festival, played with Dolly Parton and done a bunch of other high profile gigs. Yes, there's likely a significant machine behind her, and probably a decent amount of financial patronage from somewhere, but you can't pull off gigs like that without being seriously on it as a player, with all the things that separate the pros from the amateurs. Most people, including very proficient players, couldn't rise to the occasion and she clearly can.

Not remotely my genre - but damn I'd love to play with Dolly!
Proper legend that goes beyond genre limits.

It would be amazing. But the depth of quality of musicianship (pocket, situational awareness, everything being absolutely nailed down to the nth degree, production etc) to just be able to hang in that environment with whoever is in that band would be well beyond me!

I've got my plan.

Verse 1: Root notes.

Verse 2: Roots and the odd 5th. Country pop suitable.

Then, just on the edge of Dolly starting to trust me a bit and she relaxes.... SLAP SOLO!

I bet I'd get my own reel at the Country Music Awards!
(It would be an 'In Memoriam' but still!)

soma1975

'There should be more guitar music made by younger generations if we don't want it to die!'

'No NOT THAT TYPE OF GUITAR MUSIC ONLY THE SPECIFIC TYPE I DEEM OKAY'. 

Tough crowd... Jesus. 

fretmeister

Th4fonz said:

She’s a young kid playing the blues.  Doing what she loves.  I don’t see anything special about her. If only she could learn to sing as she ain’t no guitar virtuoso.

Well, I contacted Dolly via twitter and she sent a message to you:

Dolly Parton said:

Well, hi there sugar! I just wanted to say that I think Ms Bowers is wonderful. A real classy young lady and a fabulous player. That’s why I invited her to perform with me. As young as she is, and as established as I am, you know what I mean honey, I can always learn something new.

Don’t you worry Th4fonz, if you keep practicing as hard as Grace does then maybe one day I’ll have heard of you too.

Bless you!

Th4fonz

 I’m not sure why you old pervs are getting ure big y fronts in a twist over me saying she isn’t a virtuoso lol

OilCityPickups

Th4fonz said:

 I’m not sure why you old pervs are getting ure big y fronts in a twist over me saying she isn’t a virtuoso lol

Is this really how low Fretboard Forum has fallen? A bunch of sour old men ripping the f--k out of a seventeen year old girl. One who appears to be doing far better than any of us on here ... I really am disgusted. 

I think the 'lol' at the end of that statement says it all. 

Bigsby

OilCityPickups said:

Th4fonz said:

 I’m not sure why you old pervs are getting ure big y fronts in a twist over me saying she isn’t a virtuoso lol

Is this really how low Fretboard Forum has fallen? A bunch of sour old men ripping the f--k out of a seventeen year old girl. One who appears to be doing far better than any of us on here ... I really am disgusted. 

I think the 'lol' at the end of that statement says it all. 

For you, obviously the answer is yes. Personally, I haven't noticed any sour notes, nor have I seen any f--ks being ripped out of anyone, perhaps I just wasn't reading between the lines carefully enough. 

And, FWIW, I feel I can criticise the Prime Minister without being a more successful Prime Minister myself, the same goes for actors, authors, .. right through to zookeepers. Who made up the rule that guitarists can only comment on other guitarists if they're more successful than the guitarist they're commenting on? 

Note: I really like the track in the video, I like what both guitarists are doing, along with the vocalist, but if I didn't like it in some way, or thought it was average, I think I should be free to say so without the thought police jumping on me.

LionAquaLooper

OilCityPickups said:

Th4fonz said:

 I’m not sure why you old pervs are getting ure big y fronts in a twist over me saying she isn’t a virtuoso lol

Is this really how low Fretboard Forum has fallen? A bunch of sour old men ripping the f--k out of a seventeen year old girl. One who appears to be doing far better than any of us on here ... I really am disgusted. 

I think the 'lol' at the end of that statement says it all. 

He didn't call her a virtuoso. Said he doesn't see anything special about her. So what? While not complimentary, it's also not insulting. Just because someone doesn't heap praise on someone doesn't automatically equal "ripping the f--k out of them". Or do you expect everyone to automatically heap praise on every young female musician, hence why you're shocked when someone doesn't? 

soma1975

Victor Wooten approves

edit: won't embed for some reason!