Guitar legend Marty Friedman addressed the recent article, which claimed that Marty said how the “traditional guitar solo” should suffer “a slow and painful death.”
Published by Guitar World, the article was shared as a section of the full interview conducted for the March 2024 printed edition. However, according to Marty’s recent chat with Ola Englund (since deleted), this online article was taken completely out of context.
“Usually, a lot of people say, ‘You read the headline, but you don’t read what’s in the actual article.’ But in this case, the headline and the actual article is just completely… I have no idea where it came from,” Friedman told Ola (transcribed by Killer Guitar Rigs).
Friedman, well-known for his work with Megadeth back in the day, is one of the most respected lead players out there. This is why plenty of people online were baffled by him saying this. Going more into the matter, Friedman is sure that his words were minced into this article using some sort of modern-day tools.
“It just sounds like it was done by some kind of AI or something like that, because that’s just not the way that I talk,” Marty said. “And as you probably know, guitar solos are my bread and butter. So why would I say something like that in the first place?”
“And then the more I read, the more insane it got. It said that I was an Ibanez endorser, and there’s a picture of me with my Jackson signature model right there. And I’m like, ‘Who did this?’ [Laughs]”
“So usually, I don’t really notice this type of thing. I’m sure it happens to everybody, and it’s just part of the life we’re living. But I first read this through a Japanese media site, so the news came all the way to Japan. And so I read it in Japanese, like, ‘This doesn’t sound like something I would say.'”
“And then I just tried to find the actual source, and then I found the English version of it. And it was just… Wow. One thing after another.”
To clarify things, Marty addressed that one sentence that got everyone’s attention:
“I’ll just go right on the record — guitar solos should not die any kind of death, please. Let’s keep them going. And of course, I’m a Jackson endorser. But I have said things that maybe someone could have taken way out of context and tried to make it sensational.”
Discussing the said article further, Marty said that there certainly have been comments addressing the matter of guitar solos these days. However, it’s far from what his statements were presented to be. He continued:
“I’m sure I’ve said things like, ‘I prefer it when guitar solos are used in an adventurous way’, or something new about it, where it sits in the song, the structure of it, something that’s different from the obligatory guitar solo. And I stand by that, that’s for sure.”
On the other hand, he’s not entirely sure about some of the words that were presented as his quotes:
“There were things in that article that were just mean-spirited things like, ‘This kind of stupid technique shouldn’t be used for tapping’. Just because I don’t use something, it doesn’t mean I would say it would be stupid.”
“Tapping can be wonderful. I’ve got a friend here in Japan named Ichika Nito. He plays tapping so beautifully. Why would I say something like that? It’s just so unreal.”
The said article shared a quote where Friedman did mention the word “stupid” but it wasn’t in the same part where he discussed tapping. Or at least it was presented that way. Whatever may be the case, the guitar legend isn’t sure where all of this came from, adding:
“And then just other things that didn’t make sense. It sounded very computerized. There was something in there about [how] there shouldn’t be any eight-bar solos or something like that. Where does this stuff come from?”
“It sounds like they took a lot of words out of some article and just kind of put in an order that might be on some algorithm to get more clicks or something, but I don’t use words like that. I don’t call things ‘stupid’. I really try to be positive and motivate people to play music.”
Needless to say, people in his circle immediately reacted to the news and, as Marty says, they were suspicious about it:
“The people in my fan group and my social media people, they all know that something is weird. A lot of people were DMing me like, ‘What’s up with this?’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’s not me. Of course not.'”
“But there are a lot of people out there who will read that and think that Marty Friedman thinks this way or talks this way. And I really feel bad about that because if anything — yourself included, myself included — we’re here to inspire people, to get excited about music.”
You can read the original article at this location.
Photo: Shadowgate (Marty Friedman 33 (3687900699))
