Try as you might, there’s no sense in tagging a genre onto the Melvins. Some insist on calling them grunge, others alt-metal, sludge and the like. Those elements are a part of what band leader Buzz Osborne does – but boiling his style down to one or even a few of those labels would be a massive disservice.
At his core, Osborne is an avant-garde guitarist who treats music like a blank canvas for self-expression. In essence, the Melvins – his primary outlet for that expression – are an ongoing art project, perpetually shifting in color and shape. One listen to any of the five new sprawling tracks from their latest creation, Tarantula Heart, will tell you as much.
Like many of us who sling six-strings over our shoulders, he finds choosing a list of favorite guitarists incredibly difficult. “I could choose a million guys like Keith Richards, Eddie Cochran, and Buddy Holly,” he says. “A guy like Holly probably set the standard for what a rock band should be as far as power trios go.
“And there’s Greg Ginn from Black Flag, and a million other players who I’ve taken tiny little chunks out of. I could talk about guitar all day long – I spent about 70 percent of my waking hours figuring out how to make a living by hustling as a working musician.”
He adds that it’s all he’s ever wanted to do. “It’s been my primary existence since the ’80s, so that’s well over 30 years of guitar being my sole way of making a living. I’ve never sold a million records or even half a million – but I’ve managed.
“That’s because I study and I’m completely absorbed by guitar. I’m currently looking at three in my living room: a Gretsch, a Fender and a Danelectro. I rotate them through my living room since each guitar has a story. I write differently on all of them. Each guitar gives me something new.”
In support of Tarantula Heart, Osborne gives Guitar World his list of 11 guitarists who have shaped his sound.
1. Pete Townshend
“I think Pete is just amazing, and The Who are my favorite band ever by far, so he’s got to be here. The Who are super-eclectic, just a weird band, and Pete was such a great songwriter.
“His total abandon in his approach to live guitar is something that’s never been matched on that level. Pete’s ability to write songs is amazing – but his guitar playing is far superior to what I feel he’s been given credit for.
“Just talking about this stuff gives me chills, you know? Just thinking about it… that’s why I’m into rock music. It’s because of guys like Pete Townshend. He made me want to continue; he made me want to pick up a guitar.
“It was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s what I can do with this?’ It’s been that way since I was 12 when I knew The Who was amazing, and that’s why they were my favorite. And as it turns out, I wasn't wrong!”
2. Paul Leary
“I think Paul from the Butthole Surfers is another severely underrated guitar player. His choices are like a cross between total hysteria and a very controlled melody, which I think is really cool.
“His ability to do that within the Butthole Surfers has made that band – regardless of what people think – very melodic. They’re much more melodic than people ever give them credit for, and a lot of that is due to Paul’s sensibilities.
“I got to do a Melvins record [Hold It In] with Paul and [bassist] Jeff Pinkus, and since then Jeff has played with us quite a bit. It was so great to be able to play with Paul and have him for an entire album. I wish we could have toured with him – that would have been great.”
3. Zoot Horn Rollo
“Zoot Horn Rollo from Captain Beefheart’s band, man – I think there’s stuff he did that I will never be able to figure out. I love that stuff. He was a part of an amazing band. I love how weird it was. He’s another guy who is very underrated and deserves way more credit than he’s given.”
4. Billy Gibbons
“As far as that style of guitar playing goes, Billy Gibbons is second to none. The big thing about his lead playing is that it’s not fast, but very deliberate. As far as ‘regular’ guitar players go, if I had to pick someone, I would go with him, and I’d instantly be drawn to ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres era. I think that’s a perfect album; there’s not a single bad song.
“Billy is phenomenal – and I don’t think he gets enough credit, either. As far as his thing goes he’s super-good, really eccentric, and he’s made a few records that will always be in my top 10.”
5. Jeff Beck
“Jeff Beck’s Wired era is just really good. I can’t figure out what’s a guitar and what’s not! It’s like one of those weird old jazz-meets-guitar albums – just so good and cool stuff. I don’t really know how to describe what it sounds like – I know he wasn’t using a pick. Jeff was probably one of the most eclectic guitar players ever.
“The Melvins did a show at a festival and Jeff was playing right after us, so we shared a trailer with him with a common wall. We could hear him playing right through the wall, and he was playing the most incredible shit. It was total, blues-based insanity; it was nuts. I listened to 15 minutes of Jeff Beck warm-up, and I’d never heard anything like it. Never.”
6. Eddie Hazel
“I feel like no-one ever talks about Eddie Hazel from Parliament/Funkadelic – but they really, really should. It was the early ’70s, so who knows what he was running through or how they recorded it, but what he was doing was fucking unbelievable.
“A lot of people will pick out the Maggot Brain solo, but I like Super Stupid and Hit It and Quit It better. That’s Grade A stuff; and I think those are better solos and songs, too. Why aren’t more people talking about him? It makes no sense.”
7. Andy Gill
“Andy Gill from Gang of Four is another guy who I'll never understand what he was doing. He was the most angular, crazy guitar player. The Solid Gold album was a huge influence on the Melvins from the start. It showed me that you don’t have to write regular stuff.
“I saw the original Gang of Four once before Andy died, and I was just standing there thinking, ‘I don’t know where this comes from.’ I can’t pick out a single player who he would have gotten it from. I’m still totally floored by him; it comes from another world.”
8. Gary Chester
“Gary Chester was in this band called Ed Hall, and that’s how I initially got to know him. They were on the Boner Records label with the Melvins in the ’80s. Gary was also in a band called We Are the Asteroid, who we toured with. He’s one of the greatest guitar players live.
“We a tour with him maybe a year and a half ago, and I got to see him play every night. I’d wanted Gary to play on a Melvins record for a long time, so we brought him in and had him jam along to what we were doing for this record, and some other stuff.
“He showed up with no gear, and I was like, ‘Oh, you don’t need gear; I’ve got plenty.’ He played through my stuff and it was phenomenal. Gary is open-minded and a super-talented musician, which is always great. He’s very outside the box.”
9. Michael Schenker
“I would call his style of music melodic heavy metal, and there’s nobody better than Michael Schenker at it. All the guys in his genre take a back seat to him. I saw him when UFO reformed in the mid-’90s at a show in L.A., and I watched him intensely. He never once touched his pinky to the fretboard; it was just his three fingers hopping around.
“He’s an eccentric player. If you listen to the solo from Rock Bottom, man, he was like 19 years old. It’s arguably one of the greatest rock solos ever. Just listen to how it starts, how it builds up – nobody comes close.
“His biggest issue is he suffers from what comes from between his ears. But as far as guitar playing is concerned, he’s second to none. You do not want to go on after a guy like that. If you do, you’re fucking crazy. Don’t do it – it’s a mistake! I have such a severe appreciation for guys like that, which is weird considering my style and other guys I like.”
10. Robin Trower
“I saw Robin Trower once around 1982, and I was completely stomped into the dirt. He was insanely good, man. He was using a Strat and playing through these insanely hot-rodded Fender Twins into old Marshall 4x12s. He had two Twins, and he smoked both by the end of the night.
“I’d never heard a Fender Twin, so I was in awe. His guitar sound was the loudest I’ve ever heard; it was louder than fucking shit, man. Just saying that isn’t even enough – the guy was on another planet, you know?
“I knew he was Hendrix-oriented and I’d seen pictures of him with this monstrous pedalboard – but when I saw him, all he had was an old Boss chorus and some type of wah. That’s it. His setup was straight-up simple. I talked to his roadie after the show and said, ‘Dude, what the fuck is he doing?’
“The roadie goes, ‘Oh, man, these Twins are hot-rodded beyond belief. Robin blows at least one of these up per week. We have them going back and forth to a shop, and we’re rotating them as he blows them up.’
“It’s like when you run your car at 120 miles per hour 24/7; it'll sound amazing, but it’s not gonna work for long. Robin was just smoking these amps, but it was unbelievable.”
11. Johnny Thunders
“I have to include Johnny Thunders from The New York Dolls. His guitar playing is super rockabilly-oriented but super-loose, very aggressive, and also melodic. I thought that combination was super-cool, and a lot of his style was just stuff I will never tire of.”
- Tarantula Heart is released on April 19 via Ipecac Recordings.
