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Guitarist Doug Stapp

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Hello!!

My name is Doug Stapp. I am an instrumental guitar player from Texas, have 3 working bands, I run the second largest new and used Cd store In Texas, Ralphs Records. My new Cd "The Earth Says Hello" has just been released worldwide via Progressive Arts Music (well, as of September, so it depends when this goes up I guess), have loads of great endorsers like Peavey and Seymour Duncan and I love guitar records!! I've been buying up every "Shred" (For lack of a better term) album I could get my hands on since I was 9 or 10 years old. All of the albums I have picked up over the last 21 or so years mean so much to me. They each have a special place in my heart and have helped me better myself as a musician, just by listening and trying to figure out what they are doing, good or bad.

So in light of that I am going to show you some of my favorite records ever. I'm not going throw in the usual Van Halen 1 (Which is a HUGE influence on me) and typical releases that every guitar magazine runs through each issue, I am going to show some artist that had some amazing records but never really had the push to break it big. Its a tough business this music business is. So here we go and in no particular order really, I love them all...

1. Artist - Blues Saraceno
Cd - Hair Pick
Website - www.BluesSaraceno.Com

Blues released three Cd's in his instrumental career and Hair Pick was the best and most overlooked album he did. Great guitar tone, great raw production, fun songs and full of Blues' cool licks and awesome vibrato. Not so much of a "shred" guitarist than he is a cool song writer, but his feel is crazy and blistering guitars throughout! A+++. You can buy the Cd through Itunes.

2. Artist - Scott Stine
Cd - Broke
Website - www.ScottStine.Com

Ok, first Scott is a very good friend of mine and the version of "Frankenstein" we did together was released on Guitar Masters Vol.1 and also my new Cd "The Earth Says Hello" (Sorry, shameless plug). Long before I met Scott I picked "Broke" the day it came out in '94. I bought anything that Shrapnel put out back in the day.
"Broke" proved to be my last real guitar inspiration.
I was getting into my later teens and was slowly finding my own way of doing things, but Scott's cd pretty well blew he doors off of what I was trying to do. So I ended up copying him alot!! Anyhow, "Broke"
was self produced and done for the most part at his Mom's house and drummer Rob Stankiewicz's house if I remember correctly. Scott along with his brother Brett and Derek Taylor took 7 string "Shred" to heights never seen before!! The guitar work is intense and a clinic on what kind of crazy stuff you can do with a guitar. I highly recommend finding this Cd. Scour Ebay and maybe even check Shrapnels website, but whatever you do get a copy. Mind blowing guitar!! Andy Timmons guests on the cd too!

3. Artist - Joey Tafolla
Cd - Plastic
Website - www.MySpace.Com/JoeyTafolla

Joey was an ex-Paul Gilbert student who has three instrumental albums, the first two on Shrapnel, but "Plastic" which was released on Mascot Records is the most exciting and non conformist record he did.
"Plastic" has more insane, ridiculus licks thrown into one record that I have heard in a long time, all while keeping really good songs and memorable melodies. This Cd is long out of print, but you can find it on Ebay every so often. I highly recommend this Cd too!

4. Artist - Darren Housholder
Cd - Darren Housholder
Website - None

I picked up Darren's Cd right after it came out also many moons ago. The Cd mixes funk, rock, complex rhythms, great sense of melody and super hero like guitar playing. This Cd is REALLY hard to find, but well worth it if you can. The Cd is really quite frightening! Darren also released two other Cd's "Generator Man" and "Symphonic Agression" also on Shrapnel. Great stuff...And also hard to find!

5. Artist - Hajis Kitchen
Cd - Hajis Kitchen
Website - www.Hajiskitchen.Com

Another Cd I quickly swiped up when it was first released. The equivalent to the really metal'ed up Racer X. 7 strings, insane guitar and bass playing via Brett Stine, Eddie Head and Derek Blakley and even crazier drums via Rob Stankiewicz. The singers name is Eddie Ellis, he was the perfect singer for this album.
The album has great production, even better songs and he playing was way ahead of its time. If the Cd came out now, it would kill. The were about a decade ahead of everyone else. This is another very hard to find album, so hit Ebay and buy quickly!! It will amaze!

Ok, thats enough typing for me. Thanks to Guitarz Forever.com for letting me write about something other than licks that are on my Cd! Its been fun and hopefully I can do this again! I have thousands of oddball Cd's I would love to glow about in the future! Thanks for reading and check out my new Cd - Doug Stapp "The Earth Says Hello" out in record stores September on Progressive Arts Music.

- Doug Stapp