Joe Bonamassa - what's the deal with him?

[IceGator8]

Not a musician.....meh

I was indifferent towards Joe until I heard Live at the Royal Albert Hall and Last Kiss, a song that he wrote. The song is excellent and he slays it. Cured me of my indifference in a big hurry. The man can play, write, has soul, and wouldn't embarrass himself sitting in with anyone.

Not a musician.....the OP is sophomoric.

 

[mjet260]

Maybe he's independently wealthy - hard to see a direct connection between playing some blues at the occasional gig and that collection. That being said, a lot of the stuff in his collection that people go all tongue-wagging about don't do a thing for me (burst Les Pauls? Sunburst Strats? dead boring to me - and all the better since I couldn't afford them anyway).

 

[Big_Bend]

Maybe he's independently wealthy - hard to see a direct connection between playing some blues at the occasional gig and that collection.

You have no idea about how Joe grew up and earned the money to buy his gear.

Check out this episode of Nerdville where Joe interviews his parents.



Joe grew up middle class and has worked his ass off to pay for each piece of gear he owns. Much respect!!

 

[jdm61]

It’s sacrilege, I tell you! All of those guitars should be hanging on the wall of the fake Hard Rock Cafe in Germany!

 

[ampsplus]

I am happy someone is actually acquiring and protecting all these classics. There are many instruments he has that someone would have purchased and then tried to restore or do something with to ruin their character. At the very least, we get to see them in his videos. Other collectors lock them up and NO ONE gets to see them. They disappear from all the musicians who enjoy seeing the instrument their favourite player used. Thanks for that, Joe. Now, he needs to start up a business where a player could pay a small fee and come in a play his favourite instrument at Joe's place.

 

[jdm61]

Modern musicians I’ve typically made most of their money playing live. The first time that I ever heard of Joe Bonamassa what’s win the late great Tom Dowd it kind of taken him under his wing down at criteria in Miami when Joe was a teenager. That’s a fairly ringing endorsement for a young kid in my opinion. I’m not a huge fan of his original stuff that I’ve heard, but more power to him. I don’t know what his recording arrangement looks like if he does any studio recording, but a number of years back some folks like Steve Vai discovered that people who have a niche audience can actually do much better releasing their own records independently than relying on a big record company who is going to gouge them with ridiculous A&R costs and low royalties. The answer to hell he can afford all of this cool stuff may be as simple as he got some good business advice early on. Of course, as we have seen in the music business over the last 60 years, good business advice for these artists is kind of thin on the ground. I think about folks like the Hendrix family and perhaps even more so, people like both deadly who affectively had to be rescued by well-heeled fans who help them get there intellectual property back

 

[gkmacdonald]

How many guitars is too many?

 

[stormsedge]

He plainly practices more than I do (and I have little hope of catching up).

 

[drumtime]

IMO - and I don't know why I'm even having an opinion - these endless discussions miss the point. Joe is a collector of vintage instruments, and has been since he was a kid. His uncle owns Norman's Rare Guitars, for crying out loud. It's the family business.

Largely because his family was in the music biz, he started playing very young, and had a lot of opportunities for coaching from well-known players, as well as for exposure as a talented young player. He is now a talented older player.

He does what he does, like every other player out there. And, I've seen enough big name artists who play the same sets exactly the same way every night for a whole tour, and then do it again the next year. I don't find any "soul" there either, but I don't see long threads about them.

Joe has been smart enough, and ambitious enough to parlay his connections in the business - and his musical abilities - into a huge career. Out of all the aspiring musicians out there, not very many of them are able to do that. And, out of the ones who have, I'm not necessarily interested in seeing or hearing a lot of them either. Doesn't make their achievements worth less.

He is sincerely dedicated to collecting and preserving vintage instruments and amps. He also loves to play - like all of us. His performing career is all about taking those instruments out and sharing them by playing them.

He's living the life, and I say more power to him.

 

[ChuckinCharlie]

I feel exactly the opposite. Love his collection. Can't stand his music.

I agree. The only thing I can listen to is like his British Blues Explosion stuff and I saw a video of him doing Lazy by Deep Purple that was cool. The originals that I hear have the same effect on me as Gary Moore's original stuff. It's not the blues to me or good blues/rock it's some kind of weird euro-jazz- blues concoction.

From my listening experience the Bonamassa or Vai level technical players don't also have the song writing talent of a Hendrix or a Page for example.

Somebody like John Meyer (who I also don't like much but would pick to listen to over Bonamassa) has a better combo of playing ability and songwriting talent.

Mostly I like WATCHING Joe play which I think says a lot.

 

[Crow3000]

I like the way he plays and I dig the tones he gets. Obviously I’m not alone either because he sells out shows everywhere he plays. Don’t like him? Don’t listen to him.

The man has everything he has through hard work. He’s an American success story. I don’t care how many guitars he buys with his own money.

 

[oldunc]

My main objection to Bonamassa is that, while he may have rescued fabulous singer Beth Hart from obscurity (?), most of the work she has done with him has been ruined by his screechy, nearly unlistenable arrangements. The woman has a voice that could skin a rhino at 100 paces, does she have to struggle to be heard? As far as his guitar playing, he plays a lot of notes but once again his sound tends to be screechy and overwrought and has little to say musically. He (like Eric Clapton) has worked hard on his singing and gotten it up to tolerable.

 

[brashboy]

One giant, awesome tax deduction if I had to guess...

Maybe, if they're tools of his trade, but not an easy case to make. A few guitars, yeah, but probably not hundreds. An asset like a guitar usually cannot be expensed but has to be amortized and written off over time.

But if you do this and write the cost of the guitar off your taxes, then when you sell it, the selling price is all taxable b/c the cost basis has been reduced to zero.

 

[Brek01]

Not a fan, heard a few things he done, but what i have picked up on is his stuff gets used, he tours with that stuff. unlike the real villains of the industry who hide them away in vaults. Is it it dirk or dick, dick would be more fitting? lol.

 

[larsjm]

Additional comment.

 

[decibel]

I like his personality and collection.

 

[Tele Plucker]

Good lord can he play . . . blues licks, etc. I can't deny his ability - better than I can hope to be and probably many of you on here can, too!

But for the love of God, how can he own that much gear and justify it? Haha

He has a sacrilegious amount of "holy grail" pieces. . . so sad they are all not going to best use? And does anyone like his original songs particularly? I think he is a wonderfully accomplished blues guitar player, but I don't think he is very talented as a musician whatsoever. . . what's everyone's view?

Bonamassa appears to be a fine player but his stage presence is awful. And the suits. Ugh!

The only recording I have with him on is the “Don’t Explain” CD with Beth Hart. She’s wonderful, and he performs well as a backing musician. That’s about all I can contribute.

Like many players...one day his star will fade and he will have to cull his collection.

 

[Doctor Fauxcaster]

The man has the chops, way better than I could or ever will be. But his style(lack of?) like so many of these slingers leaves me cold. B.B. or SRV could say, make me feel more with ten notes compared to the thousand he can crank out.. As for his collection he's earned it and I'm pretty sure he enjoys it, so to each his own.

 

[djhblues]

Agree he is an amazing talent, and him and Norm (Norm's Rare Guitars) have a thing going. Anything vintage comes along, Joe is the go to guy first. Keyboard player in my old band opened up for him (wish I had been in the band at the time!) when he was sponsored by BB and still doing small concert bars. He said he was just a young guy, very humble, loving what he was doing, and very gracious to the opening band.
Not to mention he is single... so he can get what he wants!

 

[Texas2Step]

I think he grew up in a family that owned a guitar shop, so he started a lot earlier than the rest of us.

That is correct, his father ran a store and studio. He's been at it for a long time.