[Kreatorkind]

Dude kicks all forms of ass!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7515737350_50abf9e8db_b.jpg

[GracefulSwan]

I disliked him at first, but he has earned his stripes and my respect. Plus Billy appears to be allowing him express himself a little. His solo in Space Odyssey was nice :)/>

[Inertia]

One question, is Jeff a mix of white and asian?

[Human Sauce]

White/Korean

[United States]

Human Sauce, on 06 July 2012 - 10:15 AM, said:

White/Korean

Why do you specify what type of asian he is but not what type of white he is?

[Songwriter]

He's a great guitarist for sure!!!

[AlienCloak]

Billy mentioned in an interview he's Korean/German.

[the_farewell_party]

It's pretty easy to gather his pop's German by his last name.

[BlueSkiesBringTears]

I'm a big Jeff fan. So I was disappointed to find that he doesn't seem to be playing as much in the studio versions of songs like "My Love Is Winter", "Oceania", "Pale Horse", etc. as he was in their live versions. And on the other hand, Nicole and Mike are all over every song. But Jeff might be doing stuff that's layered in, and so isn't obviously him. There's a couple songs that hadn't ever been played live prior to the album's release where there's two distinct guitar parts, but it really is a toss-up as far as what's who.

But over the past five years, he's done tons of great stuff live, from Cure-ish leads, to shoegaze-ish cascades of sound, to e-bow parts, to the occassional slide part, and full-fledged classic rock-ish solos, sometimes dueling with Billy and holding his own.

[vescret]

jeff is a machine!!!!! a maaachine!

[dudehitscar]

I like him but I miss Matt Sweeney

[KingBelteshazzar]

Don't mess with The Shredder!! :buttrock:/>

 shreddercard.jpg (35.37K)
Number of downloads: 0

[vescret]

so awesome!!

[KingBelteshazzar]

when I went to the Charleston, SC soundcheck in 2010, I gotta say, I was really impressed with Jeff's skills. Was great to listen to.

dudehitscar, on 06 July 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

I like him but I miss Matt Sweeney

I also miss Sweeney - but not in any context of wishing him in Jeff's stead.

I miss Paz also. And Jimmy of course.

But not Pajo. The dude seemed like a completely pretentious a-hole. Just the vibe I got.

[frosty]

he's pretty cool.

[United States]

AlienCloak, on 06 July 2012 - 02:39 PM, said:

Billy mentioned in an interview he's Korean/German.

This is true.

[themadcaplaughs]

I'll definitely admit that from 2007-2008 he played the part of a VERY skilled stand in. Even by Billy's admission the lineup during this time was meant more as a touring band that could do justice to the old material than a real band. However, since 2010 when Billy really seemed to get in the groove of a new band, Jeff has really come into has own as a guitarist.

With James, there was a specific style of playing he had, and a specific style of playing that Billy had. This is not a slam against James, as he is one of my favorite guitarists and brought an irreplaceable sensibility to the SP sound, but 9 times out of 10, James drew from a specific bag of "sounds," so it was easy to tell what he played. These usually included...

1. Ebow
2. Whammy Pedal Screeches
3. Weird feedback/ambient noises
4. Runs up and down the pentatonic scale.

On the other hand, Jeff seems adaptable to any much any style thrown at him. As other have mentioned, we've seen him do shred, classic rock solos, shoegaze, lead accompaniment to Billy, and slide guitar. The dude is a chameleon. Billy has said several times that Jeff is a better guitarist than he is, so I think part of the reason people feel like they're not "hearing" Jeff is because his playing blends seamlessly with Billy. With James, it was obvious when Billy was playing versus James.

[BlueSkiesBringTears]

themadcaplaughs, on 06 July 2012 - 07:43 PM, said:

With James, there was a specific style of playing he had, and a specific style of playing that Billy had. This is not a slam against James, as he is one of my favorite guitarists and brought an irreplaceable sensibility to the SP sound, but 9 times out of 10, James drew from a specific bag of "sounds," so it was easy to tell what he played. These usually included...

1. Ebow
2. Whammy Pedal Screeches
3. Weird feedback/ambient noises
4. Runs up and down the pentatonic scale.

Don't forget quirky slide playing throughout the entirety of any song that was vaguely country. ;)/>

Quote

On the other hand, Jeff seems adaptable to any much any style thrown at him.

That's my impression -- he's very "proper", almost as if he were a classical guitarist, but yet not quite. (Like, he can do these blistering runs if he feels like it, but often he has this "I don't give a shit, I'm gonna just play two or three notes" anti-theatrics vibe.

Quote

As other have mentioned, we've seen him do shred, classic rock solos, shoegaze, lead accompaniment to Billy, and slide guitar.

Hey, you're paraphrasing me! ;)/> But actually, though I said that slide is one of the things he's done, I'm seconding-guessing myself: I had the impression that he used a slide in one of the acoustic `07 residency songs, but now I can't pinpoint it. I might've been thinking of "?", but what he did in that song may have been making use of delay more than anything.

The one specific other thing that I was thinking of was the part that he played while touring last year in the "Oh, would I follow you? / How could I ever have doubted you?" section of "Oceania". His sound there strikes me as that of using a slide, but I don't know this for a fact.

Quote

The dude is a chameleon. Billy has said several times that Jeff is a better guitarist than he is, so I think part of the reason people feel like they're not "hearing" Jeff is because his playing blends seamlessly with Billy. With James, it was obvious when Billy was playing versus James.

I'm with you on the "chameleon" thing. And because he's so "proper", but adaptable, I get why Billy said that ... but I think Billy's wrong, 'cause I've never felt that Jeff has genuinely upstaged him. But who can, when any given setlist will require Billy to play the "Cherub Rock" solo? :D/> But Jeff still stands toe-to-toe with Billy, more than holding his own.

And, totally on the same page with you as far as Jeff synthesizing with/blending into Billy's style, whereas when James stepped and played lead, there was no mistaking who it was. A few months ago, I was visiting a friend, and while we were riding from Miami up to Orlando, he put on his copy of Euphoria. I don't think I'd heard that version of "Quiet" in years, so in a way, it was almost new to me. And there was NO mistaking that it was James when he played a brief lead/solo, and when it came time for Billy to solo.

[themadcaplaughs]

Quote

But actually, though I said that slide is one of the things he's done, I'm seconding-guessing myself: I had the impression that he used a slide in one of the acoustic `07 residency songs, but now I can't pinpoint it. I might've been thinking of "?", but what he did in that song may have been making use of delay more than anything.

Probably used it a lot more than this, but I know for a fact he used it on Gossamer during the Residency performances. You can see him using it on the If all Goes Wrong DVD.

[Stumbling]

dudehitscar, on 06 July 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

Beer: Now there's a temporary solution. - H. J. Simpson

One of my favorite scenes