IS JOE'S CD GREAT OR WHAT? You know, after reading today's message board I feel good about what Joe has done. Not all of you will agree with me, but JS is like a Porsche 911S Turbo. Small in stature, but dude if you pull up next to him on the line he will blow you away. As they say, Porsche, there is no substitute. A Porsche does not have to demonstate its power, speed, and torque at all times. It KNOWS its got the power. Joe, he knows he has the whole package, he has demonstrated it over and over again. This CD is awesome because it takes you down a road that you have never been before. You know Joe can rip-it, but like other guitar greats who happen to be very melodic in their style like Clapton, Trower, Bramhall 2, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, and yes Eric Johnson, he has injected some great blues-style bass riffs to contrast a different approach to his guitar work. This is not pure speed my friend, but muscle and power! In my point of view, as a bassist, I really thoroughly thought Joe's bass playing on the CD was excellent! I would love to see him play bass one day, but that will never happen. Joe, again, great job! I know you put alot of hard work into this CD. God bless, take care.

Just got up and it's pooring rain out here in paradise.

MTHEAD 101 and PHRYDOM thanks for the info on Mel, I really appreciate your responses. He was my main inspiration for playing the bass back when I was dazzed and confused in the 60's and 70's.

AUSTIN3R a funky and surprising G3 would be JS, SV, and EC. Maybe not so surprising, as Clapton seems to be up for anything. The last time i saw him he played forever! I mean he LOVES to play. I'm not sure all would agree due to style variations, but a good suggestion nonetheless. Maybe JS will attend a Crossroads event like Steve Vai did last year!

962 my good friend. I will do my best to check out the 997 Turbo on the net. I checked with our local Porsche dealer and they dont carry it. Remember, I'm way out here in the middle of the Pacific! I'll check it out and get back to you.

CIVGEEK Howzit bruddah! Hey, I live in Kalama Valley (Hawaii Kai) on Oahu, just about 1 mile from Sandy Beach. You know Sandys huh? The most notorious bodysurfing beach in the region. You definitely dont want to take JS there. Been to Kauai and they are under water and in real bad shape bro....check out the news. Thanks for the welcome

TULSACHOPS Love the Big Island. Will retire there when the time comes. Probably @ Volcano. Beautiful, quiet, hiking, biking. Plus you can play as LOUD as you like without the neighbors complaining!

JOE Let's have a concert over here with promotional free travel, hotel, car and ticket giveaways. How many people want to come to Hawaii for JS? Maybe on your way to Australia or New Zealand?

I cant believe a deleted my last message. No more brains. Hey 962, that Porsche is unbelievable! I cant afford it, but I know one of the band members who would look good in the 997 convertable with an Italian racing scarf blowing in the wind.....Jeff Campitelli!!! Ha

(cont) shift the ball to your R hand and squeeze between thumb and first finger. Now go try and play the guitar. Now, its going to take you about 2 weeks before you start to notice a power and speed difference, in fact you will notice that you will get slower on the guitar for awhile and then one day you will pick up the guitar and notice a significant improvement. Stretching is also important to increase your span, regardless of the size of your hand and digits. Manually, and gently spread your fingers apart and bend them backwards. This should be done ALL THE TIME. Stretching will become more important than strengthening as time goes by. Its very difficult to teach you in this way, but its better than nothing. That will be $100 please for the on-line program. Which brings me to the next subject.

WWWDOTCOMHERE- I see everybody's viewpoint on the CD subject. Of course, I have to put in my 2 cents. It is your decision on what you wish to purchase, dont be hard on yourself and dont let others be hard on you. We are all nice people on the site, but come from a variety of backrounds and jobs. We should not judge, but we do. This is the serious side of me. On the other hand, one day you may become manic and say to yourself if Joe's drummer can afford a Porsche 997 Turbo and an Italian racing scarf then how much money does JS have? But I will tell you one thing. IT IS ONE HELL OF A GREAT CD!

(cont) This requires a counterattack or offense. Remember, a good offense is the best defense. Most all martial arts will use techniques to keep the enemy off balance or neutralized before landing the lethal blow. The arts have changed with UFC, K1, and Pride fighting etc. but Bruce Lee was right in his philosophy of fighting. I would love to see us pull out of Iraq, but what are our options? Anybody? Since we have had our troops in and around Iraq have we had any homeland incidents? No. Because we are keeping them off balance. When you are put into a defensive position not only do your odds drop, but the number of potential casualties also rises. Bush is implementing this tactic. Listen, I live pretty close to Pearl Harbor and take many people to the memorials. The Japanese launched a vicious attack on us back then and they paid the price at Hiroshima, but you know that we are friends now. The people in the military are fine people and many are friends and patients of mine. The know its their job to serve and many are anxious to do just that. Its their job. Its a difficult call to make, but I see no other options.

ZINCMASTER-Nice entry. Lets put it this way. There exists no good without evil. Your a weath of knowledge buddy!

You know what gentlemen. There is a simple solution to all this price of CD's BS. Just make more money! I buy and download all the CD's I like, regardless. I carry a Sony Visa Card so I get points to buy more Sony products! I invest in my own investments. If you cant beat em take advantage of them. I charge everything to my Sony Card, I love it! I have 4 copies of his latest CD. One for my Sony Walkman, one for my car, one to play too in my music room and one for my office, oh and one for my wife because she loves it. By listening to the cd continuously I'm now able to play 8 cuts! To me this is a great investment. Next 2 cds up to bat are Leslie West's "Got Blooze" and the latest Robin Trower CD/DVD. First ever.

OCPS470- Do you have some sort of physiology degree. Know and understand the extrinsics and intrinsics of the forearm and hand? You may be teaching guitar, but you folks come a dime a dozen. Yu have no supporting evidence to back your statements on speed improvement. Its not all done on the fretboard my egotistical friend. A firm base must be established before skill kicks in. In the scientific world , which you know nothing about, the levels are mobility, stability, controlled mobility, and finally skill. You are jumping way ahead of this student, so my advise is to shut up until you know what your talking about. GRRRRRRROWL! Typical mainland haole. Know it all, and no credentials to back it up.

CUTHBERT1776-Your first reply to my postiing was a bit aggresive. I respect your viewpoint, but yu still have not answered my question as to what our options are? Can you predict the future? Can you find the solution on CNN? The Patriot Act is a fine written document, but thats all it is. A document. In times of war and reality it is overlooked, and rightfully so. I bet your a liberal card carrying member of the communist driven ACLU.

TULSACHOPS-You also must be a liberal. You do know that Clinton was impeached. He is the one who got us in all this mess my means of inaction in the wake of numerous intelligence reports pointing to mid-east aggression towards the US. My good friend, who happens to be head counsel for the FBI here in the islands sites many oversites by Clinton. His problem is that he is a sex addict who was impeached for the wrong reasons. Its Bush who has to clean up his mess! I put no validity or credibility in your posting as your character and actions reflect the effects of heavy intoxication.

Now onto a brighter note. Sorry I had to be so bold in my previous posting but we cant all agree on everything. Education is paramount, especially research, and proven theory.

WOW, I really stirred up a hornets nest out there! This is the kind of party I like to play baby! You critics all have your opinions. None out there with any degrees or evidence or study to prove your points. You all must be college students or drop outs. Firstly, I hold a Masters in PT and work in an orthopaedic outpatient clinic, not a VA hospital smart ass! I hold a BS in exercise physiology and anatomy, I have rehabilitated many a guitar, bass, ukulele players as well as drummers, from scratch. So dont give me that superiority complex crap assholes! Physilogically, I know more about building strength and speed into the hand and digits than any of you. Enough said. Dont have time to teach, not enough money in teaching.

Another point to all yu ignorant SOB's. What you gonna do when they come for you after we withdraw our troops? Now your on defense baby. Can you pull the trigger? Will you call out to your mama just before the RPG hits your house? Now whos lying on the table in the VA? You dumb ass'. I am no veteran. I'm proud of my country and the military. Maybe not the Navy, as they are a little stuck up. God Bless them all! If you dont like it, take off and see how the rest of the world lives. You'll be back. I can take all the criticism as long as yu support it with strong compelling evidence.

Hey, this party is getting better and better. I think peoples true feeling are being broadcasted. All of yu who responded to my posting(s), thank yu very much. Maybe I should start my own site. Before I signed in it was a bit dull. I can just feel the blood coursing thru my veins. There are some of you holding back out there, I can just sense it. Remember ladies and gentlemen, if you scroll back in time it was not I who casted the first stone. Check it out. I merely expressed my thoughts and view on subjects already mentioned. This is a fact. I shall drop my continued attack on the Bush Bashers because all of us are hardheads when it comes to politics. But you must admit it created quit a stir. I will not let CUTHBERT1776 of the hook.

OCPS470-Just read your entry(s) after my last entry. I think you misunderstand what I said. Weight training does not translate into "brute force". The stronger you are, the easier it is to accomplish work. Work=Force x Distance. If you are weak in lets say the 5th digit pinky you are going to have to bear down and use more force, energy and time to accomplish that simple task. This is common sense. You see, most people who instruct assume that the student has the strength to at least engage the cord. I for one had very weak 4th and 5th digits, plus the fact that I have nerve conduction deficits in my thumb. This was very difficult to overcome. I worked on it extensively and overcame the weakness. Some students are perfectly strong in all digits, but this is rare. Joe is saying that if you have the strength and engage the cord hard, this is a problem. But do you see my point. Strength is essential for playing, period. Not bone crushing strength, but strength enough to allow the student to jump from point to point stress-free instead of having to what Joe calls hammer. I dont care what dumb ass CUTHBERT says, she must think I want to turn the guitarist into a bodybuilder. Who knows. But she does not understand because she is living in the dark ages and is ignorant of science. Nobody expects Joe to know all the science behind what he is teaching.

Lets cut to the chase people. Some of you fail to get the point about speed training. Obviously, as the pure musicians that you are, you spent alot of time exercising and working out, not playing, doing drugs, drinking and partying. Am I right. I bet most all of you are very passive in nature, very judgemental, think your intellectual (maybe some are). I've explaiined the mechanics of speed, strength and how it ties into playing-several times. I will not go into the specifics because the authorities CUTHBERT1776 and OCPS470 will explain it to you in full detail some time in the next whenever.

I did'nt want to get into the Iraq situation, but I will. First I want to point out that you have justified the combative technique that I explained earlier, only on the net. Revenge, and superiority in the hearts of men. When I stuck my neck out and explained the combative technique. To make it simpler the best defense is a good offense. You came out swiinging with your attack upon me. I did not retreat and attacked a few of you, again offensively. Then all hell broke loose and everybody went on the offensive against the terrorist GROWLER, the cancer among us. Wipe him out. We hate what he is saying! Thank yu in and of yourselves for proving my point. If yu cant be aggresive physically than you most certainly can while posting. Good display of offense! Look what happened at my last postiing. I gave up. This is what is called giving up or tapping out in martial arts. You gave me a good ground and pound mates! Feel good? I sure do.

SATRIELLA- You did'nt offend me in the least. No apology necessary. Your great. You and the WEBMASTER are good at keeping this website civil. No more politics, no more religion, no more personal experiences, no talking shop, and no professional advice. Does that mean we are back to Joe? I apologize for voicing my views, however varied they are from the bulk of the entrys. But, as I said before, I did not cast the first stone, scroll back. I was attacked by a hornets nest for expressing views that conflict with yours. Now lets see who comes up with apologys. SATRIELLA did not even offend me, yet apologized. This is a woman with integrity. It would be interesting to learn what alot of you do for a living. Any takers?

SIFUGUITARMASTER; Grasshopper, to graduate from this academy you must first pass a test. If you can, snatch the satch guitar pick out of the palm of my hand.

STUDENT: But Sifu, I have been here for a long period of time and have not been able to accomplish the task, I'm to slow.

SIFUGUITARMASTER; Do not be discouraged grasshopper, I have not been able to snatch the pick either. Only one man has been able to accomplish this task and graduate the academy. He is a man well trained and possess' many tricks....His name. Satrianisan!