[Gaetano Paul]

I took my step dad out to see the A-team for Fathers day. And there was this one song that was played multiple times in the movie, and at the very end of the movie. It I just new it was Tom Morrello. Whether it was Rage Against the Machine, or one of his other projects I do not know. But it was him. He has such a unique sound and tone as a guitarist. It is a special thing when and artist is able to express themselves and use there voice/talents to express themselves in freedom, in such a deep way that they really do have there own tone. As I think about the Christian scene I cannot say I know of any guitarist who are operating in that kind of freedom. As sad as that is to say, it seems there is a level of conformity amongst the musicians where unless you sound like Edge you are not cool. Seriously Untill I got saved I thought U2 was a bunch of wusses. Now after getting saved and playing in the church I have studied Edges style intently in order to get "the sound"

What are your thought on this
Are you operating in a level of freedom as a musician where you are expressing yourself to the point of when another trained ear walks into the building they know you are the one on the guitar?
I know I am not, but my mentor, one of the most humble men I have ever met does, to some degree. He does not even have a tap tempo, does not know how to properly dial in a dotted eight, or even a quarter note, but when I walk in the building and he is on the guitar, I know its him. I am not saying he is the best, or that I even like his tone or style, but he is definitely operating in a deeper level of freedom as an artist/musician/guitarist.
Seriously, I walked into a massive thousands of people joint church meeting, and he was on the guitar and I knew it was him before I got close enough to the front to be able to see any musicians.
God wants us free I know this!

[nbfan]

As far as Christian guitarists go, you really should listen to Lincoln Brewster. I don't listen to him much anymore, but he's definitely got that thing going where you can always tell it's him playing. Even listening to his stuff back in the early '90s when he was playing with Steve Perry, you can tell it's him.

And I know that I tend to have certain qualities in my playing that make it distinctive. My parents (both are highly musically talented, and pretty much have taught me most of what I know in music) can tell when it's me playing.

EDIT: Also, about Tom Morello... that guy's a pretty extreme example. That guy is crazy good and though many can copy him, few can duplicate him.

[Gaetano Paul]

Nice bro. I do listen to Lincoln Brewster. Great player, not sure about his own tone though. Very cool artist nonetheless. Yeah I agree with you about Tom Morello.

[gtrdave]

A few names that I'll throw out:
Tony Palacios - guitarist for Guardian, he's also released at least 1 solo instrumental disc and appeared as a guest on other recordings. He can def. hold his own against many of the '80s calibre players.
Jerry McPherson - probably one of the most recorded guitarists of all time, he's been a studio guy for years and is quite a chameleon with his styles.
Tommy Walker - I've known Tommy since 1994 back when he wasn't too far removed from his original fusion/jazz roots and education and the guy just plays some amazing guitar. His soloing and chord vocabulary is so far above even Lincoln Brewster (no offense to Linc and his fans...), yet not many people are aware of his talent. And he's probably ok with that.
All these guys are Christians and none of them do the U2-delay thing. Maybe that won't make them popular today, but once this trend/fad wears thin...

[Rainer.]

I dunno about the "Christian music scene" that much, but I know there are a lot of musicians out there that are Christians playing with a lot of soul, even if it's not on a "Christian" rock record.

[Gaetano Paul]

I will have to check out those guys GTRDave.

[zedman]

Check out Glenn Kaiser--he plays a lot of different styles, and doesn't sound like everybody else--he does show his influences though, but he plays in an honest way--he sounds like he means what he plays--he's not just aping others.

[iAmAPeanut]

Jon Forman of Switchfoot isn't near as good a guitarist as Lincoln Brewster, but he's definitely original. I learn every Switchfoot song I can, because the guitar is unique on every single song.

[Gaetano Paul]

Cool bro. Switchfoot is good. You know who is original and highly underrated as a psalmist and band?
Charlie Hall!