Mike interview Esquire

[BurtReynolds]

great thread.

[stip]

It depends what Mike meant. Was he asking to play "a lead guitar" (as in, any number of types of guitar part which could be played by a lead guitarist) or was he asking to play a solo (consisting of improvised notes and noodling)? I guess we'll never know. But a lead guitar is just a guitar which is played over a bedrock laid down by a rhythm guitar. The actual part played can be a solo, another part consisting of chords, or a separate rhythm part, but it's usually a bit more prominent in the mix, and played higher up. All of this may be wrong because I'm not a guitarist...

is the lead guitarist the one responsible for the beats?

[harmless]

It depends what Mike meant. Was he asking to play "a lead guitar" (as in, any number of types of guitar part which could be played by a lead guitarist) or was he asking to play a solo (consisting of improvised notes and noodling)? I guess we'll never know. But a lead guitar is just a guitar which is played over a bedrock laid down by a rhythm guitar. The actual part played can be a solo, another part consisting of chords, or a separate rhythm part, but it's usually a bit more prominent in the mix, and played higher up. All of this may be wrong because I'm not a guitarist...

is the lead guitarist the one responsible for the beats?

Is that a serious question? I assumed the previous one had been a serious question but if not, carry on.

[stip]

It depends what Mike meant. Was he asking to play "a lead guitar" (as in, any number of types of guitar part which could be played by a lead guitarist) or was he asking to play a solo (consisting of improvised notes and noodling)? I guess we'll never know. But a lead guitar is just a guitar which is played over a bedrock laid down by a rhythm guitar. The actual part played can be a solo, another part consisting of chords, or a separate rhythm part, but it's usually a bit more prominent in the mix, and played higher up. All of this may be wrong because I'm not a guitarist...

is the lead guitarist the one responsible for the beats?

Is that a serious question? I assumed the previous one had been a serious question but if not, carry on.

the first one was.

[stip]

back to the first one, asking to play a lead is just asking to be the lead guitarist, then? A lead is not a particular moment like a solo is?

[harmless]

I think the question was just "Can I play lead guitar?" but I don't know. A lead could be a solo, but I would have thought Mike would be more specific if that's what he meant.