During a chat with 107.7 The Bone’s Nikki Blakk, Zakk Wylde shared his thoughts on the debate over whether the guitar is still relevant.
When asked which new guitarists are worth watching and which classic players kids should rediscover, Wylde mentioned, “Well I mean, you got father Richie Faulkner, Jared James Nichols, my one son who really digs. Tim Henson, he’s like insane and then it truly is awesome how many great guitar players even on Instagram and stuff like that.”
Wylde added, “I think it’s… Remember a while ago somebody was like, ‘Oh, guitar is dead.’ I was like, ‘What? What are you living.’ I was just like you apparently, you’re not on Instagram or any social media where you’re seeing any of these younger guys playing.”
He expressed admiration for the young players’ dedication, saying, “It is a really an awesome thing because I mean some of these guys have just absolutely mind-blown technique and everything like that. So, they’re putting the work in and it’s awesome to see.”
Wylde believes social media has revolutionized the music industry and encourages support for guitarists using these platforms. “But no, I think it’s a great platform because back in the day if you didn’t have a record deal by the time you were 30, the dream is over, man,” he previously said to Ultimate Guitar. “You gotta sell all your gear and get a normal crappy job that you can’t stand and give up.”
He elaborated, “Today, you can build your band like a mom-and-pop shop and be your own boss and dictate your life to it, which I think is awesome. It’s the best, because this way you’re not at the mercy of somebody else. You don’t need anybody.”
Herman Li of Dragonforce also supports Wylde’s view, saying, “You’ve got to be smart and think where you want to go in terms of direction. If you just want to do what you want to do and don’t care about anything else, which is just keep doing social media stuff. But you’ve got to work the ‘influencer route’ because that’ll pay better than a record label a lot of the time.”
Wylde is set to perform with Zakk Sabbath on December 1 in San Francisco, California.
