Dave Matthews = Steve Vai
 

Ok hang on & wait for my argument. I primarily strum & enjoy like artists. Guitar is my hobby & I love it & am in awe for those here that have guitars & skills far exceeding mine. I'm also in my late 40's making Pearl Jam my Beatles(influence wise) & the likes of them my music. Back to my point. I've seen DMB live several times & watch his recent live @ home stuff a lot. As a strummer I find him rediculously difficult to play. More to my point I don't think he gets enough credit( from a guitar skills perspective) for creating what sounds so simple but is yet difficult to play. He is a strummers version of Steve Vai. He is all over, across 4 frets & just a hell of a talent.

No question, Dave Matthews is HUGE talent, technically impressive, soulful, rhythmic, and quick. He writes most of his music and isn't overly produced. You don't get that big all on your own like that without being fairly Epic. I agree, his stuff is high level and impressive.

Re: Steve Vai, I don't know an enormous amount about Steve but I do know to hang with Frank Zappa you not only have to have the technical proficiency but the heady music theory side of things as well. I have no idea what's in Dave Matthews head but I get the sense he's musically smart but playing a lot 'from the gut.' Steve Vai is in a special intellectual level in terms of understanding how music is composed. But maybe both roads lead to Rome!

If you know Dave, you must know Tim Reynolds? That guy is equally Epic. And an electric, like Steve. I wonder if he's your DMB Steve Vai?

Agreed. The stretch on Crash Into Me does me in pretty quickly. Even his more basic stuff like Crush is so nuanced by the dynamics he plays with, it's next level stuff.

https://youtu.be/yJA8sF5aYLU

We recently learned DMB What Would You Say in my duo. Deceptively difficult to play well!!!

His left hand is like a spider in this clip. His eyes are watching his left hand; this is not easy even for him. Agreed, this is higher level stuff that it appears.

I never really “got” Dave Matthews. It’s probably the vocals, I can’t wrap my head around his sound. Or maybe because I’ve never seen him live, and I am unintentionally biased against people who came along after I had already established my musical preferences. He doesn’t move me emotionally, but he is certainly one heck of a rhythm guitar player. As an aging deadhead I can hear a lot of Bob Weir what he does. So, I agree, he is definitely an underrated and superb rhythm player.

I can’t imagine singing to that degree while playing like this. He and Timmy are professionals. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ4RH35Tbqk

Weird, anyone notice Tim R has one black bridge pin at the low e on his HD-35? What’s that about?

"If you know Dave, you must know Tim Reynolds? That guy is equally Epic. And an electric, like Steve. I wonder if he's your DMB Steve Vai?"

The work that Tim & Dave do together is great. I've never seen them together live acoustically. I listen & watch them together a lot. Both great. Tim is an absolute ninja in all aspects. Dave just does his thing...seems reasonable to replicate..yet...

As good as Dave Matthews is ... he just doesn't come near this guy for strumming ...

I love DMB and a lot of his stuff is fun to play and anove all great to play on your own.
However i cant stand his live sound most of the time.
I realize that when playing with the band he needs to avoid feedback etc but even when he’s alone his tone seems to be just as artificial.

Maybe not over-produced, I don't know/don't want to know. I will, however, say his music seems over-instrumentalized. Just keep throwing more instruments at it, it will seem complex.

Dave Matthews = Steve Vai ? Fine. But you can keep it as your own little secret.

You want to see Dave’s “spider fingers” technique (while singing, no less) in full effect? Try playing The Stone. There are better quality full band recordings out there, but this old solo acoustic one shows his left hand prowess in full effect.

No doubt Dave is talented...not my thing it’s too esoteric I guess. I get bored quickly..
Anyway he “strikes a chord” (pun intended) with a lot of folks.

I don’t think anyone here would question the deserved legendary status of The Who. But the stuff Dave is doing while he sings is far more complicated than the big windmill right arm rhythm going on here. Nothing wrong with either approach; I love this Townsend clip. I think the point above is that Daves style is so complex. Yet he’s so original it just sounds effortless. Pete’s a broad strokes guitarist; not much like Steve V, in my opinion.

Steve is more advanced in terms of theory and such, and the music is more "difficult". I think he was writing out charts for Zappa when he was 19 or something, and as a player he is more of a virtuoso. I'd much rather listen to Mathews though, and he certainly is a great player without question.

I credit DM with restoring my interest in acoustic guitar. I had played for years in college, but got bored and no current artist. was inspiring me, so I quit altogether for about 20 years.
One evening, my wife and I were staying at a bed and breakfast, and they happened to have Live at Luther Hall playing in the common area. I was mesmerized by Cry Freedom and ended up buying the CD.
That bump-started me and I have sold all my electric equipment. Enjoying acoustic guitar more than ever!

Ok, I guess I'll be the one to go there...

WHO is that guy!!!!

All fantastic guitarists in their own right. Dave put together an amazing band. He writes some funky odd time stuff and his band is extremely tight live. Carter Beauford is one of the best there is. If you're into music it's impossible to not recognize the sheer talent of the entire group individually and then as a whole.

Via is my era. RR, EVH, SRV, ZW, Kirk Hammett, Yngwhie (SP? I never get that right LOL) just an incredible array of guitar hero shredders in a relatively short period of time.

Dave Mathews made his mark playing an entirely different type of music. Far more original than any of those guys. Like it or hate it it's all his own.

Just my .02 and that's about all it's worth. ;)

Yes that was my point exactly. In no way am I knocking anybody, especially a great like Vai. I was merely attempting to make a point that some very simple sounding DM songs are really difficult to play, especially for a hobby playing chord strumming, camp fire hack like me.

I love DMB and he has fueled and inspired me to get better. Problem is a lot of his stuff is so dam hard to play that I have to be realistic and accept I will probably never play guitar like him, nor sing like him!

I think they're both great at what they do.

I had read that Dave's unorthodox method of how he plays chords is from being a self taught player.

Where as on the other hand Steve Vai is a total master of theory.

Apparently there's more than one way to skin a cat! :)

And don't forget James Taylor can't read music. That's the wonderful thing about music, so many pathways to creating moving, soulful pieces.

If his fretting hand impresses you, consider that he keeps his thumb behind the neck. If you’re used to a different grip, it takes a lot of hard work to get used to fretting that way, but in the end your hand will be working much more efficiently.

I've always thought that Dave Matthews was better solo than with the band. His strumming style is nothing short of inspiration when he's not competing for bandwidth.

I agree that Dave himself (meaning his playing) is more intricate and revealing solo (or with Tim) vs. the full band.

However I enjoy both, as when I'm watching the full band version I very much enjoy all the other instruments showing their chops (and Carter is one of my favorite current drummers working, along with Matt Cameron and Steve Jordan).

Carter is a beast!

Dave Matthews = Steve Vai ?

Well, I've never seen them both in the same room at the same time, so may be.

Talent has no bearing on whether I like someone or not. There are probably dozens of super-talented artists out there that I don't care for. That, once again, has no bearing on whether they are "good" or not. Of course they're good at what they do, and Dave Mathews is one of those people for me. He's great, and he's a serious player, but just not my cup of tea.

I too am a campfire hack, but enjoy learning new songs all the time. For some reason, I too can't pin down how to play a lot of DMB songs. IMO, he approaches playing the guitar like one would approach playing Tabla Drums (sort of like bongos, but you use your fingers more). He's very rhythmic, and uses the fretboard in an odd way. By odd, I mean good.

I enjoy listening to him solo or with his band and have for around 25 years, however only in small doses. He is super talented though, and writes great songs.

DM is a talented guitarist but his music is chaotic and never leaves me feeling the way I want to feel while listening to music. Even worse when his full band gets involved.

His band makes me feel like I'm in a traffic jam on the 405, late for an appointment 2 exits away and I know it's going to be 30 minutes before traffic allows me to get there.

Gifted artists don't always, and perhaps never should, please everybody. That takes nothing away from their impact on others or their talent.