Added: 3 years ago
From: bloodySunday77
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  • God I love this guy! He's obviously an incredible and talented guitar genius... you go Steve you go... mwah!

  • Steve Stevens is a guitar God! keep rocking steve!!!!

  • Thanks for posting this! And thanks to Steve Stevens for sharing! I'm currently learning Rebel Yell for a cover project & this is very helpful. No pick on the intro - but if you look closely, he has it tucked away between his fingers and pulls it out for the next part. The song is not all that difficult - the hardest thing for me is smoothly putting the pick away when returning to the intro piece right before the solo & at the end of the song. Hah!! Guess I'll stop posting & keep practicing!!

  • @scolgo I agree 100%! The pick trick is a bit difficult... check out some videos by Brian Setzer, he is a master of that. I do it as well, but synchronizing it with quick picking is the hard part. Good luck!

  • @scolgo I know a trick for that. In fact, it looks like he's doing it the same as I do. You simply tuck it between the joints on your middle finger. Then you just use your thumb to slide it back and forth. I got the trick from a Bruce Kulick lesson video I had when I was first learning how to play. I don't know if it's in this particular clip. But this is from that very lesson.

    watch?v=JWxz1H10_fk

  • what's his tunning?

  • I have been a big a big fan of Billy Idol and Steve Stevens for a few decades now. Thanks for sharing this video!

  • Wow....i came here many times just to hear that guitar and amp. I think this sound is very impressive too.

  • @marcelosunako ??!??!??

  • Does anybody knows what type of amp and effect Steve use in this lesson. The sound is impressive.

  • @robertjelic Actually the sound is extremely crappy, and this was discussed here in the past comments as well. He was at the offices of Guitar World magazine, if I remember correctly, and they gave him a Fender G Dec (which is a funny and nice little amp but here it sounds like sh#t).

  • @bloodySunday77 Well, I feel weird now :D I don't know, I like the sound. Maybe I am little bit confused, Video quality is poor. Anyway, thanks for reply!

  • @robertjelic No, I didn't mean it like that, it is entirely subjective... and the video quality is indeed poor...

  • Lot of underrated axemen in the 80's. Neil Geraldo right up there side of Steven. Two of my faves.!!!!!

  • Steve Stevens dress seems to disorient and make some people uneasy. In Siberian shamanism, cross dressing protected the shaman to be from evil spirits. Flora MacDonald dressed Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746 as a woman, enabling him to escape to France. Danny la Rue was a cross dresser and succesful performer for decades in London and on TV. So live and let live, and enjoy Steve's guitar playing, he started when he was 7, electric at 9, Jimi Hendrix at 11. But the creative life is NOT a contest .

  • What a great guy.

  • He has a real musical sense that is what makes his playing fantastic

  • @TheDJVALLON hahaha!!!

  • Just showing you half ass guitarist how he plays his songs and his influences. All the greats were influenced. by someone..even Hendrix was influenced....and he is the greatest.

  • wow this is a real treat to watch the tricks of trade from a guitar legend, not as popular as let's say Edie Van Halen but great none the less

  • He has 6 strings, theire just thinner so they don`t show so much.

  • @TheDJVALLON lol. The 3 other strings are so thin they can't be seen on the video

  • steve stevens is great he been playin since he was 7, and learned from good shit

  • eyes without a face still moves me after all these years.... so pretty... Gawd I miss good musuc!! :(

  • can anyone explain the chords he's playng starting from 00:47 please?

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  • @cagnetto theyre typical 80s double stops you can hear that sort of playing in beat it, white wedding (ofcourse), too young to fall in love etc.. you can find the tabs on ultimate-guitar

  • Best guitarist alive today. Steve Stevens.  Hands Down.

  • YOU ARE YOUR OWN LIVING ROCK LEGEND WHEN YOU SET THE SOUND FOR BILLY IDOL AND ALSO PLAYED FOR MICHAEL JACKSON ON 'DIRTY DIANA'. STEVE STEVENS OPENS THAT VIDEO AND IS THE REASON THE SONG HAS THE SOUND IT DOES. MJ WAS BLOWN AWAY WITH IT.

  • awsome pure aswome

  • 0:46 - 1:12 fucking badass !

  • Steve Stevens is one of the unsung heroes of the 80's, and if you don't like him, go listen to Vince Neil's "Exposed." His playing was out of this world on that album.

  • thumbs down? the losers...they must guitarist who'd love play like Steve i guess

  • @mak1203136 Yeah everyones hero is a Jewy guitarist whos most notable credit is playing songs that were already written.. Basically a tour guitar player.. Yeah we are all losers not showing respect for such a great career.. Pffffffffffffffffff

  • Rebel Yell is one of the greatest riffs and songs of all time - in my opinion

  • sorry about the language but this is so fucking great

  • some people don't like him because he has some 'boy george' attitude

  • @wizardofmadness What is the "Boy George" attitude?

  • @bloodySunday77 how old are you? he used to look like a cross dresser in billy idol's videos

  • @wizardofmadness I don't know how my age relates to the question, but I am 33 (yes, I was there when Top Gun was in the theaters, and I still have the soundtrack on an original cassette).

  • @wizardofmadness - This dude (Steve Stevens) is one AWESOME and the most UNder-rated guitar players I've ever heard... Man, what i wouldn't do for a guitar lesson w/him (well ok, i wouldn't do just 'anything' for a lesson). Well, first i have to actually go get a guitar, right? haa lol! He did awesome on the top gun video.

  • @wizardofmadness And no, it wasn't just him. Everybody in the rock scene was dressing like that - nothing special that deserves a special name such as "Boy George attitude" (which is actually not related to dress code).

  • @wizardofmadness Well he was one of the 1st to cross punk and metal. There were alot more who dug him than didnt back in the day. I dont recall anyone remarking on his look in a bad way back then either. Maybe the haters are just in your "hood". Rebel Yell is one of the best Rock albums of all time. Every single tune on it is fantastic.

  • Billy is coming to my town! Hope Steve is with Him. Just won't be the same without. It would be like, like, eyes without a face....

  • how does he do the 'oldies' type of riff at 1:30???!!

  • @IknowJohnLear He can do it cause it's a basic do wop strum, pro or not. Just have to do a little muting on the neck changes to get the sound. All your 50's bands did it. The Leo Kotke move is typical and another level altogether. As a half-guitarist, I didn't know Rebel was done on one axe with fingerpicking til I saw this video.  The 50's strum is one thing....Rebel Yell...well try it and do it as smoothly as Steve and see how it sounds. Takes great finger picking to do that!!!!

  • It's hilarious with all the other Youtube amateur and pros putting out the video riff lessons, you can just watch the player who came up with the lick the right way. Only saw one you guy play it right other than Steve on Rebel Yell. Why do these guys leave up these bad renditions?

  • I wish my name were Steve Stevens...

  • Him and Neil Geraldo two of the most underrated guitarist of the 80's. They are both top 10 in my book!!!

  • he,like many other good guitarist,doesn't get the praise he should get

  • I was in love with Billy in the 80's. I just read a book called "Once Upon a Star - celebrity kiss and tell stories" buy it on Amazon by his ex girlfriend Pegg Trentini I highly recommend it !

  • ~~~Everything about Stevie Stevens impresses me~~~ - his kind humble demeanor, his EXTRAORDINARY TALENT and this particular musical stylings and predilections vibrate my hearts musical strings!

    Thank you so much Steve and Billy, for years of pleasure, thrill and enchantment with you and your music.

    TheGuy . com

  • Thanks for posting this video! From searching around on Internet, I think I understand that this came with Guitar Techniques magazine January 2006. As I can't find any back issues, would anybody have the tabs? (and, in particular, for "White Wedding" 2nd verse, Figure2)

  • what a beautiful guitar :O holy shit

  • he didnt show that awesome riff he does halfway through eyes without a face

  • @viperlegendkiller that's because that's the easy part...just requires attention to the picking strokes and their accents :) it's the rest of the song that blows everyone's mind I think...lol :)

  • what kinda guitar style of playing is that in 3:19 ?

    i been looking for the name everywhere!! and i cant find nothing on this Leo Cocky guitarist

  • @KingCatWolf Bro, it's Leo Kottke. The guy was a MASTER with a 12-string. Folksy stuff. My Dad & stepmom used to listen to some of his music. I remember he had an album called Greenhouse. There was a song on it called Louise. My stepmom took an old-school, lighted 7-Up clock, acetone-ed the numbers & shit off of it, and painted the Greenhouse album cover on it. I've always hated the bitch, but the clock was very cool.

    True story. =)

    Peace.

  • Most beautiful Les Paul I've ever seen

  • I wish more guitar players would explain the songs and how they came up with them.

  • excuse me Stevie, isn't it 111 db?

  • very good

  • Thats gotta be the fuckin' sickest looking les paul I have ever seen in my life.

  • Brilliant guitarist and very generous to share his thoughts and ideas

  • 44 years of guitar playing. Incredible!!!

  • This Man Rocks!!! One of the greatest guitar players around Vurtuosity and creativity

    combined!

  • It's obvious that 6 people sneezed and hit the dislike button...

  • this guy's amazing

  • A guitarist with a pocket full of imagination, his skills are endless a big inspiration for me as a guitarist !

  • @T2Sbadger wow.....well said my friend.... cheers! :)

  • truly one of the greats....inspired all types of guitarists, including me and I play within the "goth/deathrock" genre.....

  • i saw him and met him!!!!!!!!! he was amazing! i saw Billy Idol and Slash and him at their concert in September!!!!

  • The dude possesses scary talent

  • Who the hell would give a thumbs-down to a guitar lesson?!

  • @gorillabelly1 Oh, there are always people in every video...

  • @gorillabelly1 prehaps if the lesson sucks?

  • @TheReilly8 there are 4 people who apparently think awesomeness sucks.

  • @gorillabelly1 lmao thats funny

  • @gorillabelly1 just some poor people who don't have ears to listen, or eyes, to see the greatest guitar player of our time......

  • @guitargup Οk, he is really good, but the greatest of our time? lol

  • @bloodySunday77 ... yes,...:) the Greatest.  Who made the Top Gun Anthem?...who's the Atomic Playboy?...Our Man in Istanbul that's who! now if you have had a Memory Crash because of Flesh for Fantasy,...give a Rebel Yell,.. Scream at the Dementia,.. and know that you Don't Need a Gun, cause there will always be Water on Ares, to get you through any Funkcaution.... ;)

  • @bloodySunday77 Well, one is certainly in their own class of rockstar when they play for Billy Idol and play for Michael Jackson on songs like 'Dirty Diana'. He even starts that video and is the reason that song and others have an edge to them. I don't know who the hell else has credits quite like that. Even if people don't like any of his music it doesn't change the fact that he's one of just a few living legends.

  • @bloodySunday77 Not the greatest. One of the greatest, though.

  • @guitargup HAHAHHAHAHAHAH Trololololol

  • @gorillabelly1 A bass player here by mistake, maybe.

  • @gorillabelly1

    n00bs who pretend to play it and whine on how "awesome" they play with a recoding on the background while moving their fingers on the strings.

  • @gorillabelly1 If the lesson is shit. Not saying that this is but still

  • @gorillabelly1 today's artists and the people that like them

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  • @harpinKeith Um... not quite "brutal" but nice parts, very clever...

  • OMG he plays with his pinky on the scratch plate like I do!? All these years I've been trying to correct that :P well f*ck it now, I'm not moving my beloved finger!

    SCREW THE SYSTEM!

  • very good guitarist

  • I just can't play that intro to rebel yell....drives me insane.

  • @Kurzgan yeah its like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time. you just have to play it so much that you dont think about it anymore

  • Wow he has a great Hybrid Picking Technique! 

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  • I love Steve Stevens. The guy is just f'ing awesome!

  • Where I can find this fuckin' great guitar.? :O :'( And what's model is.? O.o

  • @mudosarma012 Browse through the comments... there are a few ideas what it might be... it's a Gibson Les Paul, but the model? I am not really sure.

  • @bloodySunday77 is a gibson les paul custom with nailbomb humbucklers and of course a custom finish

  • @Aleshotgun I am quite sure they are not Nailbombs... they are either Rebel Yells or Mules. Probably Mules because I don't believe the Rebel Yells were made at the time this video was shot.

  • its a 2000$ gutar

  • @Aleshotgun actually I dont see any binding on the back. So it's a Standard LP I believe.

  • @bloodySunday77 This is probably from the Gibson Custom Shop. I've never seen a LP with a metalflake sunburst finish. Way cool axe... and Steve can afford one from the Custom Shop!!

  • @mudosarma012 Here's what I can glean...It's not a stock Les Paul, clearly a custom order. Ebony Fretboard, bound, with a bound headstock and body, all in white, which isn't stock. MOP trapezoid markers. The burst is Cherry over Gold Metallic, they also do the same effect occasionally with Blue over Silver. Back appears to be black. 60's Mirror knobs...looks like Grover tuners. Bare Knuckle Pickups. Wouldn't be surprised to hear that it was drilled or chambered for weight and resonance.

  • @mudosarma012 THE GUITAR IS A... Fender G-DEC 15! i saw a vid of it and i knew it

  • @claymanluca We are not talking about the amp. We are talking about the guitar. Yes, that Gibson LP he is holding. Guitar.

  • @claymanluca / G- Dec is an amp!

  • @mudosarma012 lol I toured with them and that guitar is a custom shop job that was made for him

  • dancing with myself was made with Steve New (RIP) and/or John McGeoch (RIP) and/or Steve Jones (from Sex Pistols)....when Idol was in Generation X.

  • he is a very cool and underrated guitarist some of his compositions are just great !!

  • where can i find the full interview of this at??

  • @ibaneziceman300 I am afraid this is the whole interview... although there might be a full article in one of Guitar World's older issues (I don't know which one, maybe you could email them to find out...)

  • @bloodySunday77 ah ok ty :D

  • I love the finish on that Les Paul

  • in dirty diana song he play very well

  • Steve is such a "smart" guitarist..I like how he explains how he came up with the riffs that he did...He's very good at composing and a master at song structuring.

  • He makes everything sound so FRICKIN easy !!!!!!

  • @digitalwatcher Exactly! But it's not!

  • wow

  • he is a really good teacher not like malstem who just shows it real fast

  • lol I remember five years ago I was at a Billy Idol concert and I flashed my boobs at Billy and Steve (hey, it was a crazy night) and Steve grabbed the mic and said "You're one bad, BAD girl!" and then winked at me. He's so awesome.

  • @RedDollShoes Well... wow!!!!!!  :-)

  • @RedDollShoes Mom you did it again ?

  • such pretty fingernail polish....

  • @hiwattdude The nail polish "strengthens" his nails...as well as good looks. He picks his strings quite often like a "clasical or flaminco" guitarist,in which his fingernails would break&chip from the constant "picking" of the strings...

  • Nice trick with the pick in Rebel Yell!

  • Ya know why I like this guy? When you boil his parts down, they are actually really simple, but he makes them sound so huge. He is really innovative in my opinion. I think he is really underated plus he seems like a nice dude in general. Like the kind of guy you can drink a 12 pack with and just yak about guitar all night.

  • @delchavez Yeah, he seems so modest, but in my experience knowing what to play and when, serving the song in the best possible way, and having the sense to use your technique wisely instead of showing off are things that he is a master of. So down to earth.

  • @delchavez I'd do more than just talk..mmeeoowwrrrrrrrrrr.

  • What songs are like 1:31?

  • He looks so funny while explaining :D

  • What is engraved on the neck pickup?

  • @LPCstm69 The brand of the pickups: Bare Knuckle. They are from the UK. I also have a pair - they are fantastic.

  • @bloodySunday77 I just got a set, they're incredible.

  • @Jasn1111 Nice! Which ones? I have open-cover Mules.

  • @bloodySunday77 I have the Rebel Yells (nickle cover) They're mid rangy but overall very articulate and sweet. They have a slightly hotter sound than the Mules. It's really easy to push a clean channel into OD with them but they also clean up nicely with just the volume pot on the guitar.

    The Mules sound great too.

  • @Jasn1111 Great... I was always thinking of buying them instead of the Mules, but I am very happy with my choice!

  • Steve is a Jew so he felt he had to drop the jewish surname to make it in the business-just like fellow music gods Geddy Lee of Rush and Mike Lee of Barren Cross!!

  • Steve S thE kING SHIZNIT ON THE axe ASK ANY-ONE..IF YOU ARE ANTONE ASK YOURSELF..aNOTHER GREAT UNDERATED GUITARIST...GOD BLESS R N R..

  • STEVE!!!!! Another solo album pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!­!!!

  • Steve Stevens is pretty fucking cool, very underrated stuff (like his work with Vince Neil), great tone. Love that Les Paul, my God

  • No wonder Michael Jackson choosed this guy to play guitar on Dirty Diana. What a guitarist and musician.

  • It was very common for rockers in the 80's to paint their nails black. That was part of their wardrobe, so to speak. I liked it then and still do 'cause that was the "norm". :D

  • Just brilliant. I love how he shows his influences, then when he plays what he did with them, they sound even better. Classy guy, classic guitar player.

  • steve really looks like cc deville.. only with black hair.. ! XD

  • A guitarist so good they named him twice!

  • he acts like playing those are nothing as if everyone can do it lol what a guy

  • when you are as talented as Steve, you are allowed to wear nail polish.

  • Great player. I've always liked his style and skills. But what's with the fingernail polish?

  • @JedifuzzMojo I guess it's an image sort of thing - he has a big 80s career, too... if he feels comfortable with it, who am I to argue?

  • how is the part 0:46?

  • This guy has always been one of my favorite guitarist of all time.Absolutely a monster talent.Underated by everybody except guitarist who know what the deal is.Saw him play in Norfolk Va. and he and Billy were super cool got to meet Billy and he was very nice and loved the fans Billy actually got off the bus and went down the street shaking everybody's hand that was in line to get in.I've never seen anybody do that ever!!

  • Dude is sexy.

  • I love the finish on the Les Paul. I also find it really cool how he uses the upstroke a lot more. People seem to do downstrokes a lot more with heavy stuff like this.

  • love the guitar

  • Steve Stevens is the best guitarist in the world

  • @Elvis7345 woahhh calm down there bud hahaha

  • He's a fuckin guitar player :D

  • Wow, this guy is great!

  • What an amazing musician, its so nostalgic for me to hear the parts soloed out and the thoughts and inspiration behind some of my favorite songs! Steve, for all his fame with Billy is still one of the most underrated Guitar Superheroes.

  • @Tommy666666777777 Yeah unfortunetly I'm only 16 and I like Billy Idol. I play guitar and I can say that Steve Stevens is an awesome guitarist, but you know the fking "Justin Bieber fans" don't know what is the good music!!

  • @Tommy666666777777 TOTALLY

  • steve stevens, i think that this guy is the star behind the successfully of billy idol

  • Steve Stevens Great sound !!! great Music Man !!! My Idol

  • Steve used a JB on the early stuff. Great Player!!

  • Thank You for the lesson and thanks 4 uploading this bloodySunday77

  • how dos he make the dirty sound sound so clean when he plays the white wedding riff.

  • @smoothistkid12 It's not hard when you have a good tube amp. You set it up for a crunchy or overdriven sound, and then you just pick softly or lower your guitar'ds volume knob.

  • @bloodySunday77  *guitar's

  • this guy is a genius ... excellent guitarist.

  • this guy reminds me of cc deville

  • @cbarrett34 I have known C.C. DeVille for over 10 years, and I can say that Steve could be a clone for C.C. or vice Versa. Must be a Brooklyn thing. They are both from Brooklyn.

  • leo kotkke is the inspiration for white wedding? steve stevens genius.

  • steve stevens was and always be my guitar hero whose style was unique and different from the rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

  • he should stop using that axis guitar everytime he plays rebel yell onstage.

  • gibson les paul costum

  • I have his signiture washburn, black with a floyd rose etc, he is a great guitarist.