Preston Reed performing Rainmaker

[antiglobalist]

Does anyone know if this festival still exists and is organized anually?

[barriesonfire]

I know nothing about guitar technique but all his music is as boring as hell.

[jacklabanane]

why does every comment is about andy? this is PRESTON REED ! YEAH

[robotsforever]

Who the fuck is Eddie Van Halen...

[scarycath]

Preston is on tour in the UK starting today at South Shields, full details at

preston reed dot com

[TheFreakandaGeek]

Preston Reed is amazing and people should go and see him to be amazed at the talent this man has! how many guitarists have you seen who can perform like this every night?

[mensamoo]

saw preston in Darlington and I agree, he derves more appreciation thean the 'newer' brigade of tappers. He was doing this long before Youtube.

[Miniboulette]

There's a few people " trying" to play that way, but Preston is the only one who starts from the beat before adding chords. I love Kaki king and Mc.Kee but they are just classical guitar players. They add percutions, but there's no "beat", making the percutions not quite relevant.

THIS guy was born with an inuit tom-tom in his head !!!

[DaFuBaR1989]

Andy saw him and he was the one andy got it from, i guess he said that in an interview i saw him at ... i love preston andy and also eric mongrain ... all great guitar players that should be more rich and lucky than all the other pop business bullshit ...

[vikingo1987]

he look's like august rush! xD

[humpmastajoe16]

this guy came first. you should check out kaki king, who was the guitarist who did some of the songs for that movie.

[vikingo1987]

i say i the most sarcastic way i can be... some people just cant understand sarcasm....

[humpmastajoe16]

oh, got ya. it's kinda hard for me to detect sarcasm without hearing someones tone of voice.

[mutley2209]

@humpmastajoe16 kaki king is a pretty poor songwriter, she relies pretty heavily on style over substance of the music, plus she's blatantly lifted preston's style 100% she sights him as an influence but doesn't correct people when they're talking about the percussive style of play, pretty poor to have to rely on techniques to get the crowed going rather than the song itself =P preston's fsr more talented

[Miniboulette]

@vikingo1987

By the way guys, who wrote August Rush's song in the park ? Kaki King right ?

[jagvillintevaramed92]

Reason Andy gets more views is because his songs are much more preferred. Also he looks more badass! However Preston sure is an amazing guitarist.

[Ca2roline]

@jagvillintevaramed92 I have to disagree, Preston Reed looks way more badass. I mean, look at that hair!!

=P

[danielw1245]

and what the hell does hits on youtube count for? It's not like he gets any money for posting....

[rattlehead1999]

It's sad that Andy Mckee gets all the hits on Youtube, when this guy has been at the style longer, invented it, and is most likely better at it. Yet Andy gets all the credit for innovating this style. Real sad. Although Preston probably makes more money at it, considering he's been touring and selling tapes for a long time.

[74dorset]

Andy considers preston to be one of his greatest influences

[ronblack45]

@74dorset This is True 74. Andy and Preston get along better than that too. This music is not about competition, it is about the love of the music itself. :>)

[74dorset]

@ronblack45 I met Andy last year. He is such a nice guy, patient and sickeningly talented. He signed my guitar alongside Tommy Emmanuel. My two guitaring heros.

[DuskY1991]

@74dorset If only I could have my guitar signed by Michael Hedges...

[AnchoriteProductions]

....yeah, Preston Reed wrote the book on this technique and style of guitar. Andy McKee has referenced Reed as being a big influence on him... Still, like you, I scratch my head and wonder why Reed doesn't get a lot more views. Go figure! -Derek

[Nicorette1234]

you obviously dont know michael hedges

[danielw1245]

andy mckee is a great guitar player, and it's not like he steals songs or is a millionaire from taking other people's ideas, so i don't think it's sad at all. andy developed the style and wrote some great songs. he deserves whatever success he gets. Most people who are into fingerstyle do know who preston reed is. no one credits andy mckee for the style, and in reality preston i'm sure preston didn't pioneer this style either. it's sort of like tommy emmanuel being influenced by chet atkins.

[MarMarflam]

andy's tunes are really warm and accessable, music is not only about technique.

not everyone has that kind of interest in music.

but it''s sad that people with such a talent get less respect than some random good looking girl or guy, with a few basic chords, or worse yet a beat processor and a keyboard with samples taken from other songs

but w/e, go preston!

[Francologne]

@rattlehead1999 Andy McKee has powerful melodies, which makes his music far more accessible.

[TheEtoimos]

@rattlehead1999 It's not sad...Andy is very good in what he is doing.

[TheElMendigo]

@rattlehead1999 Andy constantly acknowledges that preston reid is a big influence of his. It's not like he's stealing it.

[TheElMendigo]

@rattlehead1999 Andy constantly acknowledges that preston reed is a big influence of his. It's not like he's stealing it.

[antiglobalist]

@rattlehead1999 Although Preston Reed is amazing and McKee has definitely been influenced by him, I think McKee has the incredible quality of writing amazing melodies. But I agree that McKee is the one that managed to get some "mainstream" popularity while other great guitarist that have been at it linger, like Preston, are underappreciated.

[KurtQLD]

Love this :)

[Miniboulette]

you can find " rainmaker " on preston reed's album " Ladies night " it'snt on deezer

[cmdrchris971]

my god

he turned it into a drum

[rizla1606]

this guy is even better live

[ruthisface]

insanely talented!!!! he ROX

[naitsirkeprahs]

JayKenyon1878 ..... ha ha ha... that's funny... not that he needs to sing playing like that eh... but good one... didn't deserve -2 !

[tracylane318]

For Real . . .wow.

[ovationelitet]

I've just recently discovered the music of Preston Reed thanks to you tube. The slap tap thing is always fun to watch but the trade off is it's usually limeted compositionally. Preston Reed takes it to a new level. His technique is amazing and his music is enchanting. Good stuff indeed.

[tomgamble100]

nice review lol

[thebluepiano]

beast at work!!!!!!!!

[kazimann]

Fucking great!

[tandinos]

caught him live in ireland . i was speechless.

[kazimann]

So did I, last October, he was in Crawdaddy. Great gig it was.

[swham1]

I don't know...I'm kind of over this whole slap/tap thing...just play the damn guitar. This doesn't even sound like anything.

[Nirvana9693]

i second that

[norkusman]

sweet! was looking for maiden but this kicks ass

[Mujabar]

Incredible, its guitar "River Dance".

[RJcur]

He's awesome!

[heirgyou]

He's one of the world's best guitar players and a truly lovely guy it seems

[LEozmaiden]

the master

[guylline]

Géne gewone dadde !!!.........

[cylojin]

orco dio!!tremendously cool fuckin' god !!!

[Waluigi41]

i saw him last night ^.^

[MAYOPETE77]

yah he definatley rocks saw him once in castlebar and the guys flawless

[esviernes13]

1:42 its amazing!

[savagedgod]

this guy played in my school during the clonakilty guiar festval he was amazing. my mate got to jam with him to

[luke23waltz]

the intro looks really hard, but if ur an experience percussionist thats not very difficult. But you also need the guitar skill to get those harmonics in there.

[tranformer77dargon]

what makes him so great is the fact that he is an experienced guitarist, drummer, and bassist. you can here all those influences in his playing.

[fenderfreak8675309]

Great, Truely great... man i think tom waits on piano and vocals vitor wooten on bass and preston reed on guitar would be great... they dont get together why?

[monkeyfish]

this is truly inspiring...does anyone know what tuning this is in?

[RoyAnnashi]

The tuning is CGDGAD.

[jaylincez]

I'm reminded of some super-advanced upgraded-guitar version of a street musician; one thats taking something I'd like to get my hands on!

[shadybrain3424]

he sounds just like his left hand, over the top :P

[slashisgod875]

ye fair enough some ppl dnt like shredding altho i do, n some ppl may like this, i dont, all im saying is it doesnt look or sound musical to me, all it is is some bloke hitting a poor guitar

[TheEthan]

all it is is a guitarist takin percussive acoustic guitarwork to a whole new level. this song may not be the most melodic, but how can u say that his rhytmical ingenuity isnt musical? shreddin is just a cheap trick to help shit guitarists pretend to be good.

[zenfreestyler]

So true... But it's an absolute pleasure to listen to tapping/printing when you're actually playing good music, with silence etc.

You should check out Carlos Vamos' tapping versions of "Little Wing" & his Keith Jarret version also. This is no spam, just a reccomendation you can't afford to miss ,in my opinion, peace.

[badmp3]

wow !!!

[jongomm]

It looks like his left hand is made of rubber.

Preston is a legend. Fantastic playing.

[SAgeetarman]

cmon now children lets stop dissing the good guitar man. listen to how he taps n how he uses the sparing notes he does play to create this incredible sound. the music is in the rhythms n the use of different playing techniques rather than pure melody.

[landylightweight]

saw him in Falmouth, he is amazing, he really is a one man band, what he can make a guitar do is fantastic

[slashisgod875]

you call this music.........

[YurtleTheTurtle]

no, i call it calligraphy, ..... of course its music. i could understand someone saying that about pointless shredding (as opposed to tasteful) but has a strong rhythm and is original, besides that he inspired andy mckee to play acoustic.

[BMAC244]

this is amazing, y'all are just jealous

[ahso92]

cut your hair hippie

[411vM]

thats pretty sweet

ive never seen anyone play like this before

sounds like a whole bands playing at sometimes haha

[slashisgod875]

now if he wants to twat summat, y duznt he get a drum kit? guitars are for plucking, not twatting

[m1chaelK]

I agree to a certain extent. Guitars are for plucking and strumming, altho tapping is gd too. When it's tapping thats not on the strings, sometimes used in flamenco, it can b gd. But in this piece its an overdose of shite. Thers fuk all notes in it. And he hits random open strings and it sounds fuking shit. He shud get a drun kit or fake up flamenco scene as he is obsessed with tapping the guitar, rather than the strings. But based on the complexity of wot he plays, he couldn't hack it.

[davo963320]

haha. they don't sound random to me. I'd say that you're just jealous like a motherfucker cause no matter how much you practice you'll never be able to pull off anything like that.

[kuroasai]

haha! youre right ! preston reed is fucking awesome >< i get why miyavi loves him D:

[dcigenehunt]

you can hardly call it twatting, hes actually making really great, innovative music. anyway you cant limit the guitar to plucking because there arent any limits to it.

[fog552]

It's hard to play harmonics and tunes on a drum kit.

[fog552]

That's like saying drum kits are only for playing beats in 4/4.

[acoustic9876]

check this guy out type in "blues for tuck"

[prelan]

i saw him here in Derry a couple of times, love it!

[RiznF]

This dude is amazing, i can see where Andy McKee got his influences and inspirations from. Great Vid. Thanks for sharing.

[crazy650c]

This guy is a good percussionist. I listened to some of his other stuff on YT. But I'm not impressed. Too much percussion, not enough guitar. His playing sounds off but does not "sing". I guess it's just not to my taste.

[Adji87]

what the hell? this is amazing, gets osme coo african beats going

[katanamanatee]

This is definately one of Reed's more showy tunes but don't use it as a judge of his other work, he has recorded many albums and some of his latest stuff is brilliant, i love his standard fingerstyle playing mixed with the percussive stuff. Night Ride is a beautiful tune, wish there was a video.

[gake]

There is now, but it takes away from the magic of the song. It just looks less impressive than it sounds.

[soundstationrav]

Ive supported this guy in a tiny room in my hometown! The sound he produces when your actually there is mindblowing!

[adsman69]

if you havnt heard of tommy emmanuel, check him out !!!

[FingerStyler15]

I wouldn't say he's the greatest. . . he's good but not the greatest. I find Michael Hedges more emotional and I find he can convey the themes of the songs in a better way than this guy. But he is no doubt incredible, what a fun song that must be.

[methodinsane]

I'm a fan of both. I think Hedges is more classical when it comes to how he approaches composition. But if you know the story behind the tunes then it makes more sense what Reed is doing. And he's a dead sound guy, I've met him loads of times and had lunch with him a few months back. I don't like everything he does (just like hedges) but when he's on form he is genius.

[egits]

Brilliant!

[dcigenehunt]

The way he fits the melody, bass and percussion together, is incredible. It's inspirational to any guitar player becuase in terms of talent, this guy is truly the greatest.

[gake]

If you are basing all this on one video then you are missing out. I think Hedges can be as boring and expressionless as any on some songs.

[turnipbug]

really wonderful thanks so much for posting these videos

[cedarglenmilitia]

I prefer this guy over Micheal Hedges much more. Many say Reed is a rip off of Hedges, but I dont think so, both started around the same time, both are good, but Reed is much cooler.

[Aldev]

Since I first heard him one night on an obscure radio station, he became my guitar idol. He plays in Ireland loads, so Ive had the privilige of seeing him twice, Im going again in September. Preston Reed = God :D

[krissovo]

Is that the Clonakilty Guitar festival?

That is where I am going to see him and I am so looking forward to it

[tearney]

this class but nothing beats seeing him live!!!

[flatbelly]

Amazing rythm, flawless is right!!

[Urgelt]

This one is very nice indeed. Fearless technique, flawless execution. I can't wait to see more from him.

Thanks for posting!

[destryridesagain]

WOW!!!!!!!!!