By Will James

All over the world, outside of our little microcosmic Island, musicians are redefining what can be done with six strings and ten digits.

We’ll start close to home. Kaki King made her name playing for change in the subways of New York. Since, she has evolved into a hero for experimental guitarists all over the world and is the poster girl for the “new acoustic” movement. Unlike most of the artists in her strange field, King delves beyond flashy playing – the sounds she makes are composed beautifully and are, above all, pleasing to the ear.

For example, “Neanderthal,” from 2004’s “Legs to Make Us Longer,” exemplifies her ability to turn strange and exciting musicianship into classically pleasant music:

And, for sheer “face-melting” value, here is her video for “Pink Noise,” from the same record:

After Chicago’s music scene got bored with inventing modern emo, it began to rebel against their home-grown national cultural phenomenon by inventing new ways to think about guitar. At the forefront is Victor Villareal, a founding member of Cap’n Jazz who has sadly turned recluse. Thankfully, every once in a while he appears to blow our minds.

There are no videos of him on the web. However, here are some places where he’s popped up over the years. His guitar is the one that sounds like water.

Owls: http://www.myspace.com/theowls

Ghosts and Vodka: http://www.myspace.com/gavfan

His mysterious new project, Noyes: http://www.myspace.com/noyess

Villareal shares roots with another modern guitar hero, Sam Zurick. Zurick, another founding member of Cap’n Jazz, seems to have spent years playing with tapping, finger-picking and bizarre tunings until he can make the noise of three guitars at once.

Here he is in his newest band, Make Believe. The song is “Plants Dance” from their sophomore record, “Or Course.” Listen for that trademark cartoony circus sound:

And here’s another: a clip “Tempting as a Shaman” from Make Believe’s self-titled debut EP:

If you’d like to hear Zurick a little more clearly, check out his solo project, People Dick:

http://www.myspace.com/peopledick

And here is a look inside Zurick’s mind, courtesy of Guitar Player magazine. His tuning: E, F, C, G, C, F. If you don’t believe me, check it out:

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/make-believe/Dec-05/16118

We’ll leap across the pond for a look at one of my favorite solos of all time. If you’re not familiar with Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead, you haven’t looked at any “world’s best guitarists” compilations since 1997.

The solo kicks in at 2:45 of this performance of “Go to Sleep” from Radiohead’s “Hail to the Thief.” Why does he sound like he’s making his amp dial up to AOL?

Maybe all of this weird stuff doesn’t float your boat. In which case, keep that Van Halen record clean and continue waiting for the next Yngwie Malmsteen (God forbid). But know that there are people out there inventing new and exciting ways to drop people’s jaws every day.

Are you not inspired?

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