Buckethead

So I like a lot of what I've heard from this dude. A while back I thought, I'm going to start picking up some of his stuff. Then I discovered that he releases a new album pretty much every few days. Like, seriously. It's ridiculous. So F*ck that guy! But I did download them, which is an ongoing process because, like I said, he literally puts out an album every few days. In July alone he released six albums. Dude is nuts.

Anyway, most of it is quite excellent. Some stuff is a bit too weird for me, but the majority I can dig on. Anyone else dig this dude?

Some of his stuff is interesting. I tried to get into his stuff sometime back, but as you say... he keeps putting stuff out there at an amazing pace. I got overwhelmed & gave up.

I think his stuff is so varied that it'd be hit of miss with me for the most part.

"So F*ck that guy!"

  

Yeah it seems like a weird novelty how he goes warp speed like that (he must be a studio rat) but he's pretty brilliant at what he does. Not a fan of his get-up, though.

He must be making a lot of money. The digital editions are $8.99. He then sells "Signed Drawing Editions," which apparently include "a drawing and a signature on a blank CD sleeve as well as numbered CDR." Those are $35. The regular "Signed Editions" are $25, limited to 300 copies.

If he sells all 300 at $25, that's $7,500! And these are CDRs! Crazy.

mc666 wrote:

Some of his stuff is interesting. I tried to get into his stuff sometime back, but as you say... he keeps putting stuff out there at an amazing pace. I got overwhelmed & gave up.

I think his stuff is so varied that it'd be hit of miss with me for the most part.

I feel the same way about Buckethead, and I have not heard everything he has done, but how do you maintain any type of quality control if you release albums at that rate? Makes Frank Zappa look he had been a slacker in comparison

I got one of his CDs in a trade some years ago. It didn't hang around long before I passed it on to someone else. No denying he's a talented guy but his stuff was a little too "out there" for me.

I know who he is (how could you not) but know little to nothing of his work.

I'm digging the instrumental stuff more than the stuff with vocals. Like this one, which was just released:



In fact, the Pike series might be something many of you would be interested in. As far as I can tell, it's all instrumental. Snow Slug, from which the song in the video comes from, is the 70th edition in the series.  

Saw him with GNR - this was the show !
and was he ever a super-strange person to behold - to say the least.
Axl, bought Buckethead, a mask that a psycho killer used - for a present of friendship -
Buckethead was very happy about that - and said " Axl understands me "
I also heard Buckethead has a altar of some kind - with KFC stuff etc - odd things
not sure if it was all hype - read it in a GNR book - but it has a ring of truth to it -

When he became the new hired Gun, I checked out some of his solo work but it was just too far out for me.

His work ethic reminds me of John Frusciante. Another eccentric genius that puts out albums every 15 minutes or something. And too "out there" for me to get as well.

I like Buckethead, but the stuff I like most is his "mellow" material. Granted, he could put out a new quiet cd and I wouldn't know about it from the deluge of stuff that he releases. So far though, I can highly recommend the following:

-Colma (my first and ALWAYS a classic)
-Electric Tears
-Electric Sea
-Shadows Between the Sky

His sense of melody and his playing ability are on full display here, but it doesn't get overshadowed by weird time signatures, samples, wanky-wanky noodly-noodly, etc. His "fast" albums seem to be all gimmick and no substance to me. His mellow stuff is always a joy and I always have time for it. I saw him live with That1Guy as "The Frankenstein Brothers" and found his contributions cool when they were understated and less so when he tried going all "Guitar Hero" on the stage.

Eyesore wrote:

I'm digging the instrumental stuff more than the stuff with vocals. Like this one, which was just released:



In fact, the Pike series might be something many of you would be interested in. As far as I can tell, it's all instrumental. Snow Slug, from which the song in the video comes from, is the 70th edition in the series.  

Jesus. I posted this back when Pike 70 was released, back in August. I just downloaded Pike 114! Unreal.

Still really enjoying his instrumental work, though. Yeah, some of it is weird, but most of it is perfect for when I'm writing or editing.

Eyesore, what site are you downloading his stuff from? Is it coming from the Travis Dickerson Studios thing or is there another outlet?

Runicen wrote:

Eyesore, what site are you downloading his stuff from?  Is it coming from the Travis Dickerson Studios thing or is there another outlet?

Not sure what that is. I rarely download, but I generally stay away from websites. Instead I use Soulseek.

From the few things I've heard, I'm impressed with his ability, but it didn't do much else. Always thought about checking out more of his stuff. Any recommendation? Yeah, upon reading this, I too thought about Zappa who I dig a lot.

Eyesore wrote:

Runicen wrote:

Eyesore, what site are you downloading his stuff from?  Is it coming from the Travis Dickerson Studios thing or is there another outlet?

Not sure what that is. I rarely download, but I generally stay away from websites. Instead I use Soulseek.

Sweet Jesus! Soulseek is still around?

And Travis Dickerson Studios is where I gather the Bucket records most of his stuff. The owner of the studio has an e-commerce setup where you can buy downloads or limited CDs. Some cool stuff, but I get annoyed when downloads are offered by a studio in MP3. Give me lossless, dammit!

Journeyman, personally, I lean towards his "mellow" albums and he seems to put one out every third or fourth release. The first one I heard was "Colma," and I can't recommend that album in stronger terms. It's great from start to finish, very meditative. He's done a bunch of others in that vein, but the names escape me at the moment.

Eyesore wrote:

I'm digging the instrumental stuff more than the stuff with vocals. Like this one, which was just released:



In fact, the Pike series might be something many of you would be interested in. As far as I can tell, it's all instrumental. Snow Slug, from which the song in the video comes from, is the 70th edition in the series.  

I liked that song, Very interesting.. My brother is a big fan & loaned me some older stuff that was too weird for me. I'm going to send this to him & see what he thinks..

http://www.bucketheadpikes.com

Peruse at your leisure. Lots of great stuff there. He's released 15 so far this year! Crazy.

Great music for a fishing video, too.

Eyesore wrote:

Great music for a fishing video, too.

That song kicks ass!!!


What is the name of that song & what cd is it from..

assault_attack wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Great music for a fishing video, too.

That song kicks ass!!!

What is the name of that song & what cd is it from..

It's called "Disintegration Mirrors," and it's on Claymation Courtyard (Pike 51).

Here is the site I was talking about earlier. I suspect that this studio is a place Buckethead either hangs out a lot or that the owner is just a frequent friend/collaborator.

http://travisdickersonmusic.com/shop/#!/Music/c/813535/inview=product3606984&offset=0&sort=normal

Of the albums on here, "A Real Diamond in the Rough" is another of the mellow albums I mentioned. I can't recommend it strongly enough. There are some weird projects for sale, like the 10 CD "In Search of the..." box set. I'm periodically tempted to pick it up just because of how sprawling and weird I'm sure the music must be, but that's still a lot of cash to drop on a curiosity.

Population Override is one I'd recommend. It's not as out there as most of his stuff; just groovy mid-tempo tunes. Pepper's Ghost is cool too.

Starting Friday, Pike 1 through 113 will be on sale for $2 apiece. So, uh, just $226 and you could own nearly the entire Pike series, which is like 3% of Buckethead's discography. Haha.

http://www.bucketheadpikes.com