Joe Bonamassa has called out “armchair quarterbacks” who are having a damaging impact on guitar culture.
Ever since Adam asked Eve how the apples were, people have had opinions. It comes with being sentient. It is part of the human condition.
But only in the 21st-century has every single individual on the planet had the means to broadcast their opinion – and this paradigmatic change in how we communicate with our fellow human beings has put the zap on some people’s heads.
Guitar culture is no exception. It might even be one of the more dysfunctional discourse spaces on the web.
Joe Bonamassa has had enough of this. In a recent interview with Guitar Interactive Magazine, he took aim at the “armchair quarterbacks” who are doing a lot of commenting, maybe less playing.
“I could sit in my chair and say to Tom Brady, ‘I could have thrown that ball better than you.’ No, you can’t,” says Bonamassa.
The blues guitar superstar says it is so bad that it’s affecting pro musicians’ mental health, citing the famous episode when Nick Jonas “clams” a solo when playing with Kelsea Ballerini at the ACM Country Awards in 2016.
“That one that caused this guy to go into therapy,” says Bonamassa.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd and I have been on stage a lot together, the last five, six years. It’s not a competition
Joe Bonamassa
Jonas went viral, memes were created to tear him down, and an artist who has struggled with stage fright for a number of years had to seek professional help, all because of what he called “a huge brain fart”.
“We’ve all done that,” says Bonamassa. “Everybody’s done that. You know, like, ‘I didn’t even know what I was thinking!’ But the vitriol. What do you want him to do? Burn his guitar in effigy? Like, jump off a cliff? The guy had to go to therapy! What’s wrong with people?”
“Kenny Wayne Shepherd and I have been on stage a lot together, the last five, six years. It’s not a competition,” he continues. “We don’t look it like that. Warren Haynes and I, we’re on stage a lot. We’re having fun. But what do they expect? A trophy at the end? A cash prize? A judge that goes, ‘I declare the winner!’ like a fucking boxing match.”
Perhaps, yes, and that is all kinds of weird.
