Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti was asked to name who he thinks is the most underrated guitarist in history.
His answer? American blues rock guitarist Eric Gales.
“He’s still a relatively unknown player but he’s jaw-droppingly good,” Tremonti tells Classic Rock.
“I first heard him when I was on tour and my drum tech gave me a CD of his to check out. The CD was great but it wasn’t until I saw him play some clips on YouTube that I was just absolutely stunned.”
Tremonti adds that on Alter Bridge’s last tour, he and lead singer Myles Kennedy were on the bus watching video clips. “And we ran into some Eric Gales clips, and we were just like, ‘This guy could be the best player on Earth,’” Tremonti says.
“He’s definitely an unknown, for the most part, master of the guitar. And the good thing about him is he’s not a technique-driven guy. He’s got a great feel and a great personality on the guitar. You can tell he’s spent his whole life playing that thing.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Gales, we’ve provided a couple of clips below to help you become better acquainted with him. The first shows Gales jamming over the backing track of his 2006 song “Crystal Vision,” while the second is him and his band performing “Voodoo Child,” “Kashmir” and “Back in Black.”Alter Bridge will launch a headlining tour across North America in support of their new album, The Last Hero. The tour begins January 21. Tickets can be purchased at Alter Bridge’s official website.
In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about Eric Gales, visit EricGalesBand.com.
