Guthrie Govan | |
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![]() Govan in November 2013
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Background information | |
Birth name | Guthrie Govan |
Born |
Chelmsford, Essex, England |
27 December 1971
Genres | Rock, fusion, jazz-rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, neo-progressive rock, instrumental rock, electronic, progressive metal, punk, hard rock, blues rock, funk, country, jazz |
Instruments | Guitar, fretless guitar |
Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | Cornford |
Associated acts | Erotic Cakes, Young Punx, Yiorgos Fakanas, The Fellowship, GPS, Asia, Dizzee Rascal, , Periphery, Steven Wilson. Douglas Docker |
Website | www |
Notable instruments | |
Charvel Vigier (fretless guitars) Suhr |
Guthrie Govan (born December 27, 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands , Asia, GPS, The Young Punx and The Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he has collaborated with Steven Wilson and Hans Zimmer. He is a noted guitar teacher, working with the UK magazine Guitar Techniques, Guildford's Academy of Contemporary Music, Lick Library, and formerly the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. He is the 1993 winner of Guitarist magazine's "Guitarist of the Year" competition.
Govan began playing guitar aged three, encouraged by his father, but initially learning mainly by ear. His father taught him five chords, and introduced him to his record collection. Govan began listening to 1950s rock 'n' roll artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard; he then moved on to later eras, listening to such bands as The Beatles, Cream and Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and AC/DC, among others. He worked out chords and solos from listening to the records. Half-Scottish, Govan was also heavily influenced by Zal Cleminson, a Scottish guitarist best known for his work with the Alex Harvey Band. Govan considers Cleminson to have been "his Jimmy Page", although it is unclear what he was implying with this statement. At the age of nine, Govan and his brother Seth played guitar on a Thames Television programme called Ace Reports. At secondary school he was exposed, via older classmates, to "shred" guitarists of the time. His first electric guitar was a Gibson SG, which he keeps at home.