Aside from his work with The Darkness, Justin Hawkins has built a steady reputation as a musicologist via his chosen pulpit of YouTube. As an avid commentator on all things music – and, by extension, all things guitar – Hawkins has had his eye on the rise of more technical players and bands over the past few years – and is now offering his two cents on why some of them have even managed to break into the mainstream discourse.
“It shows something interesting,” Hawkins tells Guitar World. “Part of it is down to the post-Covid world. People have spent more time with a guitar in their hands, trying to figure out how to play music because of the world stopping for a few years.”
The result? A renewed appreciation for more off-kilter and experimental players, who, in any other era, might have been deemed “too prog” – or, worse, “showing off.”
“Now people have more respect for bands like Sleep Token, who are doing something really interesting, complex, and difficult to pull off. There’s a new appreciation for virtuosity and I’m all for it. That’s why bands like Polyphia and Sleep Token have exploded. The way we think about the guitar and what the instrument is supposed to do has changed.”
As for his thoughts on where rock music is going? Well, Hawkins has plenty. “It’s a really exciting time for rock music,” he says matter-of-factly. “There’s still a lot of sewage pop being made by fucking idiots with laptops and talentless DJ cunts.
“That will never change, but it makes us guitar players look cooler because we’re actually doing something with our fingers. Being a virtuoso on an instrument made out of wood and steel is cool again! And thank God for that!”
Late last year, Hawkins teamed up with boutique English guitar manufacturer Atkin Guitars on a seriously relic’d signature guitar reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen’s storied Frankenstrat.
Guitar World‘s full interview with Justin Hawkins will be published in the coming weeks.
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