Rhythm Guitar. Fuck Yeh.

I love playing guitar. I love the power I wield. Although I am in the process of becoming a better lead player (solos, riffs etc), I am first and foremost a rhythm guitarist and I get most satisfaction out of playing chords in my own unique (cough..Townshend..cough) way.

My style of playing is sort of like waves. I will strum a chord, letting it open itself to the fullest sound. And just at the peak of the wave, another strum will come crashing down on top of it. And sometimes, I like to have multiple strums crashing down in quick succession, once again like a bunch of heavy waves toppling over each other. It's a beautiful feeling. This is different in that it is not always on the beat, and almost always not repetitive. Often, right before my next strum, I will cut the sound off for a split second, leading to that much more of a powerful sound when the next chord hits. That's awesome.

I love my guitar, and I hope to build a collection over my lifetime. I am very picky about my picks. I like soft-medium picks that you can bend fairly easily, because they offer the chance to strum really fast when need be. But the pick still needs to be hard enough to really give me that FUCK YEH power I was talking about before.

I used to play bass, and that holds a different kind of power. As I play more lead guitar I find that holds something else beautiful and strong. Lead and rhythm each hold a unique kind of power. I'll leave it up to the current wielders of those swords to explain someday, but for now all I can say is that being a rhythm guitarist gives me a kind of catharsis I can't find anywhere else, where I am the ruler of a kingdom inhabited by six strings willing to surrender to my command.

- Lee from Vienna Circus