rhythm guitar .” For starters , he says it ’ s not just about porting over fretted voicings to a fretless landscape . Instead , the key is making a decision to approach the instrument in a completely different way .
“ You have to decide to play fretless guitar as a relative pitch instrument or a perfect pitch instrument — I prefer the former of those two approaches .”
In 2003 , Ned garnered national attention as a finalist in the North American Rock Guitar Competition . Dave Wedekindt , one of the event organizers later recalled that , even on the first play-through of the entry submissions , how “ out of left field ” Ned ’ s style was .
“ It was nothing like anyone else had heard ,” Wedekindt said during a PBS behind-the-scenes documentary called Driven to Play that followed the five finalists .
Later in that documentary , you watch — while the other competitors pace anxiously in their dressing rooms before the championship performance , warming up and working out pre-show jitters — Ned taking a nap .
And then he goes out and wins the whole thing .
“ It was a very positive experience for me ,” he says . “ My manager at the time entered me in at the last minute — and I became contestant number five when somebody had to drop out .”
It was there in Buffalo , New York , in late June , that Ned flew into town with his gear , his songs — and his signature style — to drop jaws in a room full of butts in seats .
Ned picked three songs off of his Introduction to Fretless Guitar album , rehearsed with the backing band for an hour and then played his set without error or equipment malfunction . After all the contestants had played , the winner was announced on stage , with each runner-up called out in order and each contestant unaware of who would be called next .
“ At the end , it was me left standing backstage — so I had a few seconds to process that I ’ d won . It was cool and very surreal , kind of like watching a football game live without all the commentary and video stuff .”
rhythm guitar .” For starters , he says it ’ s not just about porting over fretted voicings to a fretless landscape . Instead , the key is making a decision to approach the instrument in a completely different way .
“ You have to decide to play fretless guitar as a relative pitch instrument or a perfect pitch instrument — I prefer the former of those two approaches .”
In 2003 , Ned garnered national attention as a finalist in the North American Rock Guitar Competition . Dave Wedekindt , one of the event organizers later recalled that , even on the first play-through of the entry submissions , how “ out of left field ” Ned ’ s style was .
“ It was nothing like anyone else had heard ,” Wedekindt said during a PBS behind-the-scenes documentary called Driven to Play that followed the five finalists .
Later in that documentary , you watch — while the other competitors pace anxiously in their dressing rooms before the championship performance , warming up and working out pre-show jitters — Ned taking a nap .
12 TONE TALK // Made of Glass : the Ned Evett story
And then he goes out and wins the whole thing .
“ It was a very positive experience for me ,” he says . “ My manager at the time entered me in at the last minute — and I became contestant number five when somebody had to drop out .”
It was there in Buffalo , New York , in late June , that Ned flew into town with his gear , his songs — and his signature style — to drop jaws in a room full of butts in seats .
“ Something about rock and roll played to a seated crowd makes sense to me ,” he jokes .
Ned picked three songs off of his Introduction to Fretless Guitar album , rehearsed with the backing band for an hour and then played his set without error or equipment malfunction . After all the contestants had played , the winner was announced on stage , with each runner-up called out in order and each contestant unaware of who would be called next .
“ At the end , it was me left standing backstage — so I had a few seconds to process that I ’ d won . It was cool and very surreal , kind of like watching a football game live without all the commentary and video stuff .”