The New Guitar Goddess: The Virtuosa that is Mrs.Smith

In a world ruled and over populated by macho, brutish, sweaty male shred guitarists it is time for an age of elegance to shine its furry little head onto the once prestigious of all rock instruments. The person to usher in this new age must have style, flair, passion, a bee hive hair cut, a love for all things cat related, a wonderful Hilary calliber blazer with skirt to match, a floral print Ibanez Gem guitar, shred skills that will melt your face off AND your mothers face off. This Woman is the one and only Guitar Godess, Mrs.Smith.

Smith has been burning through cities around the country and winning prestigious awards with her Steve Vai like tone and a repertoire of the finest cover songs. Mrs.Smith and her band "The Rage" has opened eyes to what a woman performer can do on an instrument dominated by men for decades. Through comedic fashion and a live show to “purrrrr” over(or as Smith would say, “Miau” over) Mrs.Smith is a must see for anyone who remotely likes the instrument or just wants to have a good ol' fashion time at a rock/comedy variety style show. Just remember to be on the look out for her cat Carlyle if you want to make a ladies day one she will never forget. 

You can find out more about this modern day rock icon on her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SmithCatMrs/

Commercialization of Classical Music: How television, movies and media has trivialized non-musicians perceptions of major works.

All too often we see on television, in movies, and in pet food commercials the use of  classical pieces such as “In the Hall of the Mountain King"  used to score an action montage or scene of building tension. It is unlikely that the common listener will know the score or that it is by romantic composer Edvard Grieg. Even more unlikely is that the listener will  know it is part of a larger piece of music consisting of two suites and 8 movements titled "Peer Gynt", op.23, which has a story onto itself. Chances are though, the public does recognize the tune and enjoy is. The problem  is we do not respect it as a piece of art.

Luckily this is not our fault! Although Grieg himself did not consider this to be one of his best works, it is a work of complexity, color, nationalism, and sophistication. This is where digital media comes into play in the standardization and trivialization of pieces such as these. The music of this suite has been used in movies such as; the 2001 comedy "Rat Race" and the rowing scene in the Oscar winning "The Social Network". It has also been used in televisions animated comedy show "Beavis and Butt-head" and the classic television cartoon "The Smurfs"(Wikipedia). Consider how the perception of this type of music can be changed just by what images are consistently associated with it. I cannot tell peopke how many times this particular movement from suite 1 ("In the Hall of the Mountain King") has come on during a commercial (sometimes for toothpaste) and a friend has said "oh I love that "song"!" in a child like excitement but a lack of acknowledgement of the suites achievement.

This is but only one of many pieces and movements from the classical repertoire used in this type of situation. I can think of many more examples by composers the likes of Tchaikovsky, Rossini and Beethoven that fit this same description. Do you think it is a negative thing that this type of art music has been reduced at time as background noise for a car commercial? Or do you think it is a good thing that classical music is reaching people it may not have had the chance to otherwise through these types of different media outlets?

Vincent Muscarella

Author and Mission

Vincent Muscarella is a musician, music educator and amateur musicologist. Holding a BM in Music Education and guitar studies and currently pursuing an MA in Music History Vincent has explored music at the scholarly level for several years. More importantly, Vincent has been a listener, appreciator and advocate for music his entire life.

The Mission of this blog is to shed light on bands and performers of the present and recent past; as well as composers and musicians of "classical" times by analyzing their impact on the art form and common connections they share together.

I hope to bring attention to artists/composers I believe have left a lasting legacy in the field of music and musicology and those who are currently laying the groundwork for their place in history. These features will be done on a scholarly basis and will include commentary from recently attended performances, research and analysis.