Magick, Hermeticism, Art, and Naughtiness…

This blog is dedicated to the rock and roll art of guitar smashing onstage.  This blog lists, according to my own opinion, the greatest rock and roll guitar smashers/destroyers of all time.  This list only partially takes into account guitar playing ability, but more importantly focuses on the infamy of the guitarist, his style, and methods of destruction.

10.  Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins

Look kids!  This is when Billy Corgan was still cool and could rock out insane crazy!

9.  Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue

Though a bassist, I have a soft spot for Nikki and perennially destructive on-stage habits.

8.  Paul Simonon of The Clash

Another bassist, Paul Simonon, destroyed his bass on stage, documented in the cover to their classic London Calling LP.

7.  Craig Nicholls of the Vines

Craig Nicholls will freak out and break shit in the middle of shows as well as at the end of shows, which places him at number seven on our list.  These outbursts are possibly due to Asperger syndrome, a diagnosis which came out in a court case for his antics in 2004.

One notable Craig Nicholls outburst was on The Late Show With David Letterman where he smashed his guitar and trashed his band’s drum kit. 

6. Stevie Ray Vaughn

While he didn’t actually smash it to pieces, he instead sort of abuses his guitar while still getting some amazing sounds out of it.   There is more musical artistry, and less raw destruction, than the others on the list. Check it out!

5. Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols

I don’t know how often he actually smashed his bass, but Sid reaches mid point on our list for being the only one to actually smash his guitar on a fan’s head.

4.  Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple (and Rainbow)

Ritchie Blackmore’s classical flair really showed off the finer techniques of guitar destruction throughout the 70s.

3.  Kurt Cobain from Nirvana

Post 70s, Kurt Cobain is only one to really get guitar smashing right.  He always destroyed his sets with as much passion and painful integrity as he put into his music.  Kurt Cobain shows us that guitar smashing, if done right, isn’t a stale gimmick–but an art form.

2. Jimi Hendrix from the Jimi Hendrix Experience

Jimi Hendrix was once told by Townsend to stop stealing his guitar destroying act.  Jimi paid no heed, thank god.

"When I saw Hendrix do that at Monterey, it was like a supreme sacrifice from out of the Bible," says Carlos Santana. "It was very spiritual and voodoo-like, and I think he was taking music all the way back to Africa … I didn’t get the same feeling from Peter Townshend. He was more like a brat throwing a television."

1. Pete Townsend from The Who

Though I could easily put Jimi in the top spot for taking guitar destruction to a new level, I decided to go ahead and award the top honor to Pete Townsend, the rock and roll originator of the on stage guitar smash.  In 1964, Townsend had a problem with his electric guitar during a show – it frustrated him so much he banged the guitar against the ceiling, where it broke, and according to Townsend, "I had no recourse but to look as though I meant to do it, so I smashed the guitar and jumped all over the bits … it gave me a fantastic buzz."

(This video, while it doesn’t use Who music, has the best vintage Pete Townsend madness I could find.)

Dishonorable Mention: Paul Stanley of Kiss

A big gimmick like Kiss itself, Paul Stanley uses dummy guitars made from cheap poplar for his finale.  How do people consider Kiss to be musicians?  Toy manufactures would be more accurate.

*Note, I didn’t include Jeff Beck from the movie Blow Up since that was entirely staged by the director rather than being a reflection of Beck himself.

Honorable Mention:  Jerry Lee Lewis

Perhaps the first modern performer to deliberately destroy his instrument, Jerry Lee Lewis set a piano on fire at the end of a live performance in protest at being billed below Chuck Berry.

No video footage exists, but here is a re-enactment from Great Balls of Fire! starring Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis.

And on that note…I’m outtie.

xoxo,
Iza

p.s.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Somehow this blog is appropriate….