“Mr. Crowley” from Ozzy
Osbourne’s Tribute.
This was the first song I
learned to play from start
to finish, including the
solo—and what a great
solo! Playing this, along
with most of the other
songs Randy Rhoads wrote
with Ozzy, really prepared
me physically to play guitar
for the rest of my life.
“Black Star” from
Yngwie Malmsteen’s
Rising Force.
I’m sure Malmsteen
inspired most guitarists
to take shred to the next
level, or at least that was
the case for me. “Black
Star” was the first Malm-
steen song I heard, and
the first I learned to play.
Though I only played a
handful of his songs, my
chops definitely benefit-
ted from it!
“Hangar 18” from Megadeth’s Rust in Piece.
This album was my real
introduction to heavy
metal. With sick drums
and Marty Friedman and
Dave Mustaine trading
phenomenal solos, what’s
not to like?
“Air” from Jason Beck-
er’s Perpetual Burn.
This piece introduced me
to a lot of technical possi-
bilities on the instrument,
like scale patterns, arpeg-
gio shapes, and harmoni-
zation. It was also one of
the first extended solos I
ever played, which I think
prepped me mentally
and physically to take on
the large-scale classical
works I play now.
“Mediterranean Sun-
dance/Rio Ancho” from
Friday Night in San Fran-
cisco by Al Di Meola,
John McLaughlin, and
Paco de Lucía.
This track turned me on to
the sound of nylon strings
and inspired me to buy a
nylon-stringed electric.
Soon after, I also began
exploring classical guitar
music—so I think this was
a turning point for me.
Palmer remembers. “I threw it
in my closet and forgot about
it. I think she just got it for me
so I would try something a little
‘nicer’—and that wasn’t as loud.”
Though Palmer dismissed
the gift at the time, the whole
incident foreshadowed a sea
change that would happen just
a few short years later. During
his freshman year of college, he
attended some classical guitar
concerts—including by his
future instructor Bill Yelverton—
that blew him away in much
the same way Slash had in his
youth. And, just like that, Palmer
switched musical paths decided
to focus on classical guitar.
“When I first started I
thought, ‘I’ll play the classical
stuff because I like it, but I’m
going to use all this musical
training to make myself a bet-
ter electric guitarist’—y’know,
get the theory background so I
could write great heavy metal
guitar solos.”
When Palmer decided to
record his debut album, Un
People might think it’s weird
that I moved from metal and
neoclassical shred to classical
guitar, but I think it’s a
natural progression.
a negative connotation—like it’s
not cool or it’s old and dated.
When I was a teenager, I would
have never considered listening
to classical guitar. People might
think it’s weird that I moved
from metal and neoclassical
shred to classical guitar, but I
think it’s a natural progression.
tiempo fue Italíca famosa (which is
named after the Joaquin Rodrigo
composition it begins with),
he took matters into his own
hands and learned how to record
himself. The result is a snapshot
of a young artist about to make
a real dent in the stuffy world
of classical guitar. The pieces
range from bursts of nylon-string
virtuosity in the title track to
the modern thunder of Czech
composer Štêpán Rak’s “Sonata
Mongoliana.” We caught up with
Palmer to discuss his musical
metamorphosis, how he gets distortion out of a nylon-string, and
why he uses three types of strings
on a single instrument.
Which shredders first influenced you to pick up the
guitar?
After going through the Randy
Rhoads stuff, Yngwie was really
big for me. From there, I started to hear about other guys like
Jason Becker, Marty Friedman,
Chris Impellitteri, and Paul
Gilbert. I was into anything and
everything shredding and fast—
like Slayer and Pantera. Today,
I’m primarily a classical player,
even though I think the term
“classical guitarist” isn’t so great.
How so?
If you look at it from a purely
technical point of view, players from both genres are at the
height of what they can do on
their instrument. Both have
spent countless hours in the
practice room to get better.
Musically speaking, both genres
contain very dramatic and moving music.
Why?
I think when most people hear
“classical guitarist” there can be
A Christopher Parkening
album turned you on to classical guitar. What caught your
ear during that first listen?
It made me realize what the
possibilities were with playing
fingerstyle on classical guitar
with all the different techniques
