SHREDATHON: The First Annual guitarguitar Shred Event! With a Special Message from JOE SATRIANI!
Do you like a little bit of shred guitar in your life? If so, you’ll be more than aware that two supreme masters of the art have recently been out touring together. It’s not every day that Steve Vai and Joe Satriani play a co-headlining gig in your town, right? So when they do, it’s worth celebrating!
Those were my thoughts anyway, as I checked out the gig listings. But how to best serve this moment? What can we do to celebrate this shredding extravaganza in a way that would appeal to people?
Some sort of shred event?
…A Shredathon! Yes! But, what is a Shredathon? Here's my definition. It is a competition for guitarists to show their most outstanding skills to a live audience. This would be a room filled with guitar fans, or at least people who are half-interested in an evening full of blistering runs and arpeggios.
A Shredathon, eh? It seemed like a goer to me…
Contents
The Concept
I built the idea of the Shredathon around the notion of friendly competition. Local players would sign up to perform at the event, and the winner (decided by somebody that wasn’t me) would win something. That was the genesis.
After that idea, the project grew wings, as it were.
Organising the Shredathon
The idea lit a match in my mind, and to be honest, most of the ‘plot points’ came together pretty quickly after that. I needed a company to partner up with, and Ibanez was the obvious choice. After all, both Satch and Vai are long-term Ibanez artists, and we sell a bunch of their signature guitars. Who would be better?
Thankfully, Ibanez agreed, and got onboard to help out. Excellently, they offered up a lovely white Ibanez JEM Jr guitar as a competition prize. Not only THAT, but they also agreed to send us Ibanez representative Luke Rickett (actually named after Mr Skywalker) to help out on the night. Luke could be tasked with judging the shredders (shreddees?), saving our staff from any heat. Good swerve!
The Shred Gallery
Rather excellently, Luke also agreed to bring up some very special guitars. Only on show for the night, we had a stunning collection of rare Ibanez JEM and JS guitars, including a few artist-signed guitars! We combined these with our best shred-related stock from across the stores and brought them all to Glasgow. We now had a Shred Gallery!
Things were looking good, but I needed something more…
A Message From Joe Satriani
In the weeks leading up to the event, I was lucky enough to conduct an email interview with Joe Satriani himself. (Oh, you want to read it? Sure thing, click through to SATCHVAI: Ten Questions with Joe Satriani). At the end of the interview, I told Joe about the Shredathon and asked him if he had any words of encouragement to share. Being the legend that he is, he complied! Here’s what he sent, which I read out on the night…
“Welcome fellow guitarists! My message to you is one of encouragement. If ever you doubt yourself and your abilities just say this to yourself, “If Joe can do it, I can do it!”
I’ve never seen myself as a player with all the technical gifts, just a few of the important ones. But how I harnessed those few gifts and tirelessly pursued a path of originality made all the difference in my career.
Prepare for good luck. Read everything you can about the music business. Make only friends. Always be kind. Encourage the young ones coming up behind you. Remember, our job is to make music for people, to accompany their lives, help them think and dream, celebrate and commiserate. I wish you all the very best!”
What a guy, thanks Joe!
With extra prizes secured from D'Addario, we get to work on the last details. We made up posters, set up the Eventbrite, and invited one and all (well, folk near Glasgow) to bring their greatest gunslinging skills to the party!
The Night of the Shredathon
On the evening of June 12th, the gunslingers assembled. Shred talents from across the land showed up ready to do battle for supremacy. After signing up, and checking out the Ibanez gallery, the Shredathon could begin.
Each shredder used the same guitar over a backing track I made up, so that everyone had a level playing field. No excuses!
We had ten performers, and I’m happy to honestly report that each player was exceptional! It’s amazing how different the playing was from each guitarist, given that they were playing over the same track.
But there could be only one winner of the Shredathon! I feel fortunate to have delegated the task of judging to Luke! As he went off to check over his notes, I set up a short video of some unseen interview footage from my adventures with Messrs. Vai and Satch.
One winning prize of a gg gift card was up for grabs, and D’Addario & Ibanez swag was given to each person who took part. In the end, Luke decided upon the two runners up (Bobby Stott and George Russell), and the Shredathon winner, Mark Butt. Congratulations to you all! Rock glory is yours until at least next year, when we do it all again!
We also announced our prize draw for the Ibanez JEM Jr guitar. This was open to everyone who attended in person on the night. I felt that it was more fun if everyone had a chance of winning, whether they were taking part or not. Our winner, Paul Noble, was delighted to have put his name in for the prize draw! Not a bad win for a Thursday evening!
Shredathon II
Yes indeed, Shredathon will be back for 2026! Our initial event was a success, and everyone involved wants another event next year! Sounds good to me!
Will you be taking part in Shredathon II? Keep an eye out on the site next Spring for more details! Or even better, sign up to our newsletter and you’ll never miss a thing!
My thanks to Headstock distribution, D’Addario, Joe Satriani and Luke Rickett for their help and good vibes. Thanks also to the staff at our Glasgow store, and to everybody who showed up on the night! You were all amazing!
Here’s to Shredathon II!!!
Click to Browse All of our Ibanez Guitars
Steve Vai Interview Video: Finding Your Guitar Voice
The Definitive History of the Ibanez JEM, as told by STEVE VAI
Joe Satriani SHAPESHIFTING Interview
