The Edge, U2 guitar master , is 49 today!!!!
A short "guitar centred" bio:
The guitar came into Dave Evans' life in his early high school years living in Dublin, Ireland. An intelligent but shy teenager whose parents both sang in local choirs, music was always a part of Evans' life. However it was never the focus until the Edge's mother bought his older brother Dick an old white acoustic guitar at a sale at the local convent. Soon both brothers were playing a little, attempting to jam out old Beatles tunes.
When Evans heard that schoolmate Larry Mullen was looking to form a band, he went to the audition and met bass player Adam Clayton, and another aspiring guitarist named Paul Hewson. Together, they formed a band initially named "Feedback". The year was 1976 and punk was sweeping Britain. Feedback embraced this new style as their own, yet soon outgrew punk's limited approach. Hewson (now lead vocalist) had been dubbed "Bono Vox", and it was he who baptized Evans as "The Edge", because of the sharp features of his face, but also because of the guitarist's sharp mind and the way he "observed things from the edge".
After changing their name to U2, and releasing a few singles to little fanfare in the UK, the band finally was able to release their first album in 1980. Boy was a minor hit thanks to the infectious "I Will Follow" which was built around a repetitive, echo drenched guitar riff that would establish the blueprint for The Edge's guitar style. Working with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois on 1984's The Unforgettable Fire, U2 learned to use technology as creative tool. Through extensive exploration of delay and overdubs, The Edge's guitar work took on an ethereal quality. U2's explorations of sound and technology would reach new creative heights (Achtung Baby) and epitomize their excessive lows (1997's Pop). Throughout it all, The Edge has remained an enigmatic original. A lead guitarist without the compulsion for fretboard pyrotechnics, The Edge has re-defined guitar playing in the new millennium.
Happy Birthday, Edge!!!!
Celebrate his day, donate to Music Rising.
www.about.com//www.musicrising.org
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