Comments on: If I recall correctly, Johnny used to work on the dock.

If I recall correctly, Johnny used to work on the dock.

jimmythefish — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:55:26 -0800

OK, so here's Living On A Prayer played by an 11-year-old Korean kid. He has more.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:03:06 -0800

Oh, and check out his Come Together.

By: amyms

amyms — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:05:59 -0800

Props to him, but "Living On A Prayer" is part of the mental soundtrack of my late-teen life, and it's nothing without the vocals. I really like his rendition of "California Dreamin" though.

By: Phire

Phire — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:06:20 -0800

Holy crap. S'like Andy McKee. But 11 years old. I weep for the talent. And my lack thereof. But cool links, thanks :)

By: Phire

Phire — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:12:16 -0800

Hmm, does anyone know if there are tabs available of these Michael Chapdeleine arrangements? They sound like they could be a lot of fun to plan, but initial googling on Sungha indicates that he .... plays by ear. (Cry.) So... anyone?

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:16:04 -0800

I'm not sure. I'll do some searching tomorrow (must go to bed). I'm going to attempt to play a few of these by following Sungha.

By: ORthey

ORthey — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:22:17 -0800

The beginning to come together is awesome, what with the tapping and all.

By: No Mutant Enemy

No Mutant Enemy — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:27:10 -0800

Somewhere (but I'm at work, and YT is blocked so I can't find it) there's a Japanese kid playing "Carry On my Wayward Son" on a console organ.

By: wsg

wsg — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:36:03 -0800

Great. I'm taking lessons from an 11-year-old. Now I'm depressed. That kid really is extraordinary, more so than most "child-prodigy" posts.

By: swordfishtrombones

swordfishtrombones — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:37:51 -0800

Hmm, does anyone know if there are tabs available of these Michael Chapdeleine arrangements? On Chapdelaine's site there are only tabs for his own compositions (probably copyright issues), but here's a guy that made (simplified) tabs of the solo guitar arrangements.

By: wsg

wsg — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:39:02 -0800

ok, that's grammatically flawed. So sioux me.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:10:01 -0800

I hate that song, but I loved listening to that. That kid's talent is, like, building bridges and stuff. On a related but less virtuousic note, here's some Brazilian kids absolutely destroying on a cover of Sepultura's Refuse/Resist. And they do a rousing version of Iron Maiden's Hallowed Be Thy Name, too.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:15:58 -0800

Whoops, those kids I linked are Argentinian, actually. I like how Sungha grooves as he plays. That makes me feel like he's actually into it, and it's not some kind of "parents forced me to be a virtuoso" situation.

By: Phire

Phire — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:52:05 -0800

I definitely was supposed to have gone to bed an hour and a half ago. Damn you, jimmythefish. Side note: He's absolutely adorable. Like a kitten. And I usually don't like kids. Only kittens.

By: cavalier

cavalier — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:08:45 -0800

And I say - Woah.

By: zouhair

zouhair — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:16:17 -0800

He's going to be so laid.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:31:35 -0800

His "Africa" is pretty great, particularly the beginning. Of course, I've been on a minor Toto kick of late. What?

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:36:59 -0800

ignignokt - those kids are fantastic!

By: ElvisJesus

ElvisJesus — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:39:28 -0800

Yeah, but can he play Guitar Hero? Oh wait .... I'm not any good at that either

By: p3t3

p3t3 — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:41:16 -0800

Thanks - good stuff. And I agree with the comments saying he seems looser and less stuck in the rigid memorization that a lot of young virtuosos seem to play with; nice to see for a change. And apparently he's already TV famous (in Korean - they could be saying he sucks for all i know).

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:13:02 -0800

Hats off to the playing, but I'm actually more impressed by the arrangement.

By: gen

gen — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:24:01 -0800

No Mutant Enemy: Somewhere (but I'm at work, and YT is blocked so I can't find it) there's a Japanese kid playing "Carry On my Wayward Son" on a console organ. You are referring to this 10-year old girl on a Yamaha Electone organ.

By: littlerobothead

littlerobothead — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:55:23 -0800

The arrangement is good, and his playing is really excellent, too. But no Obligatory Key Change in the last chorus? WTF?

By: bigmusic

bigmusic — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:43:53 -0800

Wolfdog: Hats off to the playing, but I'm actually more impressed by the arrangement. That's what I popped in here to say, if he does these arrangements by ear - that's way above a normal prodigies talent (normal prodigy? - what's that)

By: humannaire

humannaire — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:58:15 -0800

He's going to be so laid. My first thought. After of course "he's found the groove." Power up, Sungha.

By: bitteroldman

bitteroldman — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:05:33 -0800

Hats off to the playing, but I'm actually more impressed by the arrangement. I think the original arrangement is by Torni Paldanius. Hope I got the right link...

By: BobFrapples

BobFrapples — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:12:29 -0800

He needs to tease his hair way up and get a bandana.

By: LoriFLA

LoriFLA — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:14:46 -0800

This kid is amazing. I laugh at the comments such as this one under "California Dreaming": Shure he can play! But can he write music? can he compose? i think not.. This kid is amazing now.. but in ten years, he'll be nothing (if not a cover artist) Don't be a hater because you suck, mean commenter.

By: saladin

saladin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:46:44 -0800

Oh man ignignokt, I was just coming here to post that exact same video. Those kids are so rad.

By: ...possums

...possums — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:21:26 -0800

Oh... We're naked, I swear Oh-oh! Living on the stairs!

By: goo

goo — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:34:04 -0800

It was Tommy working on the dock, wasn't it? I wrote a play about Tommy and Gina in grade 6. Don't be a hater because you suck, mean commenter. It's kinda true, though, in that cover artists don't become stars in the broader musical world (niche bands specialising in one band are the exception, of course). But there's nothing to say this kid can't compose, he may well be brilliant, and he obviously has a good understanding of music and musical structure, and he may not have any intention of becoming a star and is perfectly happy playing what he's playing, in which case good on him, and yes mean commenter likely just sucks. Those Argentinian kids rock.

By: jmackin

jmackin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:35:29 -0800

i think the africa by Andy Mckee (which is given credit) is much more enjoyable to listen to, but there were plenty of the kid's stuff that i enjoyed hearing, like fields of gold.

By: Phire

Phire — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:41:56 -0800

He has composed though. If you read the sidebar you'll see that two of the songs are his own composition, so it's not as if he's just riding on the coattails of other. Two songs at 11? I'd say that's a good start.

By: Phire

Phire — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:45:50 -0800

Missing You and Voyages with Ulli. Obviously nowhere near as complex, but pretty damn good for an 11-year old.

By: CitizenD

CitizenD — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:47:36 -0800

that's a right fine attempt at "black bird" by the beatles, too. NOT an easy guitar song. nice find.

By: LouieLoco

LouieLoco — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:51:49 -0800

where I live, in one of the biggest music scenes in the world, salvador bahia brasil, rarely are great singers/guitar players/etc... also great composers. The same with composers.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:14:28 -0800

Tommy! Argh. I did not recall correctly.

By: Rashomon

Rashomon — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:59:06 -0800

Amazing. Although what is that noise at the 2:15 mark? Sounds like a hand clap.

By: DecemberBoy

DecemberBoy — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:06:43 -0800

ignignokt: Yeah, I've wasted plenty of time watching those "Gauchos" videos. It seems to be different kids in different clips. Here's a pretty great version of Maiden's "The Trooper" with someone's little sister singing.

By: rtha

rtha — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:43:57 -0800

My gast is completely flabbered. Wow.

By: spock

spock — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:08:49 -0800

**removed jaw from floor** His MySpace page

By: Sangermaine

Sangermaine — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:46:40 -0800

DecemberBoy, That little girl doing her best Bruce is beyond adorable.

By: clearly

clearly — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:15:41 -0800

Johnny and Gina's story isn't as captivating in the acoustic version.

By: tomble

tomble — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:29:27 -0800

Pffft. I can do that. Sitting down, I mean. The whole guitar bit is waaaay beyond me.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:34:24 -0800

She unleashed some proud metal fury!