Music Matters: Rhythm is key for Coal Chamber guitarist

What is a guitar god made of?

Loud, flashy solos and crazy parties full of girls, right?

Young Miguel Rascon didn't fit the profile of a six-string rock star from California.

"You ever see that movie 'Revenge of the Nerds,' " he asked. "That was me. I was quiet and just went to school. No girls. No parties. Very boring."

In the Los Angeles high school that graduated Slayer frontman Tom Araya and hot rod legend Ed "Big Daddy" Roth before him, Rascon didn't stand out. No one in Bell High School knew that the chubby, awkward kid sitting silently in their classroom would become "Meegs," guitarist for gothic metal band Coal Chamber.

Not even Rascon himself.

"It was like a calling," he said.

No one in his family was musically included. No one sang. No one played an instrument, but Rascon heard the guitar everywhere. He found it in the music he listened to; from Motley Crue to Michael Jackson, there was guitar and Rascon had to have it.

His first guitar was a Goya copy of a Gibson Les Paul resembling the one used by his hero, Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars. It was black, powerful and ready for the touch, but Rascon didn't just want to play it. He wanted to shred.

"I just wanted to solo," he said. "Like every musician wants to, when they first come out, they want to shred before they even learn chords."

But Rascon's guitar instructor stopped his young student with a lesson that would ring throughout his career; rhythms first and the leads will follow.

It was a lesson so strong that it became a signature part of Coal Chamber's dark and punishing sound.

"Music is all about rhythm," Rascon said. "Whether it's the drums and the guitar or the guitar following the drums, it's all rhythmic. Coal Chamber is a vehicle for the rhythms that were in my head."

Friday, Coal Chamber's North American tour hits Vinyl Music Hall, 2 Palafox. The show also features previous Vinyl headliners Filter and Combichrist in addition to American Head Charge.

Tickets for this all-ages show are $30. There is a $5 surcharge for those younger than 21. For details and to purchase tickets online, visit www.vinylmusichall.com.

Duppies

Also tonight, Gainesville rocksteady/ska band The Duppies plays The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tallahasee punk band Trial By Stone are tour support. Local favorites the Greg Bond Band & The S.A.T. also will perform. Tickets for this 18-and-older show are $6. Doors open at 9 p.m. For details and to purchase tickets online, visit www.pensacolahandlebar.com.

TOP TEN

Ashlie "Evil Ash" Stevenson, waitress

1. "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste," Ministry.

2. "Issues," Korn.

3. "Fallen," Evanescence.

4. "Tonight the Stars Revolt," Powerman 5000.

5. "Toxicity," System of a Down.

6. "Sevendust," Sevendust.

7. "9.0: Live," Live.

8. "Vapor Transmission," Orgy.

9. "Spit," Kittie.

10. "Live from Brixton and Beyond," Asking Alexandria.

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