Testament guitarist Alex Skolnik is one hell of a guitarist across quite a few genres. So it's not exactly a surprise that his solo guitar cover of Dua Lipa's "Don't Start Now" kicks ass. Skolnik said his cover was born from a challenge issued by Rodrigo y Gabriela, and that he chose to make it a little more ambient to fit the current worldwide mood.
Two of my favorite people and artists on this planet – Rodrigo y Gabriela – recently challenged me along with a few others, to perform this song and put an original spin on it. It’s been great to see the creativity of folks who’ve stepped so far. Here is my take. This was fun yes, but indeed a challenge!
A few disclaimers:
The original is an uptempo mainstream pop mega-hit that many would be dancing to in nightclubs at this very moment were they not stuck sat home. I went more for ambient/moody, which seems to fit the emotion being expressed in the lyrics, along with slower tempo (a bit inspired by Pink Floyd).
Not just anybody could get me to do this, but this is RyG we’re talking about (everyone else, don't even think about it ?)
The melody is quite unique and contagious and even though I’m not listening to much dance pop these days I can totally see why they chose this tune.
There are a few parts I could’ve spent weeks on (and can think of a few friends who’d play them better) but in the interest of expedience, I’m abandoning some of my usual perfectionism. I’ve been inspired by Brian May‘s recent posts where he proudly shares mistakes (and am still over the moon that the man himself raved about and shared the recent #BrianMaychallenge I participated in).
I went full on one man jam band after the melody ends in minute two. Feel free to skip past if not interested in hearing many notes (probably too many). I admit I got a little carried away ?
Bottom line: does it work? I think so. Hey, you do the best w what y’a got. And it ain’t called a “challenge” for nothing!
Check out the original below if you're unfamiliar.
