DESCRIPTION:
Ladd Smith of Nashville Crowned Guitar Player Magazine's
International Guitar Hero 2007

This is the Official Video of Ladd Smith's Winning Instrumental Performance of His Original Song "Outrun The Train"...

Read More Here:
http://www.laddsmith.com
http://www.sonicbids.com/laddsmith
http://www.myspace.com/laddsmith

Pick up a copy of The February 2008 Issue of Guitar Player Magazine to read more about Ladd Smith Guitar Hero 2007
http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/guitar-players-guitar/jan-08/32927

Joe Satriani and Elliot Easton of the Cars among celebrity judges who selected winner
San Francisco, CA (Winter 2007)

Ten finalists battled for the international title of "Guitar Hero" at Guitar Player's Guitar Hero 2007 competition Friday, October 12 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. All ten tremendously talented players were roundly applauded by celebrity judges Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather, Nuno Bettencourt, Elliot Easton, Greg Howe, and Mike Varney. In the end, they chose Ladd Smith from Nashville, Tennessee, as the champion, Les Robot from Edmonton, Alberta, as first runner-up and Danny B. Harvey from Canyon County, CA, as second runner-up.

"What a celebration of white-hot, burning guitar!" said Guitar Player Editor in Chief Michael Molenda. "All ten contestants were simply awesome -- on fire, in fact — and the crowd was devouring every run, riff, and lick. It was great to see such enthusiasm over transcendent guitar playing, as you certainly don't hear these styles very much on radio or television these days."

"Ladd Smith took the GH07 championship because his 'Outrun the Train' was a thrill ride of furious note barrages, clean-toned spank, and country melodicism," continued Molenda. "It's incredibly difficult to play fast runs so pristinely — without a little help from distortion or sustain from the amp — and the judges acknowledged this in their decision."

"This has been the most incredible thrill for me," said Smith, who was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, raised in a guitar shop in Hendersonville Tennessee, and as a teen was often found backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and hanging around Nashville studios. "It was such an honor to even be chosen to be a part of the event, and I was just so happy to be there. I had absolutely no expectations to win—especially after hearing the contestants rehearse at soundcheck, and I'm still recovering from the shock. To be able to go into a primarily rock-dominated event representing Nashville country music—and to demonstrate the complexity and intelligence of what the genre can be—is what I'm most proud of. I'm just so thankful." Nicolette Fontaine, Ladd's publicist, had this to say; "We are so excited right now, this is a huge thing for us! I want to stress that while Ladd is a world class musician he has an instantly recognizable voice and is a prolific & timeless songwriter. He just received an honorable mention in the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition with his song 'Beautiful Thing'. Ladd's a true triple-threat on par with a young Brad Paisley or Keith Urban. This is a great springboard for us; we're currently looking to meet the right producer and label to showcase Ladd's multi-faceted music."

The Celebrity Judges of Guitar Hero 07 Had This to Say:

"For the First time tonight the song and instrumentation was one. That was Amazing. I could never play like that in a million years. That was very entertaining. Thank you."-Joe Satriani

"ASTOUNDING! I've had the honor of working with Albert Lee and many other Nashville guitarists and you can hang with the any of them. You have a wonderful touch, all of that inside-suspended open string stuff, it's just incredible and funky as a mofo!"-Steve Lukather

"I'm going to bestow on you the greatest compliment I could ever give any guitar player and that is that I hate your @?&!% guts!"-Elliot Easton of The Cars

"Excellent Job! I Was Totally Impressed!"-Greg Howe

"You didn't play this like a competition, I felt that. My God, how much of that was improvisation anyway?"-Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme

"You're a one man Hellecasters!"-Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records
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VOTE LADD SMITH FOR VIEWER'S CHOICE GUITAR HERO 07:
http://hero.guitarplayer.com