Right, this is just something I've always felt inside, but its never been relevant enough to just say, so I'm gonna just say it here.
My hero is Buckethead.
For those that don't know, Buckethead is a musical artist who suffers from severe autism and bi-polar disorder.
He has no family. One car accident took his parents and sibling(s) away, he was sent to live with his Aunt Suzie, who died of cancer before he turned 20.
Due to his autism, he can't stand playing guitar without a bucket on his head. He seriously can't play without it, there are clips of him literally just stopping everything when the bucket fell off his head.
He hates the concept of fame and doesn't like people. No-one other than his manager and close friends know what he looks like, since he performs in a white plastic mask.
He releases his albums in Japan, performing live there and in the US. Nowhere else.
Most of his songs have no lyrics - at all. Not a word.
Yet I - a teenager in a relatively small island, suffering from asperger's and often failing to see life's meaning - can know his name. His greatest weakness is his strength. He got all the pluses of fame - people loving your work, being touched by your music, and even making money for it, yet not being stopped on the street by a screaming fanboy begging for his autograph.


The man plays what he wants. He doesn't care about audience. He just fucking plays. He is my hero and his music always makes me blub. and I have no soul.
YouTube - Whitewash - Buckethead Whitewash
YouTube - Buckethead- For mom For Mom
YouTube - Buckethead - Jump Man Jump Man
YouTube - Buckethead - The Cobra's Hood Cobra's Hood

I know very few actually care - but this man is walking inspiration.
He's my inspiration.

I didn't know he had autism and all that. That just makes him even more dope. I love it when he plays with Les Claypool.

The man is my idol! I've heard people say he's just ripping off slash's style, all I could say was "dude... the similarities are a) they play guitar, b) they have long hair, and c) they have something on their head. There's a better argument saying slash is ripping off vikings."

Wow, I didn't know he had autism or bipolar, where did you read that? Are you sure about his parents? Because I thought he wrote Colma for his mum while she was in hospital, and he was way older than 20 when he released that album... It's only because there's so many rumours about him, I'm not sure which ones to believe

Nonetheless, he's fucking awesome, I love Buckethead. Check out this version of Whitewash, way better than the original:

YouTube - BUCKETHEAD

I think it's pretty obvious I appreciate his music :p

His mum was in hospital following the crash. She never woke up.
Its what I heard, anyway.
With Buckethead its IMPOSSIBLE to tell where fact and fiction lie.
However, I'm pretty sure he has autism. =/ His entire style and look screams it. He shows nothing of his personality. His comforts are just plain weird, and he would have cracked and shown himself to the world if something wasn't holding him back.
As for bi-polar, you can pretty much tell by his music this isn't just some guy stringing a bunch of notes together cos they sound cool. Anyone can tell. =]
Thanks for the vid, I LOVE Whitewash, I can't download greater collections of his music, the torrent sites I use are faulty - one "complete collection" reduced the file sizes so all quality was shit. Another claimed to be "Electric Tears" and was just a random collection. Which I listen to on a continuous basis. I LOVE Yoshimitsu's Den. =D
I kinda guessed. :P
XxxxxxxX

Does he play on Chinese Democracy?

I think some stuff on there is his, but I wouldn't hold it against him

Yeah, I meant the song, not the whole album

He wrote the guitar for Shackler's Revenge, definitely. I'm a diehard though, I knew that on listening. But it's confirmed by the sleeve. Ron Bumblefoot does the more normal hguitar playing, not saying he isn't FANTASTIC though. And hey! I like Chinese Democracy and Guns N Roses. :P Fuckit, I LOVE them both. Axl Rose is a musical genius, even if he is a wife beating asshole on trial for plagiarism of 3 of the latest songs. (hey, it's 3 out of 14!)