The Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is a big fan of Eddie Van Halen and had the chance to be a good friend of the late legendary guitarist. He was also influenced by the late legendary Blues Rock guitarist and singer Stevie Ray Vaughan, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash back in 1990 at the age of 35.
Recently, Bettencourt posted on his social media a video of a young guitarist, saying he is a mix of both of these legendary guitar players.
The guitarist Nuno Bettencourt said is a mix of Eddie Van Halen and Stevie Ray Vaughan
The guitarist praised by Nuno is the Australian Taj Farrant, who is only 15 and you can see playing below.
“Yes, the internet is littered with great players, especially jaw dropping technical players. But rarely, do you get that technical prowess that shoots straight through the heart with pure emotion. We may be witnessing a true future guitar hero in our midst. Shreds the blues… but MORE IMPORTANTLY he does it with Soul, Passion and Fire. It’s as if god was doing his weekly reincarnations … but on this day…enjoying a bit of a drink … just to fuck with us convinced SRV and EVH to be reincarnated into one body… and just for fun he threw in Michael Jordan’s fingers.”
Dangerous. Inspiring. And this is unleashed LIVE on a fucking stage … not in the safety of a bedroom or studio. I truly don’t care about your age… I’m not in awe of that. I’m in awe of you. Chills watching this. Must have rewatched a dozen times. You are fierce … it’s pouring out of you. Go get it kid…,” Nuno Bettencourt said.
The young player decided to become a guitar player after going to see AC/DC with his Dad a few years ago. “One AC/DC concert with his Dad and seeing Angus Young do his thing was the catalyst for Taj to say “I want to do that forever”. He got a guitar and the rest, as they say is history,” the artists’ Bio on his website says. His debut album “Chapter One” was released back in 2024.
