It is nice to see a lot of talented guitarists introduce the instrument not just as mere accompaniment, but an instrument infinitely capable of almost anything.
People like Damian Salazar show perfectly that the guitar can be the lead, the backup and the harmony all at the same time.
For those who don’t know, Salazar is a well-known busker who has been recognized for his guitar skills.
Damian Salazar is a street musician from Argentina—specifically in Buenos Aires, traveling all over Europe with his trusty guitar to make a living with his music.
He has wowed busy crowds with his unique playing styles.
He usually plays iconic classic rock songs, including “Sultans of Swings,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and some Eric Clapton tunes. Salazar made a name for himself after his street performances reached the online world.
One particular performance of his attracted a decent amount of attention.
It was his performance of the ballad classic “Still Loving You” from the German rock band The Scorpions.
The song was popular for lead singer Klaus Meine’s powerful and passionate vocals, and the astounding harmonies of both the lead and rhythm guitars.
In 2015, Salazar went to find a spot on a street in Florida, where he usually busks.
Salazar was probably playing for a while that day, since he’d already attracted a small audience. Towards the end of it, he decided to play this iconic tune hoping to attract more people.
People were immediately drawn to the beautiful sound of Salazar’s guitar!
Salazar sat with his metallic electric guitar and started playing the first few notes of the song.
He accompanied it with the backing tracks for percussion and the extra rhythmic guitar parts as well.
Behind the crowd, you could see the busy people heading towards their destination.
As most of them only took a quick glance at Salazar, some people stopped just to witness the whole thing. Salazar continued shredding the tune and some of the audience began pulling out their phones to record him.
His performance was so entrancing especially when he made some improvisations of his own.
Salazar committed to the original Scorpions tune but he made wild improvisations to make the song his own.
He added some sick riffs that gave more unique quality to the song. Furthermore, there were some note progressions that had some interesting kicks—especially when he started brewing a tune that fitted perfectly to the song.
He also jumped from octave to octave and switched up playing styles as if both the lead and rhythm guitar were being merged into one.
His awesome shreds, licks and distortion timings were on point, making the song so fresh to the ears. At the end of his performance, his spectators rewarded him with a huge round of applause.
His “Still Loving You” cover went viral with almost 20 million views—and it even got the attention of The Scorpions themselves!
His awesome rendition was remarkable and you could see how the people enjoyed every minute of it.
The same goes for his online audience on social media, as millions of people were able to watch in awe with his cover. Several years later after he posted this video, Salazar made an appearance at The Scorpions’ huge concert in Ludwigsburg, Germany.
He admitted that it was a dream come true when he was able to play alongside the legendary group, featuring his unique take of their song!
Salazar’s skills are the real deal, yet he still remains underrated!
Even so, his grind to success continues as he regularly uploads guitar covers on his YouTube channel. Check him out if you want to be amazed by his renditions!
To check out the full shredding video, watch the clip below:
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