From “ Beat It” onward, Michael Jackson’s taste in rock guitarists tended toward au courant shredders, which means he basically took his Edward Van Halen template and ran with it, over and over, hiring the obvious fretboard star of the moment every time he felt the need for a rock simulation. For 1987’s “Dirty Diana,” he hired Billy Idol axeman Steve Stevens, who was just coming off five years of work with Idol, plus his solo on the “Top Gun” theme. Then in 1991, Jackson hired Slash, fresh off “Use Your Illusion I and II,” to record “ Black or White.”
So when the AEG Live video of the dress rehearsals came out, I had two immediate reactions: (1) Those costumes on the dancers look like they’ve been moldering in a wardrobe somewhere since Paula Abdul’s “ Straight Up” video, and (2) Who the hell is that guitarist doing the Lita Ford thing?
Well, her name is Orianthi Panagaris, a 24-year-old Australian of the shredding persuasion. Her official Web site carries a testimonial from Santana and has photos of her posing with Steve Vai — the man most likely to have played a solo on a Jackson album if the King of Pop had recorded something between “Thriller” and “Bad.” And if you tend to notice people other than Carrie Underwood when the Queen of Checotah is on stage, Panagaris played with Underwood during her performance of “ Last Name” during February’s Grammy Awards.
To employ the regularly used Staticblog euphemism, Panagaris is “marketable” in a way that the hairy, Testosterone-y Guitar Player magazine cover models Jacko generally recruited are not, and even before she was chosen for the O2 Arena shows, she was clearly on her way as a go-to hired gun. Right now, she’s a footnote in the 24-hour dull ache of cable news, but in this video, Santana says Panagaris is the person he’d “pass the baton to” if he were to retire:
Insert your own euphemism joke here if you like, but what exactly does the “ Southwest tie-wearing bolo champ coming straight out of the box with a bowl o’ champ” mean by this? Somehow, no matter how good Panagaris might be at the “Oye Como Va,” I cannot imagine Devadip just kicking it in Napa while he sends “Orianthi Panagaris Plays Santana” out to play “Jingo” on a summer shed tour.
Orianthi
奥瑞安西Orianthi/Orianthi Panagaris
Orianthi作为迈克尔杰克逊最新的现场吉他手还没来得及展示她的风采，一切就都随着天王的离去而告终了。
Orianthi 是一名居住在美国加州洛杉矶的年轻女性吉他手，风格受到了Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, Stevie RayVaughan, Al Di Meola, B.B King, Joe Satriani ,Tommy Emmanuel and Eric Clapton等吉他手的影响，而她的演唱则是受到了 LeAnn Rimes, Alanis Morrisette 以及 Michelle Branch 等歌手的启蒙。
Orianthi 于1985年1月22日出生南澳（澳洲南部的一个州）的阿得雷德/Adelaide城市，在她6岁的时候就开始弹木吉他，11岁时接触电吉他，14岁时曾在当地不同的乐团中担纲乐手，并且有机会为当时来到Adelaide演出的Steve Vai而做开场。直到她15岁离开校园后，开始把焦点聚集在写歌及表演上头，因为这正是她最想做的事。在她18岁时机缘遇见心目中的偶像-Carlos Santana，并受邀同台演出，这是相当珍贵的经验。日后也参与各种表演，包括像NAMM 乐器大赏活动中为PRS吉他的代言演出,和Prince同台演出，和Steve Vai 一同巡回演出，也参加了2007年 由 Eric Clapton 发起的 Crossroads Festival 活动，2009年葛莱美音乐奖的典礼上，与美国乡村女歌手也是当次葛莱美奖得主的Carrie Underwood 共同演出而受到各界瞩目。Orianthi目前已和Geffen Records唱片公司签约。
她说到自己的专辑应该是摇滚/流行风格而且可以适合各个年纪。
她担任迈克尔杰克逊“This is it”的主吉他手之一，许多迈克尔杰克逊的中国歌迷都是通过this is it认识她的。
2009年7月7日上午(北京时间8日),Orianthi 参加了Michael Jackson的追思会并参与合唱了<<we are the world>>.
Carlos Santana 曾经写给Orianthi的评语:偶然间，我们发现了一位会弹奏吉他的天使，这女子很能弹，并且有着不可思议的将来。
"Once in a while we find an angel that can play the guitar...this lady can play the guitar ...a lady who has an incredible future" by Carlos Santana
Orianthi的专辑
<<Violet Journey>>
发行时间:2007年
1. Lights Of Manos
2. He's Gone
3. Violet Journey
4. Everyday
5. Here On Earth
6. Right Now
7. Anybody Else
8. Out Of Reach
9. Wouldn't Change A Thing
10. Anaheim
<<believe>>
歌手: Orianthi
音乐风格: 摇滚
资源格式: MP3
发行时间: 2009年10月26日
地区: 美国
语言: 英语
专辑曲目:
1. According To You
2. Suffocated
3. Bad News
4. Believe
5. Feels Like Home
6. Think Like A Man
7. What’s It Gonna Be
8. Untogether
9. Drive Away
10. Highly Strung
11. God Only Knows 12. Find It
13. Don’t Tell Me That Its Over
