Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969) better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a virtuoso guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 36 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists. His music spans such diverse areas as progressive metal, funk, blues, jazz, bluegrass, ambient, and avant-garde music, making him one of the most prolific of modern musicians.
Buckethead is famously known for wearing a KFC bucket on his head, emblazoned with an orange bumper sticker that reads FUNERAL in capital black block letters, and an expressionless plain white costume mask. He also incorporates nunchucks, tap solos and robot dancing into his stage performances.[2][3][4]
An instrumentalist, Buckethead is best known for his electric guitar playing.[5] He has been voted number 8 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time"[6] as well as being included in Guitar World's lists of the "25 all-time weirdest guitarists"[7] and is also known for being in the "50 fastest guitarists of all time list".[8]
Buckethead performs primarily as a solo artist. He has collaborated extensively with a wide variety of high profile artists such as Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Iggy Pop, Les Claypool, Serj Tankian, Bill Moseley, Mike Patton, Viggo Mortensen, That 1 Guy, and was a member of Guns N' Roses from 2000 to 2004. Buckethead has also written and performed music for major motion pictures, including: Saw II, Ghosts of Mars, Beverly Hills Ninja, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Last Action Hero, and contributed lead guitar to the track "Firebird" featured on the Power Rangers Movie Soundtrack.
