Guitarist Jennifer Batten led a multimedia workshop Saturday in Rancho Santa Fe for an intimate crowd of fans and aspiring musicians. The former lead guitarist for Michael Jackson during his Bad, Dangerous and HIStory tours played several songs, describing the techniques she used in detail.
Batten was candid and charmingly quirky, offering up show biz advice when asked and stories about her time spent with the King of Pop as well as Jeff Beck. She went well past the scheduled two hours for the event, and made sure all questions were answered. Pictures and autographs followed the workshop.
The workshop was hosted by The Fine Tune Academy, a music school that caters to North County musicians and strives to provide access to big-name entertainers. Big Fish Studios provided the venue, and has been used by bands from Switchfoot to Blink-182.
Photos and videos by Annie Lane.
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loved the vids!
Thanks, Doug! I think I might start doing this more now that I know I can. Also, I bought a clip on flash today for better indoor and low-lighting pictures! Oh, the times they are a-changing.
Jennifer is an old friend of me and my ex husband. She used to teach in the music store he worked in back in the 80’s right before she hit it big. Nice and talented lady.
Not that I know a lot about Michael Jackson, but it was interesting and kinda surprising to learn that his lead guitar was a white woman. Very cool!