Ojala then took the video and overdubbed a cavalcade of limp bends, mangled runs, and whammy bar work that resembles a sick goose, deftly turning Vai’s offerings of chocolate mousse into cow pie. “I’ve been amazed at the reaction these videos have gotten,” says Ojala who has also spoofed Clapton, Van Halen, Slash, Gary Moore, Metallica, and Santana among others. “I mean, I know I’ve done an okay job, but still.”

Somehow Ojala manages to mock the entire guitar hero phenomenon without being mean or cynical toward the artists. It’s all done with love and a masterful eye for satire and detail. His editing is so good, in fact, that if the hundreds of comments on YouTube and other guitar sites are any indication, some people actually believed the playing on the clips to be the genuine article.

As for how he chooses his shred specimens, Ojala lays out his criteria. “I pick artists who are considered great guitar players. Then I’m looking for facial ex-pressions and lots of showing off. My favorite parts are when an artist is at his limits, and you can see it on his face.

“Then, when I overdub, I like to leave the licks unfinished, over-bend, come up with stupid arpeggios, and throw in a borrowed riff or two [“Smoke on the Water” seems to be an Ojala fave]. But I’ll tell you, it’s a huge struggle to get my own playing back on track after couple of days of Shreddin’! As for my own style, I don’t play one particular genre. I just try to expand my playing and become as flexible a player as possible.”

For the “Shreds” series, Ojala plays a “highly customized” Ibanez SA260 (“The overly-scalloped fretboard gives me Yngwie-style performing confidence,” he says), into a Line 6 POD. He tracks with Adobe Audition.

“My favorite ‘Shreds’ video depends on what kind of day I’m having,” says Ojala, who is currently working on a send-up of Malmsteen and Iron Maiden. “When I have a chaotic day, I consider ‘Carlos Santana Shreds’ the best. When I’m feeling blue, Gary Moore has the upper hand. Today, the Marty Friedman clip just haunts me, so I don’t know what kind of day this is.”