FGH 0026: Interview with Peppino D’Agostino – Transcendant Guitarist and Composer
Jan 19, 2023
Show notes
Summary Episode 26:
A native of Italy, D’Agostino has made his considerable international mark as a musical artist on the guitar since he arrived in America 37 years ago. In 2017 Guitar Player listed him as one of the 50 transcendent superheroes of the acoustic guitar.
The CD, “Every Step of The Way,” was awarded by Acoustic Guitar’s People’s Choice Awards with a Bronze medal for Best Acoustic Album of All Time. His signature Seagull acoustic guitar has been voted among the ten best signature guitars by Guitar Player magazine.
To date, Peppino has recorded 19 CD’s, performed in over thirty-seven countries at international festivals and concert halls. He has shared the stage with such greats as Leo Kottke, Sergio Assad, Larry Carlton, Eric Johnson, Tommy Emmanuel, Martin Taylor, Roland Dyens, David Tanenbaum, and many more.
https://vimeo.com/790739398
(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
00:25 Introducing Peppino D’Agostino
1:49 Greetings!
2:35 Peppino’s early influences
3:53 How he listened to Santana, John McLoughlin, John Renbourn, Leo Kottke & more…
4:51 Peppino’s unconventional musical education – learning without formal lessons
5:42 How orchestras and bands drive his musical inspiration
12:18 Peppino talks about his classical guitar approach to steel string guitar
18:43 An adventure into recording a jazz rock / acoustic fusion album
20:22 Learn about Adam & Peppino’s “Sicily Guitar Retreat” September 11-15, 2023 (more info available at musicworldretreats.com)
27:14 Peppino’s 5 unexpected favorite albums of all time…
FGH 0025: Interview with Jon Gomm – Singer Songwriter and Fingerstyle Guitar Innovator
Jan 19, 2023
Show notes
Summary Episode 25:
Jon Gomm is a singer songwriter considered to be one of the world’s true virtuoso guitarists possessing a unique style most elite musicians consider revolutionary.
Jon was born and continues to live in the North of England. His songs are driven by his use of one acoustic guitar to create drum sounds, basslines and twisting melodies all at the same time with no external effects. The emphasis remains on his soulful vocals and songwriting with his original material influenced by everything from Robert Johnson to Radiohead.
His live shows combine deeply personal performances allied with a natural wit, with a once seen, never forgotten two-handed guitar style, both physical and complex, producing sounds people can barely believe are coming from a humble acoustic guitar.
https://vimeo.com/678255603
(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
00:25 Introducing Jon Gomm
04:07 Jon recalls the gig with Adam
05:18 Graceland by Paul Simon – one of Jon’s earliest music inspirations
07:00 The Jeff Beck Influence
07:25 John describes his early frustration with electric
19:09 Jon talks about playing covers
20:51 Jon talks about the current pop music paradigm & asks should one compose?
25:34 Musical Segment: Jon plays his own composition “Passionflower”
32:20 Jon talks about his approach with unconventional tunings, techniques and percussion
33:34 His excitement with novel techniques – slide, flamenco percussion
34:13 Jon talks about the “Bukka White” style
34:57 Jon talks about playing electric guitar in bands at 13
35:29 Jon discovers Laurence Juber and Michael
41:31 Jon talks about gigging as a working country, metal and jazz player
43:34 How Jon is currently connecting with music emotionally
46:24 His new album which he describes as “quite emotionally intense”
52:59 Jon talks about doing music arrangements
1:02:46 Jon’s best advice for every guitar player!
FGH 0024: Interview with Thomas Fellow – First-Rate Guitarist from Germany
Jan 19, 2023
Show notes
Summary Episode 24:
Thomas Fellow is a musician with an almost inexhaustible supply of innovative energy. He is a first-rate acoustic guitarist, a stunning virtuoso, and is considered one of the best musical collaborators in the guitar world.
His name is associated with the development of the pioneering education program called the “Acoustic Guitar (concert music, world music, jazz, and pop)” at the “University of Music Dresden” (Germany). He’s the artistic director of the “European Guitar Award” and he is also known for authoring the comprehensive book entitled the “FELLOW GUITAR BOOK” – which focuses on the role of the guitar as an accompanying instrument.
https://vimeo.com/790840166
35 years after his first full-length concert (at the age of 17) he has performed over 3000 concerts in more than 30 countries.
FGH 0023: Interview with Muriel Anderson – Multi Dimensional Fingerstyle Champion
Mar 03, 2022
Show notes
Summary Episode 23:
Muriel Anderson is one of the more multi-dimensional guitarists on the scene today. She plays primarily nylon string but also plays a 20-string harp guitar in her concerts, frequently accompanied by a backdrop of visuals by photo-artist Bryan Allen. Her current program includes a virtual re-enactment of the solar eclipse, with music and images from around the world.
She is host of the renowned Muriel Anderson’s ALL STAR GUITAR NIGHT and is the first woman to have won the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship and has performed/recorded with Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and Victor Wooten among others.
She is currently working on a music and cookbook project, and is dedicating this year to working more on behalf of the charity she founded, The Music for Life Alliance, to support music education for kids.
Show Highlights
01:35 Welcome Muriel!
02:21 Muriel talks about her new project – A cookbook with music to go with each recipe
04:32 Early Inspirations – Doc Watson, Muriel’s Family and moving to Nashville
11:45 More Influences. Paul Winter, Pat Metheny and studying classical music
18:00 Muriel’s Charity facility the “Music for Life Alliance”
21:50 Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night
26:02 Music – Muriel plays her composition “A Bakers Dozen”
28:51 CD Projects – “Eclipse” and “Nightlight/Daylight”
32:40 The Harp Guitar and travelling with it
36:38 Muriel and Adam geek out about various types of guitars
40:35 Online Teaching – truefire.com and picking techniques
49:28 Murial talks about her future ideas – traveling to europe
51:55 A Muriel Anderson Live Concert experience – Visual Concepts
53:30 Muriel Shows the Visual Effekt on her physical CD “Nightlight/Daylight”
54:19 Ending credits & podcast contact info
57:09 Music – Muriel plays her composition “Nightlights”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Hb-yYzaQc
Muriel Anderson plays “A Bakers Dozen”
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FGH 0022: Interview with Billy McLaughlin – His Historic Comeback
Feb 14, 2022
Show notes
Summary, Episode 22:
For twenty years, Billy McLaughlin astounded audiences around the world with his complex and rhythmic music. At the height of his international recording and touring career, Billy was diagnosed with Focal Dystonia, a mysterious and yet-to-be-cured neuromuscular disorder that rendered him unable to play his own music.
Despite every effort to combat his condition, soon Billy’s career was over.But the long deafening silence was broken when Billy began a historic comeback.
He was doing the unthinkable – relearning his songs one note at a time with his opposite hand…
https://vimeo.com/677291408
(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
01:30 Welcome Billy!
02:37 Billy tells how he became a guitarplayer
06:32 The First Guitar and the drummer is your best friend
13:18 “Invisible Skills” – the beauty of the unflashy side of guitarplaying
15:35 Billy’s time in college and finding a good fitting teacher
22:22 Focal dystonia – How it started to compromise Billys playing
28:40 Starting to relearn the instrument with the other hand
30:20 Music – Bill plays his composition “Back from the Brink”
33:05 Billy talks about right and lefthand playing – and not praciticing too much
39:01 Livesetup, Action, Effects and Equipment
46:36 How amplifiers for acoustic guitar can rescue your expirience on stage
54:37 Billy talks about his new project “The Church of the Lost Souls”
https://youtu.be/yKbcPmmEmr4
Billy McLaughlin plays “Helm’s Place”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al035bHF51Q
Billy plays “Hold on To Forever”
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FGH-0021: Interview with English Fingerstyle Guitarist Richard Smith
Jan 18, 2021
Show notes
Summary, Episode 21:
Richard started playing the guitar at age 5 and has never looked back. Focusing early on with the fingerstyle guitar of Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, he began transcribing classical music, Jazz, the gypsy style of Django Reinhardt, bluegrass, ragtime and the blues to Sousa marches.
https://vimeo.com/501236690
Richard is a seasoned performer with thousands of performances worldwide to his credit – he’s performed in five continents – North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia solo and alongside Tommy Emmanuel, Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Dave Peacock, Martin Taylor, Brent Mason, Gary Brooker, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Joe Brown, Ralph McTell and many others.
(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
01:34 Welcome Richard!
02:33 Richard talks about Networking and Booking
07:43 Air Travelling with guitars – cases and backup guitars
18:35 Youtube and the entertainer video
20:24 CDs, t-shirts and packing lightly
22:53 troublesome touring stories – “going commando” and the beatles
26:53 Early influences of richard – Bert Weedon’s Play in a Day book
30:12 Learning songs correctly, listening more deeply and try to make your playing sound like the record
37:50 Richard Smiths Version of Scott Joplins “The Entertainer”
42:30 Having a musical homebase, your fist influence and how it affects everything you do – and the flexability of Antoine Boyer
49:42 “The One Thing” The Importance of keeping focused on the thing that sets you apart from others, but also try out new things to srtech as a player
59:07 The code of Spotify and how to get into playlists
1:03:39 Music “The Streets of Laredo”
1:06:36 The number one thing you would tell all young musicians to do differently – being honest with yourself and Big Jim Sullivan’s advice
1:16:57 The time, the tone and the groove – and the metronome
1:24:15 How technique influences the phrasing and the pocket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Peh5zIoxaME
Richard Smith plays “The Entertainer”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41BB_56z5RM
Richard Smith plays “Struttin” by Jerry Reed
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FGH-0020: Interview with Don Alder – National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion & Vocalist
Jul 22, 2020
Show notes
Summary, Episode 20:
Don Alder plays acoustic fingerstyle guitar with a passion that has quickly earned him a reputation as Vancouver’s “best kept little secret”. Don is a world-class fingerstyle guitarist with a “wow factor” that has let to multiple endorsement deals with major manufacturers and a collaboration with Greenfield guitars to produce a signature acoustic guitar- the “Don Alder G4” model.
Don currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His unique style of playing incorporates fingerpicking with simultaneous percussion on the soundboard to create a wall of sound. He is often referred to as sounding like a four piece band. Don’s music is his own unique weave of deeply textured melody and story. Lyrical and compelling, his original songs are notes of exploration – some passionate and haunting, some hard-driven, others light and teasing. In quiet pieces or pushing right to the edge, Don’s phenomenal fingerstyle playing and rich voice captivate.
https://vimeo.com/438267665
“Alder can make a single instrument sound like a 4 piece band. The Guy’s like the acoustic Hendrix”. Picque News Magazine”
“Don is Canada’s secret fingerstyle weapon – it’s only a matter of time until everyone discovers this world class player. I am honored to have Don endorsing my guitars.” World Class Luthier, Michael Greenfield
(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
2:44 Welcome Don Alder!
4:20 Don’s earliest musical inspirations
8:34 Don gets an electric guitar in his hands for the first time
14:02 Don starts playing in bands
15:52 Don and the bass player’s onstage gun prank goes wrong
19:42 Don explains how he started playing solo acoustic guitar
22:39 Music – Don plays his composition “Fingers Fingers Fingers”
27:30 Don becomes a studio player
37:01 Don’s musical, color, touch, and his personal approach to the guitar – how to learn how to play like yourself
46:07 At a live performance people are looking for a journey, they want to walk home with an experience
52:04 Don’s advice he would like to give to more guitar players – more heart, play music not just songs and technique
53:35 A fellow guitarist seeking advice writes a song for Don Alder
57:31 Don’s message to all musicians
58:58 Don’s last message to everyone!
1:00:03 Ending credits and podcast contact info
1:03:01 Music – Don plays his composition “Haunting Me”
FGH-0019: Interview with Don Ross – National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion & Composer
Nov 20, 2019
Show notes
Summary, Episode 19:
In 1988, Don became the first Canadian to win the U.S. National Fingerpick Guitar Championship. He won again in 1996, still the only two-time winner of the competition.
Don has toured regularly since 1989, across Canada, the USA, a dozen European countries, Japan, Taiwan, China, Australia, Russia and India.
https://vimeo.com/373542503
He has played live and on recording with U.S. guitarist Andy McKee, Canadian singer/guitarist Brooke Miller, Canadian guitarist Calum Graham, & Toronto bassist Jordan O’Connor. Don composes scores for television, radio and film, and does production and recording engineering for a variety of other musicians.
He’s released numerous CDs and DVDs for the Candy Rat Record label, including his new album, A Million Brazilian Civilians, on CD and see-through orange vinyl.
(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
2:49 Welcome Don!
3:52 Don’s earliest musical influences.
6:50 Don as a composer first, guitarist second.
8:40 Discovering Leo Kottke’s approach…music with humor.
9:20 Exposure to modern composers Steve Reich, Xenakis, John Adams.
10:40 Don talks about composing for film & TV.
15:44 We discuss alternate tunings and why Don Does uses them.
22:33 Why composes away from the guitar.
24:04 Music – Don plays his composition – “A Million Brazilian Civilians.”
27:33 Don’s relationship to classical guitar.
31:04 I ask Don about his live sound setup.
32:50 Keep it simple…we talk pickups, pedals and other guitar nitty gritty.
34:53 Don tells his “pedalboard on the highway” mishap story.
39:46 What are Don’s hobbies outside music?
41:25 His best advice for musicians.
44:47 The guitar tablature “trap.”
50:22 Ending credits & podcast contact info.
53:14 Music – Don plays his composition – “Seven Seven Four.”
Don’s band project is called “Don Ross – Louder Than Usual”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwRe8h1TIYM
Don Ross plays his original composition “Seven Seven Four”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPvV2gzZJ5c
Don Ross plays his original composition “A Million Brazilian Civilians“
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTIcdedfEjc
“Don Ross – Louder Than Usual” plays “Groovy Sunflowers”
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FGH-0018: Interview with Jazz and Country Master Guitarist Jim Nichols
Sep 10, 2019
Show notes
Summary, Episode 18:
Jim Nichols has an unusual approach to the guitar – he uses a thumb pick and fingers to play everything from Chet Atkins style to modern jazz.
He served as master instructor for the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshops, Stanford Jazz Workshops and held clinics on both jazz and Atkins style for the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society national convention in Nashville. In addition to an acoustic duo CD with Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, and a duo CD with fingerstyle guitarist Richard Smith, Jim and his wife Morning, have 5 CDs to their credit.
Jim’s solo CD, “Jazz and Country” was chosen by Guitar Player Magazine as a “pick of the year” for ’96 and in 2001, he was featured in Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine and Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Show Notes:
In this episode, Jim and I talk about how he started playing guitar, his inspirations, and his approach to blending Chet Atkins fingerstyle and jazz guitar.
(Time stamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
2:08 Welcome Jim!
3:47 Jim talks about record companies & touring.
4:40 How Jim began playing music & uke.
6:08 Jim gets his first guitar.
6:54 Jim discovers Duane Eddys version of “Trambone” by Chet Atkins.
7:45 Flatpicks never again! Jim discovers the thumb pick and learns Chet stuff.
14:17 Jim discusses how Wes & Buddy Montgomery were not music readers.
19:41 How Jim got the jazz influence – his parents.
23:08 The benefits of learning from Chet’s recordings.
23:36 Another influence – Howard Roberts.
25:48 Jim’s approach to technique & using the thumbpick.
26:41 Jim talks about his guitar collection.
29:03 Music track from the “Jazz & Country” Album – “Freightliner Blues”
32:23 Gear chat – his versatile guitars that can cover several styles.
35:41 Traveling with guitars; Jim’s take & tips for flying.
38:17 All about Jim’s duo record with Tommy Emmanuel – “Chet Lag” (a.k.a. “Happy Hour”)
43:35 Jim’s Kirk Sand Guitar – a birthday present from his wife, vocalist Morning Nichols.
45:22 “Jazz & Country” his solo CD as a reaction to being a sideman and a dedication to Chet Atkins.
52:53 Current projects, gigs, guitar camps.
57:53 Jim’s best advice to musicians – listen attentively.
1:04:45 Jim reminds us about CAAS in Nashville in July (Chet Atkins Appreciation Society)
Jim Nichols plays “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”
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FGH-0017: Interview with Michael Fix – Australian Guitar Virtuoso
Jun 17, 2019
Show notes
Summary, Episode 17:
Over the past 25 years, Michael Fix has released fifteen albums, together with several DVD’s, songbooks, singles and EPs, tours internationally each year, and has established himself as one of Australia’s finest guitarists and composers, writing evocative music for television, film and documentaries.
He’s won numerous awards for his music, and is a Maton guitar endorsee (with his own signature model guitar), his guitar workshops are in high demand all over Australia and internationally.
As a record producer working from his own studio in Brisbane, he is in great demand. He’s toured and recorded with a diverse range of artists, and regularly appears at festivals and concerts throughout the world.
Show Notes:
In this episode Michael and I talk about his philosophy, his approach to guitar, technique, stage sound and more.
(Time stamps are for audio version of the podcast.)
3:20 How Michael got started with guitar
6:21 Motivation from real life lessons
7:41 His advice – find a teacher who inspires
8:12 Danger of Youtube “only” learning
17:53 Listening to Chet, Jerry & Merle records with Tommy Emmanuel
19:18 Music Track: Tangalooma Sunset
22:10 Michael talks about his technical approach
28:21 Michael tour – the Acoustic Guitar Spectacular
32:20 His life as a composer & producer for film, music libraries and more
46:26 Michael talks about Maton Guitars & hios signature model
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