"I actually wanted to be a
drummer.Five minutes after my folks
heard that news, they bought me a guitar.I tried flat-picking, but the pick kept falling in the hole.At one point I thought about playing a
harmonica, so I blew on that for about a month.Then a real harmonica player saw me in action and said, 'Did you
know if you breathe in you get all the other notes You could ride down the
road and hold it out the car window and get what you're doing.'So I recovered and rediscovered fingerstyle
guitar." Richard Gilewitz
Featured in Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine's issue on "Men of Steel", American guitarist Richard Gilewitz is once again included in the ranks of noted guitarists who are masters at their craft.Touring New Zealand for the 6th time in May and June 2011, this extraordinary tour teems with virtuoso chops and valuable insights, tricks of the trade and mind boggling tales from the road. Once touted as one of the strangest men in acoustic music, fingerstyle guitarist Richard Gilewitz lives up to this depiction with his rousing performances filled with amazing chops, humor, and a history of the acoustic guitar from blues to folk, traditional to classical and somewhere in between. States Spectrum Magazine, “Much of the charm of a Gilewitz performance is in the stories he tells. He wondered aloud to the audience how many ducks he could take out in a fight if he were to be attacked by a flock of the sneaky waterfowl.”
Not only are his tales from the road a journey into the world of a touring musician, Richard’s tunes are adventures themselves as his instrumental wanderings reveal surprises with each note. A must for anyone who wants to laugh, be amazed, and be treated to an evening of great music from this seasoned performer who delights audiences worldwide.
Name as one of the top 100 Acoustic Guitarists, Richard Gilewitz fascinates his audiences with fingerstyle gymnastics while spinning yarns too unbelievable not to be true. His ability to make one guitar sound like an entire orchestra stems from 35 years of well-honed technique and 27 years of on the road worldwide touring, creating his own signature sound that has been captured on his six releases, DVDs, and songbooks.
But it is his live shows that bring out the best in this author, composer, guitarist, storyteller, and humorist who follows a distinct cadence that creates a glow that continually grows a little brighter with each tune. Whether playing solo, conducting guitar seminars and school programs, or sharing the stage with folks such as The California Guitar Trio, John McCutcheon, John Renbourn, Mose Allison, the late John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Norman Blake, Indigo Girls, John Hammond, Rory Block, or Jane Siberry, Richard Gilewitz always creates a sparkle of mood mastery and wonderment.
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