Folk Music
Garrin Benfield – Unbound
I’ve known San Francisco based singer-songwriter Garrin Benfield for some time. In the mid ‘oughties’ (this century has turned out sucky for decade names so far,) we were booked on the same bill at a local SF acoustic music showcase night. At the end of the evening, Garrin and I jumped onstage for an impromptu [...]
Shaun Cromwell-The Rise and the Fall of It All
One of the guitarists I was lucky enough to meet at the Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West) conference is Shaun Cromwell. I’ve posted the clip of Shaun playing his very cool song “The Rise and the Fall of It All” to my YouTube page.
Shaun was a featured performer at the FAR-West conference, and his show proved to be one of the most enjoyable for someone like me, who loves good songwriting combined with great fingerpicking.
Fingerstyle at FARwest 2009–Six Approaches
I took video of several Fingerstyle Guitarists while in Irvine last November for the annual Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West). I am presenting them together in a half-hour video “Fingerstyle at FARwest 2009“.
Here’s the link to the High Resolution Video:
(large file, needs fast connection, stream or download)
Here’s the link to the Low Resolution version:
(not as [...]
Duck Baker–Thumbs of Fury
Since I often talk about right hand technique on this Blog, you might think ‘Thumbs of Fury’ refers to the right hand thumb.* Yes, the fingerpicker’s Jedi force surely resides in the right hand thumb, but in the case of long-time fingerstyle master Duck Baker, there’s a lot going on with the left hand thumb. [...]
Mike Seeger Handed Us a Legacy
Mike Seeger, who died a few days ago, handed us a legacy. He made it his life duty to transfer to us the love and appreciation he felt for traditional American folk music, at the same time giving us the wherewithal to make use of it.
In the 1950s, along with his family members and associates, [...]
