Gabriel Levi has a deep talent set. You may know him as a progressive instrumental guitarist, but his first love is actually singing. Recently he’s been branching out into solo productions and also lead vocals for Spirit Healer. Really digging the vibe of this tune…artwork matches perfectly.
Chris Buono is a good personal friend as well as one of my best test pilots. For the last decade he has fearlessly played anything I’ve built — often sight unseen…and before a live audience. The only exception I can think of is the Harp Guitar (but we are also in the midst of a pandemic).
With the possible exception of Steve Sjuggerud, Chris has certainly played the greatest range of instruments I’ve built, which makes him uniquely qualified to make comparisons and discuss preferences. If you ever want an objective opinion about my work from a working professional…contact Chris.
I’ve never (ever) asked any of my artists to be exclusive to the guitars I’ve gifted or sold them. I believe in free markets and free association. If an instrument is a good match, it will naturally become an honest favorite. Chris owns a Goshawk™ which seems to appear on a high percentage of his work since it arrived to him.
A good sign.
Chris is a master teacher. Hit him up to take your playing to next level.
“NAMM was an excellent experience – and thank you so much for offering your outstanding guitars! Little Angle Wing exerted a magnetic pull on anyone within eyesight of it – I am serious, even NAMM officials came up to ask about it and our booth enjoyed a constant flow of visitors as a result. I was able to see that guitar in the hands of several gifted players at the show – I am less of an 8-string player myself but I loved the Goshawk, all tonal planets are in alignment with that instrument in a way which is quite unique, the variable split concept being only one element of the synergy going on there. Steve was a pleasure to be around from start to finish and an excellent ambassador too – not to mention a great player!” (Alasdair Bryce)
“My good friend Bryan (owner of the “Modern Guitarist” company, which I am an original member and moderator for), went as my proxy of sorts and checked out Little Angle Wing at NAMM – he basically said ‘it’s a guitar from 2121’ and was just floored in how deliberate it was in execution, aside from being the most incredible 8 string he’d ever played.” (Matt Richards)
“Jason from NSF Controls is a real guitar player. And he was blown away. Loves the guitar and the switch. Good times. Man, the end result is everyone loves both guitars…in different ways. Most people were instantly in love with Goshawk™ comfortable right away and seeing it as a premium instrument. Most were simultaneously very curious and fearful of Little Angle Wing. Only young players could take it on full flight.” (Steve Sjuggerud)
“Man I’m telling you, the clarity of Little Angle Wing is something I haven’t heard in other guitars. The tension is so good on it, no flub and pure sustain. I experimented with tapping on the 20-24th frets and no dead spots. Just awesome.” (Gabriel Levi)
Michael Ross of Guitar Moderne published a piece on Magnets & Wire album. He does a nice write-up plus excellent compilation of videos featuring some of my builds in the hands of these exceptional artists.
Guitar Modern is:
Guitar Moderne offers extensive coverage of the world-wide explosion of avant, experimental, and unusual players, as they discuss their approach to this classic combination of metal and wood. Here too, you will find articles and reviews covering combining computer with guitar and the world of plugins that this opens up, as well as news about the more extreme pedals available. Guitar Moderne is not genre specific; it covers forward-thinking players of any musical style: jazz, experimental, classical, blues, rock, metal, etc. Guitarists and fans from every continent can converge here to learn about the many directions this versatile instrument is taking and the gear being used for the journey.
“Hey!” I asked, “Would you guys be interested in recording an album? I have an idea in mind.”
A flood of yesses flowed in before I had a chance to explain…
I had developed independent friendships with each of them as individuals, but most had never met one another in person, just basic awareness as fellow artists via my website. All of them have been loyal long-time supporters of my craft. I knew this mix of personalities would be synergistic and supportive.
Even working professional musicians find it difficult to gain enough time and space to be able to record an album. The pressures of touring, teaching, writing, and performing are intense. And so many of my clients are passionate amateurs — in the purest sense — they make a living unrelated to music, yet dedicate their free time to playing. Many are highly skilled but have no outlet to record.
I want to change that.
To keep our focus tight and set logistically achievable goals, we established several criteria. Each participant will be featured on at least one song. Choose someone(s) to collaborate with or perform solo if you wish. Most importantly, recordings will be first or second take…looking to capture spontaneous magic.
Steve Sjuggerud contributed his time and resources with incredible generosity. He hosted us at his location Sugar Pointe, surprised everyone with custom t-shirts and a coastal waters sunset cruise, plus brought in supremely talented photographer Adam King (check out those photos!) and drummer Dan Ostrowski to add depth to our mix. Thank you, Steve. Thank you also to Steve’s wife Kassy, and his business partners Chris & Kelly Manus.
Killick Hinds generously contributed his audio recording and production skills, first in tandem with me on location, then in his studio mixing and mastering. His deft touch transformed the raw audio into a coherent whole — a difficult task because each song was an entirely different arrangement of room, mics, musicians.
I gratefully thank Chris Buono, Todd Haug, Ken Kinter, Gabriel Levi, and Ede Wright for flying or driving to Florida to contribute their beautiful art.
PS: This album is dedicated to SB. You have inspired many more lives than you could ever know.
