gabriel levi

Ede Wright 1966-2022

PHOTO: Ede Wright onstage with Wingspan 8-string summer of 2021. (credit: Unknown Vincent)

Ede was my friend. We had a fierce friendship, like brothers. His birthday only a few days from mine, one year apart.

Ede was my harshest critic…nobody could pick apart one of my builds like he could. Not even close, although Steve Blucher pokes me with the pointed stick pretty good sometimes. Ede was molecular, though. Whenever I sent a guitar to him for testing, I braced for a week of text messages and phone calls as he pulled the meat off the carcass. There was an Homeric story arc to the analysis, an epic of discovery: destruction, redemption. Articulate dissection which always transformed me into a better artist. Sacrificial flesh burned from the bones over open flames.

I loved him for that.

Only a very few players have earned test pilot status with me, and there’s the reason. You’ve got to be willing to hit with full force.

So many memories…

Earthbound Gravity arriving FedEx in spring of 2014 after an email introduction. Eyes closed, listening to his CD on the big monitors in the main room of the little cottage in Califon, NJ.

Driving from Fort Worth to Dallas to meet Ede on tour in the lobby of the airport hotel. USM™ with me. A long conversation as he played acoustically in the Texas sunlight through glass window walls. Introducing me to one of the band’s beautiful female vocalists.

Microbrews and burgers a few blocks from his apartment in Atlanta, after hours of testing. Discussing guitars and bicycling — torn hamstring — diving accident horsing with nephews in the pool at a family gathering. Gabriel Levi with us, attending AIMM at the time. If there is any one thing Ede is most proud of, I would guess it was helping Gabriel launch his career. Gabriel is both the son Ede never had, and also the player who is stepping into his legacy.

Another deep bond and friendship, there.

His blistering outro solo on Death of Superman.

Ede arriving to our Magnets and Wire session at Steve Sjuggerud’s place in Florida, November, 2019. Setting up his amps and coaching me on mic placement. His epic duel with Chris Buono, covering Superstition (Casting an appropriate spell to make the noise go away). The three of us alone at dinner after, me watching the true respect those two Masters had for each other.

Tour reports from life on the bus, in airports, on stages. Local foods and beers. An absolute passion and educated palette for red wines.

Our final phone conversation. Ede laying out with clinical honesty the side effects of the C19 vaccine that destroyed his heart. Being on the transplant list, knowing there was not enough time. Wanting to record as much as he could in the remaining few months.

Ede Wright thread…

Listening

VIDEO: Gabriel Levi teaches his thumping right hand technique. Detailed tutorial with examples in the second half of the video, including some amazing maths. Gabriel begins with history of the technique, and how it has developed: crediting Evan Brewer and Tosin Abasi. We begin to realize music benefits with apprenticeship. Check out Gabriel’s new single “Disconnected” on Spotify featuring excellent guitar playing on his Spearfish.
IMAGE: Animals As Leaders new album Parrhesia. Tosin Abasi, Javier Reyes, and Matt Garstka are deep in John Coltrane headspace…eliciting “I didn’t know music could do that” response.

Joe Cirotti is another artist I have known for a long time, and one of my favorite guitarists. Watching him cut loose with a Strat and Marshall half stack fronting Only Living Boy a decade ago is an important memory. Currently Joe is leading his acoustic trio, conducting flat-picking magic on an old Martin. If you are a Radiohead fan…here is an absolutely gorgeous interpretation of Ok Computer.

VIDEO: Joe Cirotti Trio performs Radiohead’s Ok Computer via livestream November 14, 2021.

Serpentine Mind

VIDEO: Gabriel Levi performs his original: Serpentine Mind. Excellent vocals to accompany his playing on Spearfish™ 6-string guitar. Beautifully understated solo beginning at 2:30 mark.

Beneath the layers of upbeat major chord harmonies and deft pop production of a love song lies this image. Coiled, writhing. Existential terror as Emily Dickinson describes:

But never met this Fellow
Attended or alone
Without a tighter Breathing
And Zero at the Bone.

“Serpentine” combined with “mind” is especially horrifying. Reptilian non-negotiable predatory purpose superimposed on (dwelling within) mammalian skull, our locus of empathetic warmth and compassion.

Excellent writing, Gabriel.

Throughout our evolution, what is the one predator from which there is no escape? The one predator capable of silently killing, even when we are hiding in treetops for safety, seeking protection from larger carnivores below?

Snake.

I want to propose an hypothesis.

The hypothesis is this: crowd-sourcing safety is the evolutionary driver for language.

Let’s step back 2 million years for context. Fight, flight, freeze, fuck. Our basic survival responses to new external stimulus. Fight (including hunting), flight, and freeze are physical movements under the control of each individual. Fuck — sexual reproduction — is coordinated and negotiated chemically via pheromones.

None of these responses require vocalization.

However, what would? Two million years ago, what would be the single most useful tool to ensure our species survival?

“There’s a snake on the branch above you.”

The ability to transmit instantly an image directly from mind to mind using sound waves.

There is a multiplier effect when suddenly ten individuals with twenty eyes and twenty eardrums are coordinating information from ten locations and perspectives. Incredibly powerful survival mechanism. This is what drives the evolution of language.

Once Homo became fully erect and disconnected diaphragm control from breathing, our ability to develop complex nuanced language evolved exponentially. We now use and practice language as play, enriching our experiences across the entire spectrum of human activities.

However, the fundamental purpose underlying all linguistic development remains: safety.

I want to propose a second hypothesis.

Freedom of Speech is not only a moral right, Freedom of Speech is a biological imperative essential for human survival. Surrender that right at your peril.

When considered at the level of DNA replication and generational transference, all speech is useful, and all thoughts are useful. This is our species-wide survival mechanism of individuals broadcasting their unique perspective from their location. And as individuals, we assess the relative accuracy and urgency of that raw incoming data from other people…

Consensus is not analogous to safety, at any scale. Autonomy is an evolutionary failsafe.

IMAGE: Support Gabriel Levi on Spotify.

Conquistador | Spearfish

Luis Villarreal called to inform me his daughters had just been signed to Lava Records and would be recording their — as yet untitled — third studio album: autumn of 2020, in New Jersey, with producer David Bendeth.

“I’ll meet you and prep Dany’s personal Spearfishes for recording.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you so much, Rick.”

After some thought, I decided to build two additional Spearfish™ guitars for her to use. Moria: a 24-fret ‘fish set up for drop D tuning. And Conquistador, this 22-fret Bare Knuckle pickups-driven light weight axe…which she fell in love with for soloing.

I made four trips to visit the band at their hotel and in the various studios, including one memorable day when Chris Buono joined us. Chris was also kind enough to lend Dany his personal Goshawk™ 6-string.

Ms. Villarreal was now equipped with four of my guitars for recording.

In addition, she used guitars from David Bendeth’s vintage collection. He has decades of experience with his specific instruments, knows their frequency mix slots well, and often pushes artists to use them extensively on albums he produces.

It is not an insignificant victory this album is exclusively a recording of Rick Toone builds plus select classic instruments from the 1950’s and 1960’s. I am deeply grateful to Daniela for insisting on using my guitars (and giving David a glimpse into my world).

A few months after recording I received a phone call from The Warning’s manager, Rudy Joffroy: “Rick, this is a courtesy call to let you know Dany will be pursuing endorsement deals with major guitar companies.”

As a solo builder, one thing I cannot provide artists is tour financing and major media exposure. Dedicating time and instruments I’ve built is…as much as I can gift. Sometimes, more than I can afford to give.

I love music, and I love to help artists develop.

I wish Dany the best of luck on her next steps. A beautiful afternoon she and I had together in her hotel conference room, listening to her playing and singing as I worked on the guitars, is a memory I treasure. Her voice in private, in person, is much more delicate and beautiful than anything I’ve yet heard recorded with the band. I do hope someday her more intimate playing is recorded for posterity. She is a major talent.

I also hope The Warning’s management team and Paul Reed Smith honorably attribute credit where it is due for the sound of the pending new album.

PHOTOS: After its time in the studio, I decided to reimagine Dany’s recording Spearfish 22-fret as a work of art. I felt a vision of a Conquistador — oft-used armor & sword — stepping onto the sands and transforming a new continent.
PHOTO: David Bendeth, Dany Villarreal, Rick Toone. Spearfish™ 22-fret guitar. Sound On Sound Studios, Montclair, New Jersey.

VIDEO: Gabriel Levi explores the newly rebuilt Spearfish™ Conquistador.

Gabriel Levi | Home Away from Home

IMAGE: Gabriel Levi “Home Away From Home” single on Spotify.

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.

www.chrisbuono.com

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.

chris buono
IMAGE: Newly revised: www.chrisbuono.com
toone ensemble
IMAGE: Magnets & Wire album is featured on his discography. Love these guys!

NAMM 2020 | Report

“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)

namm steve sjuggerud
PHOTO: Steve Sjuggerud looking joyous, NAMM 2020.
steve sjuggerud bob gore
PHOTO: Steve Sjuggerud and Bob Gore with Little Angle Wing 8-string guitar.
alasdair bryce
PHOTO: Alasdair Bryce (inventor of Freeway switch) lost in the moment with Goshawk™ 6-string guitar.

Magnets And Wire | Album & Documentary

“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.

magnets and wire toone ensemble
ALBUM: Listen at https://killick.bandcamp.com/album/magnets-wire (photos: Adam King)
VIDEO: Documentary recording the album Magnets And Wire at Sugar Shack in Florida, November 5-6, 2019. Guitars and basses designed and built by luthier Rick Toone. Filmed entirely on iPhone. (41 minutes)
PHOTO: Toone Ensemble. Clockwise from upper left: Steve Sjuggerud, Ede Wright, Killick Hinds, Todd Haug, Dan Ostrowski, Ken Kinter, Gabriel Levi, Rick Toone, Chris Buono. (Photo: Adam King)