Saturday is here again - so it is time for Tony to pick of an awesome moment from the world of music.
My pick for today is solo acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges. A classically trained guitarist and composition major from Peabody Conservatory, he crossed over from Classical guitar to a World Music/New Age style of playing early on - his composition skills and blending of classical techniques with World/New Age created a unique sound and certainly made him, in my opinion, one of the finest fingerstyle guitarists in the USA. His preference was for alternate tunings and his compositions included slap-harmonics, right-hand hammer on and left-hand hammer and pulls. Interestingly to me is that he was left-handed but played right-handed guitars. That could account for the use of right-handed hammer on.
He would not commercialise his music but still had several critically acclaimed (and profitable) albums. Most of his touring life was solo although he did tour with Leo Kottke for a while sharing equal billing. I always wanted to see him but regretfully never did.
He died in 1997 at age 43 after his car skidded off the road on a rainy evening.
Graham Nash said, "I considered him to be a genius and when he died I lost a great friend."
His last album, Torched, was completed after his death by Graham Nash and David Crosby
Here he is playing Aerial Boundaries - a piece that highlights his classical training and slap and hammer techniques.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLXBABH2JuY
My pick for today is solo acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges. A classically trained guitarist and composition major from Peabody Conservatory, he crossed over from Classical guitar to a World Music/New Age style of playing early on - his composition skills and blending of classical techniques with World/New Age created a unique sound and certainly made him, in my opinion, one of the finest fingerstyle guitarists in the USA. His preference was for alternate tunings and his compositions included slap-harmonics, right-hand hammer on and left-hand hammer and pulls. Interestingly to me is that he was left-handed but played right-handed guitars. That could account for the use of right-handed hammer on.
He would not commercialise his music but still had several critically acclaimed (and profitable) albums. Most of his touring life was solo although he did tour with Leo Kottke for a while sharing equal billing. I always wanted to see him but regretfully never did.
He died in 1997 at age 43 after his car skidded off the road on a rainy evening.
Graham Nash said, "I considered him to be a genius and when he died I lost a great friend."
His last album, Torched, was completed after his death by Graham Nash and David Crosby
Here he is playing Aerial Boundaries - a piece that highlights his classical training and slap and hammer techniques.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLXBABH2JuY
