The guitar, the apparatus, the mode of communication chosen by my guests. One of them came from over seas after cutting his teeth, honing his chops and getting lit in the progressive music scene of England. The other growing up in suburban Long Island which at the time was veritable cow country compared to today's population explosion.
Both my guests came of age before interconnection, when individual sound was considered vogue and confidence in that individual sound was built through steady gigs in a band with Stephane Grapelli, or David Dawg Grisman playing riffs and chords integrated within the gypsy swing.
These gentleman on my program today played alongside their heroes like Barney Kessel and Bucky Pizzerelli
Keeping the roots music alive through acoustic vibrato in any and all musical settings carrying the torch for those since departed like Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt.
Some audiences are more bluesy, some more classical, some are digital. My guests along with their counterparts Vinny Raniolo and Peppino D'Agostino will attempt to engage their audience because Along Came Betty with A Waltz For Debby.
But like most artists neither of these cats has had an easy journey. They have suffered from musical traumas, in one case nearly walking away from the instrument all together. It's inspirational that both my guests are headlining the Acoustic Super Group Great Guitars who open up at Yoshii's in Oakland tomorrow night!