Kevin Ferguson is a committed, dynamic guitarist from Portland, Oregon (U.S.A.) who describes his style as classical/neo-classical, as demonstrated on his latest release, "Exotic Extremes".  His guitar of choice is a '74 Strat, refretted with updated pick-ups. Ferguson has played guitar since 1973, and clearly states his career goal, "I hope to be still be performing and recording, playing music I haven't yet discovered."
When asked about his favorite effect for the guitar, Ferguson replied, "Stereo delay," and mentioned his musicial goals, "In the last 25 years I've spent periods of time concentrating on many combinations (fusion and individual) of jazz, rock/heavy metal, classical/neo-classical, bluegrass, and "world" music (including Nothern Indian Classical Rags, Afghanistani, Pakistani, Chinese, Japanese and others, Ghana, Lybia, The Middle East, Europe (Balkan, Baltic, Celtic regions) and the Americas {including Native American spirit/ghost dance music and Latin American}. Currently with Teshkoto I've been playing mainly electric guitar transcriptions of music from Macedonia, Bulgaria and other Slavic countries, The Middle East and Asia. Lately I've been trying to take music foreign to the electric guitar, and in most cases the acoustic, that has the high energy and rich character developed over at least several generations from all across the world and perform it on guitar. I've written a great deal over the years, but over the last five years or so I've enjoyed being touched by the souls of the many others before me who have left behind incredible treasures that have been largely ignored by the population of the U.S.A. I try to capture the spirit of the music by learning as much of the context as I can. For example, for the music from Macedonia and Bulgaria (Macedonians and Bulgarians don't like being lumped together generally, but for an American the oro's seem to have a great deal in common relative to the rest of the world) I learned how to dance many of the Krivo Ori (Krivo means Crooked, Ori is plural form of Oro or chain dance. Krivo Ori have somewhat complex odd meters such as 11/16 time. Common meters less known to the westerner are 5/16, 7/16, 11/16 and combinations of these such as {11/16, 7/16, 11/16} as a 3 measure pattern). I also have been learning a little of the languages, food, history and other aspects of the culture." He would love to someday study with Ravi Shankar, or perhaps his daughter ("I've been studying off and on with a disciple of one of his disciples and applying it to an electric guitar with slight modifications in mechanical configuration and tuning. The raag (or raga) is so influenced by the mind of the performer that it becomes difficult to pick it up from lessons, transcriptions and recordings. His "My Life My Music" is both inspiring and instructive. He is now in advanced years... a conversation with him would most certainly be enlightening."), and is currently listening to many things, but especially Ferus Mustafov. His greatest satisfaction? "In music, there is a recognition of things otherwise inexpressible. This can happen when I play or listen to music of other cultures and centuries, or when I play or listen to blues at a local pub. Sometimes it seems to be in some aural symbolism, analogous to Jung's ideas expressed regarding the visual in "Signs and Symbols," as if there were some instinctual or genetic "memory" of expression that has been passed down from ancesters. The "juice" expressed through raags is a direct form of expression of these things, though certainly not the only. Whatever it is, it seems as though a magical connection has taken place when it happens, and hair stands on end," he states unequivocally.
 Ferguson lists ongoing and upcoming projects thusly, "Currently most of my efforts are being put into Teshkoto, playing mainly electric guitar transcriptions of music from Macedonia, Bulgaria and other Slavic countries, The Middle East and Asia. In addtion, there will probably be more of the solo performances of acoustic guitar renditions of "world" music mentioned earlier. A CD is coming from all of this eventually... stay tuned."
Guitar Nine Records visitors have compared the playing style and/or musical approach of Kevin Ferguson to guitarists such as Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Steve Vai and others.
Ferguson's discography (available here at Guitar Nine Records) includes several solo albums ("Strad To Strat", "Exotic Extremes", "Subtle Hint", "Restless, Reckless & Wild").
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