 |
Guitarist Returns To His Acoustic Roots
|
Over twenty-five years of playing music has paved the way for the new CD release from San Diego fingerstyle guitarist Jim Earp. Entitled Rosewood, the all-instrumental project features thirteen original acoustic compositions performed in a variety of tunings. Earp displays a wonderful sense of dynamics and a knack for creating infectious melodies on tunes such as "Lunes" and "Highland Rain", the latter track combining some marvelous guitar playing with a Celtic-influenced theme. "Angel's Apple Pie", on the other hand, is as American as they come, embellished with bluesy touches as Earp takes you down the country backroads with his driving arrangement. In short, Rosewood covers a plethora of musical influences (folk, jazz, blues, California freestyle, Celtic) which are united through Earp's solo guitar orchestration, fluid technique and personal style.
Jim began playing fingerstyle acoustic guitar in 1973. By the early '80s, he was playing electric guitar in rock bands, and by 1990 he was immersed in guitar synthesis and was beginning to branch out into local session work. Preceding the recording of Rosewood were two singer/songwriter projects, which were promoted via the San Diego coffeehouse circuit. Rosewood represents a return to Jim's acoustic roots, as he had developed his own unique voice over the years, absorbing influences ranging from Bruce Cockburn and Alex DeGrassi to Pierre Bensusan and Leo Kottke.
Earp's goals for the future are to continue to produce and record good acoustic music. He also hopes to garner a livelihood from his original music and live performances.
Contact Information
Jim Earp
P.O. Box 16284
San Diego, CA 92176
United States
|  |
 |
Presenting Listeners With A New Breed Of Instrumental Music
|
Alternately described as "desert surf rock", "spaghetti-western surf" and "surf with punk propulsion", the music of New Hampshire's Cadillac Hitmen is much better experienced than described. True, if you watched a couple of old Italian Clint Eastwood westerns you might detect a breeding ground for the music on the band's debut CD, The Assassin, an eleven track album of cinematically melodic modern "surf" music. The Cadillac Hitmen are guitarists Robert Garceau and Jeff Morris, bassist Tina Marconi and maniacal drummer Steve Toland. The two-guitar lineup guarantees plenty of six-string action for fans of instro music, the tracks punctuated with crunchy, reverb-laden rhythms, heavy vibrato whammies, feedback howls, but most importantly, infectious, memorable, melodic hooks. Check out The Assassin, even you've never ridden the waves or taken a chili-and-tequila-fueled drive through the Texas tumbleweed.
The Cadillac Hitmen were formed in 1996 in the basement of a house shared by Garceau and Marconi. They took something they called "desert surf" music and began playing live in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area. Within about a year, The Assassin was recorded and released, and the music was soon used by local radio station WHEB in it's ads. At the same time, Garceau started Hellhouse Music, an independent label specifically designed to promote the band and the album. The band also created a presence on the internet with their own web site, describing their own brand of music as, "A Tex-Mex-Surfin'-With -The-Devil-Psycho-Boppabilly -Hayride-In-Hades."
The Cadillac Hitmen are poised to take their music out to the world from their current base in the Northeastern United States. Their future looks bright, so don't expect them to stop wearing their $3 wrap-around black shades anytime soon!
Contact Information
Robert Garceau
The Cadillac Hitmen
P.O. Box 218
Greenland, NH 03840
United States
|
Vol. 17, No. 2: Feb.-Mar. 2012
