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Microtonal Musician Explores 19 & 34 Tone Guitar Music
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Acoustic Stick is experimental guitarist Neil Haverstick's 'long'-EP release, featuring six acoustic numbers in which he uses 19 tone and 34 tone guitar tunings to achieve otherworldly results. Accompanied by John Starrett on 19 tone bass guitar and Ernie Crews on drums, tabla and dumbek, Haverstick explores the blues ("Birdwalk"), Indian music ("34 Steps", "From The West") and African influences ("African Stick"), among other styles. Haverstick has obviously dedicated much of his time to exploring the sonic wonder of microtones, and his compositions are at once intriguing and mystifying. If you can 'get it' on the first listen, consider yourself uncommon; after repeated listenings you'll begin to appreciate the innovations Haverstick is bringing to the guitar world.
Neil started playing guitar in 1965 after being moved by the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Cream. He began working with microtonal systems in 1989. As a composer, Neil won Guitar Player magazine's 1992 Ultimate Guitar Competition (Experimental Division) with a 19-tone guitar piece, "Spider Chimes". Neil has written for Guitar Player and Cadence and has written two music theory books, "The Form Of No Forms" and "19 Tones: A New Beginning". As a teacher, Neil has been on the faculty of Swallow Hill Music Association since 1990, teaching hundreds of students, both privately and in classes. He performs regularly and his "Microstock" alternate tuning festival is in its fourth year.
Haverstick continues to push the sonic boundaries of the guitar. After all, as Haverstick states, "There is this Uruguayan who plays a 53-tone guitar..." It's always nice to have room to grow.
Contact Information
Hapi-Skratch Records
2100 W. Drake Rd., Suite 280
Fort Collins, CO 80526
United States
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Squeezing Vitamin "G" From Boundless Intensity
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Shattering glass. Screaming occupants. Twisted metal. Overall chaotic mayhem. Is it a high-speed car crash, or is it Orange? You be the judge. The latest CD from guitarist Joboj, whose first CD, "Anvilhead" (under the name Joe Bochar) covered the entire hard rock musical map, goes one step beyond, pulling the listener into an extreme guitaristic world. This guy has more talent oozing from his pulp than can fit onto a 70-plus minute, freshly squeezed CD. Killer cuts such as "Clutch", "Hooloovoo", "Orange" and "The Twiddle" will rock your nervous system as Joboj uses whammy pedals, wah-wah pedals, furious legato runs and feedback squeals to augment his intense style. Great stuff -- and all organically grown, er, a, recorded in "Joe's Room".
Joboj (pronounced "Jow-bow", like bow-tie... or "jow_bowj": bow-tie with a j on the end) is a guitarist originally from Rhode Island, now residing in Los Angeles, California. He's been playing music for fifteen years, and has been doing his guitar instrumental projects for the past five years. His current projects consist of pre-production on a third CD (tentatively titled "Blackthumb"), writing for Guitarapalooza magazine, guest columnist for Guitar Nine Records Online, recording and gigging with R&B vocalist Todd Hunter. .In case you were wondering, Joboj is taken from JOe BOchar Jr., the name the guitarist used on his first CD.
Joboj plans major publicity for Orange, signing up new distribution channels and generally working hard to ensure everyone lacking enough Vitamin "G" in their diet gets a shiny CD's worth in the coming months.
Contact Information
RHP/Quad Records
P.O. Box 6572
Providence, RI 02940
United States
Web site:
www.gtrbque.com
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Vol. 17, No. 2: Feb.-Mar. 2012
