Frank Crespo
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Spanish Instrumentalist's Raw Hard Rock
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Featuring thirteen wild, rock-inspired instrumentals, Spain's Frank Crespo offers his CD Next To Andromeda. On listening to the first several cuts, one can easily discern that Crespo favors an improvisational approach over well-crafted composition (in fact, the liner notes state that all tracks were written, recorded and mixed in 15 days). Typically, Crespo sets up a groove using a drum program, then lets a variety of guitar tones 'speak' the lyrical elements of the songs. Some songs, such as "Roots", even begin from the first second with blazing, raw soloing. Crespo deviates from the rock crunch at times - check out the jazz bed underlining "All And Blues", for example. If you think today's songs don't feature enough soloing, you can depend on a guitarist such as Crespo to deliver tunes with wall-to-wall lead work.
Influenced by Angus Young, Eddie Van Halen and Richie Sambora, Frank began teaching himself guitar but later studied with instructors such as Jorge Lario, Rafael Zaragoza, Jaume Pla and Jose Daniel Flors. He later attended GIT in Hollywood, learning many styles including jazz, rock, blues, country and funk. Frank has continued to attend technical clinics and work with many musicians to improve his playing, including Joey Tafolla. He has recently began teaching other students, playing sessions and working on music for television and radio.
Crespo has also worked with the group Los Piston (he is the guitarist's teacher and has helped them with some songs), which have a large following in Taiwan. He has released the first edition of his book "Left Hand", an instructional volume which has surpassed it's sales goals after just a few months of availability.
Contact Information
Frank Crespo
C/ Padre Vicent No. 12 Pta 3
46006 Valencia
Spain
E-mail:
Frank Crespo
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Mike Gwinn
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Comtemporary Electric Folk Guitar
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The Fall is guitarist Mike Gwinn's second solo CD, and sixth overall, and features his special brand of contemporary folk, delivered primarily with voice and with his 1948 Gibson jazz guitar. Gwinn has a smooth playing style, drawing on blues, jazz and rock styles, which compliments his songwriting nicely. His tunes draw from personal experiences, but are written in a way that reflect common occurances that many listeners might have in their own lives. Gwinn states that The Fall reflects the respect for and influence of 'the standards' - emphasizing memorable melody and strong lyrical content. We'd agree - with compositions that emphasize tunes over licks, coupled with Gwinn's ability to deliver superb, tasteful fretwork (as on the instrumental "Sayulita"), contemporary folk fans have got a CD they can certainly enjoy from start fo finish.
Mike has been playing, writing songs and performing professionally since the age of 15. Early guitar influences included Carl Perkins, Luis Bonfas, George Van Epps, Eric Clapton, and many others. His first gig was with Dave Meyers and the Surftones, then he hooked up with the Gabriel Gladstar Band - a folk-rock trio. "A Garden Song" was recorded with the trio in 1973. In the late '70s, Mike played with Mike and Megan (a jazz-pop duo), which played on the same bill with Sarah Vaughn, Dizzie Gillespie and Gary Burton. His songwriting reflects the influence of standards from childhood - Rogers & Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, etc.
Gwinn's future plans are to continue to write, record and perform his music and reach a larger and broader audience. His music has already taken him to Europe, Hawaii, Central America, Mexico, Canada and Nova Scotia, a list of destinations which he will continue to build on.
Contact Information
Mike Gwinn
20 Pheasant Lane
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
United States
E-mail:
Mike Gwinn
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