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Beautifully Intimate Fingerstyle
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Releasing his second CD, Postcards, is San Francisco area fingerstyle guitarist Teja Gerken, who delivers solo instrumental compositions with enough surprises and innovative twists to delight aficionados of the world music and folk genres. His tunes employ physical techniques such as two-handed tapping, alternate tunings, and percussive effects, but his developed sense of melody is what will keep his CD playing in your mind long after the 'stop' button is pressed. Another impressive feature is that Gerken's playing is captured without overdubs; the intricate arrangements delivered as you might hear the artist in concert. Gerken is one of a rare breed - a guitarist's guitarist with equal appeal for the non-musicians out there. His Postcards album is highly recommended.
Born in Germany in 1970, Teja began his journey on the guitar at the age of six and became a serious student of the instrument after his family moved to California in the mid '80s. An active participant in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area acoustic music scene, Teja is a regular performer at many of the region's venues. A firm believer in creating community, he hosts a monthly acoustic guitar showcase at San Francisco's Bazaar Café, which features both established and emerging players. Teja has shared the stage with guitar visionaries such as John Renbourn, Alex de Grassi, Peter Finger, and Henry Kaiser, as well as with his mentors, Duck Baker and Peppino D'Agostino. He has been a featured guest at the International Guitar Night, as well as on radio stations such as San Francisco's KALW and KUSF, and Berkeley's KPFA. In 2000, he began adding annual concerts in Germany to his performance calendar, and in 2004, he participated in a ten-city tour of Hungary.
Gerken's debut album On My Way (LifeRhythm Music) has received critical acclaim since its release in 1999. In addition, Gerken can be found on the editorial staff of Acoustic Guitar magazine, and he has co-authored several books about guitars.
Contact Information
Teja Gerken
288 27th Street #2
San Francisco, CA 94131
United States
E-mail:
Teja Gerken
Web site:
www.tejagerken.com
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Ripping Hard Rock From Finland
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Kaos Krew is a trio of hard rockers from Finland who recently released Under Destruction, a ripping collection of mostly instrumental, heavy hard rockers. Two guitarists ensure the six-string fury never lets up - Goran Fellman (lead guitars) and Uffe Skog (guitars, keyboards) - while bassist Tomas Ost holds down the low end over the programmed grooves (which are much higher quality than you might imagine). This album features an unusual blend of contemporary guitar playing melded with nu millennial soundscapes - alternating searing metal/rock soloing with lyrical synth beds and surreal rhythms. Under Destruction is the group's first record together as a trio; they mentioned their hope to add more vocal tunes in the future, so we got one question - why?!?
Guitarist Goran Fellman played with the band Stormwing in the '90s - typical melodic rock - while guitarist Uffe Skog lists his influences as Jeff Beck and Joe Satriani, as well as bands such as Clawfinger and Rammstein. Bassist Tomas Ost played with the group Wild Force. Kaos Krew plans to continue to write music, putting more effort into writing lyrics (see 'why' question above). Their album, Under Destruction, was well received in Finland, and even was voted CD of the week at Radio X3M, receiving airtime. Some European record companies have shown interest in Kaos Krew, but they have not signed any contracts to this point.
Kaos Krew are currently in the studio, recording new songs for their next CD.
Contact Information
Uffe Skog
Norrmalmsgatan 22
Fin- 68600 Jakobstad
Finland
E-mail:
Kaos Krew
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Vol. 17, No. 2: Feb.-Mar. 2012
