The annual convention of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society is held in early July each year. This is an amazing four days and nights of guitar music. I guarantee that on your first visit you will be amazed at the variety of different styles of music that Chet supported and promoted throughout his life. There’s a reason they call him “Mr. Guitar” , and it’s not just because of how he could play.
Jack Semple
Jack is simply one of the best all round guitarists I know. From rockin’ R&B and blues (his trademark), to solo new age acoustic (his album Qu’appelle took Outstanding Instrumental Album at the 2005 WCMAs), he covers all the bases.
The Slippery Slope Available on YouTube
Mel Bay has posted a copy of the video for my tune The Slippery Slope on YouTube as a promotion for the DVD Masters of Fingerstyle Guitar Vol 1. The DVD is available through the Acoustic Tonic Music Store by clicking on the above link for the DVD.
Woodsongs Old Time Radio performance now available online
The Wailin’ Jennies and I appeared on The Woodsongs Oldtime Radio Hour on Nov. 5, 2007. The podcast versions of the program – both audio and video – have now been posted on the Woodsongs website.
To view and/or download, go to www.woodsongs.com and follow the menu links to the Archives page. The program featuring myself and the Wailin’ Jenny’s is 462.
The program’s archive pages are a great source of other great performances by guitarists like Tommy Emmanuel, Edgar Cruz, Thom Bresh and others as well as other fine performers. Check out the whole list.
Guys & Guitars 2 Concert – Available Online
Losing sleep because you missed the on-air broadcast of Guys and Guitars last April on Canada Live! ? Well, fret no more. The entire concert is available on the CBC Radio 2 Concerts on Demand website. (Edit: 2014-03-06 Concert stream no longer available.)
For those of you who haven’t heard the story so far, I had the pleasure of hosting this concert that celebrated the diversity of music played on the guitar for CBC Radio.
For the evening I was joined by four other guitarists, each performing their own distinctive style of guitar music. Rodolfo Pino-Robles, of Saskatoon, performed music from South America on the guitar and several other instruments derived from or related to the guitar; Tim Vaughn, also from Saskatoon, held down the fort for electric guitar with some of his original R&B and Funk; tunes; Regina?s own Kris Craig brought the classic sounds of the electric jazz archtop, and Vancouver’s Don Alder, the 2007 International Fingerstyle Guitar Champion, dazzled the audience with his contemporary steel-string fingerstyle guitar techniques.