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Friends And Links

This section of my site is for all the fantastic people who have helped me get to where I am today.

 

Photo by Geraldine Rapetti

Jamie Andreas has taught me for years. A master of guitar pedagogy, Jamie has written several books about how to play and teach the guitar. "The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar", her first book, is the only text book I require although everything she has written is useful for guitarists of the appropriate level and style.

Jamie's Web site contains several free articles about the guitar and guitar instruction. She maintains a well moderated on-line forum and sends out a regular newsletter that contains useful articles for the beginner, developing, and professional guitarist. I encourage everyone to visit Jamie's site, to look around, and to take full advantage of the free materials offered.

You may read "Natural Talent", one of Jamie's essay, here.

I also recommend Jamie's instructional DVD and her rock and blues course which is geared toward electric guitar students. To my knowledge it is the best and most concise CD-R based course available. Her on-line classical course is the first of its kind.

Having taught thousands of students, Jamie enjoys teaching and still accepts students in her private studio, which is located in upstate New York. She also does Internet-based consultations via Web cam and is one of the first internationally acclaimed guitar teachers to do so. She regularly publishes articles and interviews in Soundboard and other trade magazines.

Ney Mello is a pick-style guitar wizard and a long-time friend and supporter of Jamie. I had the privilege of taking some consultation lessons from him in his studio in Silver Spring, MD and again when he was visiting Jamie for a workshop.

Ney has begun to offer web-cam consultations. A talented linguist, he is fluent in English, French, Portugese, and Spanish. So he attracts students from all over the globe.

www.myspace.com/neymello

Graphic by Ney Mello. Used with permission.

Ney specializes in fusion jazz but can play all pick-related styles of electric and acoustic guitar. He is also very experienced in recording studio design, audio engineering and production. With his background in architecture as well as music, he fully understands the physics and engineering behind the design and construction of recording studios. He is also in high demand as a studio session guitarist in the Washington, DC and Baltimore area. Ney offers both regular and consultation lessons. In addition to guitar consultations, he offers consultation in recording engineering.

 

Blane Sloan, Eagle Rock Studios, www.eaglerockstudios.com

I recorded my latest demo at Eagle Rock Studios. Blane did all the tracking and was the primary recording engineer. I was very impressed with the studio, and also with Blane's skills. He's got excellent timing and can punch-in edit in real time while tracking. As if that weren't enough, he's also available as a session guitarist. His assistant, Roger Baker, is not only a talented engineer and keyboard player, but Roger also does graphic design and photography.

Graphic by Ed Roman. Used with permission.

Ed Roman's Web site receives about a million hits a day. It's full of technical articles about the electric guitar, and hundreds of gorgeous guitar pictures.

I met Ed in person when I flew to Las Vegas to have my custom Quicksilver built. His retail store and shop have moved and downsized since then, but he still has a top quality design team and also specializes in hard-to-find guitars. Ed's controversial at times because he's so outspoken, and he's not known for his political correctness. His Rants page is definitely worth a visit.

I play Galatea, my custom green Quicksilver guitar, which makes an appearance on this site and also in Jamie's latest instructional DVD. Ed and his team built Galatea for me in 2006/07.

Carmen Acosta is a voice teacher in Albuquerque who specializes in helping singers recover from vocal injury. She is currently rebuilding my singing voice, which I mangled several years ago. I thought I'd never sing again but Carmen is proving me wrong.

A classical soprano by training, Carmen provided backup vocals and a short solo on my USS New Mexico project. Although she is primarily known for her operatic and art song work, she also sings jazz and is available for recording and performance projects. She teaches children as well as teens and adults. Her studio is located on the east side of Albuquerque near I-40 and Louisiana. You can reach her via the above E-mail link or at (505)232-9886.

Carmen also offers vocal coaching and production for singing recording artists. She is fluent in Spanish, English, and Italian. She is also a very experienced costume designer for both stage productions and solo performers.

Roger is a phenomenally talented photographer and graphic artist. He was responsible for all the photography and artwork on the USS New Mexico Project, and also did the shots for this site in July 2010. His keyboard skills are fantastic: in fact, on the flipside track of the USS New Mexico Project, he improvised the accompaniment for Terry Teller's Navajo language rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner".

The Outpost Performance Space is a non-profit organization dedicated to jazz and world music. National and international acts are booked there regularly, and the Outpost Space also has a well established education and outreach program that offers music classes for children, families, teens, and adults. The adult improvisation class, taught by David Parlato, was my first serious introduction to large ensemble jazz. Tom Guralnik is the executive director of the Outpost Space.

David Silverstein is a talented free-lance photographer who specializes in non-traditional work. He did many of the most recent shots on this Web site and was a pleasure to work with. All of his work is extremely professional, the turn-around time was outstanding, and as you can see from the photographs he knows some amazing locations to shoot at. I recommend him to any musician looking for promotional pictures.