The schedule for tours for November and December 2010 was a busy one beginning with appearances Little Rock, Arkansas and wrapping up in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Richard's Meet the Artist-Music in the Schools Program was presented in several schools in the South Bend/New Carlisle, Indiana area and in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Concert performances, meet the artist forums, and teaching sessions are part of this successful program that brings music and musicians to schools throughout the world as Richard often invites special guests to join him for this event. Richard's sponsors play a big part in this program by generously donating items, ranging from books, music magazines, gear, and strings, to tuners, capos, headsets, guitar accessories, and T-shirts -- and much more!
GillaCamp was on the road again with classes in Michigan, Indiana, and Utah, allowing players of all levels to sample this unique guitar experience in hour-long increments. Many of the students who attend these shorter sessions find themselves traveling to Ohio and Florida for the annual 2-day GillaCamps.
Tim May joined Richard for a few concerts in Florida and Alabama as they performed at a special benefit concert for The Taras Oceanographic Foundation of Jupiter, Florida and and Richard's yearly event for The Art Center Theatre in Citrus County. A coming home concert in Richard's teen year's hometown of Huntsville, Alabama set the stage for meeting up with Gretchen Priest-May as the trio traveled to Wyoming for the week long school program and seasonal concert.
September/October 2010
The September and October tours started with the annual trek to Ireland for the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival. Every year this small town opens her doors to musicians and music fans from around the globe for a 4-day festival of music. This year's festival was particularly special as one of Richard's students experienced the event for the first time through a grant from the Lilly Foundation.
Ireland's radio continues to be an intricate part of their rich musical culture with large and small stations eager to welcome visiting artists for interviews. In Waterford, Castlebar and Drogheda, each radio presenter showed a personal and professional interest in Richard as they asked provocative questions and spun his CD's
The annual GillaCamp in Clonakilty joined the roster of other artists presenting workshops in songwriting, Irish tunes, sound systems, and crafting guitars. GillaCamp also traveled to Athlone where eager students learned fingerstyle techniques for the first time.
Traveling by car provided opportunities to visit some spectacular vistas throughout Ireland and meet up with old friends and new acquaintances.
October was a diverse month with performances and workshops in Colorado, Illinois, Florida, and Missouri. Keyboard master, David Webb, joined Richard at Apple Fest in Cedaredge, Colorado for an afternoon of rousing tunes. David is always a favorite special guest and his talented playing can be sampled on Synapse Collapse and Strings for a Season.
Radio Live! WUWF's live broadcast in historic downtown Pensacola welcomed Richard's tunes and tales as he joined host, long time friend and patron of music, Pat Crawford. A quick flight from Pensacola to St. Louis dropped Richard off for the last part of October's tour including a house concert and GillaCamp and a performance and clinic at Fazio's Frets and Friends, one of the best independent music stores in the country.
July/August 2010
Everyone needs a little time off to rest, refresh, and work on projects that are neglected during the rigors of touring and Richard's July and August were months to write articles and his monthly blog, (insert l2plink for the blog here: www.l2pnet.com/blog/24 compose tunes, teach guitar, map out a new instructional CD Rom and do his civic duty by standing by for his slot on the jury duty call up list. Since Richard's roster of students is worldwide, teaching locally as well as through Skype, he concentrated on catching up with his students who were clamoring to learn new techniques and hone their craft.
The annual GillaCamp at Sound City Music in Troy, Ohio, brought together players for their yearly in depth guitar workshop and also new players to experience GillaCamp for the first time. One student was unable to attend the GillaCamp this year, but quickly figured out a way to enjoy Richard's music by hosting a private house concert for his friends, family, and the fellow GillaCampers.
Then it was back on the road again to Rock Springs, Wyoming, for more workshops and concerts with Tim and Gretchen May. This trio conducted guitar, fiddle, and mandolin classes, performed at the Speaking of the West series, and provided morning worship music on the last day of the tour.
May/June 2010
May started right off with a quick trip to Huntsville, Alabama, Richard's home during his high school years, for a concert/clinic and GillaCamp at The Fret Shop, a great place that is now in its 30th year of business, then landed back in Florida for a two day event of a concert and clinic, followed by a Sunday afternoon GillaCamp at Carlton Music in Lakeland. Both of these businesses are shining examples of the music shops that consistently provide their customers with quality products and old fashion customer service.
A break in the touring schedule brought Richard to one of his favorite past times - attending a baseball game. The Rays, the Tampa Bay area's major league baseball team
are having a good season so far this year and Richard celebrated this with Raymond, the Rays mascot. A favorite sight at the game, Raymond provides entertainment for the fans with antics and some pretty impressive dance moves.
June was filled with a heavy schedule of teaching as Richard offers private instruction for guitar in addition to the GillaCamp traveling workshop. Students have the option of meeting with Richard in person while he is off tour, making appointments to study with him while he is on tour, and also through Skype. Students interested in studying with Richard should contact him through the following email address: contact (at sign) richardgilewitz.com.
A highlight of June was the Miami International Guitar Festival. This event brought together performers from around the world and also offered master classes. Read more about this yearly festival on Mel Bay's webzine, GuitarSessions.com and on Richard's blog on the L2P Network in "Music Industry Steps Up to the Plate", a 5 chapter series about the Miami International Guitar Festival.
March/April 2010
March and April opened up with a tour to Oklahoma and Kansas for some concerts, seminars, and a GillaCamp. While at the Iron Horse Concert Hall in El Dorado, Kansas, Richard warmed up with "Echoing Gilewitz", the ending section of his original 8-minute tune, "Echoing Wilderness". This last section was aptly renamed and then recorded in 1986 by Leo Kottke. Tune into the GillaZilla Music Channel on YouTube.com for this video and many others.
While in Tampa, Florida, Richard stopped by WMNF for an early morning interview. This community radio station is a tremendous supporter of music since it went on the air in September 1979.
The 2010 MusikMesse was held in March and Richard spent part of his time taking in the local scene and recording the voices of MusikMesse for his L2P blog. A four-chapter series, "Musical Travel Adventures" takes the reader on a journey of the sights and sounds of MusikMesse.
April brought a busy month with tours to New Mexico, Georgia, and Florida. The Newport Guitar Show, held in Hollywood, Florida this year was an event filled with top luthiers and musicians for a 3-day extravaganza at the Hard Rock Casino. Never one for missing a chance to exercise, Richard put his muscles and chops to task as he played a very unique guitar. Read all about it in and watch Richard play "Classical Gas" in the featured story of the May issue of Mel Bay Publications' Guitar Sessions.
Jan/Feb 2010
January and February are great months to stay around home base in Florida as the weather in the rest of the United States tends to be fickle with unexpected winter storms
and a lot of airline delays. But the weather played out just fine for a quick trip to Aneheim, California for the NAMM show. Always a busy gathering of music industry folks, this year's show was filled with opportunities to try out new products, catch up with old friends, and show thanks and appreciation to the sponsors who give their generous support to Richard's career.
These few months allowed space to work on a number of projects that always get pushed into the background during a heavy touring schedule, including time to conduct private guitar lessons locally and also via Skype. Richard has been teaching by phone for a number of years and the technology of visual lessons via Skype has added an additional dimension for both Richard and his students. Interested players can contact Richard at contact@richardgilewitz.com. As GillaCamp moves from town to town and country to country, it offers players opportunities to hone their skills in a fun setting. The February GillaCamp in Inverness, Florida, was a first and the folks at Cornerstone Baptist Church offered a perfect setting for the Camp. The GillaCamp schedule with topics and updated information is always available at www.gillacamp.com.
Richard's music shows up in a number of areas and he was honored to perform at the release event for "Dynamic Flexibility", featuring kinesiologist Timothy Agnew. www.stretchme.com This 56-minute DVD incorporates Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) that helps improve flexibility and movement without pain. A great program for musicians who spend a lot of time sitting in studios/cars/buses/planes/trains! Throughout the DVD, Richard music can be heard.
The schedule for tours for November and December 2010 was a busy one beginning with appearances Little Rock, Arkansas and wrapping up in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Richard's Meet the Artist-Music in the Schools Program was presented in several schools in the South Bend/New Carlisle, Indiana area and in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Concert performances, meet the artist forums, and teaching sessions are part of this successful program that brings music and musicians to schools throughout the world as Richard often invites special guests to join him for this event. Richard's sponsors play a big part in this program by generously donating items, ranging from books, music magazines, gear, and strings, to tuners, capos, headsets, guitar accessories, and T-shirts -- and much more!
Everyone needs a little time off to rest, refresh, and work on projects that are neglected during the rigors of touring and Richard's July and August were months to write articles and his monthly blog, (insert l2plink for the blog here: 
These few months allowed space to work on a number of projects that always get pushed into the background during a heavy touring schedule, including time to conduct private guitar lessons locally and also via Skype. Richard has been teaching by phone for a number of years and the technology of visual lessons via Skype has added an additional dimension for both Richard and his students. Interested players can contact Richard at 
