Reviews / Articles

All Music Guide

Gifted composer and fingerstyle guitarist Richard Gilewitz has trained with some of the best guitarists the United States has to offer. He learned well, and over the years, he himself has become the teacher to many others with his instructional video and songbook. Gilewitz has lived in Alabama, New Jersey, and Florida. He found musical influences everywhere during those early years and even later on, including artists like John Fahey, the Beatles, David Walbert, Leo Kottke, Flatt & Scruggs, and Andres Segovia. By the time Gilewitz entered college, he was composing and performing often. He played at a number of local coffeehouses, while a student at the University of Alabama. Instead of music, his major was computer science. He even graduated and found a so-called normal job, setting his music aside. It was too late though, the music was in his soul, and something as small as financial security couldn't make him forget about it.

Gilewitz's first recording, Somewhere in Between, was released in 1992 under the Hacker Backer Records label. Voluntary Solitary hit the market two years later. Synapse Collapse, a third full-length offering for fans, came out in the summer of 1997. "Embryonic Journey," "Minuet for the Backroads," "Echoing Wilderness," "Dance," and "Jeannie Sleeping" are a few of the 13 tracks showcased on the album. Gilewitz's music is never disappointing and easily blends styles from jazz, blues, and folk, to classical and rock, with his acoustic fingerstyle to come up with a sound that is unmistakably Richard Gilewitz. That style and sound has earned him numerous positive reviews in magazines from all over the states and keeps him busy performing, sometimes well over a 100 days out of the year.

For 2000, Gilewitz put together an album called the Music of David Walbert, in tribute to Walbert, a classical guitar composer, and one of Gilewitz's teachers.

~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide

FretBase

by Brian on September 12th, 2009

Fingerstyle Master Richard Gilewitz

Never heard of Richard Gilewitz? Neither had we until tuned-in Fretbase reader Yvonne contacted Dave and I and said we have to check this guy out. Well we did, and we were very happy to find a fantastic fingerstyle guitarist.

Richard Gilewitz has a style reminiscent of Leo Kottke and has in fact shared the stage with Leo among other musicians that include Warren Zevon, John Prine, Adrian Legg, Taj Mahal, Steve Morse, Sonny Landreth and The Indigo Girls. This solo performer combines quips and tunes with a little history to deliver a timeless picture of American and European fingerstyle guitar.

Richard Gilewitz almost never became a full time musician. After college Gilewitz became a flight simulation designer working with telemetry and satellite systems. Lucky for us guitar heads he came to his senses and pursed his passion. If you’re interested Richard even gives lessons and runs a guitar clinic called “GillaCamp“.

Fingerstyle Guitar

Issue No. 57, "Men of Steel"

As one of the most unique of guitar personalities, Richard Gilewitz stands out not only with his performances but with his offbeat humor as well. Richard is a true entertainer and an accomplished player. He began honing his skills in the late 1970s at the University of Alabama, playing in local coffee houses. Richard is a Mel Bay author and regular contributor to Fingerstyle Guitar. International Public Radio fans have often heard Richard on syndicated radio shows such as RTE Lyric Radio of Ireland, BBC radio of Northern Ireland, National Radio New Zealand, as well as numerous local radio shows in the United States. His busy concert dates have found him sharing the stage with such artists as John Renbourn, Mose Allison, John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Steve Morse, Adrian Legg, The Little River Band, Taj Mahal, The Indigo Girls, Sonny Landreth and many more. "Wazamataz" is from Richard's new and critically acclaimed recording, Thumbsing. "Gilewitz fingerpicked with such graceful facility and improvised so intelligently that he is a guitarist to follow. Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post

Guitar Player

April 2001

Nearly every accomplished guitarist can name a single, early source of inspiration whose impact was greater than any other. Most players are happy to credit their mentors at every opportunity, but acoustic fingerstylist Richard Gilewitz may have fashioned the ultimate tribute. Gilewitz, an established performer and clinician, recently recorded The Music of David Walbert [Gillazilla], an entire CD of his former teacher's compositions.

"I've been fascinated by Walbert and his music for more than 20 years," says Gilewitz. "I was majoring in computer science at the University of Alabama in the late '70s, and David was teaching there. He had these compositions that were just amazing–really deep, rich, and well conceived. He gave me a whole different idea of what was possible and had me bubbling with enthusiasm. For example, I was once talking to David on the phone while playing one of his pieces, and he stopped me and asked why I played a certain note with a certain finger. This is over the phone! I realized right then that I needed to improve how I listen to music."

After college, Gilewitz worked for several years as a programmer before devoting himself to music full time. His complex, energetic originals have made Gilewitz popular on the festival and club circuits as a solo performer, and he also conducts seminars for Peavey's Clinician program. Often compared to Leo Kottke, Gilewitz saw his "Echoing Wilderness" covered by the legendary fingerpicker as "Echoing Gilewitz" on Kottke's A Shout Toward Noon.

Gilewitz main acoustic, a Taylor Dan Crary is strung with a GHS-Golden Bronze set, gauged .012-.054 while his '70s Guild F212 12-string sports a .013-.056 set. Because Walbert's music includes classical elements, Gilewitz faced some challenges arranging his mentor's pieces.

"David composes on a classical nylon-string guitar," he explains, "so I have to make adjustments as a steel string player. For example, it's harder to get a good tremolo on steel–little things like that. But in terms of dynamics, phrasing, attack, and the subtleties that really make a piece of music, the approach is pretty much the same. Attack is really important–it's like your DNA. No matter how similar any two players are in every other way, each can be identified by his or her attack."

– Rusty Russell

L.R. Baggs

Richard Gilewitz hits the road with L.R. Baggs

Master guitarist and clinician Richard Gilewitz has adopted the M1 and Para DI as his amplification system of choice for his Breedlove Guitars and is currently touring the US and conducting concerts and clinics. Richard had this to say recently about his current LR Baggs set-up: "The flexibiltiy available from the combination of these units is a true lifesaver for me as it allows me to bounce with ease between my two stage guitars and bring the true sound of the Breedlove guitars to the audience. With the Para D.I.'s 5-band EQ system, including the notch, presence and sweepable mid features, I can honestly say that the L.R. Baggs' Rule Your Stage Claim rings true."

We are excited to have an artist such as Richard representing L.R. Baggs out on the road. Check Richard's website for upcoming in-store clinic and concert dates so you can hear him, and the the L.R. Baggs set-up, in person. www.richardgilewitz.com content is fascinating and unprecedented.

Musician Magazine

September, 1987

Acoustic Rebirth: The Wooding of America
By Josef Woodard

When John Fahey spawned his Takoma label in the late 60s, his aim was true. The elliptical sage of the solo acoustic guitar was a square peg with no place in the holes it took to fill the music industry. So he created his own home. Takoma embodied the Thoreauan tenets of the then-embryonic finger-style guitar scene--a small-but-feisty company, the little company that could, on its own humble terms. The acoustic guitar was as much a part of the post-60s American dream as the electric; every other living room had one, and a Martin D28 is infinitely more conducive to playing by Walden Pond than a Stratocaster.

Little did Fahey know how the scene he fostered would develop, and that twenty years later the acoustic guitar would enjoy a full flowering that would take it from Walden Pond to Carnegie Hall. There, fingers would coax pleasant sounds under the Windam Hill banner to the delight of, well, the masses. It's been a strange gestation period; what began as a cottage industry for a cult following has become a certified phenomenon in the 80s, just when you'd assume technology had rendered such things obsolete. Who can figure it?

The market today is rife with goods. Preston Reeds's The Road less Traveled (Rounder), is a fine example of fingerstyle, Travis-picking expertise. Jorma Kaukonen has been on the acoustic case for years, with Hot Tuna and on his solo LPs on the Relix label. ECM has done its share, even before the current gold rush; Pat Metheny's New Chatauqua, Bill Connors' Swimming With A Hole In My Head and Bill Frisell's import dark horse In Line belong in any serious acostiphile's collection. So do records by George Cromarty, Pierre Bensusan, Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn and Bert Jansch. The acoustic guitar archive, once sparse and the stuff of specialists, has truly become a viable entity.

A sort of mutual admiration society seems to exist among the figures in the acoustic revolution. Just as Leo Kottke went to Fahey in a sort of pilgrimmage almost two decades ago, young Floridian guitarist Richard Gilewitz sat at Kottke's feet, swapping licks and jokes. Gilewitz' album of guitar solos, Somewhere in Between includes tunes byJorma Kaukonen, Fahey and Kottke. Kottke remembers that Gilewitz traveled great distances to watch him concertize, and the elder guitarist repaid the honor by recording the haunting and luscious "Echoing Gilewitz" on his Private Music album, A Shout Towards Noon. The success of that record (produces by fellow acoustic-minded weirdo, bassist Buell Nedlinger) is another shot in the arm of Kottke's long career. How does it feel jumping on a bandwagon for which he built the chassis? "It's only helped me, that's for sure. I never thought that instrumental music of any kind would ever get a place in the market. It's always been so tough for record companies to sell it, and especially to get them to promote it. So I'm happy to see it."

Of the deans of the steel string school, Kottke has had the most resilient gig. Young players still seek him. "Michael Hedges told me about the time, before he was recording, that he came to a show about thirteen years ago. He was going to come backstage, but a security guy kicked him out. That's flattering stuff."

This winter, Kottke plans to tour with Hedges: the veteran meets the upstart. "It seemed like a natural combination,"...

Spectrum

News, Arts & Entertainment - March 1992

Wiley and Beguiling
Guitarist rivals Kottke in skill and originality

By Mark Beshirs

Richard Gilewitz is possibly oneof the strangest men in acoustic music today. He may appear to be an ordinary, mild-mannered guitarist, but the more one hears him talk, the more strange and enigmatic he becomes. It is as if every time he opens his mouth he is blowing a smoke screen. I mention this before getting to the music because much of the charm of a Gilewitz performance is in the stories he tells, none of which directly tell you anything about him. He knows his B-rated movies backwards and forwards. He has a story about almost every major acoustic guitarist in America; he attends mullet tossing contests, and can program a computer to do anything. He wondered aloud to the audience how many ducks he could take out in a fight if he were to be attacked by a flock of the sneaky waterfowl. He claimed that "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" was actually composed by Jimmy Buffet. For an entire evening he told the audiences stories they couldn't possibly care less about, and made them enjoy it.

And between these stories he played guitar.

Richard Gilewitz is one of America's most exciting acoustic guitar artists on the scene today. His music has been recorded by Leo Kottke, and his own album, Somewhere in Between, has been praised by critics and peers alike. Gilewitz has opened for Warren Zevon, Montreaux, John Fahey, The Little River Band and the Indigo Girls, if that gives any idea of the artists that choose to listen to him.

He pulled into town in his unpretentious Toyota Corolla, and played to a packed house at the Oyster Bar on April 17. During his two sets he told jokes, played his six-string, told a joke or two, played his twelve-string, thought of another joke that was so important it could not possibly wait, and then played slide guitar. His guitar playing might seem to be merely an imitator's take on Kottke, but his technique, while being no less amazing than Kottke's or Fahey's, is individualistic and shares nothing more than the most superficial similarities with these other acoustic guitar greats.

Throughout the evening, he played a mixture of works by artists who have influenced him, such as Jorma Kaukonen's "Embryonic Journey," as well as his own compositions. Pieces such as "Du Monde Blonde" came equipped with explanations as to why he composed them. He was having amusing trouble with throat lozenges during his performance, despite which he still managed to pull off some very nice singing. While vocals are not his strong suit, they provide a respite from some rather intense instrumental numbers.

His devotion and respect for his music was not lost on the members of the audience, who craned their necks to watch his fingers and stilled their tongues to hear him play. When Gilewitz becomes enraptured by his music, he begins to smile, closes his eyes and his foot thrashes about. When the piece is over, he seems surprised to hear it end. Each number naturally left a craving for another. This was obvious when the audience called him back for an encore. Gilewitz obliged them with his beautiful song "Echoing Wilderness," a number that was recorded by Kottke and retitled "Echoing Gilewitz."

Shubb

For the last few years, fingerstyle guitarist extraordinaire Richard Gilewitz has been a fixture at our NAMM show booths. His unique style and quirky sense of humor has made him a favorite at shows all over the world.

In addition to being a concert performer, Richard is one of the best teachers and clinicians I know. Last year I had the priviledge to see Richard at work in that environment and he just seems to be able to "connect" with people. I highly recommend players interested in fingerstyle guitar to check him out.

One example of Richard's sense of humor happened last January at the Anaheim NAMM show. As he was starting his set he purposely starting playing with his left hand behind the capo to see the reactions from people. When he got a puzzled look from them he quickly started playing with his left hand in front of the capo and with a straightface said, " So this is how you use these things?" Strange thing is he sounded pretty darn good playing the wrong way. Thats how good that right hand is.

Tampa Bay Online

Gilewitz Picks Both Sides Of His Brain

By CURTIS ROSS The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 11, 2007

Richard Gilewitz is a weird guy.

That assessment of the acoustic guitar virtuoso comes from none other than Leo Kottke. That Kottke himself is an acoustic guitar virtuoso gives the statement weight.

That it was made after Gilewitz mailed his broken thumbnail to Kottke pretty much seals the deal.

Gilewitz still was primarily a Tampa sensation when he met Kottke, one of his biggest influences, in the mid-1980s.

Kottke advised Gilewitz to stop playing with metal fingerpicks. "He called them my Freddy Krueger starter-kit," Gilewitz recalls by telephone from a coffee shop in Culver City, Calif.

Gilewitz took Kottke's advice and subsequently broke off his thumbnail.

"I drew a hand on a piece of notebook paper, super-glued the thumbnail to it, taped two quarters to the page and mailed it to his record company, addressed to 'Leo's Nail Repair Shop,'" Gilewitz recalls.

Gilewitz's reputation, for his guitar prowess and twisted sense of humor, were well-established even before he was venturing far from Tampa for dates.

Since then, though, he's toured around the world, released several CDs as well as finger-style guitar instructional books and DVDs.

He's still a Florida resident, residing in Inverness. But he still calls Tampa "my stomping grounds."

"I still kind of consider it my home," Gilewitz says. "I have a lot of friends and history there. I know it better than any other city."

Gilewitz returns to Tampa to celebrate the release of his latest CD, "Live at 2nd Street Theater," which contains fine examples of both his jaw-dropping guitar technique and his off-center humor.

Perhaps Gilewitz's skewed outlook is just a result of using both sides of his brain - he's a creative artist with a background in computer science and mathematics (his major and minor in college). He even worked for NASA for a time.

"My schooling and my analytical brain have helped me tremendously in my career and in music, how I go about scheduling dates or putting pieces together," Gilewitz says

"I think of music as puzzle pieces," he explains. "I learn it that way, I compose it that way, I teach it that way."

But, he warns, "if you get too analytical and that's your only ingredient in the soup, you're sunk."

As a dyed-in-the-wool solo performer - "My line is I don't want to hear their problems or share my money" - Gilewitz knows he needs more than his formidable musical skills to win an audience.

"I'm not a comedian," Gilewitz stresses. But "with me being an instrumentalist I have to find a way to communicate in a human element.

"I'm not a poet, I'm not a singer-songwriter. I don't have a … message," Gilewitz says. "I think it was really important for me to become an actor or entertainer. You want people to feel like they're sitting in a living room with their best friends hanging out, and you have about three minutes to capture that."

Weekly Planet

September 26-October 2, 1996

Best Solo Acoustic Artist

The knee-jerk choice for this category would be a singer/songwriter. But we're going in another direction this year. Gilewitz is a solo acoustic guitarist who can spellbind a crowd with his mixture of songcraft, sensitivity and chops. It's no easy feat to entertain a crowd with just an acoustic guitar. There are just a special few -- Leo Kottke, Adrian Legg and a handful of others. Gilewitz can stand with the best. His playing has the proper balance of technique, lyricism and soul.