Well, as much as we'd like to, we can't book all the great players so Trinity Househttp://www.trinityhouse.org/ is helping out by bringing in a fabulous fingerstyle guitarist, Richard Gilewitz http://www.richardgilewitz.com/ this Saturday, November 7th. He puts on a great show and if you get a chance to see him you won't be disappointed.
On Sunday November 8th, our good friend Paul Murphy of BlueFish Musichttp://www.bluefishguitars.com/ is hosting a soon to be annual Luthier Gathering from 1pm-5pm. There will be about a dozen amateur and pro luthiers from Michigan, Ohio and Ontario getting together to discuss building, swap tonewoods and show off their instruments. Any friends of MFGS are welcome to check it out and try some guitars. Paul will have the stage and amp set up so there will be some open mike time and with the lesson rooms there will be some quiet places to test drive some guitars. Paul also does repairs and helpful with advice on anything to do with guitars.
Of course you know that the remarkable Michael Chapdelaine will close out our 2009 Michigan Fingerstyle Series November 14th (click on our web site,www.fingerstyle.org ). What you don't know yet that on November 14th Michael will be gracing the studio of our good friend Pam Rossi on her Overeasy show, 94.7,WCSX on the dial. We will be on the show sometime after 9am but just set your alarm to Pam's show @ 7am and blend yourself into the morning (Sat. & Sun) with a nice mix of great songs. Also Michael will be heading down to 101.9 WDET to visit with Ann Delisi on her Essential Music Show http://www.wdetfm.org/ann-delisi.php at 12 noon. Ann is back on the radio scene in Detroit on Sat. & Sun. from 12 noon to 4pm bringing home grown, eclectic and new 'essential' music to Detroit’s airwaves.
After Michael’s radio appearances MFGS will sponsor a guitar workshop from 3pm - 5pm at the FirstUnitedMethodistChurch. You can't ask for a better opportunity to learn from one of the best guitarist in the world. The cost of the workshop is $40 but workshop attendees can attend Michael's concert for just $10. Call to reserve a seat.
Now that we've planned your day on Saturday the 14th, if you need any further info call us @ 248-646-4030
join us on Facebook & Myspace!
The Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society is a 501 (3)(c) non profit organization
JB Davies - Mark Hawks - Jeb McIntyre - Ron Stavale
Fingerstyle Guitarist JB Davies releases First Songs, a CD comprised of eight original compositions and renditions of two songs from his favorites Billy McLaughlin and Isato Nakagawa. This CD is a broad representation of cutting edge fingerstyle guitar. Most of the tunes utilize alternate tunings. His technique includes the heavy use of tapping, slapping, two handed playing over the top of the guitar and the use of the guitar as a percussive instrument.
On Friday, January 30, 2009 JB will perform at the Blue Note Café in Pontiac Michigan where the CD will be released for the first time. JB is Co-founder of the Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society (www.fingerstyle.org) a charitable organization that promotes the appreciation of fingerstyle guitar through concerts, workshops and goodwill.
The board of the MFGS is delighted to announce the appointment of Ron Stavale as the incoming president and Kevin Tarnas as the incoming vice president. We expect great things from both of them.
Hi folks.. Looking forward to seeing the members of the Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society coming out in force to the upcoming show in Sterling Heights this coming saturday night. This show is for a great cause and is a terrific opportunity for our Society members to show support for each other, which in the performing world is HUGE. We really need to keep spreading the word of this great genre of music that we're all involved in and the best way to do that is to support as many of our member's gigs as possible and bring friends and family to show them just how marvelous this music is. Its not just the board members that can do this... its each and every member. So please grab the family and friends and come out to the show. Its an early night and I know I can speak for the performers in that we'd be honored and very very pleased to see you all.
Fingerstyle Occurrences:
Jere's Picks. . .
Greetings Guitarheads.
Just a little communiqué regarding members of the MFGS, their friends, and their guitar adventures.
Had a chance to drop by the Woman's Club of Royal Oak (just west of
downtown) to listen to 3 fine guitar-players APRIL 22nd. It was
an EARTH DAY SERVICE & FUNDRAISER FOR ROYAL OAK ANIMAL
SHELTER. New board member Craig Porter opened the show with some
lively ragtime guitar. He performed Hesitation Blues,
Barnyard Dance and a whole slew of crowd-pleasers. He sang on
most of the tunes and played a little mandolin (the big one is called
octave) and delighted the listeners in general.
Next up was Mark Hawks (one the MFGS founders). There is no
better member of our society (that I am aware of) who is so perfect a
living breathing advertisement for our concert season. . . He
plays the music of almost EVERYONE we bring to town. He had the
crowd slack-jawed as he performed pieces by Laurence Juber, Al
Petteway, Alex de Grassi, Preston Reed & other notable fingerstyle
artists – Plus a Beatles song which I believe was an Ed Gerhard
arrangement. Finally, our evening closer was professional
guitarist and educator Nick Schillace. He plays guitar in a
number of projects: Great Lake Trawler, Indoor Park and O Death, but on
this night we enjoyed his solo repertoire. Nick counts John Fahey
as a prime influence and it shows in his very American frontier "Let's
see where the river takes us" sensibility. He is a lot of fun to
listen to, and I appreciated the nod to the great Brazilian guitarist
Bola Sete. Check his website, nickschillace.com or at http://www.myspace.com/nickschillace
and buy his CD called BOX CANYON.
On Saturday April 29th
several members congregated at founder JB Davies residence to tryout
some new Sheldon Schwartz guitars first hand. Schwartz is a
luthier based in Ontario Canada and several of our membership
have had guitars custom-built by this highly skilled artisan. He
had 2 nearly identical guitars rich in abalone inlay. One of Koa wood,
and another of East Indian Rosewood, with both soundbounds of
Master-Grade Sitka Spruce. It was a sonic treat to hear so many
different guitarists do their "things" in an astonishing array of
styles. Check out his website: http://www.schwartzguitars.com/oracle.htm
If this kind fun sounds like well, kind of fun . . . Join our society and you'll see that it is!
Picking parties: Over the
years we have hosted guitar circles we like to call Picking Parties.
The last couple have been at the Ferndale Coffee Beanery. It is a
fine forum for those of us who like to play for an audience.
However, we do have some Picking Parties in the homes of our
members although none are scheduled at this time . . . bringing me to
the next point: Think about hosting one. Just takes 2 or 3
hours. Nothing fancy required. You name the place and the
appointed hour. It's pretty low maintenance because the guitarist
are really there to play, not to sample finger food. (Or we'd be
the Michigan Finger-Food Guitar Society). And finally, another reminder
to check out one of the premier guitar instrumentalists around: Ed Gerhard. I missed him last time, but I won't miss him this time:
Saturday May 6 at the First United Methodist Church
22331 Woodward Avenue
Ferndale, MI 48220
Doors at 6:30 Showtime at 7:30
Tickets $15, Seniors and Children $10
Plus Ed will be holding a workshop Sunday May 7th
Space is limited and by reservation only.
And finally, please check out our newsletter page on the website: http://spaces.fingerstyle.org/apps/newsletter.asp
And triple finally, I will be playing some sample of this kind of
fingerstyle guitar music on the radio Tuesday early evening from 5 to
7pm on WXOU FM 88.3.
It is really easy to stream on your computer at www.wxou.org
I will play liberal doses of grammy-winning Ed Gerhard in anticipation
of his concert THIS SATURDAY.
See you there, Jere out
If you have any questions please send an email to
mark.hawks@fingerstyle.org or jeb@fingerstyle.org .
We had a great time playing for The Royal Oak Church of the Holy City on December 3, 2005! Speaking for all the performers, the audience was great and the night went very smoothly. On behalf of the performers, a big Thank Youto Rev. Renee Machiniak, her husband Joe, and Cheri Miller for making sure the event came off without a hitch! Four MFGS members performed - Dave Pierson (me), Dan House, Merv Collins, and Nathan Montgomery. A special thanks to Jeb McIntyre for allowing us to use his PA system. It was a great night at a great venue with a variety of styles and lots of energy!
This is from Rev. Renee:
The Royal Oak Church of the Holy City is most grateful to the volunteer fingerstyle guitarists who performed at our December 3rd, 2005, benefit concert. We would like to thank David Pierson, Dan House, Mervyn Collins and Nathan Montgomery for magical performances on guitar, vocal selections, and the mountain dulcimer! Stories of life and song added depth to the music presented. By the end of the evening, we felt the spirit of the holidays and an appreciation for their love of music and for the sharing of their talent. We we were all very glad we had gathered on this snowy and cozy evening amidst the Christmas lights surrounding the stage - to share the gift of music at the Royal Oak Women's Club. Thank you, once again, Dave, Dan, Merv and Nathan!
Nathan Montgomery contributed 50% of all his cd sales to the church! Overall $350 was raised for the church.
This was a function of the MFGS Community Outreach effort. I think this is a great way for MFGS members to get involved. Check out the other outreach opportunities we have!
My name is CHERI MILLER. I am what you might call a talent scout for two churches:
1) The Church of the Holy City Royal Oak (4th and Pleasant Streets) Reverend Renee Machiniak Sunday Service: 11AM - 12 Noon Fellowship and refreshments after the service.
2) Unity Chapel Southgate (Northline Rd. - off I-75S) Reverend Virgil Brewer Sunday Service: 10:30AM - 11:30AM Fellowship and refreshments after the service.
I visit the Coffee Beanery and other places to discover new talent. Through a short and very pleasant conversation with exchange of phone #’s and e-mail addresses, I enlist people to come and play for our church services and other events.
I spoke with Mark Hawks on Sunday, July 10th at the Coffee Beanery in Ferndale. He requested that I put together some information indicating why fingerstyle guitarists might want to play for these services.
* You will get exposure to an audience, especially good for talented members who are not so used to being and playing in front of a live audience. Even the more experienced players will be left with a wonderful feeling of being completely and totally appreciated.
* It will give you a goal to work toward. Because you have been given and are working toward a certain date to perform, you will practice more, work harder and therefore, you can't help but become better at your guitar playing. This may even spur you to come up with some new ideas (new music pieces or your own compositions perhaps). You will develop more poise in front of an audience and become more comfortable and accepting of yourself, your talents and of others.
* You will know that someone believes in you and knows you are good enough to captivate (keep the attention of) a live audience. Because of our (my) belief in you, it will create a greater belief in yourself and your talent(s). This strengthening of your self-esteem will allow you and perhaps even propel you to be open and available for further opportunities to perform extending your boundaries to a wider audience.
* Our congregations are small family-type atmospheres. The people you will be playing in front of and for will be listening to not just who you are right now, but who you can be. They are loving, accepting, forgiving, tolerant, patient and literally starving for new and fresh talent. You will be loved and accepted for who you are. Any fears you may have about performing in front of an audience or in a church service will quickly melt away. You will be left with possibility, opportunity and a great feeling of accomplishment and goodwill.
Come and join us. If you see a girl with a yellow legal pad and long blonde hair at the Coffee Beanery or any place else, it will be me. Come on over and say Hi! I may be looking for you!
If you have any questions about this experience, feel free to speak with:
David Pierson George Hesser Mervyn Collins Jere Stormer J.B. Davies
They have played for us and will share just how positive the experience was!
The
little girl barely opened her eyes as she listened to the guitarist’s
clear notes. He asked if she knew who the Beatles were. She didn’t.
Instead, he played “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” for her and was
rewarded with a smile. A few songs later and she dozed off. Jeff Hawes
took his guitar and moved on to visit another patient at the Karmanos
Cancer Center.
Jeff Hawes lives a busy life. The 42-year-old father of two works in technology sales support at SAS Institute.
His evenings and weekends frequently involve ferrying his children to
sports activities and music lessons. A talented guitarist who has been
playing for 25 years, Jeff also finds time to use his musical skills to
reach out to people in need of the instrument’s soothing quality.
Jeff is a member of the Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society
(MFGS). Promoting the appreciation of fingerstyle guitar through
concerts, workshops and goodwill, the Society has a membership of 60
guitarists. It was through the Society that Jeff met Kristine Frias,
the Coordinator of Complimentary Therapies in the Patient and Family
Support Services Department at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The
Institute and MFGS have collaborated to create a soothing and healing
environment for the Center’s patients. Studies have found that music,
especially music performed live, can help improve patients’ mental,
emotional and physical wellbeing. MFGS members are now donating their
time and talent to provide patients with that environment at the
Karmanos Cancer Center.
Jeff Hawes shares a musical friendship with a young cancer patient
Robert Thurber of Farmington Hills enjoys a musical offering with his breakfast
For his next performance, Jeff’s audience grew as staff came to
listen to him. He had adjusted his repertoire to accommodate the tastes
of Robert Thurber, a patient from Farmington Hills. Robert, whose
recent surgery left him in substantial pain, visibly relaxed as Jeff
played “Misty” and “Tenderly”. He could be seen silently mouthing the
words to “Girl from Ipanema.”
Later Jeff played in the Wertz Clinical Cancer Center atrium where
patients and loved ones wait for treatment and doctor’s appointments.
Leonard, from Toledo, was waiting for a friend to emerge from his
appointment and commented on how the soothing music took the edge off
waiting. After driving to Detroit from Ann Arbor, a patient named
Marilyn was pleased to have the pleasant relaxing background sound. She
said it took her mind off her problems. “Can he come back for my next
appointment?” she asked.
Kristine explained that the main goal of music therapy at the Cancer
Center is stress release and pain management. She frequently meets with
patients using a flute, keyboard, guitar or voice to help them relax
and feel more in control of their situation. Kristine has hosted a
Spirituality and Music Workshop with Julie Weber, the spiritual
counselor at the Hospice Center. For further information about music
therapy and future workshops please contact Kristine Frias at
313-576-9284 or by email: friask@karmanos.org.
We have a great opportunity to enrich the lives of
others with our music. Mr. Andrew Stewart is the
board certified music therapist at the Van Elslander
Cancer Center in Grosse Pointe Woods. He invited me to tour
the Cancer Center and see how music therapy benefits
cancer patients. I was impressed to say the least.
The facility is a beautiful and peaceful healing
environment. Mr. Stewart would like volunteers from
the MFGS to play for an hour or so a week.
Andrew says, "We would love for any members of your
group to come and play for the patients while they are
receiving chemotherapy in the infusion center. It is
a large community room in which most of the patients
are patiently waiting for their IV administered
treatments to complete. I am also looking to initiate
a research project sometime in May this summer
involving live, environmental music and the patient
experience."
This is not a performance opportunity, per se. Anyone
who volunteers to play will be making music to be
appreciated as part of the environment, not as the
center of attention. Don't expect a standing ovation,
but do expect to add beauty and comfort to the lives
of some people who need it.
You can play just one time or set up a regular
scheduled time to play every week, if you like.
Andrew wants to make this an easy, low pressure way to
volunteer. Give him a call or email him to arrange a time
to play.
Community Building
is really what this site is all about. If any of you have further
interest, take a look at some of the links below. Tor Hough from
Edict.com suggested these links as a good introduction to the web-based
community building concepts.
Over the past year we have linked up with some new organizations
that already have been welcoming and experiencing the generosity of our
community outreach volunteers or are interested in having volunteers
from MFGS visit in the future.
Here's a list of these organizations and their contact coordinators.
Please feel free to contact them to find out more about their needs and
programs and how you can volunteer.
In general, contact the medical sites to play for patients, families, and staff. .
The church involvement, so far, has been to provide music
surrounding worship services. (For a brief insight on this, see George
Hesser's wonderful write-up of his experience at the end of this
bulletin.)
Schedules and sites are to be arranged with the coordinators. You
will find them welcoming and flexible in trying to work with the
constraints of your schedules to make this as rewarding and convenient
as possible.
We certainly encourage everyone to consider this worthwhile activity and to participate.
If you are still undecided as to if this is something you want to
do, please read this note from George Hesser. It is a perfect summary
of why this is a worthwhile and rewarding experience to seriously
consider.
Re: Community Outreach by George Hesser
I had the pleasure this past Sunday (Father's Day) to play during
the worship service at the Church of the Holy City in Royal Oak. What a
pleasure it was, too. Not only did I get to share my guitar music, but
also I met several very kind, energetic and interesting people in the
process. This was my first experience playing during a church service,
and I can honestly say that I hope it is not my last. Reverend Renee
Machiniak, the church's young pastor, made me so comfortable and
welcome, and, as she said during the service, she felt like she had
known me for years. It was a wonderful experience.
The Church of the Holy City is a new church with a small, but
growing community. The church leaders, along with Rev. Renee, believe
that music is a special part of their worship service. They hold their
services in the Royal Oak Women's Society building on 4th Street in
Royal Oak. It is a beautiful little worship area, and the acoustics are
pretty good. I played for about 15 minutes prior to the start of the
service, while folks filtered in, and set the mood with meditational
pieces. I played two pieces during the service, and then played for an
hour downstairs in the community room while everyone enjoyed coffee,
snacks and each other's company.
There were approximately 50 people at the service, and each and
everyone made a point to thank me. Many took the time to share their
love of guitar music and pass along some anecdote about when they
played guitar as a kid. The Church is thinking about hosting a fund
raising event in the early Fall for one of its members. They would like
to see if a few MFGS members would be willing to donate their time and
talent. It was great experience for me, so I plan on helping out.
The Church also has a few Sunday services in the future where
they would greatly appreciate the playing of other guest
"fingerstylists", so, if you're interested and have questions, please
don't hesitate to contact me.
Oh! One more thing: this is a great way to spread the word about
our concert series. There were several folks that seemed really excited
about attending, so this is an easy and fun way to build community
support for our concerts!
