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Friday Night Live DIA Free Concert - Pino Forastiere

Dear friends of MFGS

Stocking Stuffers & Important News from MFGS

Best wishes from all of us to all of you for a

Very Merry Christmas & A Happy Holiday Season!

Remember that Saturday December 7^th ( like it's tonight! ) the Montreal Guitar Trio & the California Guitar Trio are performing at Noel Night in Detroit Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Max M. Fisher Music Center!   Oh ya!  ITS FOR FREE!!  And there are 2 SHOWS  But you have to get there early cause parking is tight. Go downtown early, grab a bite to eat and then go to the concert !

 3711 Woodward • 313.576.5111 • dso.org
The DSO & MidtownDetroit, Inc. present two 45-minute performances of the California Guitar Trio with the Montreal Guitar Trio.
Shows at 7:00-7:45     &    8:15-9:00 p.m.

STOCKING STUFFERS!!!

Not sure where to start with this one but we are feeling Really BLUE!   L.   

Our dear friend and big time MFGS supporter Paul Murphy is ending part of his BlueFish Music commercial venture.  It’s hard to run a store, spend time with customers, do repairs , provide lessons and not end up working 16 hours a day.  Hard to keep up with your kids that way!  

Paul will be eliminating the commercial side of his store and Starting Next Week he will be having a huge sale on all of the inventory at Bluefish Music! Paul has more than stocking stuffers too!!  

Stop by or call and let Paul help you find something nice for the guitarist in your life! All sorts of guitars from acoustic to electric to bass to mandolin to ukulele!  Pickups, amplifiers, strings, books, capos, picks …. and anything else having to do with guitars.  This is the end of a 10 year adventure for Paul.

Paul is not totally gone since  he will still do guitars repairs and have a studio for lesson  out of Bluefish.   Paul is a great guy and so we wish him well. 

Do stop by and get a great deal on some nice stuff.  Keep him in mind for  future lessons or guitar setups or repairs. We all would trust our guitar repairs with Paul!    All the best Paul!!

744 Starkweather St, Plymouth, (734) 927-0675 –

Hrs: Mon-Thu, 1pm-8pm; Fri,1pm-6pm; Sat, 1pm-5pm; closed on Sunday

Let your friends know that International Guitar Night will again be touring throughout the US in January and February.  Here is a list of where they will be.  They meaning....Mike Dawes, Brian Gore, Quique Sinese and Pino Forastiere! 

January 16-17 Wolf Trap Barns, Vienna VA
January 18 Gordon Center, Owings Mills MD
January 19 Cross Roads Music Philadelphia PA 
January 22 Livermore Performing Arts Center, Livermore CA
January 23 Harris Center, Stage 1, Folsom CA
January 24 Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre, Thousand Oaks CA 
January 25 Soka University, Aliso Viejo CA
January 26 The Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix AZ
January 28 The Museum of Making Music, Carlsbad CA
January 30  Tower Theatre, Bend OR 
February 1 Lincoln Theater, Mt. Vernon WA
February 7 Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport MA
February 8 Center for the Arts, Natick MA
February 10 The Blue Note, New York NY
February 13 The Ellen Theater, Bozeman MT
February 14 Myrna Loy Center, Helena MT
February 15 Alberta Bair Theater, Billings MT 
February 17 St. Joseph's Collegiate, Buffalo NY
February 21 Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge LA

AND last  but not least, MFGS will be taking a hiatus of sorts after our spring 2014 series.  We are not totally going away but we really need some new energy in our non profit organization or we need to take a break.  JB Davies and Mark Hawks have been volunteering to support the fingerstyle artists and bring this great music to you since 2001.  Jeb McIntyre Rick Haden, Dave Pierson and Ron Stavale hopped on along the way.  So, if you have an interest in sharing some of your energy please let us know!  If not, the artists that you have come to know and love can still book with Bill Keith at Trinity House and we will keep our website open for the time being for  newsletters and other info.   

MFGS - Providing fingerstyle concerts, workshops, picking parties  and community outreach since 2001!!

JB Davies - Rick Haden - Mark Hawks - Jeb McIntyre - Dave Pierson - Ron Stavale  

Mark your calendars for 2014's Spring Concert Series

Peppino D'Agastino - March 8th

Michael Chapdelaine - March 29th

Murial Anderson  April 26th

Don Ross & Calum Graham  May 17th

Phone 248-646-4030 – Email- michfingerstyle@gmail.com

or please join us on Facebook!!

California Guitar Trio - November 5th - In Ferndale

Dear Friends of MFGS

For our last concert of 2011 we are honored to present the California Guitar Trio in concert on November 5th at the First United Methodist Church in Ferndale. We were fortunate that they could come by on their fall tour. 

California Guitar Trio 

   Saturday November 5th 7:30pm

Doors open @ 6:30pm

@ First United Methodist Church

22331 Woodward Ave. Just south of 9 Mile

 Tickets are $25 and available online or at the door

Buy Tickets

www.fingerstyle.org

In 1991 Paul Richards (USA), Bert Lams (Belgium) & Hideo Moriya (Japan) created the California Guitar Trio (CGT) after initially meeting at Robert Fripp’s (King Crimson) Guitar Craft Course in 1987. The trio has toured worldwide since then frequently sharing the stage with Tony Levin (King Crimson). CGT has released 12 albums: 7 studio CDs featuring original CGT songs and a variety of other works spanning numerous genres, 4 live releases, and a Christmas CD with familiar and not-so familiar Christmas music. Lams, who graduated with a concert level degree in classical guitar studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, has also made a solo album of Bach preludes titled ‘Nascent’.  Their 2010 release ‘Andromeda’ was named the Best CDs of 2010 in the instrumental category at the Indie Acoustic Project. CGT’s music was featured on television coverage for the 1998, 2000, 2002 & 2004 Olympics, they performed on the 2003 Grammy Award Show and they also provided wake up music for the crew of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavor as it orbited Earth. Their music ranges all the way from King Crimson to Bach, fusing rock, blues, jazz, world music, progressive, as well as the quintessential California musical genre surf music. The California Guitar Trio's stunning virtuosity and sly sense of humor have earned them an enthusiastic following and wide notoriety. You can’t miss this show!

California Guitar Trio Guitar Workshop 

This is a remarkable opportunity to spend 2 hours with CGT then pick out your seats watch sound check or grab a bite to eat before the show begins.  Call 248-646-4030 to reserve a spot.     

Thanks For Your Support and Don't Miss This Event!!!

Dear Friends of MFGS

We would like to take a moment to thank you for your support in this our 10th season of presenting Fingerstyle Guitar concerts, workshops and picking parties.  Thanks to Mike Moss @ Callahan's for offering his venue for our concerts and to Pete who does the sound in the house. Can't forget our 'main man'  soundman extroidinare, Rick Ratcliff.

We would like to thank these truly amazing guitarists who came to the  Detroit Area to perform and teach Fingerstyle Guitar.  Preston Reed, Pierre Bensusan, Tony McManus, Stefano Barone, Craig D'Andrea, Antoine Dufour, Gareth Pearson, Ewan Dobson, California Guitar Trio (Bert Lams, Paul Richards & Hideo Moriya)  & International Guitar Night consisting of  Pino Forastiere, Brian Gore, Alexandre Gismonti and Clive Carrol.

More thanks to those that support our picking parties

Paul Murphy of Bluefish Music in Plymouth http://www.bluefishguitars.com/  ,

Tracey Ambrozy of Tracey's Cafe in Warren http://www.facebook.com/pages/Traceys-Corner-Cafe-owner/192336924110472,

Gordy Shelst of http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelest-Music-Workshop/137302566303579  Shelest Music in St. Clair Shores.

Also a huge, huge thanks to Rob Poland of Candyrat Records http://www.candyrat.com/  for his support of our organization and his efforts in promoting guitar music and singer songwriters all over the world. 

We cannot thank enough our dear friend and a fabulous supporter of Fingerstyle Music Pam Rossi of 'Overeasy'.  Sadly her show was cancelled and we certainly miss her and wish her well.  Music misses her too!

We still have Ann Delisi on WDET  http://www.wdet.org/shows/ann-delisis-essential-music/ 

and her cohort  host of Acoustic Cafe Rob Reinhart   http://www.acafe.com/about.html and Essential Music on WDET

Enjoy the summer and if your looking for a great guitar fix you cannot miss the Canadian Fingerstyle Festival coming up at the end of July.  It is a bit of a hike to get there but once you look at the lineup you'll think more than twice on whether to go there.   Click on this site and look through the amazing lineup and the location &  Hope to see you there !!!    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGEHJCIfOeY

On our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Michigan-Fingerstyle-Guitar-Society/145932971825  you can post if you are driving or looking for rides to the Canadian Festival.  Also VIA Rail leaves from Windsor (and other points in between) and considering the price of gas I think the rail line is pretty competetive. 

Craig D'Andrea & Antoine Dufour - This Saturday, May 21st

"Creating new audiences for fingerstyle guitar by playing tunes with jaw-dropping chops"    

                                                                   Acoustic Guitar Sept 2008

Craig and Antoine will host a guitar workshop the day of the show from 3pm - 5pm.  Cost of Guitar Workshop is $40 & $20 for students.

Call 248 -842-8124 for information on this show.

Also on

The Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society is a 501 (3) (c) non-profit organization    

Picking Party this Sunday, 5/1/11, 4-7 pm

Picking Party Sunday, 5/1/11, 4-7 pm at Shelest Music Workshop

22410 Harper Ave, Saint Clair Shores, MI 48080 | 586-218-7071

Topic: The Roots of DADGAD'ology, presented by Prof. Dadgadave

Fingerstyle friendly refreshments will be served.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelest-Music-Workshop/137302566303579

Stefano Barone April 16th

Preston Reed Sat. Sept 25th

 This Saturday September 25^th

MFGS presents in Performance

Preston Reed

First United Methodist Church

22331 Woodward

Ferndale (just south of 9 mile)

Tickets $20 General Admission - Students/Seniors $15

At age 16, Reed was inspired by Jefferson Airplane's rootsy blues offshoot, Hot Tuna, with guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. He then studied John Fahey and Leo Kottke. At 17, Reed played his first live gig, supporting beat poet Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Institute. Preston Reed has virtually reinvented how the acoustic guitar is played. Reed plays a flamboyant "self invented" style, characterized by percussive techniques and simultaneous rhythm and melody lines that dance and ricochet around each other, giving his music a level of excitement that is unparalleled today. 

See for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oVzB0zRBU0

"A heart stopping tour de force"      -                                         Billboard Magazine

"True spellbinding guitar mastery"      -                                    Guitarist Magazine

$20 General Admission, $15 seniors/students,  Doors open at 6:30 pm

Tickets @ the door or www.fingerstyle.org

Preston Reed will host a 2 hr guitar workshop 3pm-5pm same day of the show. Workshop cost is $40.

Discounted concert tickets are $10  to workshop attendees. Workshop is intended for players of all levels and  seating is limited!  Call (248) 646-4030 to reserve a seat @ the workshop or for concert info.

Other events to consider

Celino and Lito Romero of the Romero Guitar Quartet will be at WSU Friday, Sep. 17 http://www.music.wayne.edu/Romeros.php

                Guitar Masters Tour Featuring Eric Johnson, Peppino D'Agostino & Andy Mckee, October 3^rd @ the Ark

Tony McManus  First United Methodist Church, Ferndale on November 20^th

^{International Guitar Night - Callahan's on January 29th, 2011,  featuring Italy's Pino Forastiere, Brazil's Alexandre Gismoni, England's Clive Carrol and Brion Gore from the US}

The Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society is a 501 (3) (c) non-profit organization

Michigan Fingerstyle Guitar Society Updates

Dear Friends of MFGS

Well, as much as we'd like to, we can't book all the great players so Trinity House http://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 Blue Fish Music http://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 First United Methodist Church.  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

JB Davies To Perform at the Blue Note Cafe'

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.

www.OldFrontPorch.com

New Officers for MFGS

Upcoming concert

Summer Benefit Show for the Church of the Holy City

Fingerstyle Happenings

Dec. 3rd Benefit Concert!

Benefit Concert for Church of the Holy City

A Special Note from Cheri Miller

Soothing Sounds Promote Wellbeing

Reprinted with permission.

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. 

Van Elslander Cancer Center Volunteer Opportunity

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. 

Andrew.Stewart@stjohn.org  

Phone:313-647-3005

 
Andrew Stewart MT-BC
Van Elslander Cancer Center
19229 Mack Avenue
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236

Community Building

Community Outreach Opportunities