'Guitar, the Australian Journey' audio CD
This deluxe book includes an audio CD featuring artists and guitars described in the book.
Jeff Lang on a Greg Beeton tri-cone resonator
Jeff Lang on a David Churchill six-string
Jeff Lang on a David Churchill lap steel
Jeff Lang on a Tim Kill fretless acoustic
Karin Schaupp on a Simon Marty Classical
Willy Zygier on a Jack Spira S1 acoustic
Bruce Mathiske on a Jim Williams acoustic & George Golla on a Hagstrom Viking electric
David Ross Macdonald on a Jim Redgate steel-string acoustic
Cary Lewincamp on a Gary Rizzolo seven-string arch-top
Jim Matheas on a Jim Matheas dreadnought
Fred Pilcher on a vintage Maton 12-string
Fiona Boyes on a Maton CW80 acoustic and a Greg Beeton resonator
Phil Emmanuel on a Ray Berketa Blue Angel electric
Chris O'Connor on a Gerard Gilet 00
Dr Zot on a Bryan de Gruchy acoustic
Bruce Callaway on a Cole Clark 'Fat Lady 3' acoustic
Jenny Spear on a Greg Smallman classical
Chris Johnson on a Jack Spira RT100
Enjoy these samples from the CD.
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'Scars' by Fred Pilcher
Fred Pilcher plays a vintage (late 60's) Maton FG-150 12-string.
Chris Johnson writes:
'While the 12-string has been and still is used in all styles of guitar music, it is the folk genre that can truly claim ownership of it. Fred Pilcher, today hardly known outside Canberra, was there at the pinnacle of the folk music revival in Sydney and became quite a figure on the Sydney and Canberra circuits. After a decade away from music Pilcher returned to local notoriety in the nation’s capital in 2010 when he made his still flourishing comeback. His instrument of choice is the 12-string acoustic.' (page 126)
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'Thoughts' by Chris Johnson
Chris plays his Jack Spira RT00 acoustic, made for him by Jack as he wrote this book.
Chris writes about the day his new guitar was finally delivered: 'I could not have been more delighted. Number 232 made by Jack Spira, Model RT00, came out of the case looking gorgeous. Prettier even than I had expected. It felt so nice in my hands. The smell of the Australian woods was beautiful. And the sound had me enchanted. There was something special going on inside this instrument—an instrument I had watched come to life. I played it all night. (p.284)
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'El Sueño De La Munequita' by Karin Schaupp
Karin plays 'El Sueño De La Munequita' on A Simon Marty Classical.
Chris writes: 'Karin Schaupp. Pure brilliance. A leading classical guitarist in Australia and internationally, Karin Schaupp has the attention and admiration of audiences and critics wherever she performs. As a soloist, as an accompanist, as part of a quartet or playing with an orchestra, Schaupp is an extremely impressive guitarist. Trained by her mother as a young child while still in her native Germany, Schaupp completed tertiary music studies at the University of Queensland where she excelled. With many, many concert appearances and multiple recordings of her own, Schaupp has also embarked on numerous collaborations.' (page 24).
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'Catfish Fiesta' by Fiona Boyes
Fiona Boyes plays 'Catfish Fiesta' on A Maton Cw80 Acoustic and A Greg Beeton Resonator.
Chris writes: 'Australia has its very own international blues queen and her name is Fiona Boyes. With a masterful guitar style and a powerful blues woman’s voice, Boyes won the 2003 International Blues Challenge at Memphis, Tennessee in the solo acoustic performer category. She was subsequently nominated in the top five for four consecutive years in the Blues Music Awards, also in Memphis—the only Australian ever to be nominated. (p.237)
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'Capricho Árabe' by Jenny Spear
Jenny Spear plays 'Capricho Árabe' on A Greg Smallman Classical.
Chris writes: 'One of my favourite guitarists is a good friend of mine Jenny Spear. She is classically trained and true to the tradition. Yet she loves rock ballads and is crazy about heavy metal. A Jenny Spear performance crosses all those genres and leaves her audiences begging for more. Twenty-first century Australia has many such accomplished musicians.' (p 279)
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'Luthier's Improv' by Jim Matheas
Jim Matheas plays 'Luthier's Improv' on his Dreadnought.
Chris writes: 'Jim opened his own workshop and business Matheas Guitars in 1994 at Fitzroy offering repairs, fine tuning and custom made guitars. In addition to electric guitars and basses, he builds three styles of steel-string acoustics with different body sizes and two nylon-string models. ‘All of the acoustic instruments I make are traditional,’ he said. ‘In the tradition of the masters, that is respecting the tradition of how instruments are made and understanding the materials you are working with. I use Brazilian rosewood, German and Sitka spruce and western red cedar—all traditional woods.’ A Matheas guitar looks, sounds and feels beautiful.' (p 160)
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'In Memory Of Duane' by Dr Zot
Dr Zot plays 'In Memory Of Duane' on A Bryan De Gruchy Acoustic.
Chris writes: 'Like many a collector Stehlik, or Dr Zot as his guitar mates tend to call
him, started out playing as a teenager and in his case acquiring a 1960 Gibson
Melody Maker while on student exchange in the US during the early 1970s.
‘I played that guitar in several bands in Adelaide before acquiring a ten-yearold
Stratocaster in 1985,’ he recalled. ‘By that stage I was starting to become
aware of the emotional and tonal attraction of older guitars. I love the history
that goes with them, the pencilled dates in old Fenders, the woody feel of a
nicely played-in nitro-cellulose finished neck.’ These days Dr Zot has about
30 guitars in his collection, but he says it is by no means a large number
compared to some of what he calls the ‘serious’ collectors in his network.' (p 274)
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‘Black Roses' by Bruce Callaway
Bruce Callaway plays ‘Black Roses' on A Cole Clark Fat Lady 3 Acoustic.
Chris writes: 'The acoustics proved to be popular sellers in Australia, with a growing international market also boosting profits and profile. Most acoustic models are named Fat Lady—the FL1, 2, 3 and 12-string (Brad was quite proud of naming the whole range himself). At the time of writing, the most recent addition to the Cole Clark acoustic range was the Angel, which has a smaller and more compact body than the Fat Lady. Cole Clark electrics, too, captured a growing segment of the guitar market. The company also makes ukuleles and lap-steel guitars.' (p 109)
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'Traditional Regtime' by Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson plays 'Traditional Regtime' on A Jack Spira RT100.
Chris writes: 'Just like so many others have expressed throughout the pages of this book, the guitar for me is my individuality. It is very much an expression and an extension of who I am. I have always been compelled to play the instrument; eager to lose myself in its wonders. I still love writing songs and have returned to the recording studio after far too long an absence to lay down some of my originals. It is no longer about trying to ‘make it’ with my music; it is all about the joy of simply making music. I very often find myself after midnight buried away in my study inside a quiet house and completely oblivious to anything else except the music I am enjoying with this wonderful instrument. If only there were more hours in the day—and we didn’t have to fill them working for the man.' ( p 281)