January 2010: Happy New Year!

The BIG NEWS of the month, of course, is the Los Guitarristas CD release concert at Martyr’s at the special early evening time of 6pm. Please come out and support this amazing project! I’ve been getting reports of the disc getting spun on WBEZ as bumper music in the morning and afternoon hours - thank you!

Beyond that, I’ve begun recording some new solo pieces towards an upgraded demo, and hopefully, my first solo guitar CD - this will be ongoing though the spring.

Mas Trueno also makes a return this month after a long holiday break - we’re excited to be celebrating the 7th anniversary of the Dark Room, our favorite room to play.

New repertoire - I hope to finally debut Preludio y Danza by Eduardo Falu this month - it’s been quite a project. Also I continue to work up a wicked set of duets with Alfonso, surely to be featured at upcoming Los G shows, and soon perhaps we’ll have enough to carry a night as a duo (any restaurants reading this??).

December 2009 - Season’s Greetings!

The big news is that the new CD from Los Guitarristas is finally here!

Instructions on how to purchase one are on the website:
http://losguitarristas.com

A new website is coming soon that will allow you to buy them directly with a credit card, so for the time being, direct sales are a bit old school. Chicagoans can celebrate the release on Jan 30 at Martyr’s.

Anyways, the CD was a huge project to get done, and we are quite proud of it, and the early reviews are extremely positive. AND, they will make the perfect stocking stuffer for any fan of guitar music!

Beyond that, it’s the Holiday Season, which means lots of time brushing up on Christmas music, which is great fun. I have a couple Holiday events I’ll be playing - but still an open calendar for those of you checking in here looking for a last second entertainment decision…and of course, I’ll be sampling through them each Sunday this month at Cafe 28 - I promised Rick 2 new Holiday tunes per week.

Other new repertoire: Cancion de Cuna by Leo Brouwer, and Preludio y Danza by Eduardo Falu…the first 2 pieces I specifically learned to bring to Sunday brunch at Cafe 28.

Alfonso and I are continuing to work up a set of duets, hopefully you’ll be seeing us on stage soon with that project. He is pushing me to greater and greater speeds as we break out some fantastic pieces.

I hope to book some studio time myself this month too, a new demo, and first tracks for the long awaited solo guitar CD…done by Spring 2010?

Merry Merries!
n

2009 mid-October BREAKING NEWS!

I super excited to report that I will now the weekly brunchtime entertainment at the excellent Cafe 28 (1800 W. Irving Park). Cafe 28 is a family-owned restaurant featuring traditional as well as contemporary takes on Cuban and Mexican cuisine. I’ll be playing each Sunday from 11am - 2pm.

This is great opportunity for myself to get to dig deep into my repertoire each week (and ultimately expand more into Mexican and Cuban styles and composers), and a great opportunity for anyone who may be visiting this website in consideration of hiring me for an upcoming wedding or other event - come out to Cafe 28 this Sunday to check me out!

October 2009 - Autumn Greetings!

The big news is that this is the month that the Los Guitarristas’ debut CD “Paisaje de Sudamerica", will finally be finished! We’re in the final stages of mixing, and all systems are go for product to be in hand for our November 13 show in Ann Arbor. Say a little prayer that no snags arise as we go to mastering and packaging!

I have some solo guitar performances of special note this month: Sunday 10/11 I’ll be making my brunch debut at Cafe 28, playing between 11am - 1pm, while patrons enjoy some excellent Mexican/Cuban cuisine.

And on Friday evening October 24 I’ll be teaming up with my mentor, Maestro Alfonso Chacon, at Cafe Ballou in the Ukranian Village in a concert-setting, performing my favorite and most artful solo pieces, as well as some duets with Sr. Chacon (who will be performing solo). There will be no cover for this show, but your propinas are appreciated!

October 24 will also wrap up this season of the Green City Market for me this 2009, always a wistful occasion…and a sign that the holiday season is upon us. Drop me a line as you may be thinking about your holiday cocktail parties!

September 2009: What a crazy month this will be!

The big news: on Thursday morning September 10, my super fun electric band Mas Trueno will be performing LIVE on WBEZ (91.5 FM) on the Eight-Forty-Eight show, we’ll be taking the airwaves at 9:40am. Ostensibly, this is promote our big show at the Dark Room on 9/11…we hope to see you there!

Also, Los Guitarristas returns to Uncommon Ground on September 17 - we are halfway done mixing and would love your support as we work hard to finish Paisaje de Sudamerica…it’s going to be amazing!

In addition, I’ll be performing at 3 weddings (2 receptions, and 1 ceremony). I’m particularly excited for the ceremony on September 26, as I’ve been asked to perform the Bridal Chorus for the first time ever. Finally!!!

As I write this on the morning of September 1, my calves are still aching from the Chicago Triathlon 2 days ago. I had a great day, hitting all my goals and feeling pretty darn good about it, I just thought I’d share that.

Enjoy your final days of Summer!