…Candyrat, that is.
4 of the hottest young acoustic guitarists on the planet (on the Candyrat label) came through L.A. last night on their 6 week tour. Frank and I saw the (fantastic) show last night. I knew all the names, but hadn’t listened to all – and had never heard friend Antoine Dufour live, so the whole evening was a real treat.
They stopped by today on the way up to Santa Barbara, and had fun trying out some odd harp guitars. 3 of them actually play them – Antoine, with his Duane Noble of course (included on the next HGM compilation), but also 2 Holloway prototype owners, Craig (not much yet) and Gareth (who claims he’s successfully working it into his “Tommy Emmanuel meets Michael Jackson” act [my take on him, anyway]).
L-R: Gareth Pearson, Craig D’Andrea, me, Antoine Dufour, Ewan Dobson II
Antoine trying the McCollum (for sale at HGM): all agreed this is a killer HG
Craig is amazed by the c.1898-9 Knutsen
Gareth gravitated toward the c.1900 Russian Zimmerman (7 on the neck)
While Ewan (a former classical guitarist) dwarfs the Gazzo on stand
Jaci and I had a great time with the “youngsters” – you can check out their music at Candyrat.com. But I would highly recommend seeing them live – a whole different level!
Gregg, Linda and I concur whole heartedly. As wonderful as youtube can be, there is just no substitution to seeing Ewan perform Fire & Ice live. Or Antoine, (with Tommy Gauthier) play Jerry’s Breakdown on one guitar. Gareth is so full of energy that if you could harness it he’d probably be capable of powering a small city. His versions of Prince’s catalogue are every bit as good as his renditions of Michael Jackson’s tunes.
We’ve come to know most of the Candy Rat Crew personally thanks to the Canadian Guitar Festival.
http://www.canadianguitarfestival.com/
If a Candy Rat tour plays anywhere near any of you RUN, do not walk to buy tickets. You’ll not be disappointed.