Michael Vick
Multi-instrumentalist, solo artist and leader of the Michael Vick Trip, Michael Vick has been teaching and performing music for over 20 years.
A connoisseur of fretless guitar, Michael has released over 12 albums, and his extensive fretless work has been featured in Guitar Player Magazine and Guitar Classique.
Michael is also the creator and host of the “New York Fretless Guitar Festival”, which features a variety of guitarists showcasing their fretless micro-tonal compositions in a live setting.
Michael, what are your top fave 5 records which have impacted you the most in your life musically or otherwise?
Camelot: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1976 Film)
As a child I remember hearing Camelot being played in the morning on the weekends as my mother cleaned the house and to this day I still hum a few of the melodies.
Boston by Boston
I bought this one as a young kid because of the guitar spaceship cover. Well, the first song “More Than A Feeling” got me hooked on the music, and all of the songs are exciting. Then I heard AC/DC & Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and it was over. I wanted to play!
Reveries by Andres Segovia
When I started taking lessons my teacher introduced me to the Classical Guitar and I heard this recording Reveries on cassette by Segovia. Through the simplicity of Gluck’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Orfeo ed Euridice); the music w/ the tone of the instrument just sang to me.
Sleep Dirt by Frank Zappa
What can one say? It is a short (length wise) recording at almost 39 minutes but is also part of the full FZ work Lather (which has some fretless guitar too). The long 5/4 groove of Filthy Habits works its way into the reaches of Zappa’s primal side with the acoustic Sleep Dirt and his Ocean even has a Solution with the FZ’s style neck-pickup configuration on a Bouzouki. Many of the tunes may be a little obscure for some, but it is all there & heavy.
Delusion Of The Fury A Ritual Of Dream And Delusion by Harry Partch
This one was just a micro surprise. I mean re-tuning a guitar is very easy for a guitarist if they have a tuner or a good ear, but the standard 12-TET frets will still be there. Yes, one can bend. This recording was beyond any of my initial thoughts and features unique instruments, tuning systems & microtones. Delusion has it all where the performer, tuning (down to the interval impact) & hand-crafted instruments are all part the performance.
Thank you Michael for joining us! High-5!
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Michael on the web
