A full explanation of these recordings follows below.
must install flash!!
example 1
this is a couple of verses (singing) of one of my tunes, and then a couple of solos. the first, regular guitar, and the second, slide guitar. it's in the key of A.

example 2
this is an example of 2 solos using the same rhytm. track. the style is a blend of funk, country, and blues.it's in the key of A
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ex. 2-A this is a tele solo.
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ex. 2-b this is a slide solo.

example 3
this is also is a couple of solos using the same rhytm. track. this is a minor shuffle. it's in the key of C
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ex. 3 A, a minor blues solo, with a couple of different bends.
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ex 3 B, a slide solo with a thicker tone.

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example 4
this is a couple of verses of one of my tunes, with a short slide solo at the end. what i wanted to show here is how 3 rhythm guitars can blend together. the key is E

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example 5
this is a blues shuffle leaning towards jazz. it has a 1-6x-2-5 turn around in bars 11, and 12, the chord solo in the middle is not unlike somthing i would play live. the key is Bb

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example 6
this is a jazz bebop type of blues (though you might not recognize it as such) with several key changes. again the chord solo is somthing i might play live. the key is F

example 7
this is a blues shuffle. what i wanted to show here is a couple of different looks at soloing over the same rhytm. once in a while for a recording, or a back-up gig, i'll play a solo that sounds right to me, the the leader of the session, or band leader will say "sounds ok, but that's not what i had in mind". time to switch gears..... any decent player can do this on the spot.
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ex 7-A, this is how a blues player might play this.
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ex 7-B, this is how a country, or country swing player might look at this. this solo is mostly double stops, and triads played with pick and fingers.

example 8
this is a country blues shuffle, also with a couple of looks at soloing.
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ex. 8-A, this is what a blues slide player might play.
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ex. 8-B this is how a country slider might look at this.

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example 9
this is a jazz blues ballad. the first solo guitar (intro)2 is 2 beats of chording solo, and the 2nd 2 beats are single notes.

recordings

i've put up these examples for two reasons: if you're looking to hire me as a player/singer, this is a fair representation of what im' playing/singing. these are all stlyles that im' comfortabe with, and can play/sing, or record "on the fly". im' well equipped, dependable, and mobile within a certain distance from hollywood. my "calling card" is open tuning slide guitar. as you may note, though i use an E, or D tuning (vastapol), most of the examples are in keys other than E, or D, this is because i "cross tune", that is be tuned to one key, and play in another. actually not unlike a pedal steel player. in a word, though im' tuned to one key, im' just as comfortabe playing in any key from that tuning.

the second purpose for putting up these examples, is for teaching purposes. i teach electric, and acoustic, guitar, voice, and open tuning slide guitar, both electric, and acoustic. what im' interested in as a guitar teacher, is taking people up through as many levels as possible, i teach beginners, as well as pros. at the moment all my students are pros, but im' happy to take beginners as well. what interests me is helping guitarists,and singers, to become the type of player, and or singer that anyone would enjoy playing/working with. i concentrate on the the ability to play various rhytm. parts for whatever piece, we're working on. for example, to be able to play a shuffle, many different ways, and to be able to modify that part to fit , and blend with whatever else is being played. this principle holds true for any style of music. also the ability to play with other musicians, and compliment them. though you don't hear much about this aspect, any sought after player will tell you that without this ability it's almost impossible to find decent musicians to play with, let alone get hired as a back-up musician. knowledge is another important aspect. i put a lot of focus on how harmony works, and then how it lays out on the guitar. in a few words , you want to be able to play just the right part every time, and on a good day, do this "on the fly". other crucial aspects are, touch, tone, time, taste, and technique. the techniques that i use, and teach, are pretty standard. i use a lot of pick, and fingers, especially for the rhytm. parts. it just adds another flavor, and can expand your possibilities notably. of course soloing is an important aspect as well. all of the above principles apply to it as well. i almost alway play double stops, and triads, using pick, and fingers. if you're just starting out, i've got some cool fingerpicking pieces to get you up, and playing. also some fun flat picking things. frankly these things aren't easy, but i can walk you through them note by note. check out the fingerpicking exercise in the recorded examples. this is a starting point. i've taught this to countless beginers. what these pieces do, is to allow me to teach you the right techniques (basically classical technique).

singing: i teach the basic correct techniques if that's where you're starting from. the next level is to get a base in roots music, blues, country, folk etc. almost all of what we hear that's lasting, is based in roots music. the rolling stones, led zepplin, christina aguilera, jimi hendrix, john mayer, to name just a very few. what you want to do is to make people feel what it is you're singing. you might want to hear whoever you take lessons from singing live in front of an audience. if that person can't make "magic", it's doubful that they're going to be able to teach you how to.

open tuning slide guitar: this, along with singing, and songwriting ,is my "calling card". i put this in it's own catagory as i look at is as a seperate instrument from regular guitar. the only pre requisite is to be able to fingerpick. from there the technique takes a different turn. blocking is the basis of good slide. that is to muffle all the strings except for the one(s) you're playing. all of the great modern slide players use this technique. intonation is also a big factor. knowing all basic chords, and positions is also important. i teach this both on acoustic, and electric, guitars.

the examples: these examples were recorded in the past couple of weeks. i play and sing all that you hear. as mentioned, these are for both potential employers, and potential students. i'll have more up in the near future, but these should give you a reasonably good idea of what im' doing. most will be 2 rhythm guitars (maybe the most important parts), and a couple of solos. all of the things that you hear, i'm playing live, including the chord solos. i usually just have the band stop, or just mark the changes.