March 22nd, 2008 Karl
Greetings!!!!
Let’s see…one of the most fun Maca (www.macahome.com) gigs ever, complete with a lovely party for an elder Catalan gentlemen, getting the St. Patrick’s season off to a great start with Fibb’n gigs at the Shamrock Club, Byrne’s Pub and the Josephenum, getting stuck on the road to Buffalo and Hamilton during the near-blizzard (apparently it didn’t last long enough to be a real blizzard) of 2008 - shoveling, shoveling and more shoveling, getting stuck in the airport coming back from a great gig at Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, including a complimentary stay in Minneapolis, (thank you American Airlines) working on recordings for Shotgun Wedding (www.myspace.com/shotgunweddingmyspace), Cajun Blue, and LJ Pennington, wrapping up another quarter at Otterbein, and trying to find time to practice for the five, yes, five programs I’m preparing before the middle of May…
Did I forget anything? Besides sleep, that is.
Ok, pay attention, ’cause there’s lots of fun coming up here:
Wednesday, March 26, 7:30-9:30 solo classical guitar at Maca Cafe (www.macahome.com), 5 South Liberty St in Powell
Saturday, March 29, 8:00, I’ll be a featured soloist, performing in Anne Wilson’s “Cincy Suite,” a beautiful second movement with the Columbus Guitar Society Members’ Ensemble. Huntington Recital Hall, Capital University (www.columbusguitarsociety.org) I’ll be playing on my new Gary Demos guitar (www.demosguitars.com)
Thursday, April 3, Happy Hour (5:45ish), Mac, Dan and I (from The Mac www.themacmusic.com) will be doing a short “acoustic” gig at Wendell’s Pub in Westerville (www.wendells.net/contact.html) This is a kind of “audition” for us, and we’d like to play there again sometime, so please come out and help us convince them to ask us back.
Friday, April 4, 8:00, I’ll be playing Takemitsu’s “Toward the Sea” and Ned Rorem’s “Romeo and Juliet,” both truly warhorses of contemporary concert works for flute and guitar. I’ll be playing with the incredible Dr. Kimberlee Goodman, as part of a really cool faculty recital program at Otterbein College (www.goodmanflutestudios.com/calendar.htm)
Sunday, April 6, 3:00 Kim and I will be playing the Rorem again for Women in Music in Columbus’ Huntington Concert Series in the Huntington Hall at Capital University. (www.goodmanflutestudios.com/calendar.htm), in case you missed it on the 4th, or in case you loved it so much that you had to hear it again!
Friday, April 11, 10-2, The Mac (www.themacmusic.com) will be playing a NEW VENUE!!!!! Cadillac Jack’s, at 1849 Stringtown Road in Grove City
Saturday, April 12, 9-1, Knot Fibb’n (www.knotfibbn.com) will be playing at Byrne’s Pub, our favorite place in Columbus.
Sunday April 13, 7:00, I’ll be helping out my buddy, colleague, and Mac Soundguy, Eric Van Wagner for his faculty “recital” at Otterbein College. This performance is a culmination of music that we’ve been working on for a really cool songwriting collective called VanGO (www.vangomusic.com). I’m excited to be involved in this, and the recordings have been really fun.
And a couple of other dates, in case you are going to be in and/or around York PA or Dayton OH:
Saturday, April 26, 7:00, I’ll be playing in York, PA with my dear friend, Demi Fair, on a concert series for the Unitarian Church at 925 South George St. Demi used to live in Columbus, and we played together alot during that time, but it’s probably been about 10 years since then. I’m so excited to be working with her again. We’re also planning to do a recording sometime in 2008.
Sunday, May 18, 7:30, I’ll be performing for the Dayton Mandolin Orchestra as part of my duo, Gruviera Armonico (www.columbusclassicalguitar.com/gruviera.html) at the Mathile Theater, Benjamin & Marian Schuster Center for the Performing Arts, 1 W. Second Street
Dayton OH 45402
Hope to see you around!!!!
Karl Wohlwendwww.columbusclassicalguitar.com503 East Weber RoadColumbus, OH 43202614.405.2300www.dbmusicproduction.com
Posted in chamber music, The Mac, Maca Cafe, Columbus, otterbein college, guitar, music, performance, practicing, Irish Music, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
February 20th, 2008 Karl
Hey there!!!
Hope everyone’s doing well. Things are good ’round here, snow, flu, shoulder strain, and car troubles be &@^#ed! Here’s what’s new:
I had a great time with Ian Howell in Connecticut (www.thevoiceandguitar.com) last month. It was a great privilege to perform with Ian and pianist Doug Dickson, who is on the faculty at Yale. We did recitals in New Haven and Washington, CT, and though Ian was fighting off some pretty rough throat and cough thing, he sounded as amazing as ever. Ian’s a kindred spirit, and it’s always a great charge up to spend time with him, and playing with him is a great inspiration.
On the Fibb’n front (www.knotfibbn.com), we’re coming out of our “quiet time,” and geared up for a BIG St. Patrick’s season, kicking things off this Friday, February 22 at the Shamrock Club of Columbus (60 West Castle Road). We play from 8-11ish. On the 1st of March, we’ll be up at the Pontifical College Josephenum for their Irish Festival. It’s a fundraiser for the seminarians there, and was great fun last year. There’s a great lineup, including some of our very best friends in the Columbus Irish music scene. We’ll play at 9:30. (www.pcj.edu/2007-08/cmtyirishfest.html) Then we’re off to Buffalo, NY, Hamilton, OH and Tulsa OK, where we’ll be playing at Cherokee Casinos on St. Pat’s day itself. For those of you in Columbus, there’s another chance to catch us, at Byrne’s Pub (1248 W. 3rd Ave in Grandview) on March 14. We’ll play at 9:30. (www.byrnespub.com). If you’re a fan of Irish music (and who isn’t??), check out the schedule at Byrne’s - there are some big names appearing there over the next month!
The Mac is taking a little break from gigging (www.themacmusic.com), but it’s for a most joyous reason. Our drummer, Keith and his wife, Kelly are now the proud parents of a brand new baby girl!!!!!! In the meantime, we’ll be continuing to rehearse, write, and learn new tunes as we’re able, and we’ll be hitting the ground running just as soon as Keith can get more than an hour or so sleep at a time. Many congratulations, Keith!!!
The studio (www.dbmusicproduction.com) is staying busy, too! LJ Pennington has done demos for most of the tunes we’ll be putting together for what promises to be a fine album, and we’ll soon be getting musicians together and doing some arranging. It’s an exciting project, and I’m honored to be a part. I’ll also be starting on projects with Josie Gonot (formerly of Josie and the Light, now doing a French Canadian/Cajun project - let the accordions begin!!!!) and Shotgun Wedding (www.myspace.com/shotgunweddingmyspace) in the coming month. The really big news for the studio is that I’m now able to run 16 input channels, AND I can do on-site mobile recording!!! That’s right, I can come record your CD in your very own living room!! Please, try to contain your excitement.
Other items of interest:
I’ve been coaching for the Chamber Music Connection (www.cmconnection.org), helping out mostly in the Adult Chamber Music and the Jazz Workshop programs. The CMC is a great organization, and I’ve had a blast working with them. I’ve even been working with young string players in string quartets and a chamber orchestra, which has just been a great pleasure.
My private students gave a great recital last Saturday up at Otterbein. I’m always so impressed and proud of them, and I feel so lucky to be able to work with such interesting and dedicated people!
This Sunday, February 24, at 7:00, the Otterbein College Jazz Ensemble will be performing a program including Rodgers and Hart, Herbie Hancock, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Miles Davis, and others. They’ve done a great job getting the program together in a short time, and it promises to be a great concert. It’s in Riley Auditorium in the Battelle Fine Arts Center (www.otterbein.edu/admission/visit/maps/colormap.asp)
AND
Next Wedneday, February 27, I’ll be doing my last-Wednesday-of-every-month at Maca Cafe (www.macahome.com) from 7:30-9:30. Maca was recently included in Columbus Monthly’s Top 10 New Restaurants, with excellent reason. The food there is absolutely amazing, small plates prepared-to-order. Have the soup. Maca is what your living room dreams of becoming.
Stay warm!!
Karl Wohlwendwww.columbusclassicalguitar.com503 East Weber RoadColumbus, OH 43202614.405.2300www.dbmusicproduction.com
Posted in chamber music, The Mac, Maca Cafe, Columbus, otterbein college, guitar, music, performance, voice and guitar, Irish Music, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
January 21st, 2008 Karl
Greetings!!!
As always, my best wishes to all of you, and I hope that you survived your holiday season with a reasonable measure of sanity! I actually managed a few days off in there, and had some very nice times with my family.
Big thanks to those of you who came out to Gatsby’s, Maca, and Byrne’s to hear me play last month, and super-special thanks to Susan and Norm at Maca Cafe for some tremendous hospitality on a very busy night! Also, thanks, Pat Byrne, for helping me celebrate yet another birthday with a guitar in my hands.
The new year brings all sorts of new opportunities for me, and I hope you can make it out to a few of them, as well!
On Saturday January 26 and Sunday January 27, I’ll be playing in Connecticut, accompanying my dear friend, Ian Howell (www.ianhowellcountertenor.com) Some of you might remember Ian from his Columbus days (Capital U, St. Joseph Cathedral, Early Interval). Since then, he’s sung with Chanticleer, going to Yale, winning all sorts of important competitions, and singing at Carnegie Hall. It’s a real honor to play with him, and I’m looking forward to many more collaborations in the future. We did similar programs in Columbus twice last year, and did some recordings, too. I’ll be playing my great new guitar by Gary Demos (www.demosguitars.com)
If you’re going to be in or around New England next weekend, here’s the skinny: www.ianhowellcountertenor.com/begearjan26.html
If you’re NOT going to be in or around New England next weekend and are in need of some fun, you can always go hear The Mac at the Short North Tavern (674 North High St). They’re kind enough to allow me to blow off gigs to go play in CT and places like that. There’s some new stuff we’ve been working on, and the band is sounding really good these days. They’ll start at 10:00 on Saturday the 26th. And, speaking of The Mac, check out the new website, including a new recording of our original song, I Wonder. www.themacmusic.com Thanks to Eric Van Wager (www.vangomusic.com) for helping out with the drum tracking!
The following Wednesday, January 30, I’ll be back at the fantastic Maca Cafe, 5 South Liberty St. in Powell (614-436-1212) from 7:30-9:30. I’ve been playing there monthly since September, and it’s really THE perfect place for classical guitar, great food, and fine wine. Last month was a little crowded (and noisy!) because of a holiday party. Let’s see if we can’t make it noisy and crowded this month, too.
In other news:
I’ve begun working on a very exciting project with local songster, Larry Pennington. We’ll be demoing some of his fine songs here at dBMusic, and then we’ll be building arrangements and recruiting musicians to put together a full-length project. I’m flattered to be involved, and really looking forward to digging in! Keep an eye out, folks….this is gonna be good stuff!
On Saturday, February 16, my private students will be showing off their stuff. They’ll be presenting a recital at Otterbein College’s Riley Auditorium at 2:00 in the afternoon. There are often homemade chocolate chip cookies involved, and if you’ve ever wondered just what it is that I do during the day, you can come find out! I’m really proud of the work that my students and I do together, and I’d love for you to come share it!
I guess that’s about it for now…hope to see you soon!!!
Karl Wohlwend
www.columbusclassicalguitar.com
503 East Weber Road
Columbus, OH 43202
614.405.2300
www.dbmusicproduction.com
www.myspace.com/wohlwendguitar
Posted in The Mac, Maca Cafe, Columbus, otterbein college, guitar, music, performance, Classical Guitar | 1 Comment »
December 19th, 2007 Karl
Hello!!!
I hope everyone is well and staying sane during this crazy time of year. I’m doing my best to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of time off from Otterbein College, though I can’t really say that it feels like “vacation.”
Things are just chugging along here as usual, keeping busy with the gigs and doing some recording work. I know that I keep saying this, but I really have made some progress on my solo recordings, and I’ve actually set a deadline for myself to have SOMETHING available by the end of January. Really. I mean it this time.
The Shamrock Club event was a total blast…thanks, Craig for having me aboard!! Great folks, great music! I always love any opportunity I have to put the ‘49 National hollowbody into service, and it really did the trick on those jazzy Christmas arrangements.
Fibb’n had an absolute blowout end-of-the-year gig at Byrne’s, no doubt helped in part by the great article Aaron Beck did for us in the Columbus Dispatch (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/weekender/stories/2007/12/06/9A_LIME06_2_ART_12-06-07_T12_6V8LQFQ.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101)
I did a little recording with my friend, Eric Van Wagner, for a new songwriters’ collective he’s doing. It’s a great idea, and the music’s pretty cool. Check it out at www.vangomusic.com I’m really looking forward to hearing the stuff, and continuing to work with them on this!
Also, last month I received a copy of Amor Espatial from a former recording client, Pilar Warner. She’s finished her first CD, and we did a few of the tracks together here at dBMusic Production. Congratulations to her!!!! Check it out at http://cdbaby.com/cd/pwarnernicholas
And in some very big news, indeed, I received a new classical guitar from Columbus luthier, Gary Demos. It’s an amazing instrument, as beautiful to hear as it is to look at. It’s the first time I had the opportunity to work directly with a guitar builder, and all the little tiny details mean so much. I’m really happy with it, and will be making some recordings with it very soon. Check it out at www.demosguitars.com/html/wohlwend.html I will be adding a page to my website very soon which will feature pictures of the instrument in various stages of construction. It’s pretty neat to see where a guitar comes from!!
Ok, now for the new news:
On Saturday, December 22, I’ll be playing with The Mac (www.themacmusic.com - new website, btw…check it out!) at Gatsby’s (www.gatsbys1977.com) in Gahanna. It’s at 151 North Hamilton Road, and we start at 10:00.
On Thursday, not Wednesday this month, but THURSDAY, December 27 from 7:30-9:30, I’ll be at my regular monthly appearance at the wonderful Maca Cafe in Powell. 5 Liberty St in Powell is the address. Come hear my new guitar!!!! The food there is just incredible. Really. You have got to come check it out!
On Monday, December 31 (my birthday!!!!!!!!), I’ll be playing at Byrne’s Pub, 1248 West Third Ave (www.byrnespub.com) with The Mac. This will be our third year in a row bringing in the New Year at Byrne’s and it’s always a total blast! Come have a great party, no reservations necessary! We go on at 9 and will play until 1:00.
Gee, I think that’s enough for now….best wishes to everyone, and thank you all so very much for an absolutely fantastic 2007!!!
Karl Wohlwendwww.columbusclassicalguitar.com503 East Weber RoadColumbus, OH 43202614.405.2300www.dbmusicproduction.com
Posted in The Mac, Maca Cafe, Columbus, otterbein college, guitar, music, performance, Irish Music, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
November 26th, 2007 Karl
Hello!!!
I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!!! I was wrapping up the Fall Quarter at Otterbein College, and catching up on some missed sleep. I also spent an awesome day in the cold cold waters of the Rocky River trying to get steelhead rainbow trout to choose my offerings. Thanks, Eugene and Mike for your guidance and hospitality!!!
Thanks to everyone who came out for the gigs last month…Maca Cafe continues to be just a great thing, even moreso when friends come and share the great food and wine there! Knot Fibb’n had a very fun night at the Shamrock Club. The band’s schedule is in it’s lean season, so it was nice to reconnect. The Mac didn’t go on in the Screamin’ Willie’s contest, but that’s ok, ’cause we had a good time anyway. We’ve been doing some writing and recording, and are pretty excited about what’s going on. I also spent a very fun evening with my great friends of Halfway Home (www.halfway-home.com), who celebrated the release of their most-awesome CD, Better Days, which was recorded right here at dBMusic Production. They had me play the entire evening, including my live debut on accordion. There will be photographic evidence soon.
Last week, I started a very special recording project for the angelic-voiced Mary Miller. She’s been recently diagnosed with cancer, and it’s motivated her to make a record. Please keep her in your thoughts. You can read about Mary here: www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/18/MIKE18.ART_ART_11-18-07_B1_MO8GIUP.html?sid=101
Mary’s story has inspired me to get off of my tuckus and continue working on the solo guitar project I started almost two years ago, so hopefully we’ll be hearing more on that soon, as well.
Where to catch me:
This Wednesday, November 28, 7:30-9:30 I’ll be at the Maca Cafe in Powell (5 South Liberty St. 614-436-1212). This is just the perfect place for solo classical guitar, and I’ve had a blast playing there. The food is AMAZING, they’ve got great wines, and they’re just super-nice folks. Please come out and enjoy!
Friday, December 7, I’ll be joining my good friend Craig Markley (www.loneraven.com/lrmusic.htm) for his annual Holiday Show at the Shamrock Club of Columbus (7 West Castle Road). I’m honored to be invited to play with such great folks as Craig and his daughter Kara, Hilda Doyle, Sid Omasta, and Mark Richards. There’s alot more going on that night, including performances by Neil Jacobs, Death by Banjo, and the Kells.
Saturday, December 8, Knot Fibb’n (www.knotfibbn.com) will be at our Columbus home, Byrne’s Pub, 1248 West 3rd Ave in Grandview, at 9:00. If you haven’t yet picked up a copy of the live CD, that’d be a great opportunity for you to do so! It sounds awesome, and makes a great Kwanzaa gift!
Saturday, December 22, The Mac (www.themacmusic.com) will be at Gatsby’s (www.gatsbys1977.com), 151 North Hamilton Road in Gahanna, from 9-1.
Thanks for a great 2007, and I hope to see you soon!!!
Karl Wohlwend
www.columbusclassicalguitar.com
503 East Weber Road
Columbus, OH 43202
614.405.2300
www.dbmusicproduction.com
Posted in The Mac, Maca Cafe, Columbus, otterbein college, guitar, music, performance, Irish Music, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
October 30th, 2007 Karl
Hi there, everyone!
I just found out that I’ll be appearing on Fox-28’s morning show, in support of the Columbus Guitar Society. I’ll be performing live this Friday morning during various segments from 7:10 am until 9:00. Hope you can watch!!!
Karl Wohlwend
www.columbusclassicalguitar.com
www.dbmusicproduction.com
Posted in Columbus, Johnny DiLoretto, Television, Fox, performance, guitar, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
September 27th, 2007 Karl
My good friend and amazing talent, Ian Howell has been working with me on a couple of programs this year. I’m very excited about our prospects. You can check us out at HERE.
Posted in voice and guitar, performance, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
September 23rd, 2007 Karl
The most effective practice tool we have is what we carry between our ears.
When teaching beginners, I often say “Use your mind to figure things out, use your hands and the guitar to play them.” Our mind, or imagination, is capable of grasping things that seem beyond our ability to execute.
Playing music begins with an idea. The idea is some imagined sound-image that I attempt to realize in playing. Where does this sound-image come from? How clear is it in my mind? Am I paying attention to it as I play?
Sometimes I think that I’m practicing backwards. In other words, I sometimes feel as though I sit down with my guitar and a piece of music and as I start to “poke away” at the mechanical/technical aspects of reading and executing, I start to form a mental sound-image of how I want the piece to sound.
What if I turn that around? What if I focus on the idea, concentrate on it, and allow that idea to direct my playing? If I don’t really know what I want to sound like, my playing develops almost randomly, which is an invitation to confusion, frustration, and anxiety. What I’m talking about here is more in depth that the process of hearing a recording of a piece and knowing “how it sounds.” It entails imagining, in precise detail, my playing of a piece, perfectly executed. Whereas listening to a recording is a passive (yet very necessary) process, listening in my mind involves the active participation of my whole being. I hear the sound, I can see my fingers or the stage or the people in the audience or myself on stage; I actually feel the physical sensations associated with the emotional context of a piece of music.
Some things to try:
1) Close your eyes and try to imagine yourself playing a piece of music that you have memorized. Make the mental image as clear as you possibly can, invoking all five senses and even emotional feelings. Hear every note, perfectly executed with perfect tone. See yourself clearly: What are you wearing? Where are you playing? What is the lighting like? Is there an audience? Can you feel the strings under both hands? Can you feel the instrument in your lap? What is the temperature in the room like? What do you smell?
2) With a piece that you are working on, spend some time at every practice session looking through the score without the guitar in your hands. As you follow the notes on the page, try to hear yourself playing the music. Can you imagine it so clearly that it seems loud to you?
3) When you are working on a “trouble spot,” try imagining yourself playing it comfortably and perfectly. Do not attempt to play the passage until your mental image is crystal clear.
4) For the truly adventurous, try learning a piece of music without actually playing it, just by reading through the score and imagining how you would play it. Hint: start with something very simple. The ability to do this is a major component of good sight-reading ability.
Posted in practicing, performance, music, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
September 22nd, 2007 Karl
Hello, everyone!!!
I hope this message finds everyone well. Things have continued to be flying at lightning pace around here, with classes starting back up for me at Otterbein College, slowly but surely trying to make some headway on my recording project, adding another teaching day to my private schedule (spread the word, I’ve got openings!!!!!), and gigs all over the place.
Next week, I’ll be participating in a residency by Alarm Will Sound at Otterbein College. Alarm Will Sound is a cutting-edge chamber ensemble based in New York City that has been hailed as “the future of classical music” by the New York Times. I’ll be in rehearsals with them throughout the week, and the FREE concert is on Saturday, September 29 at 8:00 in the Riley Auditorium in the Battelle Fine Arts Center. I’m playing electric guitar on a piece called “Yo Shakespeare,” by Michael Gordon. I’m really excited about the opportunity to play with such a landmark ensemble. For more information see www.alarmwillsound.com or www.otterbein.edu/Music/calendar.htm
Also next week, I’ll be back at Maca Cafe at 5 South Liberty Street in Powell. I had such a great time there last month, and they’ve been kind enough to invite me to play there the last Wednesday of every month!! Mark your calendars. I’ll be there on Wednesday, September 26 from 7:30-9:30. It’s a great little (comfy!) place and the food is absolutely incredible. I can highly recommend the shrimp, and if they’re offering the tomato soup, don’t miss it. They’ve also got a wonderful wine selection, and the owners, Norm and Susan Carmichael, are the most generous and gracious of hosts. It’s a little touch of Spanish cafe culture right here in your own backyard, and a perfect place to enjoy classical guitar music.
On Friday October 5, THE MAC (www.themacmusic.com) will be playing for an event called “Undiscovered Columbus,” at Whiskey’ Dick’s, 2690 East Dublin-Granville Road. This is a “battle of the bands” type event. We’ll be playing at 8:45, and we would love to have a ton of people there to help us advance to the final round, and a chance to do an opening set for a national act. We’re still auditioning bassists, and hope to have a decision made very soon. In the meantime, you can hear our new demo tracks at the website. Thanks to Eric for getting some awesome sounds!
On Saturday, October 6, Knot Fibb’n (www.knotfibbn.com) will be at our home in Columbus, Byrne’s Pub at 1248 West Third Avenue in Grandview celebrating our 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY with the release of our live CD recording. It sounds GREAT (thanks, Tom!!) and we’re really excited about it. Please come out and help us celebrate!
Also, I’ve put some of my articles up in blog form, though I’m really not sure what a blog is 
The blog is at www.columbusclassicalguitar.com/classicalguitar (moved from it’s original location). Please check it out, and subscribe, and stay in touch or whatever it is you do with blogs.
Finally, I’ve got some new recordings of me playing up at www.columbusclassicalguitar.com/guitar_performance.html
There will be more soon, I promise!!!
Enjoy, and please stay in touch!!!!!!!!!
Karl Wohlwend
www.columbusclassicalguitar.com
503 East Weber Road
Columbus, OH 43202
614.405.2300
www.dbmusicproduction.com
www.myspace.com/wohlwendguitar
Posted in performance, music, Classical Guitar | No Comments »
