its here at last-the "american primitive thread"
 

it doesnt have to be american and doest have to be primitive, but let us all discuss the brilliance of the solo acoustic guitar
fahey
sir richard bishop
blackshaw
basho
E
T
C


go! talk amongst yourselves

let's make a big list of these type of players...

john fahey
sir richard bishop
james blackshaw
robbie basho
peter lang
ben chasny (six organs)

any more? atsonicpark around?

harry tausig
peter walker
steffen basho
Tetuzi Akiyama (i only know him from the wooden guitar comp)
jack rose
some jim orourke

early daniel johnston
he would play toy piano and acoustic guitar.

ah, Jack Rose, he slipped my mind.

Chris Joynes
http://www.myspace.com/cjoynes
http://www.htrecords.co.uk/ht_videos/JoynesOne.mp4

Loren Mazzacane Connors
Glen Jones
Leo Kottke
Steffen Basho-Junghans (check out Late Summer Morning. Gorgeous)
Hisato Higuchi
Alexander Tucker

Haha Daniel Johnston? That's not american primitive. That's outside pop.

- Robbie Basho
- Max Ochs
- Bukka White
- Harry Taussig
- Dick Rossimi
- Peter Lang
- Loren Mazzacane Connors
- Jack Rose
- John Fahey, the king
- Leo Kottke
- Wooden Spoon
- Pat O'Connell
- Andrew Stranglen
- Terry Robb
- Dale Miller
- Tetsui Akiyama
- Michael Gulezian
- Sandy Bull
- James Blackshaw
- Sir Richard Bishop
- Gillian Welch
- Sean Smith
- Glenn Jones
- Harris Newman
- Six Organs of Admittance
- (some) M. Ward
- (some) Jim O'Rourke
- Triple Burner
- Steffen Basho-Junghans
- George Stavis
- Bob Hadley
- Wayne Lopes
- Davey Graham (more bluesy than american primitive but would still be of interest)
- Bob Brozman (who played in many different styles but I think you'd dig if you like any of the above artists; a true slide guitar king)
- Mori Chieko (see above; related but not totally like the other artists)

Also, a lot of the work of Sonny Landreth and Ry Cooder and Captain Beefheart's magic band (see some of the instrumentals specifically) and Sun City Girls incorporate elements of American primitive guitar.

That list should get anyone who wants to get into this stuff in order.

The best genre of music ever.

Everyone into american primitive and related styles should check out http://grapewrath.blogspot.com/ and their related links and also http://grown-so-ugly.blogspot.com/ ...

http://www.last.fm/group/Fingerstyle+Guitar

Great master thesis about american primitive guitar music:
http://www.nickschillace.com/thesis/

add tom and cristina carter to atsonicpark's list and im good.

anne briigs, dylan, and bert jansch as well

Yes, that christina carter - original darkness.. one of my favorites of the year.

I've become totally obsessed with Steffen Basho-Junghans as of late. I think he's the best guitarist around right now. Just amazing stuff.

how does christina carter fit into this genre? she's way too interesting.

aside from fahey & basho the rest of these fuckers can take a hike.
i don't get the interest around james blackshaw i've seen him play 3 or 4 times, and i think he's boring.

tetuzi akiyama is way better when he's not doing this finger picking crap.

James Blackshaw... boring?

original darkness definitely has the american primitive sound...

James Blackshaw is brilliant. Dunno if I'd want to watch him live though, sure.

Animal Collective? Like on CAMPFIRE SONGS?

Nah, not PRIMITIVEEEEEE enough.

I'd enjoy seeing James Blackshaw live, though I guess non-musicians would probably be bored watching him.

maybe you should check out dream theater, they're the worst band of all time, but they're popular with a certain type of music student?

well I think Dream Theater are horrible, obviously music for musicians. what I was meaning though was that in a LIVE setting, James Blackshaw would be boring to non-musicians. Dream Theater are for musicians in an album context, while James isn't.

hahahaha, so eliquently put.

I'm a musician but I dunno if Blackshaw would be compelling live. I'm just going by youtube videos but...

......I mean, Stars of the Lid are one of my favorite bands but seeing them live might be pointless too. You know?

if you mean the interesting thing about his music in a live context is that while it makes for dull listening other musicians may be impressed by the amount of time he's spent practicing, then yes.

joshua burkett deserves a mention.

maybe mark fosson too.

I never said it would make for dull listening. but I dunno, I've never seen him live.

Mount Eerie !

american primitive is a dumb tag.

might as well call it "acoustic raga" or something as stupid.

i do dig a lot of these artists, and i usually hate guitarists, especially solo guitarists.

To me, nothing will ever top Fahey. Of all the artists listed, his technique is amongst the simplest... He only uses his thumb, index finger, and middle finger, and his playing isn't as fast and note-heavy as people like Kottke and the Bashos. But there's just something about the way he plays. I dunno if it's okay to call music life changing, but his music is amongst the only that I've heard that changed the way I view music. It also ruined my guitar technique for a year or so...

"John Fahey destroyed my life".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Vtm...eature=related

the last 49 seconds of this!

i just heard a really great guitarist on my space called cian nugget
anybody heard of him before?
http://www.myspace.com/ciannugent
its really good. especially the first song the ceremony that uses cello (?)
thats a really great song...
just thought id share

Ohh ohh! Will listen now.

I HIGHLY reccomend Glenn Jones (of Cul De Sac; who collaborated with Fahey). He has 2 solo albums, and they are amazing.............

i will definatly check them out. i really like their album with fahey, but i wasnt a HUGE fan of their stuff. i have ECIM, and while it has great moments (like the fahey cover) it didnt blow me away. but it may just need more listens

overdose:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KWDXXXNG


I uploaded this for a friend, it took 6 hours to upload -- it's 840mb, afterall! The new Glenn Jones album and the entire discography (most releases are out of print) of Ben Reynolds. Hours upon hours upon hours of high-quality american primitive guitar.