Eric Lugosch

Eric Lugosch (* in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American fingerstyle - guitarist .

biography

Eric Lugosch grew up in a musical family. His mother was of French descent, worked as a singer in a nightclub during the war and also sang a lot at home. As the youngest of several children, he experienced the music of the 1960s through the music his siblings heard. Lugosch began singing in the choir at an early age; he was a member of the Philadelphia Boys Choir , with which he toured Europe as a child.

Lugosch began playing the guitar at the age of 12 by secretly practicing his brother's guitar. He started with blues guitarists Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt . From the beginning he wrote songs and instrumentals and wanted to become a musician. He didn't like the classical guitar, so he enrolled in singing at Temple University's Music School and learned composition. He did not drop the guitar, however, and at the age of 21 he made his first public appearance as a guitarist.

In 1983 he took part for the first time in the US National Fingerpicking Championship in Winfield , Kansas , and won third place. This encouraged him to try again the next year, 1984, and this time he won the coveted award among American fingerpicking guitarists. He also took part repeatedly in the following years and made it into the top three in 1986 and 1992. He was later a member of the jury for the competition.

In 1985 he self-published his first album Strike , a jazz- oriented suite for guitar, flute and bass. The album gained a certain prominence and was used by American entertainer Aaron Freeman in his talk show as the end credits.

Lugosch moved to Milwaukee and taught at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music . In 1988 he moved to Chicago, where he taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music for 14 years . In 1989 he released his second record, I Wanna Know , also self-published. His third album, Making Models , was finally released in 1994 on Waterdog Records. In 1997 he switched to the German label Acoustic Music Records and released his CD Black Key Blues , which brought him international recognition. Acoustic Music Records released two more albums, Kind Heroes in 1999 and New Tradition in 2004 .

Lugosch has opened for Taj Mahal , Doc Watson , John Prine , Leon Redbone and David Bromberg , plays international concerts - in Germany for example at Peter Fingers International Guitar Night - and organizes workshops in the USA, Japan, Hungary and Germany and Italy. He has written columns in various guitar magazines. For young musicians he is a mentor and companion on their way into the music scene.

Lugosch lives in Evanston , Illinois , is a private tutor for guitar and composition and works on new compositions. His project, The Music of Rev. Gary Davis, which was completed in 2007, was published in December 2008 under the title Revision - The Music of Gary Davis .

Influences and style of play

Lugosch names the guitarists Duck Baker and Rolly Brown as the main influences . Other influences are the guitarists Pat Donahue and Phil Heywood. Leo Kottke , whom he saw in a concert for the first time in the late 1970s, had a special influence on his playing that was clearly audible on Lugosch's publications .

Lugosch's compositions show his experience and training in orchestral music. He pays special attention to motifs and melody lines, which are an integral part of his creative process. Unusual and lively bass lines, jazzy harmonizations and surprising variations are hallmarks of his style. Lugosch approaches the design of the different parts of a piece very analytically. He applies this approach mainly to pieces in the tradition of American blues and ragtime music, which he gives new aspects.

He presents his pieces on a high technical level and in a relaxed, down-to-earth manner, with which he constantly seeks contact with his listeners during his concerts. His reluctance towards technical and playful effects puts the music in the foreground.

Guitars and technical equipment

In 1994 Lugosch played a John Arnold Custom guitar and a Jenny Craig model from Martin Guitars . He later represented Dana Bourgeois Guitars and played their Martin Simpson model. Today he plays a Lakewood A-32 Custom and an Abbey guitar by Kevin Ryan Guitars .

Discography

• Strike - 1985 (Eric Lugosch)
• I Wanna Know - 1989 (Eric Lugosch)
• Making Models - 1994 (Waterdog Records)
• Black Key Blues - 1997 (Acoustic Music Records)
• Kind Heroes - 1999 (Acoustic Music Records)
• New Tradition - 2004 (Acoustic Music Records)

Books, sheet music

• Black Key Blues - 1998 (Acoustic Music Records). ISBN 3-931453-22-7

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine # 13 . Retrieved December 30, 2007.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Eric Lugosch's biography on his website (en.) Retrieved on December 30, 2007.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Eric Lugosch's biography at Waterdog Music ( memento of the original from October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 30, 2007 
4. ↑ Fingerstyle Championship Archives - All Winners ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 30, 2007  
5. ↑ ^{a b} Concert in the Lutherhaus in Osnabrück . Retrieved December 30, 2007
6. ↑ Acoustic Guitar Weekend in Böblingen with Eric Lugosch on October 19-21, 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 30, 2007  
7. ↑ Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2007
8. ^ Contributors for the CD Little Lost Cause by Ilsabe O'Connell. ( Memento of August 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved December 30, 2007.
9. ↑ Eric Lugosch CDs . Eric Lugosch's website, accessed on September 4, 2012.
10. ↑ Mel Bay's Master Anthology of Fingerstyle Guitar Solos: Featuring Solos by the World's Finest Fingerstyle Guitarists! Vol. 1 , Mel Bay Publications, Inc. 2000, ISBN 978-0-7866-5290-7 , p.69
11. ↑ ^{a b c d} Off The Record . Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Feb. 2001 . Retrieved December 30, 2007.
12. ^ Review of the CD New Tradition . Retrieved December 30, 2007
13. ↑ Official Lakewood artists ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 30, 2007. 
14. ↑ Recent News , Ryan Guitars ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 30, 2007.  

Web links

• Official Eric Lugosch website
• Eric Lugosch's 'Fingerstyle Academy'
• Eric Lugosch's page on MySpace
• Works by and about Eric Lugosch in the catalog of the German National Library