Preston Reed

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Preston Reed (2011)

Preston Reed (born April 13, 1955 in Armonk , New York ) is an American fingerstyle guitarist.

Life

Preston Reed learned guitar as a child with the help of his father and classical guitar with a teacher. Discouraged by his dry lessons, he stopped playing the guitar again. It was only at the age of 16 that his interest was awakened again by the music of the group Hot Tuna , which is characterized by Jorma Kaukonen's acoustic guitar . He took up the guitar again and began to play his own pieces in the style of Leo Kottke and John Fahey . He made his first public appearance at 17 when he appeared in a performance by Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington . He performed again and again and finally signed his first record deal with the record label MCA through the mediation of his friend Lyle Lovett .

Preston Reed has played with a variety of artists, from Linda Ronstadt to the rock band NRBQ . He appeared repeatedly on American radio shows and on television. Between 1979 and 2007 he released a total of 15 albums with various record labels - almost all of them as solo guitar albums -, founded his own record label Outer Bridge , participated in numerous productions and published two videos.

Preston Reed moved to Scotland from the USA in 2000, became a UK citizen and lives in Girvan , Scotland with his wife Cathy .

Style of play and musical influences

Preston Reed is influenced by the guitar playing Leo Kottkes and John Faheys and was initially a finger picker with considerable technical skills. However, in the course of the early 1980s, at the same time as Michael Hedges' groundbreaking publications, he developed his own, unmistakable style with unusual game ideas, which has its role models not only in fingerstyle, but also in rock 'n' roll . In some of his pieces he develops a decidedly rhythmic drive, while other pieces are very melodic and almost dreamy ballads.

Characteristic of his playing is the use of percussive effects, which he creates with both hands on various parts of the guitar body. Accordingly, he describes these effects with terms from the world of percussion such as rim shots and bongo hits . He also uses slap and tap techniques such as slapped overtones ( slap harmonics ) or striking notes or entire chords with the left hand ( hammer-on , pull-off ). He uses both hands at the same time ( two-hand tapping ) and uses the right hand to play chords ( right-hand fretting ). To create his effects, he often reaches over the neck of the guitar with one or both hands. In many of his pieces, Reed uses open tunings , which are often characterized by very low bass strings, such as BGDGAD or CGDGGD.

Guitars and technical equipment

On his first CDs he used guitars by the American luthier Michael Jacobson-Hardy until the early 1990s. He then played Washburn guitars with Seymour Duncan pickups . He later performed with a specially modified Adamas model from the Ovation brand .

Since the late 1990s, he began using a variety of guitars, not only steel-string acoustic guitars, but also solid body electric guitars , semi-acoustic guitars, electric baritone guitars, 12-string steel-string guitars, and classical guitars.

He recorded his 2007 album Spirit with a semi-acoustic Gibson L-5 type guitar from the Yamaha brand.

Discography

  • 1979 Acoustic Guitar (Sky Records)
  • 1982 Pointing Up (Flying Fish)
  • 1982 Don't Be A Stranger (Folk Studio)
  • 1984 Playing By Ear (Flying Fish)
  • 1987 The Road Less Traveled (Flying Fish)
  • 1989 Instrument Landing (MCA / Universal)
  • 1990 Preston Reed (Flying Fish)
  • 1990 Blue Vertigo (Capitol Nashville Master)
  • 1991 Halfway Home (Liberty / Capitol Nashville)
  • 1992 Border Towns (Liberty)
  • 1995 Metal (Dusty Closet Records)
  • 1997 Ladies Night (Dusty Closet Records)
  • 2000 Handwritten Notes (Outer Bridge)
  • 2005 The History Of Now (Outer Bridge)
  • 2007 Spirit (Outer Bridge)

Collaborations, guest appearances

  • 1997 Groovemasters, Volume 1 , with Laurence Juber (Solid Air Records)

Compilations

  • 1989 Universal Master Series (MCA)
  • 1990 Master Series Sampler '89 (Capital Nashville)
  • 1990 Master Series I (Capital Nashville)
  • 1995 Acoustic Guitar Highlights ( Acoustic Music Records )
  • 1996 Acoustic Guitar Highlights II (Acoustic Music Records)
  • 1997 Masters of Acoustic Guitar (Narada)
  • 1997 Acoustic Guitar Highlights III (Acoustic Music Records)
  • 2000 WGN Radio Live: Steve and Johnnie Live After Dark (Nation)

Own videos

  • 1994 The Guitar of Preston Reed: Expanding the Realm of Acoustic Playing (Homespun Video)
  • 1997 Preston Reed in Concert (Homespun Video)

Video guest appearances

  • 1995 Fingerstyle Guitar: New Dimensions and Explorations (Vestapol)
  • 1996 Muriel Anderson's All-Star Guitar Night (Homespun Video)
  • 1997 Laurence Juber in Concert (Homespun Tapes)
  • 1998 Great Guitar Lessons Fingerstyle Techniques (Homespun Tapes)
  • 2002 Muriel Anderson's All-Star Guitar Night II (Homespun Tapes)

Notes, books

  • Guitar Impact (2006). Bruce Muckala (Mara Haley Music).

Sources used

  1. ↑ Preston Reed's biography on his website (en.). Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  2. ↑ a b The album History Of Now , discography on Preston Reed's website (en.). ( Memento from January 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Review of the CD Metal at Allmusic, by Robert Taylor (en.). Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  4. ↑ a b The Guitar of Preston Reed blurb on the video cover, also available on the web (English). ( Memento from January 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Discography on Preston Reed's website (en.). Retrieved November 25, 2007.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Reed, Preston
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fingerstyle guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Armonk , New York State