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Shawn Persinger is Priester John, The Art of Modern/Primitive Guitar
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By Gary Joyner
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The extended moniker Shawn Persinger uses on this CD hints at the unusual musical journeys taken by each of his unique guitar solos. Working from a complicated and varied pool of influences—modernist painters; composers like Astor Piazzolla, Igor Stravinsky, and Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart); and guitarists Janet Feder and Marc Ribot—Persinger’s compositions suggest the grooves of Leo Kottke, John Fahey, and Michael Hedges coupled with the harmonic sensibilities of guitarist Eugene Chadbourne, saxophonist John Zorn, and 20th-century “new music.” Persinger, who has dubbed his paradoxical style “modern/primitive” (after a parallel movement in visual art), draws sound from every part of his guitar, using body slaps, behind-the-nut notes, scraping, neck bending, unusual tuning schemes, and assorted instrument preparations. But this “abuse” yields pleasing musical results. The rhythmic pulse pulls the listener forward while the repetition of short phrases creates familiarity amid the quirky sounds and playful melodic anarchy. A book of transcriptions is available at www.persingermusic.com. (Innova, www.innova.mu)
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Guitar Salon International
The World’s Largest Selection of Classical and Flamenco Guitars and products.
www.guitarsalon.com
310.399.2181
gsimail@guitarsalon.com
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Got a question for Acoustic Guitar's editors? Please send us an email at editors.ag@stringletter.com or snail-mail Acoustic Guitar Editorial, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979. We regularly print reader letters in our Mail column and reader questions and tips in Q&A.
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