The Guitar Player's Resource
The recently released CD, Fingers Crossed, features the dual guitars and eclectic tastes of Arizona musicians Steven Hopp and Richard Houser. Among the eleven exemplary selections are six whose performance includes two acoustic guitars, three with acoustic-electric guitar, and one piece featuring a nylon-string balalaiki with acoustic guitar. This is an exquisite album, which will appeal especially to music fans who appreciate a wide variety of musical settings and tone colors, with the acoustic guitar acting as the cohesive element throughout the album. The classically new-ageish opus "Dawn Chorus" features some passionate guitar work and lovely, yet haunting violin laments. Excellent, melodic, flat-picked passages and tight rhythmic hooks make "Tinker's Dam" perfect for repeat listening, as Hopp and Houser subtly draw the listener into their acoustic aesthetic.
Steven and Richard have over 50 years of guitar playing experience between them! Fingers Crossed is their third album-length project by these two artists and represents the very best of their collaboration. Richard has played both guitar and bass for over 15 years. His proficiency at bass playing shows on his powerful and expressive rhythms. Steven has been playing guitar for over 30 years, and has explored a wide variety of styles from early rock to modern classical. They have been playing as a duet for over 10 years, and the interplay of styles and well coordinated expertise are prominent in this music collection.
Music from Fingers Crossed has already aired nationally as background on the Signature series, produced by Kentucky Educational Television, and used as transitional music for Another America, by Barbara Kingsolver, books on tape, by Seal Press.
Vireo Music
P.O. Box 31870
Tuscon, AZ 85751
United States