Richard Gilewitz

ABOUT RICHARD GILEWITZ "I actually wanted to be a drummer. Five minutes after my folks heard that news, they bought me a guitar. I tried flat picking, but the pick kept falling in the hole. At one point I thought about playing a harmonica, so I blew on that for about a month. Then a real harmonica player saw me in action and said, 'Did you know if you breathe in you get all the other notes? You could ride down the road and hold it out the car window and get what you're doing.' So I recovered and rediscovered fingerstyle guitar."

"I actually wanted to be a drummer. Five minutes after my folks heard that news, they bought me a guitar. I tried flat picking, but the pick kept falling in the hole. At one point I thought about playing a harmonica, so I blew on that for about a month. Then a real harmonica player saw me in action and said, 'Did you know if you breathe in you get all the other notes? You could ride down the road and hold it out the car window and get what you're doing.' So I recovered and rediscovered fingerstyle guitar."
Richard Gilewitz

Richard began honing his skills both as a performer and composer during the late 1970's at the University of Alabama, playing the local coffeehouse circuit while pursing degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Music. Following graduation, Richard placed his music career in the background and joined the business world of flight simulation design, telemetry and satellite systems. Soon the pull of his passion for music was so compelling that Richard left corporate life to teach and perform full time.

The 1980's brought Richard to Florida where he released his first LP recording, Somewhere In Between. He has released six more recordings, Voluntary Solitary, Synapse Collapse, The Music of David Walbert, Thumbsing, Live at 2nd Street Theater, and Strings for a Season, plus an instructional guitar video and a self produced solo instrumental collection. Collaborating with Mel Bay Publications, Richard's Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar Workshop book with an audio CD and instructional DVD was released in June 2005, along with a DVD of ?All Time Favorite Fingerstyle Guitar Tunes?. His interactive CDROM, ?Fingerscapes? is available through TrueFire.com.

As an educator as well as a performer, Richard is sought after for his popular Dealer/Clinic Seminar Series on behalf of several major music manufacturers including Audio Technica, Breedlove Guitars, D'Addario Strings, Intellitouch Tuners, LR Baggs, Mel Bay Publications, and Shubb Capos. His ?Meet the Artist/Music in the Schools Enrichment Program?? gives Richard the opportunity to meet with elementary, middle school, and high school students across the nation as he conducts in-residence sessions. Richard also teaches private lessons and Master Classes.

He continues to be a contributing writer for Mel Bay Publications on-line magazine, Guitar Sessions?, Singer & Musician, Fingerstyle Guitar, and for a number of trade magazines. International Public Radio fans often sample Richard's wit and zany outlook on life on syndicated shows such as RTE Lyric Radio of Ireland, BBC radio of Northern Ireland, BBC Orkney, National Radio New Zealand, as well as numerous local radio shows in America.

Management and Booking Inquiries: GillaZilla Music, gillazillamusic@earthlink.net
Publicity: ZenGator Productions, 352/860-2422, zengator@earthlink.net

Website: www.richardgilewitz.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/richardgilewitz
EPK: www.sonicbids.com/richardgilewitz



Richard Gilewitz at a Glance.

Veteran performer for 1,000 seat venues to 150 seat concert halls to intimate venues having performed throughout the United States to New Zealand, Canada to the UK and points in between,

Has appeared in concert with The California Guitar Trio, John McCutcheon, John Renbourn, Mose Allison, John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Norman Blake, Indigo Girls, John Hammond, Rory Block, Jane Siberry, well as performing solo halls such as the Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford, Ireland, Cab Calloway School of Music in Wilmington Delaware, and Harbour Lights Theatre in Christchurch, New Zealand

Headlined national and international festivals including Erupt, Lake Taupo New Zealand, Riverbend in Chattanooga, Ullapool Guitar Festival in Scotland, International Guitar Festival in Clonikilty Ireland, Willamette Valley Folk Festival in Eugene, Oregon, Black Mountain Festival in North Carolina, Suwannee Springfest and South Florida Folk Festivals in Florida.

Included in 2005 Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine's issue as one of the industry's current ?Men of Steel?

One of the guitar world's most sought-after educators conducting seminars year-round in North America and abroad as part of the Breedlove Guitars, Audio-Technica, and D'Addario Strings artist program

Contributing writer for Singer & Musician Magazine, Fingerstyle Guitar, Mel Bay Publications Guitar Sessions that receives hits of over 1 million monthly

Profiled in Guitar Player Magazine for his recording, The Music of David Walbert, as having "fashioned the ultimate tribute" to his teacher and mentor

Earned mention as a young guitarist to watch in a Musician Magazine article heralding the return of the acoustic guitar.

Original compositions "Dirt to Dust", "Jamaicalina", and "Echoing Wilderness" (aka "Echoing Gilewitz") selected for three independent films, released 1999 and 2000

Developed "Meet the Artist" program for school classroom presentations as continuing effort to bring music into the schools and creator of ?GillaCamp? ? a 2-day guitar experiences for players

Released 6 recordings, including the release of a complete body of works of classical guitar composer David Walbert and a live CD with Radim Zenkl, popular tunes DVD with Mel Bay Publications, and a best seller instructional workshop book

Appeared on nationally syndicated television and radio shows: BBC UK, RTE Musical Vistas Ireland, Radio New Zealand, River City Folk, E-Town, Live from Studio One, Acoustic Woods, WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour, Radio Live!, Horses Sing None of It, Good Morning Arkansas, and Across the Prairie

Leo Kottke covered his composition, Echoing Wilderness, on A Shout Toward Noon (renaming it Echoing Gilewitz), which continues to receive radio airplay in Japan and on other international stations

Named best solo acoustic act 5 years in a row by Weekly Planet, Tampa FL