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Artist of the Month for March/April 2003: Steve Wildey

Name: Steve Wildey Age: 43 Town: Miami, FL Hometown: Middlebury, VT At what age did you start playing guitar? I first started playing at around age 16 although I would not call it playing.. Drums were my first love for a long time. I was actually sort of brought in the back door to guitar playing, so to speak. A friend of mine at the time was desperate to have someone play some chords for him so he could play leads over them. Since no one else was available, he spent an afternoon showing me a handful of chords to play.It was horrible! I had rhythm and time but I just couldn't, for the life of me, switch from one chord to the next. To be honest I truly do not know why I kept at it. First guitar: Delvechio Classical First gig: At Nectors in Downtown Burlington VT. Playing in a "Talking Heads" like pseudo alternative rock band. Acoustic Guitars you own: Blanchard Sugar Pine (the Cone of Need)Blanchard Sequoia aka."Big Red" Favorite Guitar(s): Another tough question . . . lately I've been favoring my 12 fret triple O Blanchard Sugar Pine. There's most definitely some serious mojo going on with this guitar. It has the ability to coax melodies out of you and keep you playing long after you decide to put the guitar down for a break . . .does anyone else get this? It really looks strange now that it's written down. Your Style: I would say that I'm a Hybrid player. . . while I love straight ahead Jazz, I'm not a jazz player. The same holds true for Blues. I more recently took up using a thumb pick but I'm not a strict "Travis" style picker. I like some Latin music and some of the rhythms do find there way into my playing. I guess, like a lot of the modern players I've listened to the style is less strictly defined and more towards what I think of as "Acoustic Fingerstyle" for the most part (because I do use a pick some of the time!) Practice Regimen: I try to get a couple of hours in a day . . . sometimes that's impossible to do but I do try to get in contact with the guitar at some point during the day. To REALLY practice is very elusive and by that I mean that a lot of the time I practice playing, almost in a performance style, you know, running thru songs or working on a bridge to a new piece. To sit down and really practice like playing in another spot on the neck or in an unfamiliar key doesn't happen as often as I'd like. Favorite Artist(s): This week I find myself listening to a lot of Tommy Emmanuel and Robben Ford with some Michael Johnson thrown in as well. Is there anything else you want people to know about you, your playing style or your views on today's music in general? Just that there is a wealth of GREAT music available Steve has a cd out called "Little Man". It is a compilation of original fingerstyle music. The cd is available directly from Steve for $15. Contact him at swildey@bellsouth.net for more information. There is also a review on the www.minor7th.com website. To find it, search their archives for "Steve Wildey".

AOTM Archives:

August 2008 - Danny Combs
March 2006 - Bryan Clark
Februry 2006 - Darin Leong
January 2006 - Andy McKee
December 2005 - Don Alder
November 2005 - Doug Young
October 2005 - Nancy Conescu
August - September 2005 - Warren Greig
July 2005 - Ian Melrose
June 2005 - Roger Lasley
May 2005 - Jim Tozier
April 2005 - Jessica Papkoff
March 2005 - Todd Habekost
February 2005 - Michael Hewett
January 2005 - Steve Barney
December 2004 - Tony McManus
November 2004 - Chris Newman
October 2004 - Kevin Kastning
September 2004 - Rick Duke
August 2004 - El McMeen
June-July 2004 - Charles David Alexander
May 2004 - Tony Capri
April 2004 - Shane Simpson
March 2004 - Bill Cooley
February 2004 - Greg Meckes
January 2004 - Gary Leek
December 2003 - Ernie Hawkins
November 2003 - Keith Knight
October 2003 - Jaquie Gipson
September 2003 - Chuck Durfor
August 2003 - Cathy Horner
July 2003 - Art Edelstein
June 2003 - Muriel Anderson
May 2003 - Clarelynn Rose
March-April 2003 - Steve Wildey
February 2003 - Rick Ruskin
January 2003 - Kerry Kling
December 2002 - Tim O'Brien
November 2002 - Howard Emerson
October 2002 - Dennis Roger Reed
September 2002 - Larry Pattis
August 2002 - Paul Asbell

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