Serendipity in Oregon: Signals from Beyond
by Richard Gilewitz

This past May, an unexpected email came in from the folks at Breedlove Guitars in Bend, Oregon, requesting my participation in a music dealer/artist clinician event at their facility. Tours are sometimes sparked by an out-of-the-blue email or phone call and are quickly put together to make things happen. My agency decided to take advantage of my sponsor’s request by putting together a few dates and offering a CD release concert and mini-seminar at the 2nd Street Theater to coincide with the Breedlove event. I had appeared there in 2005 in a concert hosted by Wall Street Guitars and, after listening back to the recording of the show, I decided to turn that night into a CD titled, Live at 2nd Street Theater.

During that 2005 concert, I spotted Radim Zenkl, Breedlove’s mandolin clinician, sitting deep in the audience, having convinced him at dinner to join me on stage for a handful of tunes. Four of the selections to which Radim leant his gifted hands made the final cut for the live CD, as the unpredicted combination of guitar and his custom 4-string electric mandola simply could not be left on the cutting room floor. Again for the June 2007 concert, I faced the unexpected prospects of playing with fingerstylist extraordinaire Stephen King and Nashville flatpicking master Tim May. I couldn’t have planned either of these last-minute chance meetings or the truly enjoyable evening that resulted.

While at the Breedlove factory, Pete Newport met with me to flesh out the details for a new Richard Gilewitz signature model 12-string guitar that will be released in prototype form at the 2007 Summer NAMM Convention in Austin, Texas. With the 12-string details set in Pete’s mind, about 20 of us ventured down into a nearby cave (that's right, a CAVE!) to hunker and chow down on some great Chinese food, while jamming away on our guitars. Suddenly, Pete- the president of Breedlove Guitars- broke into some of the best yodeling I've ever heard live in or out of a cave! I am now certain my signature 12-string will reverberate with a booming sound if this guy is behind its design.

Completing the tour in Salem, Oregon, I was graced by the presence of the late John Fahey's former wife, Melody Fahey, along with her friends Melissa (who runs John's website) and Tim Knight from the Guitar Castle shop in Salem. Melody and Melissa both came to my concert, lending weight to my recollections about John, and Tim was kind enough to take me to John's gravesite. After walking around the grounds toward John’s headstone, I knelt to collect my thoughts and suddenly all the lawn sprinklers came on during mid-prayer! That sent me running with a smile on my face knowing that John is still playing pranks from the Great Beyond. Certainly unexpected but not surprised, it was truly an honor to hang out with some of the most special people in John’s life. It was a momentous experience to play in Salem as John Fahey's music and influence on me are truly significant.

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About the Author

Unlike the bulk of Richard’s trip to Oregon, his tours are carefully planned in advance. Check out his performance schedule at http://richardgilewitz.com/calendar.html. Live at 2nd Street Theater is available at http://richardgilewitz.com/recordings.html.