Aug 9, 2018

FGH-0007: Interview with Guitarist Mike Dowling - American Roots, Bottleneck Blues, Ragtime and More...

Mike Dowling plays bottleneck blues guitar, fingerstyle, vintage swing, ragtime, and more with grace wit and dexterity.

Mike digs deep into the musical bag of American roots guitar, favoring the melodic Piedmont style of acoustic blues masters like Mississippi John Hurt and slide great Tampa Red.

He played guitar in Vassar's Clements first touring band and can be heard on his Grammy-nominated "Nashville Jam". Clements called him simply, "One of the finest guitarists there is, anywhere.”

Website: http://www.mikedowling.com/

His Latest CD is called “Tracks”

Show Notes:

2:15 Kicking off camp with a lost guitar due to airline travel.
3:27 What guitars Mike brings on tour (including his "Mike Dowling" signature model resonator)
3:56 What Mike learned by taking a luthier Course.
5:22 What is a resonator guitar?
6:33 How he gets built in reverb with "sympathetic vibration."
7:55 Mike demos his bottlneck playing.
12:28 Mike talks about how he started guitar at age 12 after piano lessons 1 year...up to his debut as a pro.
16:05 Getting invited & discovered by Vasar Clements.
18:17 What it was like to study jazz with the jazz guitar great George Barnes.
19:06 A little about George Barnes' archtop guitar - with no F Holes.
24:36 Mike demos "10th comping" on guitar and his unique chord method called "rhythm by code."
33:48 Mike's rythmic exercises - offbeat syncopations.
44:55 His newest accidental altered tuning.
49:10 Mike's advice to guitarists.
58:15 Where you can study with Mike.
1:05:11 Listen to the title track from Mike's "Swamp Dog Blues" CD.

About the Podcast

Ask me a question for the podcast Q & A episodes HERE - http://adamrafferty.com/ask

Learn my solo arrangements and get private video guitar coaching & feedback from me on http://www.studywithadam.com

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