Producer’s Note:
Ryan McGarvey
Antonio Pontarelli
As a guitarist, I know how difficult it can be to pull off acoustically what was born electrically. And also what a pain it can be to wail with an acoustic guitar when there is no rhythm section behind you to fill up all that space. Well, Ryan McGarvey showed me the solution….just grab your guitar out of it’s cozy case, plug it into a digital delay pedal to fill up some of the void during your ripping solos, and commence blowing minds with your tasty licks. Easier said then done right? Well, Ryan got it done.
Aside from being a phenomenal 23 year old guitarist, this young buck has a surprisingly soulful character to his voice. And it’s a rare moment when the energy and texture of two talents combine so comfortably in one performing artist. The song I enjoyed the most is the one available to listen to at this site. Ryan didn’t introduce the song that night, and he didn’t leave behind a set list, so I just labeled it as “Tasty Licks”, because there are so many of them in the track. I’m sure you can always find Ryan McGarvey on the web and ask for the real name of the track. (In fact, please go to his site, you’ll be happy you did.) By the end of an exhilarating set it appeared as though Ryan didn’t want to leave the stage, and the audience was so mesmerized they didn’t even realize he had just ripped a ten minute acoustic guitar solo in their faces, that is, until the four minute crescendo started. It was a glorious ending, the kind you’d expect to see in front of 10, 000 plus, which proves to me that Ryan had a lot of fun, and it was contagious.
The next performer was an amazing 19year old violinist named Antonio Pontarelli. The setup was unlike anything previously attempted at The Acoustic Sessions. There was a Baldwin Baby Grand on stage, and an accompanying acoustic guitar off to the side. Antonio played his electric violin through a gorgeous deep cherry wood grain Mesa Boogie single twelve combo amp. (I seriously almost drooled on his amp). I mic’ed it up with an SM 57 off axis, like I would a Les Paul. It actually turned out sounding really nice, mainly due to some virtuosic playing by Antonio. Antonio’s track on this site is the only instrumental he played that night, but I thought it captured the most moving part of the show.
Don’t get me wrong, Antonio has a beautiful voice, I just have an affinity for the moments when performers put it all out on the limb, when they really dig deep and inspire. That moment was captured in this recording, which I listed simply as “Solo” for yet again I lacked a proper title (I recommend finding this artist online as well). You can really hear the attack in each note, particularly when Antonio let’s loose at the end with some Classical stylings worthy of Carnegie Hall, which apparently this young man has already played. Overall, young Mr. Pontarelli gave an emotional and charismatic performance, one that none in attendance will soon forget.
- Evan Brau
