{"id":18184,"date":"2018-03-23T09:16:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T16:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=18184"},"modified":"2018-03-23T10:05:10","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T17:05:10","slug":"musician-stephen-bennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2018\/03\/musician-stephen-bennett\/","title":{"rendered":"Musician:\u00a0STEPHEN BENNETT"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Musician:<strong>\u00a0 STEPHEN BENNETT<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3>Video:\u00a0 \u201c<strong>Reverie<\/strong>\u201d<\/h3>\n<h3>Video Produced by TrueFire<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hDNQP7zS6Ho\" width=\"660\" height=\"375\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Stephen Bennett is one of the most prolific and original finger-style guitarists of his generation. He is also a leading exponent of the harp guitar. A challenging teacher, a gifted composer, and a performer of great sensitivity, the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Association once referred to him as \u201cthe Jedi Master of Fingerstyle Guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bennett has performed around the world, shared the stage with some of the finest guitarists, and created a body of work that is respected and loved. He is the founder of the Harp Guitar Gathering, an annual event that brings players, luthiers, scholars and fans of this instrument together for a weekend of performances, workshops and camaraderie.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Bennett will be performing Saturday, March 24, 2018 at NAMM\u2019s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STEPHEN BENNETT Web-Exclusive Interview<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>with\u00a0M Music &amp; Musicians\u00a0magazine publisher, Merlin David<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the idea of <\/strong><strong>\u201cReverie\u201d come to you?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cReverie\u201d is one of those tunes that just came to me without any direct inspiration. I was just doing what I sometimes do, sitting with the instrument, trying to keep my mind as open as possible so that the music could reveal itself. It was around 2006, my marriage wasn\u2019t going well (it was about to end), and that probably played into it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You play many instruments. How does the harp <\/strong><strong>guitar expand your musical palette?<\/strong><br \/>\nI was already making my living as a guitarist when I got my great-grandfather\u2019s harp guitar. It took me about 10 minutes to realize that it was going to open up all sorts of possibilities for me. The expanded range provided by the sub-bass strings, as well as the richness of the overtones, was intoxicating to me. It\u2019s as if I was a keyboard player and all I had ever played was a harpsichord, or maybe a cheap electronic keyboard\u2014and then I found a Steinway grand piano. Maybe that\u2019s a bit of an exaggeration, but I\u2019m just trying to make the point. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18193\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-1-Photo-credit-Chuck-Thompson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-1-Photo-credit-Chuck-Thompson.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-1-Photo-credit-Chuck-Thompson-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Who was your great-grandfather?<\/strong><br \/>\nEdgar Pierce. He was my great-grandmother\u2019s second husband\u2014not a blood relative. I only met him once. I indirectly inherited his harp guitar, and knew that he played it throughout his life\u2014including on the radio\u2014KGW, Hoot Owls radio hour in the 1930s (Mel Blanc was a regular on that show). Our family moved East when I was two years old, and I had all these relatives back in Oregon that I didn\u2019t know. I maybe met him when I was around 7 or 8 years old when we drove back west for a visit. He died in 1968. I remember we were at dinner in Searose Beach, and my mother took the call. Then when she died, the instrument went to one of my uncles. It sat there for a long time, until 1988. One day, I went into my uncle\u2019s basement, and I sat in the living room and played it. He immediately said, \u201cThis is yours!\u201c<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the album <em>Music from Connecticut<\/em> evolve?<\/strong><br \/>\nThat was one of two CDs I released in 2017 (<em>Fifty Years, and Counting\u2026<\/em> was the other). It started as music I composed with my music notation software, Finale. I had issues with my back that led to surgery in 2012. It was quite uncomfortable to play guitar during that period. I started to write music with my laptop. My original intent was to write for piano and cello. After a couple of years of dead ends of getting the right musicians to record the music, I finally decided to turn it into guitar music. I only played electric guitar, however, along with bass and, on several tracks, digital piano. As for the music, I don\u2019t know what it is. It\u2019s not exactly classical music, although it\u2019s probably closest to that. It certainly doesn\u2019t fall neatly into any genre\u2014which is a nuisance sometimes. But it is what it is. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why did you start the Harp Guitar Gathering?<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat is now the Harp Guitar Gathering was originally conceived as a one-time get-together of people I had come across in my travels and online, who had some connection to these instruments: Gregg Miner, John Doan, Andy Wahlberg and Bob Hartman. I wrote to them and others, and asked if they\u2019d like to come to Williamsburg, VA for a weekend get-together. I said I would organize it and arrange for a public concert that we\u2019d all play, with any proceeds going toward expenses. To my surprise, every single person said yes. We got together in the fall of 2003 and had a great time. It was a great experience for all. Players who hadn\u2019t really run into anyone else who played the instrument now realized that we were not alone. As the weekend wrapped up and it was time to say goodbye, we all kind of looked at each other and realized we had to do it again. The 16th Gathering will be this October 12-14, 2018 in Milford, CT.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top 5 musicians who inspired you to compose and play?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Beatles: amazingly, their music still sounds as great to me as it did 50 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Yes: Steve Howe was brilliant.<\/p>\n<p>Igor Stravinsky: I loved \u201cThe Rite of Spring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leo Kottke: I heard his album <em>Greenhouse <\/em>on my first night away at college, and it knocked me out.<\/p>\n<p>Tommy Emmanuel: I was at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in 1997 when I heard him play for the first time. The power and beauty of what he was doing knocked me out. It\u2019s not like I was a slacker\u2014hey, I was an invited player there too. But hearing Tommy made me dig deeper and try harder.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18192\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18192\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18192\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-5-Soave.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-5-Soave.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-5-Soave-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SoaveGuitarFestival 2009<br \/>sabato 2 maggio<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>How did the idea for \u201cThe Eye of God\u201d come to you?<\/strong><br \/>\nI was sitting with harp guitar in hand while looking at photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. They were amazing. There was a photo of the Helix Nebula that looked like an eye. The astronomers called it the \u201cEye of God.\u201d I hit the opening three-note chords and damped it. The resulting resonance of all the overtones that had been triggered was magical. So I repeated it\u2014over and over. And over. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I started changing the chords and that was it. Once that first chord had been heard, there was no turning back. When I get an idea that won\u2019t go away, I interpret that as a gift from God, or the Universe, or whatever else you choose to call it. I accept it as my responsibility to do my best to bring it to fruition\u2014to make of it what I think it wants to be.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What composing tip you would you like to offer?<\/strong><br \/>\nI intentionally don\u2019t record every musical idea I come up with. I figure that if I can\u2019t remember tomorrow or the day after what I thought was so bloody brilliant today, then, by definition, it wasn\u2019t all that memorable. Right or wrong, it\u2019s kind of hard to debate that point. Now, have I ever forgotten something as a result of this policy? I don\u2019t recall. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us one time something unique inspired you to compose music.<\/strong><br \/>\nI could tell of many such experiences, including reading <em>American Holocaust<\/em> by historian David Stannard. The first-hand account of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan resulted in my tune of that name\u2014almost instantly springing into existence on my harp guitar. The realization that the musicians were first to be killed that day\u2014really hit me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which instruments\/equipment can you not live without?<\/strong><br \/>\nMy primary instruments now are a harp guitar made by Kathy Wingert, a 6-string made by Max Monterosso, a baritone guitar made by Tony Karol, and my 1930 National steel resonator guitar.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-18191\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-7-Music-from-Connecticut-cd.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-7-Music-from-Connecticut-cd.jpeg 224w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-7-Music-from-Connecticut-cd-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/>Top 5 favorite albums of all time?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>The White Album<\/em> (1968) \u2013 The Beatles<br \/>\n<em>Greenhouse <\/em>(1972) \u2013 Leo Kottke \u2013 and his 6- and 12-string guitar albums<br \/>\n<em>Doc Watson on Stage<\/em> (1971) \u2013 Doc Watson<br \/>\n<em>The Yes Album<\/em> (1971) \u2013 Yes<br \/>\n<em>The Rite of Spring<\/em> \u2013 Igor Stravinsky<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us a \u201cpinch me\u201d <\/strong><strong>moment<\/strong><strong> when you thought, \u201cWow, this is really happening to me!\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen I was asked by the Narada label to be on their <em>Masters of Acoustic Guitar<\/em> compilation cd. Putting aside my personal belief that if one falls for the idea that one is actually a \u201cmaster\u201d of the guitar, one probably isn\u2019t paying close enough attention\u2014then, wow, how cool is that.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18190\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-6-hggv.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-6-hggv.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-6-hggv-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about working with Kim Person.<\/strong><br \/>\nKim is a wonderful engineer, and I started working with her in 1987. I\u2019d just won the National Flatpicking Championship, and decided it was time to finally record something. I worked with her on every project from then on\u2014up until I left Virginia in 2010. Everything I\u2019ve recorded since then has still included her input. When I moved to Connecticut, I took the plunge and learned how to record myself. I\u2019d never thought to do so before because with an engineer as talented and available to me, I figured\u2014why bother? But when she was 450 miles away from me, rather than 15, I had to either develop a relationship with a new engineer, or learn to do it myself. I chose the latter\u2014with Kim\u2019s guidance. But I still send everything I record to her for tweaking\u2014before it goes to mastering.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remember the first time you heard one of your compositions on the radio?<\/strong><br \/>\nI suppose you mean other than the Sunday afternoon in December a long time ago when I finished playing a brunch gig at a restaurant and was on my way to play at a private party. I turned on the radio and Christmas music came on. I don\u2019t ordinarily listen to the stations that play only that music from Thanksgiving until New Year (<em>laughs<\/em>), but for some reason I did this particular day. A commercial came on and I realized that the background music was from my <em>Nutcracker Suite for Guitar Orchestra<\/em> [1990]. A second commercial then came on, and it also used different music from that recording. Nobody had asked me or informed me of such usage, so I was understandably surprised.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So what was the other time?<\/strong><br \/>\nI remember the first time that same recording was played on the radio. It was on WCVE, an NPR station in Richmond, VA. The station called me up at home to tell me that their switchboard had been going crazy in reaction to what people were hearing. That was a great feeling. I didn\u2019t actually hear it because I lived 75 miles away and couldn\u2019t pick up that station. That was before you could go online and stream it. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I do remember hearing \u201cPerestroika\u201d many times on the radio\u2014at least 15 seconds or so of it. It was part of the template for many years for NPR\u2019s <em>Weekend Edition Saturday<\/em>. It would often show up at 9:19 EST. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18188\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18188\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18188\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-11-Soave.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-11-Soave.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-11-Soave-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-11-Soave-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18188\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SoaveGuitarFestival 2009<br \/>sabato 2 maggio<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What PRO\/Performing Rights Organization are you with?<\/strong><br \/>\nBMI. Honestly, I don\u2019t find them very helpful but they do collect some royalties and send them to me on a regular basis, so I guess that\u2019s the main thing. When my tune \u201cPerestroika\u201d was stolen by an Australian\/Canadian musician named Jeff Martin (stolen to the point of using my actual 1992 track as the foundation for \u201chis\u201d tune titled 1916), I wrote to BMI\u2014and they never even responded. Not even after I hired an entertainment lawyer who corresponded directly with them did they provide any help or advice. I\u2019m not bitter though. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice someone has given you that still helps you today?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019m still trying to figure it out. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) But in order to provide you an answer that\u2019s at least marginally relevant, I\u2019d say that I learned something valuable indirectly from Tommy Emmanuel: \u201cRemember that if people are sitting in front of you and willing to listen, they have given you something\u2014the gift of their ears, their time and their entertainment dollars.\u201d It\u2019s worth remembering. Not to say that one should be trying to please the crowd, necessarily. It\u2019s more about always trying your best.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice you\u2019d like to give upcoming musicians?<\/strong><br \/>\nWork hard and be nice to everyone you meet. It\u2019ll do you no harm, and might well help a lot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<\/strong><br \/>\nLunch. But seriously, I have more shows this year than I\u2019ve had in a while\u2014so that\u2019s different. I haven\u2019t really been looking for gigs in a while, preferring to stay close to home. Recording-wise, I have a few new tunes written and a few more percolating, so there\u2019ll likely be something new later in the year. I hold out hope that the planned new national park in Gloucester, VA will come into existence because there\u2019s a possibility that my orchestral work \u201cThe Powhatan Suite\u201d could be performed by the Virginia Symphony. The park will be called Werowocomoco, the name of Powhatan\u2019s village, his capitol, so to speak. The site of that village has only been confirmed in the years since I left Virginia. As it happens, I composed the Suite maybe 15 miles, as the crow flies, from Werowocomoco. The Symphony\u2019s director likes the work\u2014so who knows. But that would be an awesome thing indeed, to have that orchestral work performed live.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can your new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/HarpGuitar.com\">harpguitar.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18187\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18187\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18187\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-12-with-Bill-Gurley-1988.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-12-with-Bill-Gurley-1988.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen-Bennett-12-with-Bill-Gurley-1988-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18187\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Bennett performs with Bill Gurley at the Fall Festival in 1988. Daily Press photographer Michael Dillard<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musician:\u00a0 STEPHEN BENNETT Video:\u00a0 \u201cReverie\u201d Video Produced by TrueFire Stephen Bennett is one of the most prolific and original finger-style guitarists of his generation. He is also a leading exponent of the harp guitar. A challenging teacher, a gifted composer, and a performer of great sensitivity, the Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Association once referred to him [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805,3,7],"tags":[10748,10749,10750,24,5879,9189,10751,963,10752,10753,10754,8425,10755,10756,10757,10758,10760,10759,10761,10762,10763,10764,10765,10766,10767,10768,10769,7376,10770,10771,10772,10773,10674,10774,10775,10107,10776,10777,10778,10779,8811,10780,10781,10782,10783,8610,10784,3818,10785,10786,10787,7080,10788,10789,10790,10791,10792,10793,10794,10795,10796,2724,7982],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18184"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18195,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18184\/revisions\/18195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}