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May / June 2003
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 CUT-OUT |
 THE KNIGHTS |
 HYPNOMEN |
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DAVE BEEGLE Beyond The Desert (Avant Acoustic / Hapi Skratch)
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DJAM
KARET
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THE KNIGHTS
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THE
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DAVE
SCHMEIDLER
Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed
in mwe3.com and 20th Century Guitar. Send to P.O. Box 630249, Little
Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249 e-mail: info@mwe3.com
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Described
by guitar great Phil Keaggy as, “one of the most creative and accomplished
guitarists I’ve met,” Colorado-based guitarist Dave Beegle
released a new solo album on the AvantAcoustic label. Beegle’s
2003 CD, Beyond The Desert further examines his expertise on
Contreras Flamenco and Olson and Taylor steel string acoustic guitars.
Beegles’s fascination with blending exotic world beat sounds with
cutting-edge guitar instrumental music comes alive on the 7 track, 40
minute Beyond The Desert, which also features Mike Olson (bass),
Matt Henderson (drums) and others. In addition to Beegle’s
guitar playing, the CD also features Keith Rosenhagen on Flamenco
guitar and a guitar duet between Dave and Phil Keaggy on the
appropriately titled “Something Shared”. More relaxing and
refined than Beegle’s electrified instrumental rock albums with
his early ‘90s group Fourth Estate, Beyond The Desert is
a praiseworthy follow up to his 2000 album, A Year Closer. 
Even
though they’ve been compared to legends like King Crimson, Ozric
Tentacles and even the more esoteric elements of the Grateful Dead,
California-based Djam Karet continue paving their own unique road since
they started out just about 20 years ago. Still featuring guitarists
Gayle Ellett and Mike Henderson, the group—also featuring
Henry J. Osborne (bass) and Chuck Oken, Jr.—are joined
by bassist Aaron Kenyon on their 2003 album A Night For Baku.
The group’s seventh album for the Maryland-based Cuneiform
Records, Baku is a mind-boggling fusion of psychedelia, hard
rock, progressive, fusion surf music and electronica. In lesser hands,
that would be a recipe for musical disaster, but Djam Karet continues
to mature and A Night At Baku shines as one of the group’s
finest recordings yet. A band of gifted art-rockers who continue to
blow musical minds, Djam Karet must be heard, or better, seen, to be
fully appreciated. 
One
of the weirdest ambient experimental albums of 2003, Interlude
With Fun Machine from the group Cut-Out is
a downtime, chillout sonic collage created by music producer Steve
Fisk and his former band mate in the group Pell Mell, Robert
Beerman. While both are guitar friendly players, the instrumental
CD release on Starlight Furniture Company features a variety
of instrumental musics, such as ambient dub and Eno-inspired soundscapes
but it’s so weird you can’t even tell what instrument is playing
what. Those who daydream about mixing vintage instruments like mellotron
and optigon with restored rhythm boxes will understand where Fisk and
Beerman are coming from. Anyone into later period Eno (The Drop)
and some of Bill Laswell’s recent trippy ambient dub funscapes
should be right at home on Interlude With Fun Machine. As beautiful
and strange as the album is, it’s even weirder with the priceless
album cover art. 
The
Knights started out of New Mexico at the dawn of the ‘60s and for
all of their various incarnations over the years the group’s founder
and lead guitarist Dick Stewart has made sure the music rocked.
The latest Knights CD, In Progression takes their unique approach
to guitar-based, surfin’ flecked instrumental music to another
level. Crossing generational as well as musical lines, the ten track
CD features Stewart’s vintage guitar sound teamed with his sons
Rich Stewart (bass) and Jason Stewart (modern guitar)
along with some truly tasteful drumming from Steve Hudgins. A
faithful cover of the Ventures’ classic “Yellow Jacket”
is given a bold, new scope with Stewart and son tearing up the guitar
tracks. Stewart’s guitar logic is steeped in the ‘60s and
combined with his son’s ‘90s-style metal guitar work the CD
makes for a unique timeless set of instrumentals. 
Finland
is still one of the most interesting countries for instrumental rock
in all of Europe. The Finns really caught on to the mid-90’s guitar
instrumental revival in a big way turning out cool guitar bands such
as Laika & The Cosmonauts, The Quiets and The Hypnomen. Featuring
the tasteful guitar playing of Pekka Laine and the Hammond /
keyboard sound of Sami Nieminen, The Hypnomen had a great album
out in the U.S. a few years back on the MuSick label—Watusi
99—and their latest CD on the Finnish based Stupido label,
Andromeda Airport picks up nicely from where their last left
off. A mix of heavy fuzz guitar ala Davie Allan, psychedelic twang,
‘60s go-go organ sounds and the occasional atmospheric vocal, Andromeda
Airport is righteous, retro relevance at it’s most entertaining.
As
a fusion guitar virtuoso Buffalo, N.Y.-based Dave Schmeidler is pretty
darn impressive and his 2003 instrumental CD features some fine players
who enhance his guitar-driven vision. As far as influences go, you can
spot Cream-era Clapton, Santana and even Steve Howe but Schmeidler is
no hack and can clearly cut it with the best of them. His atmospheric
“State Of Affairs” is simply gorgeous—featuring a majestic
melody enhanced with a rare guitar sustain—and “Lullaby”
is just that, but with a guitar tone on par with Jan Akkerman. Sometimes
he takes it over the top with a humorous Zappa influence, but overall
Skyrats Scraps is a fine CD that illuminates Schmeidler’s
remarkable grasp of various electric guitar techniques and styles.