Album Notes

Mike Gwinn, Guitarist
40380 Mathews Lane
Paonia, Colorado 81428

email: gwinnmike@paonia.com

Dad was a professional musician and television personality for 20 years.

I have been playing the guitar,writing songs and performing professionally since age 15. Growing up in Laguna Beach, California, my first gig was with Dave Meyers and the Surftones. I went on to perform, tour and record with the Gabriel Gladstar Band-a folk/rock trio touring the West Coast in an old school bus throughout the 1970's. We recorded an album "A Garden Song" in Seattle in 1973 and performed on the same bill with the Paul Winter Constor, Weather Report, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown and others. In the late 70's, Mike and Megan (a jazz-pop duo) were featured in the Telluride Jazz Festival on the same bill with Sarah Vaughn, Dizie Gillespie, Gary Burton and others.

Early guitar influences included such diverse styles at Carl Perkins, Luis Bonfas, George Van Epps, Eric Clapton, Joao Gilberto, Charlie Bird, and Jimmy Reed. Although heavily influenced by the songwriting of the Beatles, James Taylor and Van Morrison, my songwriting reflects early influences of standards from childhood - Rogers & Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Antonio Carlos Jobim, etc.

I would best describe my music as "contemporary folk"; I write from personal experience about the issues of life that all people deal with; relationships, marriage, family and self-discovery. I strive to create "future standards" (songs that will long outlive me due to their personal yet universal melody and message.

My current CD, "The Fall" reflects the respect for and influence of "the standards" which always emphasize memorable melody and strong lyrical content.

My future plans are to continue to write, record and perform my music and reach a larger and broader audience.

I am proud of all the songs on my new CD but would choose three as my favorites: WedWork, Not Alone and Santa Marta.

I continue to perform, write and record in the Southern California where I live. My music has taken me to Europe, Hawaii, Central America, Mexico, Canada and Nova Scotia. Unlike artists who have enjoyed popularity which faded with a certain time or style, my guitar playing and songwriting have continued to grow in a timeless way, incorporating complex textures of jazz, pop, rock and blues as interpreted in unique compositions.

DISCOGRAPHY:
A Garden Song - 1973
A Garden Song - 1980 re-release
Gwinn-Morgan - "Eclectricity" - 1994
Local Heroes - "Live Sawdust Festival" - 1998
Mike Gwinn - "This "N That" - 1998
Mike Gwinn - "The Fall" - 2001

GUITARS -
I play a rare and highly modified 1948 Gibson L.50 jazz Guitar.

I play a nylon string Mexican Amezcua guitar and a 1950 Gibson J45 Steel String Acoustic