Michael Gulezian

The first, and only, time thus far that I have had the fortunate chance of seeing Michael Gulezian play live, I was absolutely floored by his both his virtuosic capabilities as a guitarist and a performer, and secondly by his humility and graciousness as a human being on stage. I actually stumbled on his performance by accident. I had seen fliers advertising his upcoming show at the student center of my college, and had no interest in attending. It wasn't until the night of the performance, when I was walking through the student center, that I saw a huge crowd gathered and a man with a guitar sitting on a stage smiling and thanking everyone for their applause after his previous number. Since I didn't have anything else to do that night, I decided I would stop in and listen, soon putting two and two together that this was the man that had been advertised on all of the orange fliers that covered the campus walls. I was hooked.

In between each song, he would say a little introduction about the piece, or he would talk to the audience in general, as well as teach us the mechanics of how his guitar was made. He had several microphones and guitar pickups in order to capture every audible nuance of the guitar, in turn, projecting a more full and vibrant sound. I was amazed at how much sound he was able to produce out of one guitar, and when you close your eyes, it's a sound bigger than the man and the guitar.

After the performance I went over the shake his hand, bought both cd's that he was selling with all of the cash that I had in my wallet at the time, "Language of the Flame," and "Concert at St. Olaf College," and spoke with him for a few minutes about his music. Since then, even if I have not been able to make it to his performances I have encouraged anyone who is able to attend.

Check out his myspace. You will not be disappointed. There are very few musicians these days that create music that speaks to the soul in the way that his man's music does. To see what I mean, check out his rendition of the familiar folk song, "Oh Suzannah." Also, listen to his piece, "Michael Hedges Goes to Heaven." The experience is other-worldly.

(Photo courtesy of FrettedFriends.com)