Vicki Genfan
(born June 15) is a US-American fingerstyle-guitarist, composer and singer.
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VICKI GENFAN TICKETS
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Biography
Vicki Genfan took up the
guitar at the age of five. Her father played 12-string guitar,
mandolin and
fiddle and had a good voice, her older brother played guitar too.
[1] She studied
classical music and
jazz at
Ithaca College in
New York.
[2] Besides guitar Genfan plays
piano, hand
percussion and
trombone.
[3]
1994 she produced her first album
Native
on cassette, but didn't sell it in commercially significant numbers. 2001 her equally self - produced CD
Outside the Box
was published. She won the
Just Plain Folks Award
the same year for her title
New Grass
on that album. 2003 her second CD
Vicki Genfan Live
was published by the German label
Acoustic Music Records
, a live-recording at
Open Strings Festival
in
Osnabrück,
Germany. 2004 Vicki Genfan placed second at
Mountain Stage New Song Festival
in
West Virginia with her song
Eleanor
.
In 2006 Genfan published the double CD
Up Close & Personal
. The first CD is titled
Up Close
and contains only instrumentals, the second CD
Personal
showcases her singing and songwriting abilities.
Vicki Genfan was on stage with several well-known fellow guitarists, for example
Tommy Emmanuel,
Laurence Juber,
Kaki King and
Jennifer Batten.
[4] Because of her extraordinary technique and lyrical way of playing and singing she was compared to
Michael Hedges or
Pat Metheny.
[5] Vicki Genfan featured in several American and international magazines and was labeled »Queen of
Open Tunings«.
[6]
Genfan won
Guitar Player
magazine's
Guitar Superstar '08 contest at
San Francisco's
Great American Music Hall in September 2008.
[7]
While not on
tour abroad she gives concerts in the northeastern US. She is an experienced and good teacher, lectures at
workshops and
guitar clinics and teaches private lessons. Currently she works on a guitar video featuring her music and technique and plans to publish a book with her music.
[8]
Vicki Genfan lives in
Fairview,
New Jersey.
Guitar technique and musical influences
Vicki Genfan labels her music »Folk meets Funk«.
It's a blend of jazz,
funk,
pop and
world music in a contemporary
folk-context. She uses various uncommon open tunings, complex harmonies and intricate rhythms, combining them with percussive grooves. Her playing is characterised by ‘two handed
tappings’, explosive ‘tapped’ and ‘
slapped harmonics’ with one or more fingers of the right hand and slapped bass lines. Genfan is not only a guitar player, she is a
songwriter and singer too.
Her main musical inspiration was her father.
Other influences were
James Taylor,
Michael Jackson, Pat Metheny,
Joni Mitchell,
M'Shell Ndegocello,
Marvin Gaye,
Jonatha Brooke and
Leo Kottke.
Guitars and technical equipment
Genfan plays a
Gibson L-140
[9], a
Gibson LG
and a
Alvarez Silver Anniversary
. The
Alvarez
- Guitar uses a
TrueTone
-
pickup-system, where two microphones and a
L.R. Baggs LB6
-pickup send their signal to two separate outlets.
[10]
She owns a
Guild
12 string Guitar, a Muse 12 string by
Luna Guitars
and plays a
Vega
6 string
Deering
-
Banjo [11]. She uses medium-gauge
D'Addario
strings.
Her engineer Tay Hoyle takes a main part in producing Genfan's CDs and accompanies her on numerous tours.
Discography
Original work
- 1994 – Native
(Vicki Genfan)
- 2000 – Outside The Box
(Vicki Genfan)
- 2003 – Vicki Genfan Live
(Acoustic Music Records)
- 2006 – Up Close & Personal
(Harmonic Touch Records)
Collaborations, guest musician
- 1991 – Mistaken Identity
(Donna Summer, Atlantic Records)
- 2000 – Home Away From Home
(Dee Carstensen, Exit NineRecords)
- 2000 – Fourth Floor
(Sonya Heller)
Compilations
- 2005 – La Guitara: Gender Bending Strings
(Vanguard Records)
- 2006 – Indie Music For Life
Compilation (Indie Music For Life)
- 2007 – Indie Music For Life
Pop/Jazz Compilation (Indie Music For Life)
References
- Vicki Genfan’s page at Luna Guitars. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- ''Tap Tones'' - Bill Milkowski writes about Vicki Genfan in ''Acoustic Guitar Magazine'', issue 109, January 2002. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- Interview with Patty Larkin and Vicki Genfan by Ann Latner. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- Review of Genfan's CD ''Up Close & Personal'' at CD Baby. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- Vicki Genfan's website at MySpace. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- ''PRIVATE LESSON – Vicki Genfan'', by Teja Gerken. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- Acoustic player wins Guitar Superstar contest
- Review of the CD ''Vicki Genfan Live'' at CD Baby. Accessed on November 18, 2007.
- ''Gibson presents Vicki Genfan''. By Bernd Strohm (german). Accessed on November 18, 2007
- Bill Milkowski describes Vicki Genfan's Guitars in ''Acoustic Guitar Magazine'', issue 109, January 2002. Accessed on November 18, 2007
- List of artists using a Deering-Banjo. Accessed on November 18, 2007