1.3.2002 00:05
Every
guitar tells a story
BY VAUGHN WATSON
Journal Pop
Music Writer
Who he is: Ken
Totushek, of Barrington.
What he plays: Ken Totushek is a guitar aficionado and it shows. In his
new album, Pilgrim Song, his instrumentals tell stories using several
styles of acoustic guitars.
"I wanted to do an instrumental and focus more on the acoustic guitar, and different
acoustic guitars," Totushek says. "Different makes and different woods used have
different tones. I wanted to make a CD that has a lot of variety in it, but still
the acoustic guitar was the spotlight."
His arrangements on Pilgrim Song include the nuances of several guitar
styles, including jazz, classical and folk.
Fire And Ice carries the pace and rhythm of a festival in Spain, where
families gather to celebrate one another. Rebound and Twilight Serenade
suggest a closer-to-home feel, a New England autumn in the vivid style of
George Winston's seasonal ballads -- a vision of the bare trees that make us miss
the colors once there.
Acoustic guitarist Ken Totushek, of Barrington,
on his new album, Pilgrim Song, uses instrumentals to tell stories using
several styles of acoustic guitars. Listen to clips
Influences: Totushek's
influences include Winston, James Taylor and other guitar instrumentalists. "Most
of this music comes out of my own life experiences," he says.
Recording: Last November, Totushek released For Love of Christmas,
with Pastor David and Anna-Lisa Madeira of Barrington Baptist Church. In
1994 he released For the Rest of Your Life, with Ken Totushek and Friends.
He wrote Pilgrim Song over four years -- "there were a lot of ups and downs
and emotions," he says. "Different songs will reflect some of that.
"Without lyrics, I wanted to try to convey a sense of what is going on with me
at the time, but also hopefully it might evoke some kind of story for a listener.
It may be a different story for you than it is for me. The songs do minister to
people in a way, which is a goal and a prayer."
Fundraising: The proceeds from Pilgrim Song, released on his Graceworks
Recording, go to Sept. 11 relief. "That really made it more meaningful in my mind,"
he says, "not just to release a CD that people can listen to, but to have it help
families of victims of the attacks on Sept. 11."
If your band would like to be featured in Band Spotlight, send information
to Vaughn Watson at The Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902, send
e-mail to vwatson@projo.com or call him
at 277-7524.
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