K&K's Artist of the Month: Jim Tozier
May 2004
"Acoustic
music has always been my first love. At a very early age, I remember perusing
my parents' record collection, and getting hooked on artists like Simon
and Garfunkel, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, John Denver, and James Taylor.
By
the time I took an interest in guitar--around 8th grade--I was listening
to mostly hard rock and heavy metal, although I never lost my passion
for acoustic singer-songwriters. But my first guitar was an electric--a
metallic red Strat copy. When I got to high school, I was listening to
classic rock, and my favorite guitarist was Eric Clapton. My first "real"
electric guitar was a Fender Stratocaster--black with a white pickguard
and maple neck, so I could emulate my hero. Learning how to play Clapton's
songs led me to become a big fan of the blues. Around this time, I also
started my first band, Revelations, and began writing songs.
In my senior year of high school, the band broke up, and I would soon make a discovery that would change the way I thought about guitar. I heard a record called "Aerial Boundaries" by guitarist Michael Hedges, and I was fascinated by the way he could create interesting instrumental songs on acoustic guitar So, I traded in my Strat, bought my first good acoustic guitar--a Martin Shenandoah 2832--and attempted to write some songs that were similar to Hedges' style. I couldn't come up with anything nearly as interesting. It wasn't until later that I discovered that he used alternate tunings and a harp-guitar to produce those enchanting sounds!
Temporarily discouraged, I decided to start another band. I sold the Martin and bought another Stratocaster, and teamed up with Chris Keith (bass), Greg Baron (vocals), and Brian Guerrieri (drums) to form Shiver, a folk-rock/alternative band that would enjoy some local success in the early 90's. My songwriting skills developed, and five of the songs that I wrote were played on local radio stations. Shiver performed extensively for a couple of years, receiving good reviews, and even mild interest from Geffen records. (I still have their "rejection" letter in a scrapbook somewhere.) Despite Shiver's success, I privately longed to play acoustic music. After two members of the band were married, Shiver stopped performing on a regular basis, and I sold my Strat to help finance the purchase of my first Taylor guitar, a 1994 510.
Greg and I started an acoustic duo version of Shiver, and I started working on my singing, so that we could add harmonies. Soon after, we added another guitarist, Tom Kennan, and began using capos to separate the voices of the two acoustics. To fill out the sound, we got Brian back into the mix, switched Tom to electric guitar, and added Duane Gels on bass as a replacement for Chris, who was by then running E Flat Productions, a very successful management and promotion company. Chris would also become a partner in an independent label, Fowl Records, and play a significant role in bringing Jimmie's Chicken Shack to national attention. This version of Shiver would play off and on for the next six or seven years.
It was during a concert by one of my favorite performers, singer-songwriter David Wilcox, that I would make another exciting discovery. In the middle of his set, Wilcox recognized renowned Celtic/Folk guitarist Al Petteway (it wasn't until later that I discovered the two are close friends), and invited him on stage to play one of his songs. Petteway began playing a Celtic-flavored instrumental, and I was completely mesmerized. I've always loved Celtic music (thanks to my father), but had never thought about trying to play it on guitar. I was hooked, and immediately following the show, I went out and bought Al's Caledon Wood CD, and started trying to write music in a similar style.
Once I had a number of tunes written, I e-mailed Al Petteway on a whim one day, and asked if he'd be willing to take me on as a student, and critique my songs. Fortunately, he agreed, and after a few lessons, he liked what I was doing enough to suggest that I record them. So, I did. The result is my debut CD, Castlerea."
Jim uses the K&K Pure Western: "I installed a K&K Pure Western in all three of my Avalon guitars, on the advice of John Fowler at Shoreline. I was looking for a natural-sounding soundboard transducer to compliment the factory Fishman USTs. The K&K pickups are superb! Very natural and articulate sounding . . . they capture the sound of my guitars better than any other pickup I've tried. I'm completely impressed!"