​Music has a habit of creating an emotional response in our psyches that is primal and wild. Often when we listen to a song, we not only hear it but we feel it as well. Within those emotions come images and ideas that we alone create inside our heads, but it is the musician that is creating the sound that makes it all happen.
 
Bay Area finger-style guitarist Mark Vickness has a talent that is above and beyond visionary. The instrumental guitar music he creates sets into our minds profound thoughts and feelings. The new video for the release of his single “Prince William Sound” showcases not only his elegant finger-style guitar playing, but also how he himself is affected by the music he creates.  His calm presence is channeled into his guitar and magic happens within the strings. “Prince William Sound” is one of the amazing songs from the Places album, and it sets off a series of emotional responses that flow like a stream of sonic consciousness.  In your mind you can see the pristine waters of the Sound, you can feel the gentle breeze of cold air upon your face and clouds softly flying through an Alaskan sky. The song ebbs and flows and takes the listener on a journey of pure beauty

Want to learn more about the fine art of finger-style strumming and guitar strumming in general? Check out the fine folks at Beginning Guitar HQ for their tips and insights on all thing guitar!
http://beginnerguitarhq.com/improve-your-strumming/

​​El Radio Fantastique is an iconic West Marin band with a long history of epic and dramatic music.  Their longevity in the Marin music scene is profound and amazing, even amid the many personnel changes over the years. They sink deep into a sea of smoke and mirrors to produce something more than it seems to be. They uphold the tradition of vaudevillian splendor and operatic performance art that makes their music sparkle and shine amid the depths of darkness.
 
With three other albums behind them, El Radio has created another masterpiece of sound with their new album, “Outside Of Space And Time”. The album was released in October 2018 and was co-produced by the band with Grammy award-winning sound master Jason Carmer (Green Day, Run DMC, Billy Idol). It is one hell of a hypnotic adventure of sound and feeling.  El Radio prides themselves on eccentricity both lyrically and in their use of unusual instrumentation and that works in their favor, as they have created a very unique vibe as a band with this new EP.
 
States front man Giovanni DiMorente, “Every little thing is an inspiration, including motors making rhythms accidentally, bird noises, film soundtracks. I've been hybridizing my love of old melodic punk rock and bubblegum pop, adding an extra distorted symphonic keyboard and giving some dark or interesting lyrics to it that might have a lot of different meanings and are possibly dreamlike”
 
The new album is a soundboard for other members to share their songwriting and vocal talents. Colin Schlitt, longtime bassist for the band states. “Giovanni really has encouraged my songwriting, which I am incredibly grateful for. I think he’s one of the best songwriters of all time. His quantity and quality of songs are amazing. Also, it’s great to be in a band that feels like a family. Most of us grew up together and it’s fun to have those childhood relationships evolve into adulthood and into our artistic lives.”