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"...a big high five to everybody for all the helping hands of yours, encouragement, prayers, and especially for hangin' in there with me during that prolonged hand injury of mine! ..wheeew! ...all's well that ends well! "

To do so, Chaquico uses some 50 guitars on the album (...which his 12 yr old son,  Kyle,  was able to tune and restring in exchange for a small donation to his mountain bike fund)  that ranged from acoustic, electric, slide, steel and nylon string, 6 and 12-string, sitar, baratone and mini alto guitar, as well as on his own favorite Craig Chaquico Carvin CC275 SignatureSeries guitar he designed himself. "Each guitar has its own voice, its own soul and personality, and therefore brings to the song it's own particular inspiration and feel," he mentions.

Craig Chaquico's 1st prototype Signature Series Carvin CC275 guitar,  Carvin S/L40 mixing board,  and Heartwoodes tigerwood Ryno guitar strap

On El Gato, the acoustic nylon string Spanish guitar lends a distinctive upbeat Latin feel which is blended with specific types of electric and a steel-string guitars on the melody along side inspired sax, percolating acoustic grand piano by Ozzie Ahlers, smoking Latin percussion by Marquinho Brasil and Ramone Yslas, and a mariachi horn section (...they're called mariachis because they originally played at weddings -btw) and the song ends with a rockin electric guitar solo at the end over acoustic guitars all being propelled by the rock-solid drumming of Wade Olson.

Then again, along with proven hit makers, Kevin Paladini on sax and Ozzie Ahlers on keyboards, Chaquico adds the warmth of an acoustic guitar to Dream Date's dreamy, jazz vibe while a rowdier sound on Girls' Night Out is achieved by the TalkBox, an electrified guitar made famous by Peter Frampton,   Joe Walsh  of the Eagles,  and Joe Perry of Aerosmith,. "The song, and the different guitars i used which reflect the different personalities and attitudes of more than a few girl's I've seen on their very own girls' night out, starts out well-mannered,  classy, and even a bit demure...kinda like an episode of Sex in the City (....Kim Catrell was actually in a Starship video with Craig -BTW) but as the night wears on,  the guitar sounds,  like the girls themselves, get a bit less inhibited and a lot more adventurous and firey!"

The idea of day passing into night and back again, and what magic,   mystery,  adventure,  and good natured play that beckons all in between,  pervades the album and Chaquico evokes the subtle nuances of the hours with pure emotion and gentle phrasing. "Magical things can happen between midnight and noon and back again." On Jazz Noon, Chaquico was inspired during a past performance at the famed Bay Area club, Yoshi's, and by several appearances at the legendary Sweetwater in Mill Valley, CA.,  and places like the world famous Blue Note live jazz clubs around the world.

In fact,  the very first tour after the release of Midnight Noon was comprised 100% of packed and sold-out houses nightly in famous and historical premier jazz clubs coast to coast across the country,  ending with two concerts at the legendary Blue Note in New York City.  It was truly a "dream date" of a tour and a dream-come-true to play on these all too few remaining hallowed stages of world-class jazz..

"They all have pictures of musicians who have performed there in the past. At one club, sensing the history, and playing there in the wee hours, it inspired us. After the club had closed and most everyone had left, we went back into the club, locked the doors, and played a bit by ourselves and for a handfull of friends, bartenders,  cooks,  and food servers while this song got its start during that post 'jazz noon' encounter.  We really tried to create the feeling of being one of those people in the audience who were inches from the stage with the way we recorded and produced this song with such a live feel ...for contrast to that live spontaneous feel,   listen for the subtle,  but ultra-tight,   unexpected doo-wop vocal harmonies in the guitar solo"

For Bobby Sox imagine the inspiration for this song coming from watching American Bandstand and those cute little bobby socks, saddle shoes and fuzzy sweaters along with the classic two tone American cars and trucks of the more innocent 50s, before today's modern times, cruising alongside big old round-fendered white walled and shining wide-gliding Harley-Davidsons lined up outside a diner ....the bee-bop sounds of a rockin little live band wafting through the streetlight-lit streets of "Anytown, USA" with a tasty inspired bass solo by Jim Reitzel.

Dia del Zorro,   or day of the fox,  the first song of Craig's recorded and played entirely on electric guitars in 15 years, was inspired by the adventurous, dangerous,  and sometimes mischievous escapades of the legendary romantic Latin hero of the people,  Zorro!  ....an outlaw of his time, a beloved hero  to his people,  in the epic days of the fox.

Equinox,  or the times of the year when there is that perfect balance between night and day when both are of equal length,  or the magical times at sunsets halfway between noon and midnight when the day finally gives way to the gathering night in a firey embrace between the two, before the first stars begin to come out one-by-one in a fuzzy, velvety sky that seems to vibrate just before the grand arrival of the Milky Way gradually appearing from horizon to horizon ...and again in reverse at predawn during "the hour of the planets"

Constructing music as if it were a painting for the ears, Chaquico artfully crafts a story behind each tune and acts it out through his guitar. The emotional connection to his audience is an immediate one. "I'm always looking for connecting threads of emotions through the language of music that bind us all together when I'm doing my recordings or tours. For me,  these heartfelt emotions and feelings we all share and sometimes hear in the music together,  remind us of what we all have in common,  remind us that we are not alone.  That we are all connected" he mentions, "and the music and the stories on MIDNIGHT NOON, I hope, will help us appreciate some of those connections again in unexpected ways."

One of Craig's Carvin, Apple Computer, Monster Cable, Jim Dunlop, and Mark of the Unicorn equiped studios -Pacific Northwest

About Craig Bio Cont'd (Page 4) -Click Here

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