MB Redfined
Kirk Fletcher (L), Dave Weiner (C), Jamie Kime (R)

New Guitar Instructors Join Faculty

|    Oct 22, 2009

The fall quarter has just begun, and along with new students MI’s Guitar Department (GIT) welcomes several new instructors. Kirk Fletcher, Dave Weiner, and Jamie Kime each bring years of professional playing and teaching experience along with world-class stylistic expertise to an already-deep faculty lineup. Here’s a capsule view of who’s new on the guitar staff:

Kirk Fletcher
Kirk Fletcher is booked at venues and festivals all over the world as a “blues player” (he toured for several years with Austin legends the Fabulous Thunderbirds, after all), but his dynamic and inspiring guitar playing cannot be pigeonholed into one genre. GIT students flock to Fletcher’s Open Counseling to learn how to play funk; to pick up, by osmosis, some of Fletcher’s soulful gospel inflections (Fletcher grew up doing a lot of church gigs); to learn how to groove “behind the beat” in a tasty R&B-approved fashion, and, most of all, to learn Fletcher’s explosive riffing and soloing approaches so that they, too, might know how to make every note count. Students can also come to Fletcher to learn the Hip Hop LPW song of the week.

Dave Weiner
For the past decade and counting, GIT grad Dave Weiner has been recording, filming, and touring the world as the right-hand man to one of the planet’s most celebrated guitar heroes—Mr. Steve Vai. If you have seen a recent Vai DVD or caught a G3 tour, you’ve most certainly seen Dave in action. Or maybe you’ve caught him online, as his riffoftheweek.com video lesson series continues to renew every Wednesday (as it has since November 2005!). Weiner’s second solo album is due out in early 2010. In his Private Lessons and Open Counseling, Weiner teaches everything from rock to shred to fusion to 7-string technique. Learn more about this dynamic guitarist at www.daveweiner.com.

Jamie Kime
As a member of Zappa Plays Zappa (led by Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil), Jamie Kime has played every prestigious venue from London’s Royal Albert Hall to LA’s Greek Theater. In early 2009, Jamie collected a Grammy Award (“Best Rock Instrumental”) for his work with the band. Kime, a GIT graduate, has also worked with pop stars such as Jewel and Michelle Branch and in bands like the Boneshakers. He is known around town for co-leading the Baked Potato’s famous Monday Night Jam each week (MI students welcome!) Jamie teaches Private Lessons, conducts Open Counseling, and specializes in everything from prog rock to classic rock to jazz/fusion. The gifted improviser also helps students tap into harmonic approaches spanning Coltrane to John McLaughlin, so that they learn the art of crafting epic, exciting, open-ended solos on the fly.

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