On Bob’s first two CDs, Phoenix Song and Epicycles...
Bob Kilgore played Martin and Ovation acoustic guitars. He used his Harmonic Capo on most tunes.
Tim Kilgore played all keyboards and percussion
Influences
My influences are quite varied. I grew up in a house full of musicians, so it was never quiet. I was exposed to classical music early, but also 60's folk music and jazz. I was already playing guitar at age 10, in a pseudo-classical style. I should've known something was up when I kept composing tunes in odd time signatures. That seemed to come naturally.
My first real musical epiphany came in 1974, when I saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra perform at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. They had to peel me off the wall after that show. It changed my life. John McLaughlin was my first guitar hero, but I soon discovered others, like Al di Meola, Allan Holdsworth, John Etheridge and John Goodsall. Okay, I was impressed by speed. But I also loved John McLaughlin's compositions for their odd time signatures and polyrhythym. To this day, I still play "The Dance of Maya" because I just love the idea of a blues in 20/8 time.
I also listened to a lot of fusion bands, like Chick Corea's Return to Forever, Jean-Luc Ponty, Weather Report, Shakti, Soft Machine, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Brand X, Pekka Pohjola (another hero), The Dixie Dregs, Daryl Way, Passport, Coliseum, SFF, Arti & Mestieri, Iceberg and Banco.
Then there was the electronica influence: Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jan Hammer, Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, and Synergy.
And I can't forget the progressive-rock influences, like ELP, Genesis (old and older) Yes, Gentle Giant, Bill Bruford and UK.
My second major epiphany came with the discovery of Michael Hedges. I listened to his first two records over and over, never fully understanding how he was doing it until I finally saw him on stage. I had me a new hero! Michael opened the door to the whole Windham Hill catalog, so I soon discovered Will Ackerman, Alex de Grassi and Mark Isham.
The next epiphany came with my first exposure to the music of Steve Reich. Oddly enough, it was at a punk club in Washington, DC. I was waiting to see Kit Watkins perform there and they played Music for a Large Ensemble over the PA before the show. I was entranced. Here was intense, pulsating counterpoint like I had never heard before. I was hooked. This naturally let to my discovery of the other minimalists, Philip Glass, John Adams and Terry Riley.
And that led me to Karl Orff, which completed the circle back to classical music, where I started.
People don't have much trouble hearing the influence of Steve Reich and Michael Hedges in my music, but all the others are in there somewhere.
Sounds Like
Sounds exactly like this:
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All compositions are by Bob, except for "Can't Say Never", which is really more Tim's composition than Bob's. (The title was given in response to Tim's claim that he "never" titled his own tunes.)
Unless otherwise specified, there were no guitar overdubs used in these recordings. Multi-tracking was used to layer keyboards and percussion, but all the guitar parts are live.
The original recordings were made on TASCAM analog gear using 15 ips tape. These recordings were remastered to 24-bit digital using an Akai DPS24 workstation. A big thank you goes to Akai Professional and for my friends at DPS World for making these CDs possible.
FREE Downloads are
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Weaseltrap Records
Hello MySpace friends! If you don't know me, I'm the guy who invented the Harmonic Capo. It looks a little like an ordinary capo, but it's completely different. It's a capo that plays harmonics!
Vintage Guitar Magazine reviewed it in their April 2008 issue under the headline "Accessory of the Year?" Since then, I've sold them all over the world. That's very cool. Guitar Player Magazine reviewed it in their October 2008 issue and called it "...the coolest capo - and maybe the coolest gadget of any type - that we've seen in a long time..." Word is getting around!
You can find out all about the Harmonic Capo, including how to get your own, at www.weaseltrap.com
I've had to reformat this page because the old one had too many video players embedded in it. The page was getting slow and some of the videos weren't even showing up. So, from now on, I'll just post a few of the most recent ones and provide links to the rest. All my videos are available at my YouTube site www.youtube.com/bobkilgorevideos
RECENT VIDEOS:
The first video is a new tune called "Hopscotch". This tune will be on my next CD, probably in a longer version, with other parts added.
Hopscotch
The next video is a tune called "Traveler's Tale". This tune demonstrates a variety of playing techniques and gives my Harmonic Capo a workout. It uses the entire guitar neck and starts with two C's that are four octaves apart.
Traveler's Tale
The next video is a tune called "Event Horizon". This is one of my more outrageous compositions. It features the Harmonic Capo, with lots of two-handed tapping.
Event Horizon
The next video is a tune called "How the Other Half Lives". The title says it all, but there's so much more I could say about it.
It's special to me for a variety of reasons. It's unique. It's unconventional. The left hand doesn't move at all for the first minute and fifteen seconds of the piece, but I manage to strum two alternating chords and play nine notes at once... on six strings.
The main reason this tune is special is that I had the honor of playing it for my hero, Michael Hedges. It was just before his "Tap Root" CD was released. I only met him once, but I got to show him one of my first Harmonic Capos and played some of my early tunes like "From Point A", "Returning Home" and "Frames of Reference".
"How the Other Half Lives" was his favorite. His jaw actually dropped. He watched my hands very very closely and then gave me the highest compliment I've ever received. That was a day I'll never forget.
Bob! Your new CD cover art, is beautiful, and your new tracks, gave me, "happy chills", during my first listen...as did your CD release vid....well done, my friend! Well done!!! : )
Hiya Bob! I have started listening to your new album songs.They sound awesome!I also have to say that Tim's playing on the tracks I have heard is equally wonderful-sitting beautifully alongside your brilliant guitar."The Lost Dance" and "Cloudburst" are my initial favourites-but I'm sure once I have listened properly to all of them that will change! I have now changed all ten songs on my player including four new ones from my new album. God Bless, Tim.
Well Bob, I'm in need of some creative inspiration so I finally got around to ordering your capo. I'm really looking forward to getting it and seeing what I can do with it. Cheers, Jim
You've got some great music and a great page here! Thanks for your friendship, and welcome aboard the Redline ship. Looking forward to sharing the journey ahead with you. Take Care, and thanks again. Peace,
Hi Bob, thanks a lot. Hey - your playing is great - I really enjoy it. I'm going to give the harmonic capo a try - it seems to be very promising. Best wishes Axel
Hiya Bob! I hope you are well. I have put six new songs from my forthcoming album "Letting Go" up on my player.It would be great if you could give them a listen and let me know what you think. God Bless, Tim.
Bonsoir, Je viens vous parler de ma petite entreprise PROMOLIVE.
Cette structure permet aux particuliers comme aux professionnels de développer et de faire connaître aussi bien un produit qu’un artiste ou autres projets à vocation publicitaire sur toute la toile Internet par l’élaboration de pages Myspace et l’envoie ciblé de mails.
Ces mails peuvent être envoyés à tous les corps de métiers pour un ciblage précis des personnes que vous voulez toucher.
N’hésitez pas à me contacter et ainsi répondre à vos questions comme à vos attentes.
Thank you Bob for the compliment. I languish (is it the good word?) having the harmo capo so as to explore new universes with open tunings. Thanks for your support. Wish we could meet one day !!
I just wanted to say both my dad and I have been using your capo for a couple months now and we both love it! We each have one, and the sounds a duo can make with the aid of the harmonic capo is unreal.
Oh, and I enjoyed reading about your capo in "Acoustic Guitar" a few months back, as well. The video review was great, as well. Congratulations!
