The Undiscovered: Mike Gwinn

The Fall is guitarist Mike Gwinn's second solo CD, and sixth overall, and features his special brand of contemporary folk, delivered primarily with voice and with his 1948 Gibson jazz guitar. Gwinn has a smooth playing style, drawing on blues, jazz and rock styles, which compliments his songwriting nicely. His tunes draw from personal experiences, but are written in a way that reflect common occurances that many listeners might have in their own lives. Gwinn states that The Fall reflects the respect for and influence of 'the standards' - emphasizing memorable melody and strong lyrical content. We'd agree - with compositions that emphasize tunes over licks, coupled with Gwinn's ability to deliver superb, tasteful fretwork (as on the instrumental "Sayulita"), contemporary folk fans have got a CD they can certainly enjoy from start fo finish.

Mike has been playing, writing songs and performing professionally since the age of 15. Early guitar influences included Carl Perkins, Luis Bonfas, George Van Epps, Eric Clapton, and many others. His first gig was with Dave Meyers and the Surftones, then he hooked up with the Gabriel Gladstar Band - a folk-rock trio. "A Garden Song" was recorded with the trio in 1973. In the late '70s, Mike played with Mike and Megan (a jazz-pop duo), which played on the same bill with Sarah Vaughn, Dizzie Gillespie and Gary Burton. His songwriting reflects the influence of standards from childhood - Rogers & Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, etc.

Gwinn's future plans are to continue to write, record and perform his music and reach a larger and broader audience. His music has already taken him to Europe, Hawaii, Central America, Mexico, Canada and Nova Scotia, a list of destinations which he will continue to build on.

Mike Gwinn
United States