It’s been a crazy ride lately. My mom-in-law’s been in the hospital for about 6 weeks and so my life has centered around
care taking and interfacing with all kinds of people and things in the world of modern medicine.

We all have or had moms, and some of us are moms. The world just wouldn’t be the same without them… and neither would we.

So here’s to the moms…. everywhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMWfR_IAdtc

With gratitude,

Vicki

More to come….. heading back to New Jersey this weekend for a lovely house concert in Maplewood, NJ.

Peace and Love,

Vicki

We made it through the holidays…. hopefully with joy and laughter and lot’s of great food and people around. 2012 will be a GREAT year. It just has to be. That’s all there is to it.

I’m coming into my 6th week off of sugar. What an amazing ordeal! I’ve been working with Dr. Mark Hyman’s program, ‘Ultra Metabolism‘. Check it out if you’re interested in a smart program to help you detox and develop great new eating and cooking habits. I’ve been cooking A LOT and really getting into it.

I’m currently in North Carolina at the ‘Cabin’, getting ready to head out west for the annual NAMM convention. I’ll be one of the featured artists on the Saturday night
Muriel Anderson All Star Guitar Night – part of an AMAZING line up.

I’d LOVE to see you on the road – and here’s some helpful info about when and where I’ll be and dates I’m still trying to fill with house concerts. These can be small or large, totally up to YOU. If you haven’t hosted a concert yet, make 2012 the year to start! It’s an awesome way to support live music and connect with friends and family! Contact me with questions. These are the places we’re currently looking at stopping:

Nashville TN, Austin TX, Phoenix AZ.

Do any of you live there? Let me know!!!

I’ll have some pictures soon of the latest Van additions… Tay’s been BUSY.

That’s it for now….

Peace,

Vicki

I always think I have to have exciting news, links, photos, videos, etc. in order to make this a place you’d like to come back to.
Well, today I’m just writing to say hi. I made it through Christmas, had a wonderful time with people I love. I hope the same was
true for you. I’m looking forward to a New Year, with all its new possibilities and limitless openings. I look forward to sharing new
music and new ideas and inspirations with all of you who are following along.

That’s it for now – I’ll be back!!!!!

Happy and Healthy 2012 to all…

Peace,

Vicki

The VG Signature....

Hi Everyone,

I was actually home in New Jersey for the crazy snow storm last Saturday. I refuse to believe it’s a sign of a bad winter. Fatally optimistic.

Getting ready to head upstate this weekend for shows in Ithaca and Earlville, NY, but first wanted to tell you all about the contest.
It’s an annual GUITAR GIVEAWAY! Thanks to the Luna Guitar family, I’m able to give one of YOU the beautiful VG Signature Guitar they make. All you have to do to be entered is be on my email list which you can do right here on this page – and here’s where to read about and hear the guitar….

We do the drawing on December 15th. We’ll notify the winner by email as well as post your name here on my website. If you’re outside the US you’ll have to cover shipping. That’s it!

By the way – hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Peace,

Vicki

Since last November, we’ve pretty much been on the road. I’m writing now from our cabin in North Carolina where we’ve been for the last few days in between two gigs.  I had a great time opening up for Lacy Green last Saturday for her CD release party. Her new CD was produced by Nashville ‘hit maker’, Ronnie Bowman. The night was filled with great music and great musicians…

Lacy Green, Vicki & Kristy Jackson

Next Saturday we go to one my favorite places, Asheville, NC. Besides being the home of an amazing Gluten Free restaraunt, Posana Cafe - it’s absolutely beautiful and a very forward thinking place to hang. I’ll be doing a workshop and concert at the Dream Guitars headquarters. Owned by Paul Heumiller, Dream Guitars sells some of the finest hand made guitars in the world.  The idea was to gather together the finest guitars in the world and to offer them in an honorable fashion with real expertise and guidance.  They’re great folks with an amazing selection of instruments. Looking forward to being there this weekend.

Private lessons with Guitar Sherpa are starting to build momentum…. I’m excited to be able to work with people from all over the world! Right now I’ve got a student from New Zealand, Vietnam and maybe Italy!

Thursday I get to do some co-writing with award winning writer, Kristy Jackson - another amazingly talented woman! Really looking forward to this, as I’ve got  a ton of new musical ideas just waiting to turn into songs!!

The world keeps getting crazier every day, but I’m grateful that for the time being I”m able to keep on doing this thing I love so much – write, record and play music, and that I get to meet so many wonderful people all over the world while doing it. Thanks to all of you reading this for your interest and support.

Two years ago yesterday, the world lost a great musician, audio technician and human being, Bruce Bowes. His memory lives on through all the people that will continue to love him….

Ocean in Northern Ireland...missing Bruce Bowes.

Until next time,

Vicki

Truefire's Brad Wendkos and Vicki hashing out her new course at the studio.

I had the good fortune of spending time with the Harris family of the Harwood Podcast Network in California last month, and they do a wonderful bunch of podcasts – from cooking to help with computer programs to MUSIC! Here’s a link to the Interview they did with me. I’m performing ‘Cause of You and Atomic Reshuffle. They’ve done a fantastic job! Here’s a link to the ‘single’ – Atomic Reshuffle.

Two weeks ago, the wonderful folks at Truefire released my 2nd Instructional DVD, ‘Acoustic Rhythm Guitar Survival Guide’! This course is for any guitarist who wants to take their rhythm playing to the next level. It’s a lot of fun and I’m thrilled to have it finally out in the world. You can see the promotional video here.

Brad at the helm!

One of our concerts was a benefit for one of my favorite organizations, ‘Guitars in the Classroom’ (GITC) and I got to talking with the host of the evening, Billy Stern. He turned me on to the welcome address for the Freshman class given by Karl Paulnack, pianist and director of the music division at Boston Concservatory. The whole piece is rather long, but here’s the ending of it:

The responsibility I will charge your sons and daughters with is this: “If we were a medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you’d take your work very seriously because you would imagine that some night at two AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and you’re going to have to save their life. Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary.

Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft. You’re not here to become an entertainer, and you don’t have to sell yourself. The truth is you don’t have anything to sell; being a musician isn’t about dispensing a product, like selling used Chevies. I’m not an entertainer; I’m a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. You’re here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well.

Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music; I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don’t expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation.  I no longer even expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because that’s what we do. As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.”

I will leave you with that…. more very soon.

Peace,

Vicki

Tay, Billy Stern & Vicki

The crew - 'Live from Bay 6' podcast

Luna Spread at Austin's 'Wild About Music'

Hey there,
Sorry for the lapse in blog-dom. It’s been an intense 3 weeks or so as my nephew underwent 3 surgerys in his brain. Not a fun thing. He’s 15yrs. old and a very strong spirit! He’s recovering brilliantly, but it’s hard work. I’m in Texas with him and his family to contribute to the post surgical healing. Got my tuning forks out and buzzing him as much as I can (check out the ‘Tuning In’ section of the website for more info on the sound healing work I do).

I’m at the Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, waiting to board for a flight to Kansas City, MO. I’ve got 3 Luna Guitar Clinics starting tonight. Looking forward to having the guitar in my hands for an extended period of time!

Been working on a new arrangement of ‘Free Fallin’…written by Tom Petty, but I’m basing my arrangement on the John Mayer version, one of the most beautiful I’ve heard.. My twist will be playing it on the 6 string banjo. That is such a cool instrument. Planning to bring that along with me whenever possible.

I ran into the coolest music store in Austin two days ago…totally by mistake – Wild About Music. The folks at Luna kept telling me about the store and its owner, but I never connected. Here’s a pic of their awesome Luna Guitar layout – one of the nicest I’ve seen!

A Day Later….

Last night’s clinic at Lanham Music was a lot of fun – had some very young attendees, I think my youngest was Reagan who is 5! Love it. And the only one who had the nerve to take out his guitar and play along with me as I taught ‘thumb slapping’ was Joseph who is about 10. You go Joe! Tonight we’re in Springfield, MO – clinic starts at 6:30. See you there!

More soon -

Peace out,
Vicki

Meanwhile, I have to report that I recently had a birthday and it could be that I’m not getting younger. I just asked the woman waiting on me at Starbucks (they have the only decent decaf on the road, ok?) for ‘regular’ milk and got the response I’ve been getting lately – ‘You mean 2%?’. So, there it is… I’m old enough that ‘whole milk’ is no longer the ‘regular’ of milk.

Don’t forget to visit me at my Guitar Sherpa site and find out about how you can get individualized one-to-one instruction from me from anywhere in the world!

RIP Clarence Clemons! Thanks for sharing all the great music… you will be missed. I was lucky enough to open for him way back in the 80′s in Boston.

Peace out,

Vicki

my birthday present to me

The past days have been dealing with major Van issues…. we were stranded in Staunton, VA – but we were definitely protected. We lost our battery, alternator and finally, the breaks! We got outta there late Monday and arrived safe and sound at our cabin in Ararat, NC. Tuesday morning I was greeted with a flat tire – but again, our ‘Van Angels’ kept us safe and we didn’t have the flat while driving on the highway.

I’ve got one more gig coming up this Saturday in Philly… then we head out to Texas for a month. My nephew’s having brain surgery and we’re going to help out in any way we can. My birthday wish is simply: A successful surgery for him and a smooth, speedy and comfortable recovery.

The fabulous folks at Truefire.com have launched ‘Guitar Sherpa’ and I’m honored to be one of the first 10 educators to be part of this platform. We’ll be able to teach students all over the world via the internet.  Read about it, come visit my Sherpa Classroom and ask me questions about it! I’m real excited to share my insights, talents and techniques with those who are interested.

In the meantime, thanks again for taking the time to keep up with me. I shall be back….

Peace & Gratitude on this birthday day,

VG