Pat Kirtley

• Name — Pat Kirtley • Born — 1952 • Birthplace — Kentucky, United States • Instrument — Guitar • Genre — Fingerstyle guitar • Occupation — Musician, studio engineer, composer • Years Active — 1992–present • Website — Pat Kirtley at MySpace

Pat Kirtley was born in 1952 in Kentucky. He grew up in a musical Kentucky family. As a child he was exposed to the musical influences of his mother's family – listening to country and bluegrass – and his father's family who were more attracted to pop and classical music. In his teenage years he was also drawn to recording and its technology. By age 13, he had acquired a tape recorder and had become interested in electronics, not just using the equipment, but teaching himself how to build and modify it. He soon began experimenting with tone modification and looping techniques on his recorder and took his early steps in recording with some of his first, never to be published compositions as a 14-year-old. While always an ardent guitar player, Kirtley began his professional career on the other side of the microphone, working as a studio engineer and producer for twelve years beginning in the mid-70's. He continued playing and creating his compositions, but never published them or pursued working professionally as a guitarist until around 1989, when he began touring as a solo act. In 1992 he entered the fingerstyle competition at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas - without notable success. He didn't give up, and won the 1994 National Thumbpicking Contest in Mountain View, Arkansas. That same year, he released his first CD Kentucky Guitar, which earned very positive reviews. The next year, 1995, he went to Winfield for the third time and became the National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion in the Walnut Valley Festival competition. In 1996, Kirtley was chosen to participate in a project for Narada Records, a CD titled Guitar Fingerstyle, featuring a collection of tracks from leading contemporary acoustic guitar artists. The release was a success for the label, selling nearly a quarter-million copies worldwide. 1997 and 1998 saw Kirtley releasing two more CDs, Irish Guitar and Rural Life. Both contain his own solo guitar compositions, and arrangements of pop and traditional tunes. He then appeared on other artist's CDs as accompanying guitarist and also began developing pieces for a group/duo context, leading up to his CD "Just Listen" (2000), which featured collaborations with Tommy Emmanuel, jazz guitarist Craig Wagner, and acoustic super-group Nickel Creek. The group sound context was further developed on Kirtley's Brazilian Guitar, released in 2002. This CD focuses on Brazilian samba and bossa nova styles and was recorded with an ensemble setting. Here Kirtley's sound comes from the nylon-string guitar instead of his usual steel-string. He co-authored a book about home recording and writes articles for guitar magazines about guitar technique, recording and other related topics, in magazines such as Electronic Musician, Acoustic Guitar, Onstage, Home Recording, and Wood & Steel, as well as in the German magazine Akustik Gitarre.,

On his CDs and in concerts Pat Kirtley uses the following guitars: • Martin MC-28 • Martin 00-17 (1952) • Taylor NS42 Nylon • Taylor 512-CE • Taylor 514-C • Kirk Sand electroacoustic • Godin Multiac MIDI guitar His favored Taylor has an EMG magnetic soundhole- pickup with Fishman pickups in other guitars. On stage he mixes the pickup-signal with the input of a good condenser microphone. In the recording studio he records with microphones and additional effects. Along with the Godin Multiac MIDI guitar he uses a Roland GR-series synthesizer, Lexicon Jamman, and Lexicon and Alesis reverbs. Kirtley uses a Fred Kelly thumbpick and plays with plastic-reinforced nails. He prefers.012 to.054"-gauge Elixir Phosphor Bronze Light strings.

• 1999 Before My Time, Todd Hallawell (Soundset) • 2001 Wanted! Jesse James Alias: Steve Rector, Steve Rector (Hound Sound Music) • 2004 Exotic America, Andy Robinson (Brontosaurus Records) • 2005 Contrast, with Pauly Zarb (Pauly Zarb and Pat Kirtley)

• 1996 Guitar Fingerstyle: A Narada Collection (Narada) • 1997 Dance of the Celts: A Narada Collection (Narada) • 1997 Masters of Acoustic Guitar (Narada) • 1998 Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar V. 1: The Blarney Pilgrim (Rounder Records ROUN3157) • 1998 Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar V. 2: Ramble to Cashel (Rounder Records ROUN3156) • 1998 Acoustic Guitar Highlights, Vol. 2 (Solid Air) • 2001 Guitar Fingerstyle 2: A Narada Collection (Narada)

• 1998 The Blarney Pilgrim (vestapol 13063dvd) • 1998 Ramble to Cashel (vestapol 13029dvd) • 2004 Nine Pound Hammer: Guitar Styles of Western Kentucky (vestapol 13081dvd) • 2004 Introduction to Thumbstyle Guitar (Mel Bay Productions GW301DVD) • 2005 Introduction To Alternate Tunings (Mel Bay Productions GW302DVD) • 2005 Introduction To Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar (Mel Bay Productions GW303DVD) • 2008 Pickin' Like Chet Vol 1 Guitar (Stefan Grossman's Workshop GW985/6)2-DVD set • 2008 Pickin' Like Chet Vol 2 Guitar (Stefan Grossman's Workshop GW987/8)2-DVD set