- This event has passed.
Music is Medicine with Michael Gulezian, Trevor Gordon Hall, and Raji Malik
May 15 at 7:30 pm-10:00 pm
$25.00
Tickets are $25 online and $30 at the door. (Door tickets end at 6:00pm on the day of the show)
Doors at 7:00pm
10% off Taqueria Cresta with your Fallser Club ticket!!
Music Is Medicine
Musical sound waves ripple out like water. All of our actions ripple out into the world, and kindness has medicinal powers, just like music. As these sound waves move through the air and our bodies, we experience relaxation, process emotions, and sense our interconnection. May this music bring you a deeper appreciation of your goodness. May we all continue to challenge ourselves to grow with honest self-reflection so that we may more clearly channel love.
Michael Gulezian
Michael Gulezian (gu-LAY-ze-in) is one of the most highly acclaimed solo acoustic instrumental guitarists of our time. He’s a phenomenal technical guitarist with the rare ability to transcend his own virtuosity, creating music that touches and moves people at the deepest level – boundary-free, mind-opening, emotionally imbued, horizon-expanding, spiritually inspired, genre-bending, transcendent, soulful, joyful, kickass, exquisitely gorgeous instrumental solo acoustic guitar music – music that quite literally defies description. Fred Kraus, of Minor 7th .com recently wrote that Gulezian “might be the most accomplished pure guitarist on the planet.” He’s been called the musical link between John Fahey and Michael Hedges. Artists as diverse as Michael Hedges, Willy Porter, and Henry Kaiser have claimed him as a primary musical influence; young lions Erik Mongrain, Andy McKee, and Trevor Gordon Hall are quick to acknowledge him as an inspiration. In concert, Michael is all warmth and humor … and though it’s visually breathtaking to watch him perform, a concert with Michael is more than a display of cutting-edge virtuosity – it is the passionate communion of master musician engaged with his audience in the mystery of self-revelation, creating music of atmospheric power, ecstatic joy, and haunting beauty. Michael has an online audience at Pandora of 10,000 monthly listeners, and 16 million cumulative streams. If you enjoy the artistry of guitarists such as Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges – virtuoso musicians whose music touches the soul – then you will love Michael Gulezian.
“Michael Gulezian … might be the most accomplished pure guitarist on the planet. compositional genius. … a magisterial ode to a quiet, breathing awe … a religious experience … the sense of a person playing a guitar disappears into the music … transcends music and reaches into the ethereal world. … astounding … cosmic.” – Fred Kraus, Minor 7th .com
“… ingenuity and mastership. Michael Gulezian uses his guitar as a medium to pour out his soul. Every note that comes from Gulezian transgresses our indoctrinated notions of what music is and what music does … name the un-nameable and communicate the unknowable.” – The Manitou Messenger, ST. OLAF COLLEGE
“Gulezian rips … but for all his virtuosic ferocity, Michael never loses sight of the melody, or the drama of his compositions.” – Acoustic Guitar Magazine
“Michael Gulezian puts his entire heart and soul, his entire being, into every song he does live. … incredible passion, and unbelievable technical skill … that rare breed of artist who combines astounding virtuosity with emotional intensity. ‘Michael Hedges Goes to Heaven’ is the most stunning guitar tribute I have ever heard.” – Dore Stein. Producer / Host, Tangents Music Radio
“Michael Gulezian carries the legacy of pioneering guitarists John Fahey and Leo Kottke into the 21st century. … extraordinary talent. … sublime control and deep absorption of disparate styles, from the brawny soulfulness of the Delta masters, to the ethereal arabesques of Persian court music, to the playful syncopations of American jazz.” – Doug DeLoach, Creative Loafing
“… epoch-breaking …” – John Fahey
“… uncommonly thoughtful and provocative … sweeping story-like melodies, multi-dimensional epics, and heartland hymns. … smart, uplifting … not to be missed.” – Jazz Times
“… unbelievable … incredible … music from another planet.”
– JAZZIZ Magazine
Michael Gulezian Socials:
https://www.
Trevor Gordon Hall
Trevor has established himself as a unique and pioneering voice on the international stage, albeit one who speaks through his guitar and every sound that it’s capable of, rather than words. On top of a touring calendar that’s taken him through 17 countries and counting, his discography has amassed millions of listens and views through streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube, allowing his music to connect meaningfully with listeners across all borders, regardless of their language or location. Since emerging on the fringe of the Philadelphia, USA, music scene as a young guitar virtuoso in the early 2000s, Trevor’s fingerpicking style of textured instrumentalism took little time to leave an impression on listeners. He was rated a top 30 under 30 guitarist by Acoustic Guitar Magazine and has shared the stage with or drawn praise from peers and guitar legends who helped blaze the path before him, including the likes of John Mayer, Steve Miller, Graham Nash, Steve Hackett, Dar Williams, Will Ackerman, Pat Martino, Stanley Jordan, Phil Keaggy, Tommy Emmanuel, Pierre Bensusan and Andy McKee to name a few. He’s also been featured on NPR, NBC, PBS, and many international outlets and publications around the world. While cutting his teeth in the clubs and coffeehouses of the Philadelphia suburbs early in his career, Trevor caught the eye of ninetime Grammy award winning producer Joe Nicolo (James Taylor, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan) who produced two of Trevor’s releases, “Finding My Way” and a Christmas album “Let Your Heart Be Light.”
As Trevor began to refine his sound and plot out his next compositions in a new decade, he began to collaborate with various engineers to develop an instrument that combined his own redesign of the kalimba, an African finger piano, with an acoustic guitar. The resulting “kalimbatar” fully demonstrated Trevor’s ability to innovate as a songwriter and unlocked a new suite of sounds and textures that he was able to weave into his music. While he had explored the kalimba on earlier recordings in a limited capacity, the kalimbatar phase of Trevor’s career was first fully realized on his 2011 Candyrat Records debut, “Entelechy”, which left a mark on the iTunes singer-songwriter and YouTube charts at the time, gathering millions of views and widespread reach. Following on the success of Entelechy, Trevor worked with master luthier Sheldon Schwartz to redesign the kalimbatar. Once perfected, Trevor recorded his next album with longtime hero and decorated Grammy winner Will Ackerman, the founder of Windham Hill Records, which was a treasure trove of inspiration for Trevor on his musical journey. The resulting work, titled “Mind Heart Fingers,” was written to honor the acoustic guitar tradition that Windham Hill records popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. It was released in 2014 and peaked at #4 on the World International Music radio charts. This was followed up in 2015 with the first of an EP series, titled “Kalimbatar Classics Vol. 1”, which featured arrangements of classical piano standards reimagined by Trevor on the kalimbatar.
Never one to rest on his laurels however, Trevor swapped out the kalimbatar for electric guitars and electronic texturing with 2016’s “Late Night With Headphones, Vol. 1”, which revealed a moodier palette, and a different side of his artistic reach. As he worked through each album on his artistic journey, mining new connections, it became clear that Trevor’s explorations of the guitar were leaving an impact on other artists around him. In 2018, he was invited to share a stage with several other guitar titans, most notably John Mayer and Steve Miller, to honor the retirement of Dick Boak, a renowned figure in the guitar world and an artist relations director for Martin Guitar. During that evening, Mayer offered his admiration to Trevor, praising his set and acknowledging Trevor’s usage of the kalimbatar as a humbling and refreshing reminder that the guitar is still revealing new approaches and sounds, even after all of these generations. Trevor’s hard work and innovative writing had earned him recognition within the pantheon of guitar luminaries. With more command of his craft, came more shows around the world and more opportunities to make new musical connections with other artists. Trevor has recorded and performed with dozens of musicians across the continents on a variety of different projects and compositions.
2021’s “The Other World on Our Planet” is perhaps Trevor’s most dynamic example of branching out to new territory as a collaborator, which saw Trevor utilizing his artistry to support a different discipline: investigative journalism. The EP serves as a musical compliment to The Outlaw Ocean, a New York Times bestselling book about lawlessness on international waters by awardwinning reporter Ian Urbina. After several years of a life lived loudly — performing his music around the world and immersing himself in different cultures, sounds and experiences — Trevor retreated to the solitude of his Pennsylvania home for his next solo album, “This Beautiful Chaos.” Written in the early morning hours while his wife and daughter slept, then recorded with Grammy winning Corin Nelsen, the album finds him at his most vulnerable, contemplating these growth experiences and channeling them into a set of warm, vibrant songs. This is the sound of an artist who is fully confident in his voice, free within his constraints and precise in what he has to say, seasoned by years of literally growing up on record and stage. It’s a tantalizing signpost of what he’s capable of in the years ahead. Trevor’s style is recognizably his own, but the next note he plays is never predictable, or the obvious choice. This is a musical career you’ll want to stick around for, because the next show or the next song is always a new possibility
“…In the genre of intriguing guitar players Trevor really stands out. His music is both soothing and challenging…” Graham Nash – Crosby, Still, and Nash
“…Creative imagination resides, as well as flourishes within certain artists, and it certainly does so in Trevor Gordon Hall. Ingenuity is something that always causes surprise, and this gentleman’s abilities are totally exceptional…” Pat Martino – Jazz Guitarist
“…Trevor Gordon Hall is clearly talented and his music is engaging…an innovative approach…a great musician and I recommend anyone listens to his new album…” Steve Hackett – Guitarist from Genesis
“Trevor is very skilled…his compositions are beautiful, atmospheric, open and heart-felt…I admire him very much…I know he will have audiences falling over themselves to see him again and again…” Tommy Emmanuel – Award Winning Guitar Virtuoso
Trevor Gordon Hall’s Social Media:
Raji Malik
Raji Malik has performed and recorded hard rock and instrumental Indian-influenced music in the Philadelphia area for the past 30 years. He is self-taught and started playing guitar when he was 19. Raji’s initial musical influences were the great rock guitarists Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Jimi Hendrix, and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd). Then he discovered Shakti, featuring 3 masterful Indian musicians and guitar legend John Mclaughlin playing a modified sitar-like acoustic guitar. Raji promptly put away his electric guitar and immersed himself in the pure tones of the acoustic guitar. Raji finds deep inspiration from many brilliant “Modern Fingerstyle” guitarists who are all disciples of the late Michael Hedges, who reinvented the acoustic guitar with his harmonic percussive playing. Raji hopes that his music brings peace, healing, and inspiration.
May this music bring you an appreciation of your goodness and a deeper sense of interconnection. May we all continue to challenge ourselves to grow with honest self-reflection so that we may more clearly channel love. That is why we are here.
Raji Malik Social:
If you purchased a ticket, you are on our guest list. Please tell us your name when you come in for the show.
By Car or By Train
The East Falls Train Station is a short walk from the Fallser Club. Parking in East Falls is no problem! There is ample free on-street parking near the East Falls train station driveway at 3610 Midvale Ave and a paid municipal lot three blocks away at 4100 Ridge Ave. Midvale Ave and Ridge Ave are both well-lit!