On The Road Again: Craig Chaquico "Acoustic Highway"

martes, 6 de febrero de 2018

Craig Chaquico "Acoustic Highway"

Craig Chaquico (/tʃəˈkiːsoʊ/ chə-KEE-soh; born September 26, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock bands Jefferson Starship and Starship and the only member of both bands to play on every song, album, tour, and video. Since 1993, Chaquico has had a successful solo career as a contemporary acoustic jazz guitarist and composer.

Chaquico left Starship in 1991, and soon after, the band announced that it would quit. Having become disappointed with the musical direction Starship was going, Chaquico formed Big Bad Wolf, a hard rock band which recorded one album before disbanding.

He began a solo career that explored world music, New Age, and contemporary jazz. His first album, Acoustic Highway (1993), was the number one Independent New Age Album of the Year in Billboard Magazine and a number one on the Billboard New Age Albums chart.

Acoustic Highway is American musician Craig Chaquico's first solo album as a contemporary jazz artist after 16 years playing lead guitar, composing songs, and co-producing for the San Francisco-based rock bands he co-founded, Jefferson Starship and Starship. Acoustic Highway, co-written and co-produced by keyboardist Ozzie Ahlers, was released on June 11, 1993, through the Higher Octave label. The album was an immediate musical and critical success, becoming Billboard magazine's #1 Indie New Age Album of the year.

When Chaquico left Starship in 1990, he began looking for a new musical direction, opting for a solo career as a jazz and new age instrumentalist to showcase his acoustic music.

The album was recorded at Chaquico's Lunatunes Studio in Mill Valley, California, mixed at Auravision Studios in Ojai, California, and mastered at Quad Tech Studios in Los Angeles.

The album features nature-conscious songs such as "Return of the Eagle", "Mountain in the Mist", and "Land of the Giants". Chaquico produced distinctive "rippling, glistening, fluid tones" by processing his customized Washburn acoustic guitar through electronic effects. Chaquico includes elements that draw from new age, contemporary and smooth jazz compositions while containing subtle undertones of Native American influences. Chaquico's original recording of his jazz track "Sacred Ground" was included on the original Harley Davidson Road Song Collection in 1994, alongside classic rock songs such as "Born to Be Wild", "Rockin' Down the Highway" and a song by his former band, Jefferson Starship, "Ride the Tiger".

Besides becoming Billboard magazine's #1 Indie New Age Album of the year, it also won the Bammie (Bay Area Music) Award for Best Independent Album of 1993. It charted in the top 10 of the GAVIN Adult Alternative chart in the same year.

Track listing

All tracks were written by Craig Chaquico and Ozzie Ahlers.