Richard Wiegel

Richard Wiegel has been a fixture on the Wisconsin music scene for more than 30 years. In groups like the The Midwesterners, Johnny and the Hawaiians, Out of the West, The Swing Crew, Clicker and the Bowery Boys, Richard's guitar playing has always been exciting and stirring.

Now he has added solo acoustic performance to his credentials. Combining several genres of music, from rock to ragtime, blues to jug band music, jazz to rockabilly, Richard blends them semlessly into an entertaining show.

Taking a cue from Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, and Mississippi John Hurt, Richard plays in the finger-picking style pioneered by these giants. And now his new CD, "Out Of The Blue", pays tribute to these men. It's a collection of some of the greatest songs in this genre in the last century, from St. Louis Blues and Deep Water Blues, to La Vie En Rose and A Good Girl Is Hard To Find, and even a finger-picking version of a Chuck Berry song, The Thirteen Question Method. The guitar and vocals were all done live in the studio, adding a measure of immediacy to the performances. Recorded at DNA Studios and mixed at Smart Studios in Madison by Mark Haines, top quality was assured.