Guitarra! This melody was going through my head and it reminded me of the song “Tequila” which has a great hook. Next time you see me play, yell “Guitarra!” after this one. Hungarian Fiesta Listz and Brahm’s hungarian music are so inspirational to me that I felt the need to create my own piece that sounds similar and has the drive and energy as well as incorporate a little advanced guitar technique. March of the Rose Rocks I started messing with DADFAD tuning and began to invision this Nutcracker-esque composition. I have performed at The Rose Rock Festival in Noble, OK for years. This is where these rose shaped rocks, an Oklahoma staple, are celebrated. Ode to Will Rogers Born near Oologah, OK in 1879, Will Rogers started his career as a fancy roper, vaudeville entertainer, comedian and emcee. He stared in over 21 films from 1922 - 1935 and became the highest paid film star in Hollywood. His historical radio broadcasts reached millions. He became the preeminent philanthropist, actor, humorist, philosopher, and political satirist of the time. He coined the phrase “I never met a man I didn’t like.” He died in 1935 with his friend and pilot Wiley Post (the first to fly solo around the world), in an airplane crash in Alaska. What a loss to our nation. The Land Run of ‘89 This event inspired 50,000 people to claim lots of up to 160 acres of the available two million acres of Unassigned Lands in central Oklahoma, with the condition the settlers would live on the land and improve it. In 1907 we officially became a state. Emmanuel y Manuel In 1999 I returned to Peru and this time invited my friend, acoustic guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel as well as my father Manuel. Neither had ever been. The music here is a reflection of my joy seeing the two of them jamming together that week. Memorial The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995 resulted in Oklahoma erecting one of the most peaceful memorials ever created. This Oklahoma Lullaby is a simple musical homage to this and the spirit of all memorials around the world. Warwick Waltz I was watching a documentary about British Castles and it came to The Warwick Castle, one of the finest in England. It then dawned on me that my last ten CDs were created from my home here in the Warwick Place addition in northwest Oklahoma City. You know what they say...“A man’s home is his castle.” Red Dirt Rag My trips to the Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville each July have inspired me to write a piece that reflects those memories and sounds. The color of Oklahoma’s dirt is red. A “rag” is usually in 2/4 time over a march tempo bass line. Thunder Alley Living in Oklahoma will make you quite aware of the power of nature. Thunder storms and tornadoes are part of life. We are fortunate to have the best weather men in the world right here at home. We now even have a great pro basketball team called The Oklahoma Thunder with a bison mascot named Rumble. I feel a storm brewing, can you? End of the Trail of Tears In 1831, The Trail of Tears was the shameful relocation process of Native Americans from southeastern parts of the United States to Oklahoma Territory. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminole (collectively referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes) suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while on route. Never forget. Ode to Michael Hedges Michael Hedges 1953-1997 (born in Enid, OK) was the most innovative and kinetic acoustic guitarist of his time. He descibed his music as “violent acoustic”, “heavy mental”, “acoustic thrash”, “new edge”, “edgy pastoral” among other things. Guitar Player called him one of the “25 Guitarists Who Shook the World.” I had the pleasure of seeing him in the 90’s and it made me proud to be an Oklahoma Guitarist. Bricktown Blues Bricktown is across the Santa Fe Railroad in downtown OKC. We put millions into this wonderful area of restaurants, sports, hotels, entertainment, canals, shopping and more for people to check out when visiting Oklahoma. Take a ride on the Blues Cruz!