Guitars, Bouzouki, Guzheng, Vibraphone, Hand Drums, Marimba, Saz
World Music, Psychedelic, Jazz
CURRENT BANDS & PROJECTS
JOJO SILVERMAN & MIKE GILMORE - Jojo Silverman (vocals, hand drums, harmonium, percussion), Mike Gilmore (acoustic guitar, bouzouki, hand drums) .We are a world music inspired duet for ecstatic dance and various gatherings and ceremonies. We focus on the spiritual and unifying humanity aspects of music . We play Indian rags, chants and eastern and African inspired music. Jojo also leads kirtan internationally as well as Asheville where I have been playing acoustic guitar.
ZA - Mike Gilmore ( electric guitar, bouzouki, acoustic guitar), Bill Hattori (drums and percussion) . We are an electric instrumental psychedelic band. Our sets are driven by heavy electric guitar & power pocket drumming. Our songs often launch with a guitar riff or drum groove that go to outer space and back. We also mix in some acoustic string pieces colored with spacey effects.
THE GREENBLUES - Ashley Rae and I have been doing some art/music collaborations where she paints and I play music simultaneously creating spontaneous art and music.
DOWN EAST - Robert Algera ( lyrics, vocals, harmonica, parlor sitar, percussion), Mike Gilmore ( guitars, bouzouki, loops). Robert and I play a lot of swampy blues and mix in some eastern and north African world music pieces . Robert has also put together some artistic youtube videos of us available for public viewing.
HOLLY RACHMACIEJ - ( a.k.a. IAN) - Holly Rachmaciej (songwriting, vocals, piano. production), Mitch Webb (production and mixing). Holly writes, plays and produces her material intricately layering studio tracks with Mitch co-producing them. Her music has a deep feeling mysterious quality and has invited me to contribute some electric guitar tracks
THE NORTHWOODS COLLECTIVE (of Michigan) - We have been collaborating via file exchange.
SOLO - I also continue to record solo works.
2022 brought one release, “Melting”. Melting is a solo electric guitar story . It is a science fiction story, and a story about transformation.
HISTORY
I began playing music at age 5. With a guitar flat on my lap, I would listen to LP’s by The Ventures and since I could not get my hand around the guitar neck, use my thumb and match the bass notes by ear on the low string and play along. This was the beginning of my life path of music. I was blessed with a family that supported my early obsession with music. My mother and father gave me the family record player and bought me that first guitar, and my grandfather bought me a drum kit. My Uncle had a listening room with nothing but a couch, stereo and records, and that is where I first truly listened, and went into the realm of sound as a singular reality. My first gig was at age 11, hired as the lead guitarist for a local cover band and that same summer formed my first band.
Jimi Hendrix, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Robert Fripp are the guitarists who influenced me the most in my formative years. At the age of 16, I heard the music of Ravi Shankar for the first time and this wonderful music from India greatly shaped and continues to shape my music. This music hits me the deepest in a spiritual sense. The same year I met life long friend and musical collaborator Mike Johnston who introduced me to free jazz. The music of Ornette Coleman especially grabbed me. I love the freedom and creativity of the early quartets, and how traditional roles of the instruments are exchanged for possibilities of any instrument being the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic voice. Mike and I, along with John Plough formed The Northwoods Improvisers one year later. Our original band focused on blending free improvisation with sounds and textures of nature and influenced by The Spontaneous Music Ensemble and Art Ensemble of Chicago.
In 1994 my first release came out, Northwoods Improvisers - Fog and Fire. This trio of myself (vibes,marimba,guzheng,hand drums), Mike Johnston (bass,wood flutes, percussion), and Nick Ashton (drums) would continue to put music out and collaborate with many musicians and morph into different bands and collectives to the current day. Northwoods released 4 cd’s from 1994-2000. That decade also saw Remote Viewing Ensemble (Remote Viewing Ensemble), Star Garden (Northwoods Collective), and Soaring Hawk (Mike Gilmore solo saz) come out.
From 2000-2012 Northwoods collaborated, toured and released 10 cds, lps and a dvd with the late great Detroit Saxophonist Faruq Z. Bey. Faruq brought in long time collaborators Mike Carey and Skeeter Shelton to form a sextet. This era also saw 4 other releases, Constellations (Northwood Collective), The Hidden (Inscribe), Impermanence (Inscribe), and Canopy (Northwoods Collective).
In 2010 I became more focused on acoustic strings in world music settings, and electric guitar sound exploration and bands. This era saw releases Traveling with Strangers (Gordan Henry), Inscribe (Inscribe), A.M. Sky (Sun Myth), Epicenter (Zychron), Homage to Africa (Northwoods Collective), NWI 4 LP Box set of reissues and rarities vol 1 & 2 (Sagittarius Records), and As Iron Sharpens Iron (Donovan Boxey & Dominic Bierenga).
In 2018 I moved from Michigan to North Carolina, and this changed a lot, leaving all my old bands and friends although we stay in contact and currently record projects via file exchange. This current era has seen 5 solo bandcamp releases of mine all self recorded, mixed and mastered.
My discography includes over 30 releases with styles and bands encompassing a wide variety. I enjoy working in multiple bands so to focus on a variety of sound combinations and conceptual approaches. I enjoy the spiritual, tribal and ritualistic nature of acoustic strings and percussion played in a world music setting. I am equally deeply moved by the sound, power and exploratory aspects of the electric guitar . I bring in the creative and improvisational aspects of jazz to most of my projects.
Collaborating Musicians and Artists
Mitch Webb