the 10th in our series of unique and wonderful Acoustic Guitar duo recordings ...finds legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy along  with his lifelong friend and picking partner Mike Pachelli creating a place of great joy and beauty for all who listen to visit for the better part of an hour! 

 

From  the artists.....

 

Mike’s notes: 

 

Phil and I have been friends since the late sixties.  We used to play acoustic guitars over the telephone when I couldn't get a ride to his house.  He has played on three of my previous CDs, but this is our first full length recording.    Phil has a natural and mature understanding of melody, chords and counterpoint certainly prevalent on this recording.  With all his talent, he remains a humble man of God as well as a gracious friend, brother and mentor. 
 I would like to point out that the live duets on TWO OF US were an improvisational stream of consciousness.  The first song we recorded, "Old Friends", occurred like this while at Phil's Nashville studio:  Mike -- "What key do you want to play in?" Phil --  "How about B minor?" Mike -- "OK" Phil -- "1-2-3-4..."  And then we played....  I would like to thank Phil for so graciously giving his time and talent while recording these duets. 

I hope you enjoy TWO OF US.

 

Phil’s notes: 

 

Mike has always been a dedicated player as long as I’ve known him.  It has always been a mutual dream to make a project like this, and now here it is!  TWO OF US began at my studio in Nashville recording live duets.  We simply put mics on the guitars and played.  Later that evening, we edited the tracks and heard potential for something really special.  We then started sending files back and forth to each other. Mike mixed some and so did I.  We continued our collaboration via the post, email and the phone.  My wife, Bernadette, really enjoyed the music Mike and I were making--and she doesn’t throw out compliments for grins. ;-) That’s a good sign!  She’s been very honest with me over the years of my recordings. I should’ve listened more often!  ::--))   Hope you all enjoy this recording--I certainly am!  

 

about the tunes.....

 

 1-Maccadocious - E    Keaggy/Pachelli  mp - The rhythm of this song reminds me of early McCartney, our  favorite Beatle as kids.  Phil came up with the malapropism title.  pk – I sent Mike this piece and it just came together really well. I tuned my guitar down 2 steps for my leads on this one.   

 

2-Bears Den Road - Am   Keaggy/Pachelli  mp - Named after the street Phil was living on when we met.   It was right around the corner from my Aunt.  I first noticed  him because of his cool fold-away bike.  pk –This tune started at Mike’s studio in California.  We decided to send files of our ideas back and forth where we could really tune in, hone and edit the parts. Yeah, I took a bad spill on that bike back then.

 3-Westside Talkin'  - E   (Live Duet)  Keaggy/Pachelli  mp - We grew up on the West side of Youngstown, Ohio and always joked that our voices blended because of something
in the water.  This one is Phil and me talkin' with our guitars.  pk - This jam has more than a few surprises. I dig the tension.  Good tension.  Attention!! Listen up! Then, it relaxes into that place where  no one knows the names of the chords. Fun lines here and there too. The  tuning down of the E string is another one of those unexpected moments.

 

4-Birds - G (Tuned Down a 1/2 step)     Keaggy/Pachelli  mp -You can hear the birds in the back of the rhythm track as they sung on a beautiful West Hollywood morning.  I especially like the melody Phil played on this one.  pk – Mike sent this piece to me and I really loved the places  he went with his part. This tune really shows how Mike and I are truly brothers on our acoustics.            

 

5-Remember When - Em   (Live Duet)     Keaggy/Pachelli  mp -The kind of Em to Am groove we've jammed on many times. We were really listening to each other play and it led us to some interesting places.  pk -These jams were a lot of fun. We lost ourselves in the moment and  something very special was created. This is the one where I scat a tad.

6-Beatified - Gm    Keaggy/Pachelli  mp - Phil told me I might have read his mind regarding the  melody playing I did on this song.   pk -  Another piece I came up with and had Mike do his thing. Very nicely done!  

 

7-For John & Val - DADGAD    Keaggy/Pachelli  mp - I must have been unconsciously thinking about John Sferra's song "Just Always" (from the second album by Glass Harp) when I was recording the original track.    pk – Mike sent me this track in the mail, and  he called it “Strummer”. As it developed, I kept thinking of John and Val. When the "Just Always"  bit came in, I knew it had to be dedicated to our dear friends.  

8-Old Friends - Bm  (Live Duet)  Keaggy/Pachelli  mp -The first song we recorded together for TWO OF US at Phil's Kegworth Studios in Nashville, Tennessee in May 2005.  Again, we listened to each other and reacted.  pk - This sounds arranged, but it was totally improvised. It is jazzy here and there, but -- also stylistically -- our way of  improvising together.  

 

9-County Down Revisited - D  (Live Duet)   Phil Keaggy  mp - A remake of Phil's brilliant song from his "Beyond Nature" CD.  One of my all time favorites that I like to play at gigs.  pk - I’m glad you like this one Mike and thanks for suggesting we do it here. The song brings me back to the day I wrote it and stumbled on it by way of picking up  a friend’s guitar that was tuned in DADGAD.  I went home and wrote this.

 

10-Song Of The Woods - Bm    Keaggy/Pachelli  mp -The sort of ingenious melody that Phil has sitting on his  shelves.  I very much like the ringing guitar overtones that occurred.  pk – This little piece was a part of an hour of playing and recording from which several songs emerged. It had to have been around 5AM.  

 

11-Self Duet - DADGBD    Mike Pachelli  mp -This sort of tuning lends itself to fun melodies with plenty of open strings so I thought I'd make this one answer itself.  pk - I like this one, Mike. Glad you did it. I’ll make a cup of tea while  you play both parts!!

12-Baggend - Dm   Phil Keaggy  mp - Here's Phil doing a solo duet that proves he is one funky groovin' dude!  pk – Glad to have found a home for this song.  It stands out as very  different sonically from the rest. I was sampling a new magnetic pickup  made by Baggs and recorded this piece with it. There is no mic on this  one at all.  It clears the palette, I think—a groovy change. 

 

13-The Walk - D   (Live Duet)  Keaggy/Pachelli  mp - When we were growing up we'd take long walks in Mill Creek Park or in the woods across from Phil's house. Now we do it in the hills of Tennessee.  pk – Yes, I remember Mill Creek Park...seems like yesterday. This is a pleasant way to close the CD. It feels like an epilogue to me. Glad to have this as the final live cut on "Two of Us".  I hope everyone  who hears our CD will enjoy it as much as we did making it.