If there ever was an international instrument, it would have to be the guitar. As a result, it is only appropriate that there is an International Guitar Night (IGN), which focuses on bringing together a variety of performers from around the world to showcase their take on the instrument. IGN comes to Yorkton on November 19, at 8:00 p.m.
The international part of that name is no exaggeration, as the four guitarists featured in the 2010 tour come from four different countries spread across three different continents. Brian Gore, from America, Clive Carroll from Great Britain, Pino Forastiere from Italy and Alexandre Gismonti from Brazil will each bring their own styles to the show.
"It's always really fun to bring guitarists with disparate stylistic approaches together. The audience also gets a special treat because you don't just get to see us play our solo work, you get to see us doing collaborations as well," Gore says.
The lineup changes every year, with the only constant being Gore, who founded the tour.
"I try to find players who are at the top of their game technically, but also make really interesting music," Gore explains.
The four guitarists are all very different in style, both in how they play and how they compose. While each is different, they are all interested in what the guitar can offer.
"One of the things we always have in common, no matter what the lineup, is an interest in the diversity the guitar offers. Everybody is always curious about each other, and we are always learning," Gore says.
IGN has evolved significantly since it began, which Gore describes as an event designed to get people playing guitar together.
"It started out being a local event in the San Francisco bay area. We were just trying to create a place where local players could get a chance to play," Gore explains.
From modest beginnings began a touring show, as guitarists from further away were looking for a chance to play and audiences looked for an opportunity to see it. The show has since travelled around North America and the UK.
"The spirit behind it is that there is a lot of great guitar out there, a lot of really great solo guitar, but there is always a chance in this competitive world of guitarists for guitarists to come together in a place which is friendly, which is non-competitive, where they can work together as well as play solo. That's the ideal behind it, even if we are all coming from different worlds, when we come together for IGN we're travelling under the banner of the one thing we truly love, which is the guitar, in all of its shapes and forms and sizes," Gore says.
Some of the credit for the show's success can be given to the instrument itself, Gore says, as the guitar crosses borders and cultures.
"Guitar is an extremely popular instrument... It's an instrument that's fun to hold, it's an instrument that it's easy to accompany with. It's something that everybody in every country in the world has a little bit of familiarity with and is comfortable with. That's why think that when we come to a town, there are people who want to come to the show, because maybe their mom plays guitar or their aunt plays guitar, or maybe their son or daughter is learning guitar, there are guitars galore in every town we go to," Gore says.
Seeing the tour grow since its beginnings is something which Gore says is good to see, and he says it is always gratifying to see people interested in the instrument and the music wherever they go. He promises that audiences won't be disappointed, and will see the best guitar music they can deliver.
"It's never really about any one individual player in IGN, it's about the music and about the guitar," Gore says.
IGN, brought to the city as a part of the Stars for Saskatchewan series, will be performing at the Anne Portnuff Theatre in Yorkton on Friday, November 19 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $30, and available at the Arts Council office or Welcome Home Floral & Gift Shop on Smith Street East.
