STEVEN DILLON: First Of All

Steven Dillon

First Of All

© 2000 Steven Dillon (660355797729)

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One of the foremost up and coming artists in the new acoustic fingerstyle guitar genre strikes musical gold with his debut CD. A truly inspiring and well-crafted instrumental set of acoustic guitar compositions.

tracks

1 Whistle While You Walk
2 Jed's Place
3 Time Gone By
4 Summer Rain
5 Flyin' Low
6 Rusty's Spirit
7 Best Of Both Worlds
8 12 Roses
9 Playing On Dad's New Grass
10 If Only
11 Solar Eclipse

notes

Steven Dillon's solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar sound is uniquely his own. Written with passion and emotion, his songs are stylishly filled with guitar wizardry. This self-taught musician combines Folk, New Age, Blues, Rock, Bluegrass, and Heavy Metal into an original, eclectic blend of instrumental music.

Steven cut his musical teeth on Bluegrass and by the age of 14 was exercising his musical skills on a 12-string guitar: writing and recording his own songs. However, after attending a Van Halen concert, his attention quickly turned to the electric guitar. Steven honed his licks and techniques studying the works of Eddie Van Halen, George Lynch, Warren DeMartini, Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore, and many others.

Following a 10-year hiatus from the guitar, during which time he completed a college degree and became a software engineer, Steven was the victim of a near-fatal car accident. This life-altering event made Steven feel as if he had been given a new lease on life and inspired him to return to his first love--writing music and playing the acoustic guitar.

His fingerstyle guitar influences include Preston Reed, Don Ross, Billy McLaughlin, Peter Finger, Stephen Bennett, and similar Narada and Windham Hill guitarists. "I believe that my style and sound have been shaped by my past as well as musicians who were inspired by Michael Hedges. I'm sort of a second generation Hedges'-influenced player," smiles Steven.

reviews

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  • author: Indie-Music

    Move over Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges. Make room for Steven Dillon. An eclectic fingerstyle acoustic guitar wizard based in Virginia, Steven will blow you away with his precise technique and blazing speed. On his 11-track debut CD, he utilizes a good mix of up-tempo and more soothing cuts to share his dazzling licks in styles combining New Age, folk, rock and bluegrass. The aforementioned Hedges was one of his influences and it shapes the sounds of some of his tunes. Steven is an original, however. His unique instrumentation features a rich and full sound as he accelerates from zero to 70 in less than a second. His heart-stopping fretboard acrobatics, melodic trickery and rhythmic quick changes are best featured on "Flyin' Low" and "Solar Eclipse;" while another excellent tune is the neo-bluegrass "Playing on Dad's New Grass." As noted -- influenced? Yes. Unique and original? Absolutely. Oh, and don't forget fast -- really, really fast!

  • author: Music Dish

    If you don't think Guitar is a genre, you need to listen to Dillon. His finger lickin' pickin' style is like spending 40 minutes in a spin dryer made of wood and metal strings....this man can put more into his music than some 20 piece bands I've heard. It's not new age or folk. You might consider it pop, since it sits in your mind a while. It is ambient of a sort in that some of the bluer tunes like 'Rusty's Spirit' are just as good as coffee to sober you up. But we're not talking the sound of the ocean kind of hold your finger on the synthesizer amber stuff. Mellow. Like a good shot of bourbon. Naturally the wiles that impress most are the wild roamings, as in the opening 'Whistle While You Walk', which seem to spill out like trying to run with a glass of buttermilk. Free range, freestyle guitar....for me, the best Dillon gives are the rainy night songs like 'Time Gone By'... Music for sitting back and running thru the years of your life rather than trying to catch up with traffic. And it ain't slow. Just moves at the pace of life.... More fingers like these please, God.

  • author: MP3 Artist Archive

    ...Overall, the song composition on the Steve Dillon CD “First Of All” is excellent. Steve Dillon’s technical prowess on the instrument is obvious. He has an real sense of writing an instrumental song as a story. He takes his main themes, develops, and works them into different areas of the songs. ...this is a very good CD and an interesting recording well worth checking out. I’m enjoying it very much.

  • author: Musicians Realm

    Steven Dillon is an acoustic guitar virtuoso who is about to set the world on fire with his debut CD First of All. Entirely acoustic, entirely instrumental and entirely exciting, First of All is an amazing forty-seven minutes of original, eclectic and flashy guitar work. ...Dillon combines his rustic style with various influences from the rock, country and classical world. With hints of the great Michael Hedges, Dillon spins a new style all his own. (I could even pick up a trace of Leslie West and Jimmy Page in songs like Flyin’ Low, 12 Roses and Rusty’s Spirit.) Dynamic, robust, original, emotional, clean and precise, Steven Dillon is a name to watch among up and coming solo artists. From the carefree Whistle While You Walk to the intense finale, Solar Eclipse fans of the acoustic guitar will enjoy this wondrous work. Fellow guitarists will soon be emulating his technique and covering his very well written tunes. Best of Both Worlds showcases an interesting contrast of a rock and roll rhythm intertwined with soothing and artful finger picking. Play this CD loud; play it alone; listen with headphones and a Grand Marnier and enjoy!

  • author: Music Morsels

    This debut CD is a finely composed introduction to a very talented and multi-faceted acoustic guitarist from Virginia, Steven Dillon. The slyly country fried picking of 'Whistle While You Walk' leads things off, and is followed by a treasure trove of stylings ranging from haunting classical to rootsy folk and low-key rock pyrotechnics. Sometimes these styles can be present in the same song, ebbing and flowing like a sparkling moon-lit tide crescendoing to a crashing surf. It is obvious that Steven puts a lot of effort into writing songs that complement his talents without being too showy or flashy. Even with the panache to a minimum, his fingers tell his stories and they are very adept story tellers.

  • author: Independent Music Site

    First Of All is the work of a fingerstyle dynamo. Acoustic, raw and thoughtful, this is guitar music you'll keep in rotation for a while to be certain you've heard all there is to hear. There's a lot to listen to. About half of the tracks feature busy fingers and catchy melodies, while the balance of the tracks are more contemplative. Every track features Steven's technical prowess on the frets and strings. Steven's music reminds me of Michael Hedges often - some of the chords, some of the progressions...but this isn't a Hedges tribute album. Nor would it be fair to call this an album 'New Age'. Steven typically arranges his pieces in a format closer to pop, with the introduction of a melody, the repetition of that melody, a bridge, and a close reminiscient of the introduction. Only rarely do Steven's tracks wander and mutate in what I consider to be the hallmark new age style. Although I thought ocassionally of Will Ackerman, Ackerman's material tends to have a wandering feel that Steven's music never does. All of Steven's tracks have purpose and direction - a feeling to communicate and a defined way to get you there. ...This CD is a welcome addition to my collection, and I look forward to more of Steven's music.

  • author: LeftOffTheDial

    Dillon's unique fashion of acoustic fingerstyle guitar stands up nicely next to the likes of Leo Kottke and Norman Blake, blending their progressive folk and bluegrass-tinged sounds into his own. Upon listening to Dillon's fingers ripping across the guitar frets, one can only be amazed that the sounds produced come from a single person. Even though First Of All is just the product of one man's guitar, don't automatically assume that this is sleepytime fire-side music; "Summertime Rain" is a stark and beautiful work that can send chills down the listener's spine, which leads into the blazing "Flying Low," a blur of fingers and fretwork. Dillon has a knack for writing instrumental songs that are melodic and cover enough territory to keep the listener entertained, but at the same time are cohesive enough not to leave the listeners wondering where the song is.

  • good stuff
    author: chuck clausman

    I really ejoyed this cd.....excellent acoustic music from a real fine player....I will recommend it to all my fellow acoustic lovers....I love the idea that all was done in one take...A tip of the hat to Steve Dillion and to CD BABY for giving new artists a place to be heard...This is good stuff...

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