Liner notes for Phoenix Song: This music was originally recorded at Weaseltrap Studios off and on between 1988 and 1990. I played a variety of Ovation and Martin acoustic guitars during those sessions. On the occasions that we added keyboards or percussion, they were played by my brother Tim, who also did most of the original studio mixing. Except where noted, only one guitar is being played at a time. If something sounds "impossible" for a single guitar, it's probably due to an invention of mine called a Harmonic Bridge, which straps to the neck of my guitar and produces magic. You may hear the influence of others in this music. I owe an enormous debt to Michael Hedges for giving me the encouragement to keep playing, just when I was ready to quit. Most of this music would not exist if it weren't for Michael. I've also been heavily influenced by the music of John McLaughlin and Steve Reich and too many others to mention. All the music I love is reflected in some way in these recordings. I hope you enjoy them. Liner notes for Epicycles: This CD was compiled from recordings that my brother Tim and I made back in 1988-90. None of this music was released previously, except on homemade cassettes that we gave to friends and family. In 2003, I began transferring and remastering my old master tapes to digital format. The first CD to emerge from that restoration project was "Phoenix Song". "Epicycles" is the second. I played acoustic guitar on these recordings and my brother played all the keyboards and percussion. There are no guitar overdubs or electronically sequenced parts. Everything was played by human hands. If some of my guitar playing sounds "impossible", that's probably due to an invention of mine called a Harmonic Bridge. (Imagine a capo that generates harmonics.) My music owes its existence to the support of my family, especially from my brother Tim and from my wife, Marf. I also wouldn't have had much to say musically if it weren't for the influence of other composers. The title track, "Epicycles" is my tribute to the music of Steve Reich. "IDIBITS" is dedicated to the memory of Michael Hedges, who defined new limits for what is possible on a guitar. An unexpected thing happened while putting this CD together. I started playing again. Shortly after these recordings were made, I stopped playing and sold all my guitars except for a Martin D16M, which sat unplayed in its case for a dozen years. People have asked me why I quit, but I really don't know why. Life happened. I do know why I started playing again. I owe that miracle to a group of friends, collectively known as "Knowetry" in Greenwood, South Carolina. My wife and I attend their weekly poetry readings and all that creative energy had to go somewhere. Not only did they get my creative juices flowing again, they got me to perform in public, something I had never done before. Performing meant I had to spend a lot of time in the woodshed getting my chops back. Luckily, I had some video tapes to remind me how to play tunes like "IDIBITS" and "Tap Dance". I was also very fortunate to be able to buy back my trusty Ovation Custom Legend, which brought back fond memories. Best of all, I've started composing new music. Before now, the last tune I recorded was "Something's There", back in 1990. Apparently, there's still something there. I can't wait to record it. - Bob Kilgore July 31st, 2004