I play guitar for a living. I teach others about it as well. Playing and teaching seem to work well for me because: a) I am happy b) I am employed. I’ve been doing both for over 20 years now and it seriously seems to constantly get better. The San Francisco Bay Area is where I call home and I’m happy to say that I get to play with some of my childhood hero’s as well as some staggeringly talented local musicians.
My first experiences with the guitar were somewhere around the age of 5 in suburban New Jersey when I began playing things like leaf rakes, baseball bats, and other such household items as if they were guitars. I sat at my blackboard and brainstormed epic band names also at this age. Much to my dismay however I was required by my mom to take up the piano. It was fine except for the practicing part. I was in kindergarten and had other things on my mind. My brother got to take guitar lessons and I was rife with jealousy. Too young for the guitar they told me. So piano and singing in the children’s choir at church it was. My favorite albums at this time were the “Star Wars” soundtrack and Kiss Alive!
In fourth grade I tried my hand at the alto saxophone, but having never heard Bird or Cannonball I lacked the context to sufficiently motivate me. Music was all around though as my mom was a church organist, choir director, and gave piano lessons in the house most afternoons. By age 10 my knowledge of Hannon was as highly developed as was my familiarity with classic/prog rock thanks to my older bro. A few years later, just at the whisker-popping age of 13 I pulled out my dad’s old Harmony classical guitar and quickly discovered that I had serious motivation to practice. Serious motivation. 24 years later I find that the motivation has not dwindled a bit. I had many teachers, learned as many songs as I could by ear, played in the high school pit bands/jazz bands/combos, joined a cover band, took up classical guitar, obsessed over David Gilmore, Joe Satriani, and Joe Pass and was generally a black hole for anything music/rock/jazz/guitar. I played and played and played. Mom championed my thirst for education and Dad funded it. Lucky was I.
It was my senior year of high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy that I first had a taste of total immersion. First time living away from home, nothing to do but practice guitar and study. Yes. Eventually I realized I could do this in a warmer environment and finished my undergrad at the University of Miami in Florida. Amazing teachers. Uber-talented students. Tropical weather. Okay. Here I honed my musical/theoretical chops, dove deeper into jazz harmony, played fusion and avant guard, and had epic all-night improvisational jams…
Once my thirst for institutionalized education was quenched I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for a more realistic application of my talents. While the bay is no NYC or LA, I’ve managed to tap into some really great opportunities and music that has sent me all over the world and kept me eager for more. My relationships with drummers Zigaboo Modeliste and Narada Michael Walden are most dear to me. Not only is it an honor to know them and play with them, it is enriching to be in the presence of such rhythmic mastery and soul. Yes, mastery and soul. I think that’s really what I’m talking about here, and what this whole journey is about. Many thanks to all the beautiful and masterful souls I’ve encountered so far, and I extend open arms to all those I have yet to meet and continue this mysterious musical journey with.
For lessons, master classes, bookings, or general inquiries you can contact me at: mheulitt@yahoo.com
