Duo to play Thursday night, Sept. 19, at Solvang venue, which has more shows scheduled this month
By Mike Chaldu
michael@santaynezvalleystar.com
Growing up in the Bay Area, Brian Gore picked up an interest in poetry, crafting some works in his spare time. Then, at 17, he picked up a guitar and started getting interested in the fingerstyle mode of playing.
Of course, his two interests were easy to combine and now Gore, an accomplished professional musician who’s played all over the world, is billed at the “Guitar Poet.”
Gore, who founded International Guitar Night, a noted touring guitar troupe, will showcase his playing for a Santa Ynez Valley audience at Lost Chord Guitars in Solvang on Thursday, Sept. 19, when he takes the stage with Jim “Kimo” West, a Grammy-winning guitarist celebrated for his mastery of Hawaiian slack key guitar and his long-time collaboration with “Weird Al” Yankovic.
“I was writing poetry and I got into instrumental guitar when I was about 17 or so,” said Gore, who now makes his home in Portland, Oregon. “Then, I got a great tip from Alex DeGrassi, a well-known guitar player, who encouraged me to work on my melody and merge the poetry with the lines.”
Gore’s describes his music as “alternative folk” as is known for playing fingerstyle, which is the technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to the flat pick as many popular guitarists do.
Gore said he was able to master that with a lot of work, but then took on a new project with IGN.
“IGN was kind of a local thing in the Bay Area, but worked it into a tour and its went on from there,” he said. “It’s still going and it’s having its 25th anniversary tour in early 2025.”
In the meantime, Gore was able to release his first album, “Seek The Love You’re Yearning,” which can be found on his website guitarpoet.com, as well as for purchase on amazon.com, or Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services.
Playing with Gore at the Lost Chord show is Grammy winner Jim “Kimo” West, who is billed as a Hawaiian “slack key” guitarist. Aside from that West has quite a history, as he got his start with Frank Zappa and spent many years working with the one and only “Weird Al” Yankovic on his many hits.
“I’ve known Kimo for about nine or 10 years. He’s an incredibly versatile guitarist and has that Aloha spirit,” Gore said. “After his success with ‘Weird Al,’ he became enamored of Hawaii, got a second career with a bunch of downloads andwon a Grammy.”
Gore and West will be playing at Lost Chord Guitars, located at 1576 Copenhagen Drive in downtown Solvang. Showtime is 8 to 10 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at lostchordguitars.com
The establishment, described on its website as “part music venue, part art and photography gallery, and one part boutique guitar shop,” was opened in 2019 by Chris and Kim Pelonis, and has become a prolific site for guitar performances. In fact, after Gore and West’s show, there are six more shows scheduled through the end of September.See the venue’s website for the schedule.
To find our more about Brian Gore, go to guitarpoet.com. For more info about Jim “Kimo” West, go to jimkimowest.com.
