Lord Of The Strings returns to Adelaide Fringe in 2018 after sold-out shows, rave reviews and standing ovations at previous Adelaide Fringe's as well as Edinburgh Fringe.
Internationally acclaimed, all-round acoustic guitarist and multi-instrumentalist sensation Matthew Fagan is the man at the centre of the show; known for his virtuosic performances and a dry wit, Matthew has supported the likes of Billy Connolly, The Original Buena Vista Social Club and Shirley Bassey.
Tell us a bit about the Lord Of The Strings show you are bringing to Adelaide Fringe?
[Matthew] I first created this show when I was invited to tour as a special guest with Billy Connolly for 53 nights in Australia, originally featuring a 10-string Spanish flamenco guitar, Celtic steel string and electric ukulele.
Lord Of The Strings is a tour around the world focused on guitar music. It now includes electric guitar with metal masters from Led Zeppelin, Steve Vai to Vivaldi to Hendrix.
The show has toured to 120 countries including Edinburgh Fringe. No show is the same as a section is handed over to the audience for requests in Guitar Challenge. I also prefer to read the audience and vary my show, so you never know what surprises you will experience.
Other than the name, does the Tolkien series influence the show any other way?
Not particularly, although I have had requests in Guitar Challenge to perform music from the movie. But really, my secret wish is to be the Gandalf wizard of guitar.
The promo image has you surrounded by 11 guitars; do you utilise some more than others? Or does each instrument have their specific role to play within the show?
The 11 guitars are from my collection and the ones that feature in the show have a specific role.
The purple Paul Reid Smith electric guitar and synth is for rock and metal. The 10-string Spanish guitar with extra bass range or Godin synth guitar is for Spanish classical and flamenco, and the 10-string is perfect for Celtic harp music on guitar.
The black Godin Celtic steel string is for Celtic and Tocatta. The white Gretch Falcon is perfect for fingerstyle, rockabilly, country-style music. The Maton ukulele is for flamenco, gypsy, popular uke tunes and party tricks, and banjo is for Celtic frailing.
The show will also feature the world premiere of Electric Guitar Orchestra; please explain?
EGO is a new project when I perform music of Vivaldi, Zepplin and more using loops and pedals and multi-tracking to give the impression of multiple guitars performing at once.
You've toured with Billy Connolly, The Original Buena Vista Social Club, Michael Crawford and Shirley Bassey. That's an impressive list; any stories you can share with us from those tours?
I like to save these stories for the show, but the most memorable experience was the friendly, welcoming personality of Billy and talking and jamming with him after every show.
Jamming with The Buena Vista Social Club was a life-changing experience also, where I learnt how to play Latin and Cuban rhythms.
Tell us about the time Billy Connolly gave you his famous Liberty banjo after a massive tour?
At the end of the Australian tour, Billy held a final party at the [Sydney] Opera House and he made everyone go quiet and made a special presentation of his Liberty banjo to me with an inscription plaque to me from him. To me it was like the equivalent of winning a football trophy.
You have a second show at Adelaide Fringe titled Gypsy Fire Electric where you perform rock classics from Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and more alongside violinist Romana Geermans; what can audiences expect from this show?
Gypsy Fire have performed for over 20 years performing gypsy jazz in the spirit of Django Reinhardt, Celtic reels and jigs, wild gypsy dance music 'Czardas'.
This year’s Fringe is the world premiere of our new take on rock and pop classics with our own fiery arrangements for violin and 10-string and electric guitars. Romana brings the spirit of Europe classical and gypsy jazz to the experience.
Giving the violin a feisty new lease on life, we break classical confines to bring gypsy jazz, flamenco, Celtic and more to audiences who like to be uplifted by music. We also perform my original Celtic and flamenco compositions from my CD 'Indigo Moon', which features Romana and still receives airplay on ABC. Romana and I have been performing together for over 20 years.
For those who don't know Romana, can you share a bit about her amazing career/ background?
A child prodigy of the violin, Romana learnt music during communist occupation in Prague.
At only the age of 15 Romana and her sister Jolie were selected to lead the Czeckoslovak Chamber Orchestra performing virtuosic pieces such as Vivalds’s 'Four Seasons' and toured Europe extensively for seven years.
Romana also learnt from the Gypsy musicians who lived in Prague and learnt the 'real way' to perform Gypsy dances including 'Czardas' and can be known to come out with spontaneous yells during the performance.
