PAUL COLOMBINO
Acoustic Guitar
ABOUT
Paul Colombino does not like to write about himself in the third person. He finds it awkward and pretentious but feels obligated to describe himself from the point of view of an outside agency because it seems that is what all other artists do. He/I could continue in this vein, but he/I thinks/think you get the point.
I’ve been playing guitar and singing since I was about 10. It started out as an attempt to meet and impress girls; It seemed, at least on TV, that girls LOVED musicians. I became somewhat proficient at my craft, so that by the time Junior High rolled around, I was frequently being asked to bring my guitar to parties and perform. As it turned out, what the girls really wanted was for me to play “make-out music” for them and their boyfriends. Ironic, huh? But by that point, it was too late. I was hooked.
I continued through High School and beyond to perform music in the folk tradition, both as a solo artist and in various duos, trios and small groups. By the time I was 20, I had become a regular performer in clubs throughout the Rhode Island and Southern New England area, opening for acts such as Dave Van Ronk and Aztec Two-Step.
It was sometime during this period that I was introduced to the music of Leo Kottke. For me, this was a mind-altering, life-changing experience which led to an intense immersion into the intricacies of finger style guitar that continues to this day. The study of classical guitar during my college years added to my perception and understanding of the instrument as a vehicle of artistic expression, both as a performer and composer. Classical composition and orchestration during this period were invaluable in providing the skills necessary to construct melody and accompaniment on a single instrument, learning to write for the guitar as if it were a vocalist accompanied by a miniature orchestra.
My first album, released in 1996 and entitled Everheart, is a collection of original instrumental pieces for solo guitar. The second CD circa 2002 is called A Guitar for Christmas and contains instrumental finger style versions of classic Christmas songs. The third, Once and Again, is a collaboration with my long-time friend and singing partner Glen Bottalico. The songs are harmony-infused covers of artists as diverse as Paul Simon, Sandy Denny, Sting, Eva Cassidy and Crosby, Stills and Nash. My latest album, Hello Old Friend, was released in 2019 and is comprised of finger style instrumentals and vocal tunes. Hello Old Friend is available everywhere.
Notable Accomplishments
International Acoustic Music Award Winner - Instrumental - for the song "Kottke" 2023
Performed at Club Passim, Boston, MA September 2022.
Virtual Appearances at worldwide venues including Club Passim, Boston, MA, Cambridge Folk Club, Cambridge, England, English Folk Club, Bad Kissingen, Bavaria
Finalist, Race to the Stage Contest, East Greenwich, RI 2019
Self-produced, recorded and released 4th album, Hello Old Friend, September 2019.
Trending on FAI Folk Chart Top Albums of the Month, September 2022 (Hello Old Friend)
Trending on FAI Folk Chart Top Artists of the Month, September 2022.
