Chillin with Local Guitarist Zeb Bartels

Zeb met me at my house late on a Thursday evening, fresh from a game of chess. He was quite reserved, almost Quaker-looking, wearing jeans and a black sweater. We sat down to chat over a cup of herbal tea...here's what I found out about Zeb Bartels.

Mama B: "So, Zeb...what an interesting name. Can you tell me about your name? It's quite unique, is it a nickname?"

Zeb: "(hmm) No... My dad got if from the Walton's TV show..Zebulon was the grandfather....I think he just liked the name!"

Mama B: "I hear you're getting quite a bit of local attention lately....which local hotspot is your favorite to play at?"

Zeb: "The Black Thai...It's a Thai-American restaurant and I like it because the management is very into local culture and it's a laid-back atmosphere that attracts interesting people. In fact the last time I was there a very interesting person came in and sat down...he was surrounded by a very strong urine scent....it lingered for at least two minutes and then....I went away, as quick as I could. "

Mama B: "What was your most memorable show?"

Zeb: "Wow...my most memorable....hmm...that would have to be the last time playing in Philadelphia....It was my Fairwell to Philly concert at an Ethiopia coffee shop called Kaffa Café. The price of admission was a mixed cd or tape for my upcoming roadtrip around America. It also happened to be on the 10,000 day of my life! And uh, so many people came...even some strangers.... Afterwards I went to an anarchist bar to listen to bluegrass!"

Mama B: "I've actually had the opportunity to hear you play. I was shocked at how talented you are! You seemed so confident and at ease and just kept pumping out that mellow stuff all night! How long have you been playing guitar?"

Zeb: " I've been playing for about 12 years and for nine of those I have studied classical guitar."

Mama B: " Who or what inspired you to begin training? What were your musical influences?"

Zeb: "My main inspiration was the movie "Crossroads" starring Ralph Macchio in which he plays a classical guitar prodigy who fights the devil to win back the soul of his traveling companion, An elderly black ex-con harmonica player who sold his soul to become an excellent harmonica player. At the end of the movie, Ralph vanquishes Steve Vai by reverting from blues back to a Mozart piece on electric guitar..it was awesome! My main musical influence was Bob Dylan...that is why I originally pursued harmonica and guitar...I wanted to be just like him!"

Mama B: "Which musicians do you feel drawn to as mentors?"

Zeb: "Bob Dylan, Johnathon Richman, The Jazz Mandolin Project"

Mama B: "What's in your I-pod right now, Zeb?"

Zeb: "Episodes of This American Life, an assortment of Indie rock and rap...that's it at the moment."

Mama B: "What are your future plans musically?"

Zeb: "Well, I would like to play classical music in more places, possibly with accompaniment....I'm writing some of my own songs in alternative folk vain..."

Mama B: "Do you currently play any original music?"

Zeb: "Ahh, no, I haven't finished any classical pieces well enough to perform publicly yet and haven't had the opportunity to play any of my folky stuff in public yet. "

Mama B: "What compositions are you currently playing in public?"

Zeb: "The two composers I enjoy playing the most are Bach and Erik Satie."

Mama B: "What are you trying to convey through your music?"

Zeb: " I guess, most often, it has to do with um....uhhh, ha-ha-ha...existential dread...Like when you realize how monumentally scary and threatening the world is...that's the stuff I write in some way... And with the instrumental stuff I try to embody a sense of dread and wonder at being alive. Well with all of it, really.. Although it 's funny I do almost exclusively tend to write lyrics when I'm feeling darker emotions."

Mama B: "Do you play strictly classical guitar or are you secretly harboring other musical skills that we'll all go crazy for?"

Zeb: "Well, I'm secretly harboring other musical ambitions that might drive ya'll crazy! I would like to apply classical techniques and sounds to more folk and rock type songs... that's always been my intention actually. I knew I'd never be a great classical musician, but I thought oh, if I could learn that, I could use that in my folk songs."

Mama B: "How would you describe the sound of Zeb Bartels?"

Zeb: "Probably, introspective and brooding."

Mama B: "What does playing classical guitar do for you? How does it benefit you as a person?"

Zeb: "Hmmm..it's hard to say...I just enjoy the physical feeling of it...even if I just play one note like a thousand times (which I do sometimes). The feeling of the nylon string beneath my fingernail is..uh, nice. Focusing on my body and feeling every little muscle and relax them all and align my joints and bones in exactly the optimum position. To feel it come together ...the object and my body."

Mama B: "Do you find your music attracts chicks? Ever have any undergarments thrown in your direction?"

Zeb: " No...the real reason I started playing guitar was all those movies of the guy getting the guitar...I mean, what's more sensual than classical guitar...but....so far, no luck!"

Mama B: "When you're not wowing the crowds with your amazing guitar playing, how do you spend your time?"

Zeb: " I uh...I'm working on starting an organic farm, um, I like to watch foreign and classic movies, and I follow current events and I'm a substitute teacher which I use as an occasion to write my anarchist manifesto, and I play chess a lot with the local crowd and I go to the occasional honky-tonk on a Saturday night."

Mama B: "When and where can folks hear you play next?"

Zeb: " I am currently playing Saturday nights from 6-9pm at the Black Thai in DuBois...people can check me out there."

Mama B: "Is there any contact info you'd like to make available to fans?"

Zeb: "Yeah, they can email me at zebbart@yahoo.com. Note to Groupies: you should know that I only make out above the waist...for real!"

Mama B: "Keep up the amazing work, Zeb! I personally, can't wait to hear your next gig. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to give me an inside view of your life!"

Zeb: "You're welcome!"