Vicki Genfan (born June 15, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist.

Biography

Genfan took up the guitar at age five. Her father played

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

, and sang. Her older brother played guitar, too.Vicki Genfan's page at Luna Guitars.
Accessed on November 18, 2007. She studied

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

in Ithaca, New York.''Tap Tones'' - Bill Milkowski writes about Vicki Genfan
in ''

Acoustic Guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

'', issue 109, January 2002. Accessed on November 18, 2007. Besides guitar, Genfan plays piano, banjo, hand percussion, and trombone.Interview with Patty Larkin and Vicki Genfan by Ann Latner.
Accessed on November 18, 2007. In 1994, she produced her first album, ''Native'', on cassette, but it didn't sell in significant numbers. In 2001, she released a self-produced album, ''Outside the Box''. During the same year, she won the ''Just Plain Folks Award'' for the song ''New Grass''. In 2003, the German label Acoustic Music Records released ''Vicki Genfan Live'', an album recorded at Open Strings Festival in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

, Germany. In 2004, she placed second at Mountain Stage New Song Festival in West Virginia with her song, ''Eleanor''. In 2006, she released the double album ''Up Close & Personal''. Genfan has worked with

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Originally a session player in many bands, he has released many award-winning recordings as a solo artist. In June 2010, Emmanuel was appointed a Member of the Order of Aus ...

Laurence Juber Laurence Ivor Juber (born 12 November 1952) is an English musician, fingerstyle guitarist and studio musician. He played guitar in the rock band Wings (band), Wings from 1978 to 1981. Biography Early life Born in Stepney, East London, Juber w ...

Kaki King Kaki King (born Katherine Elizabeth King, August 24, 1979) is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic guitar, acoustic and lap steel ...

, and

Jennifer Batten Jennifer Batten (born November 29, 1957) is an American guitarist who has worked as a session musician and solo artist. From 1987 to 1997, she played on all three of Michael Jackson's world tours, and from 1999 to 2001, she toured and recorded w ...

. Genfan appeared in several American and international magazines and was labeled "Queen of Open Tunings". Genfan won ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' magazine's ''

Guitar Superstar Guitar Superstar is a yearly competition hosted by the Guitar Player magazine in which 10 finalists compete for the title of Guitar Superstar or Guitar Hero for the year. The competition started in 2005 as the Guitar Hero Competition but was change ...

'08'' contest at San Francisco's

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconie ...

in September 2008. She has given lectures and taught at workshops and guitar clinics.

Technique and equipment

Genfan labels her music "folk meets funk". It's a blend of jazz,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

in a contemporary

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

context. She uses uncommon open tunings and what she calls a "slap-tap" technique. Her first musical inspiration was her father. Other influences include

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, Pat Metheny,

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

Meshell Ndegeocello Meshell Ndegeocello ( ; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

Jonatha Brooke Jonatha Brooke (born January 23, 1964) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a ...

, and

Leo Kottke Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an American acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He has overcome a series of personal obstacles, i ...

. Until May 2009 Genfan played a Gibson L-140, a Gibson LG and an Alvarez Silver Anniversary guitar. The Alvarez uses a TrueTone pickup in which two microphones and a L.R. Baggs LB6 pickup send signals to two outlets. Genfan plays a custom Luna guitar built by luthier Gray Burchette and equipped with a MiniFlex internal microphone system and an under-saddle RMC hex pickup. She owns a

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

12 string guitar, a Muse 12 string by Luna Guitars, and a Vega 6 string Deering banjo.List of artists using a Deering-Banjo.
Accessed on November 18, 2007 She uses medium-gauge EXP D'Addario strings. Her engineer, Tay Hoyle, plays a main role in producing Genfan's albums and accompanies her on tour.

Discography

* 1994 – ''Native'' (Vicki Genfan) * 2000 – '' Outside the Box'' (Vicki Genfan) * 2003 – '' Vicki Genfan Live'' (Acoustic Music) * 2006 – '' Up Close & Personal'' (Harmonic Touch) * 2008 – ''Uncovered'' (Acoustic Sounds) As guest * 1991 – ''Mistaken Identity'', Donna Summer (Atlantic) * 2000 – ''Home Away from Home'', Dee Carstensen (Exit Nine) * 2000 – ''Fourth Floor'', Sonya Heller

References

External links

Official site

Vicki Genfan plays "Atomic Reshuffle" (YouTube video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genfan, Vicki 1959 births American folk guitarists American funk guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists Living people People from Fairview, New Jersey 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women Musicians from Bergen County, New Jersey