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Norman Liota is a “guerilla guitarist” popping up virtually everywhere, garnering a formidable underground reputation as an adventurous acoustic guitarist and compelling singer/songwriter – who lives in his van. Prior to his two independent recordings [A Strange Voice 1999, and Beneath These Skies 2001], he was the founding member and writer for the world beat band, Still Life. He is no stranger to the road, having toured extensively in North America, playing an abundance of festivals, colleges, clubs, bookstores, house concerts, hotels, restaurants, cafes and corners, while enjoying the “bohemian comfort of my house on tires.” Liota has shared stages with well known artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Chuck Berry, and Steppenwolf, as well as having entertained “persons of dubious character on the street.”Originally trained as a classical guitarist with a degree in music from York University in Toronto, there is an ease of expression in his work, which ranges from exquisite, subtle intricacy to bold, earthy groove. Deviations from standard tuning and the insertion of paper and/or plastic between the strings [i.e. prepared guitar] allow him to elicit sounds not commonly associated with the acoustic guitar. By The Shiny Big Water [track 5 on A Strange Voice], and What Will It Take [track 12 on Beneath These Skies], employ this technique. “Playing a classical guitar in my neighbourhood was like signing your own death warrant – if you didn’t play Led Zeppelin or Rush, you had to play different enough to be pitied so you wouldn’t get beat up.”Performances and recordings often utilize other musicians whose contributions add layers of colour. Exotic percussion, fretless bass, cello, electric guitar and background vocals make it easy for the listener to be drawn in further. His passionate delivery regularly transfixes audiences as well as himself. “Whether I play solo or with friends, I seem to step out of myself – it’s not always a graceful step!”His focus is, however, songwriting – songwriting that draws from personal experience of wide travels and the works of icons like Joseph Campbell, Nietzsche, Hermann Hesse, and the Persian poet, Rumi. There is a sense of rapture combined with anguish over the “mysteries and mishaps” that characterize human existence.Audiences can look forward to a sonic voyage through a rich and varied landscape.
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