Vicki Genfan Talks About Slap-Tapping, Luna Guitars and Her Vicki Van

By: Rick Landers

Vicki Genfan wows a crowd in the Czech Republic - Photo courtesy of V. Genfan

It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out why audiences quickly become fans of Vicki Genfan once the masterful guitarist hits the stage with her melodic and percussive style. She captivates, pulls them in with her good humor, solid vocals and idiosyncratic playing that she calls, “Slap-Tap.” And as “free form” as many of her tunes may sound, her strong instrumental technique is tethered to her background in classical and jazz music, two music styles that she studied as an undergraduate at Ithaca College in New York.

Her earliest musical inclinations were influenced by her father who played 12-string guitar, fiddle and mandolin. And his love of music fostered not only her own love of music, but her life’s purpose, playing music for people around the world and pulling them into her own musical orbit that includes guitar, banjo, piano, trombone, hand percussion and singing.

Genfan has wowed crowds wherever she goes, as well as a high-powered panel of celebrity guitarists, who voted her a “Guitar Superstar”, as part of a Guitar Player magazine competition. She produced her first album, Native, in 1994 during the days of cassette players and by 2001 released her second album, a CD titled, Outside the Box , which included a single called, “New Grass” that won a Just Plain Folks Award, awarded by a community of over 51,500 songwriters, recording artists and music industry professionals. And, in 2004, Vicki was honored to have her song, Eleanor, place second in West Virginia’s Mountain Stage New Song Festival.

Vicki’s been seen playing Gibson, Guild, Alvarez and Luna guitars. Most recently, she’s been steering toward her own Vicki Genfan Signature model designed in collaboration with Luna Guitars’ and master luthier, Gray Burchette. The guitar is a jumbo with Moon Spruce on top and Cocobolo back and sides.

When you hear superstar guitarists praise her talents, then you get a pretty good hint that she’s got the goods. After her performance for the Guitar Player competition, Joe Satriani told her, “That was great, an absolutely amazing performance.” Steve Vai was floored saying, “If I could play like that, I’d sit at home all day and entertain myself.”

We knew that Vicki was a road runner, who loves life on the highway in her custom-made truck she calls the “Vicki Van,” so we caught up with her when she was travelling along the Californian coast on tour.

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Vicki Genfan relaxes with her 12-String acoustic - Photo credit: Tay Hoyle

Rick Landers: You’re playing style is similar to Kaki King, Erik Mongrain and, maybe, percussionist Neil Peart. How would you describe the style and does it have a name?

Vick Genfan: Rick, my style has evolved very gradually over the past 35 years. It draws from the music and the rhythms that inspire me and move me. It comes out of a lot of experimentation and following nobody’s rules, but that of my ears and heart.

I believe it was Joni Mitchell who first inspired me to start exploring alternate tunings. I loved the voicings that she played and realized you couldn’t get them with a standard tuned guitar. There were a lot of close intervals, minor 2nds, sus 4s, a lot of drone like sounds – and all of that really moved me. I was playing piano at age three and continued that through high school. I think some of my tunings were attempts to replicate voicings of chords that I could easily play on piano.

So I realized, and somehow can’t really identify a moment, that with an open chord as my starting point I could take advantage of the harmonics found in the 12th, 7th and 5th frets. There are others, but these were the easiest to make sound from. At first I’d use them as a kind of accent, striking all six strings at once. In retrospect, I see that I’ve always played guitar with an underlying sense of a drum set and wanting to hear the snare hits on 2 and 4, the 16th note hi-hat and the kick drum.

This naturally led me to start playing more percussively with the harmonics, finally starting to tap them and I was blown away by the clarity and articulation that I was able to get with this technique. As all this was developing, my love of funk music and wish to play bass with Earth, Wind and Fire led me to incorporate a very funky ‘thumb slap’ into the whole mix.

What do I call it? I never thought to call it anything until 2008 when I was a finalist in Guitar Player Magazine’s “Guitar Superstar” competition. I had a feeling it would be a good idea to have a name, so I came up with “Slap-Tap,” trying to keep it simple yet give some hints as to what was involved.

I’ve come up with about 32 tunings at this point, though I tend to use about 5 or 6 as my mainstay, D-A-D-E-A-D; C-G-D-E-A-D; D-A-D-G-C-D; C-G-D-G-C-D; D-A-D-E-A-C#; C-G-Eb-F-Bb-D; D-A-D-F-A-C and D-A-D-E-G-C.

Rick: Who’s considered the “godfather or godmother” of the style? The “inventor” if you will?

Vicki: Most people probably consider Michael Hedges the real innovator of this kind of playing, but I think it’s hard to pinpoint it. There were probably people doing it that never got the public’s eye. I never knew about Michael until people started asking me if I had learned from him!

Rick: Tell us about how you got into guitar and how your playing style evolved over time?

Vicki: I may have answered the second part of your question earlier, but my dad played many instruments, guitar was his main instrument. I was always around it. I had a natural inclination towards music, asked for piano lessons at three, and then was given my first guitar at five.

I learned from my dad, then from my friend Debbie and then continued to learn a lot of James Taylor, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, etcetera. I probably started with the alternate tunings at about age 14, after really getting into Joni Mitchell.

Rick: Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to start slapping your guitar around?

Vicki: It was a gradual process. There was however, a pivotal moment around 1998 when I realized how hard it was to attain a level of success in the music industry, especially as a singer-songwriter. Up until that point my original music had been all songs with lyrics, mostly in the folk style, with the occasional harmonic splash or tapping entwined into the arrangement.

I thought that I should really focus on my guitar playing, and see how far I could take the style that was slowly emerging. It was a very exciting time and I spent many, many hours experimenting, exploring and refining the natural skills I had. I started writing instrumentals and really developing a unique voice on the guitar.

Rick: You were named a “Guitar Superstar,” how did that all come about and who was involved in determining you were a musician at that level?

Vicki: That was actually the Guitar Player magazine’s “Guitar Superstar” competition. I submitted my song and was chosen to be one of 10 finalists who competed live in front of a star-studded audience for the title.

The judges were Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Elliot Easton, George Lynch and Brendan Small. I didn’t really know who any of them were at the time! It was quite an honor to be chosen by these guys. We were being judged on originality, technique and stage presence.

Rick: I know you’ve got a heavy U.S. tour now, how about telling us about the Vicky Van that’s toting you and your gear across America?

Vicki: My partner in crime and life is engineer, designer and owner of Taytrix Productions, Tay Hoyle. She and I have worked together for the past 30 years and she has engineered three of my CDs to date. Tay was the builder and designer of the two John Lennon Educational Tour Buses that are currently out on the road. They’re equipped with two recording studios and a video editing suite and house three live-in engineers.

Tay now brings her design skills to the ‘Vicki Van’. She has converted a former DHL Dodge sprinter into a traveling home, mobile recording studio, performance space and web casting port. It is still a work in progress, being in stage two of a four-stage process. The final rendition will be equipped with solar panels on the roof and the engine conversion that allows us to use veggie oil as our main fuel source. It’s really amazing. And we’re getting around 20 miles per gallon at this point, which is really great.

Rick: It’s great to see artists gaining recognition for their talents, as well as getting traction in other industry areas, like you having your own Luna Vicki Genfan Signature Acoustic-Electric Guitar. How did that come about? Did you work closely with Elliot Rubinson?

Vicki: I fell in love with Luna and the designer of their instruments, Yvonne DeVilliers back in about 2006. I was drawn to them, first because of the incredible artwork and visuals, but realized that the guitars were incredibly player friendly. My hands are on the small side, so the thinner neck profile was really appealing to me.

I picked up their 12-string Muse and really was able to “Slap-Tap” in a way I never could with a 12-string. I wanted to play one of their 6-strings, but with the amount of tuning that I do and the standards I was used to in a guitar, having played various Gibsons for the previous four years, I wasn’t able to find a Luna that really worked for me.

After winning the “Guitar Superstar” competition, Elliot was anxious to see a Luna in my hands, so we embarked on a co-venture between Luna, luthier Gray Burchette and myself to make the Vicki Genfan Signature Model. In addition to my personal guitar, Luna has just released the “VG OM” which has been inspired by my hand built Luna, and comes in at a street price of $499! It’s actually a beautiful guitar with a great sound and a real ease of playing.

Click to Check Out the Vicki Genfan Signature Luna at Musician's Friend

Rick: Your interests in Biosonic Repatterning are intriguing, especially for those of us who haven’t a deep understanding of what it means. What is it and how does that fit into the realm of Vicky Genfan?

Vicki: BioSonic Repatterning is a realm of sound healing that uses pure tones from specially created tuning forks to balance the body and mind. I studied with its founder, Dr. John Beaulieu, ND, PhD, for over 10 years and have taught this work at various schools and holistic centers in the past. I am now starting to offer classes again as well as working with a musical project that uses these principles and others to support balance and wellness.

I have always had a strong interest in the healing arts and am excited to be delving deeper into this arena again, only this time I’ll be integrating the work into my musical life in various ways. More to come about that! The work itself is profound, and easy to do with and for oneself. It’s also a great adjunct to other therapies like massage, all kinds of bodywork, hypnotherapy, meditation, and relaxation techniques.

Rick: Any possibility that just playing an instrument offers up some energy qualities that keep musicians healthy?

Vicki: Absolutely! I think anyone who has ever picked up an instrument or sang a note can vouch for that. I think playing music or singing allows us to express ourselves, our feelings, thoughts, experiences – sometimes it’s the only way we can cope with a difficult situation. All of this contributes positively to one’s health, be they a professional musician or not.

Rick: You’ve been playing with some other top notch artists, like Larry Carlton and Jennifer Batten. Are you playing along side them or play on your own on the same billing?

Vicki: I’ve done a couple of tours with Jennifer as a co-bill situation. We did our own sets and also played some tunes together. With Larry I was a support act. I’ve played other co-bills with artists like Don Ross, Peter Finger, Steve White, Kaki King, and Patty Larkin.

Vicki Genfan - Photo credit: Diana Ost

Rick: You’ve got a few albums out and have worked with Truefire on video. What can you tell us about your latest album and DVD projects?

Vicki: My latest CD was a co-venture with the German label, Acoustic Music Records and the label that Tay and I founded, Harmonic Touch Records. It was a fantastic project in that I got five other artists involved in a collaborative fashion and we paired up to do a bunch of great cover tunes.

Each of the artists was someone I’ve met along the touring journey and have been inspired by in some way, three from Germany, one from the UK and one from the U.S.. We created our own arrangements drawing upon our individual skills, but also the musical chemistry between us. I’m really proud of that CD. It’s called Uncovered and also includes the original song I wrote for my mother entitled, “‘Cause of You.”

I teamed up with Truefire this past year to put together a data DVD played on a computer called 3-D Acoustic Guitar that documents my Slap-Tap techniques, as well as gives the student a serious road map to follow into the world of alternate tunings. It was a massive undertaking for me and I can’t tell you how much fun it was to work with the Truefire team on this.

They’ve been big supporters of my music for a while. We’re getting ready for another DVD and will be filming that in January 2011. It will appeal to the intermediate players and also to those who are in the singer songwriter world working on writing original music.

Rick: It hasn’t been that long ago that seeing a woman play guitar, other than a folkie, was unusual. It seems that women guitar players are now staking a claim in the world of guitar and displaying remarkable skill and talent. Are you finding doors wide open for you, that maybe five or 10 years ago might have been closed?

Vicki: I never felt that doors were closed to me as a guitarist because I was a woman. However, I do agree that more women than ever are being seen now and that we’re seeing some remarkable talent. Was it always there and just hiding? Not sure.

I sure hope that people like Jennifer Batten, Kaki King, Mimi Fox, Muriel Anderson, myself and many others are helping to provide role models for women all over the world who might in the past have felt inhibited about kicking butt on guitar!

Rick: Since you’re on tour, what can audiences expect from a Vicki Genfan performance and what do you get back from them?

Vicki: People can expect the unexpected. People are usually pretty taken when they actually see a live show. The music is varied, from folk, jazz, world, funk, and I go back and forth between the real guitar heavy instrumental pieces and the more pop-folk-indie singer songwriter stuff.

I love to include the audience in the tuning process so they can really get a sense of the ride we‘re taking. I think that’s one of the things that are really different. I also try to de-mystify the Slap-Tap techniques, so people realize that they can do it too. Overall, I think a live show with Vicki Genfan is a joyful and inspiring experience. Well, that’s what people tell me.

I get back oodles of warm fuzzies from most audiences. Women and young girls are thrilled and inspired to see what I’ve done with the guitar and with songwriting.

Occasionally a guy is intimidated, but most seem to really enjoy it and can’t wait to get home and start noodling around with their guitars. It feeds me and keeps me inspired to continue writing and performing. In the very near future, folks will be able to see live performances in all sorts of likely and unlikely places as we roll out the ‘Vicki Van’ in its full glory. We’ll be driving into all kinds of places, and unleashing’ Vicki Music’ into the universe. Hope to see you there!