It’s been an amazing few years for guitar hero Richard Gilewitz. The San Diego native spent nearly 30 years in South Florida before moving to Chicago during the global pandemic of 2020. As he has stated in interviews, Richard couldn’t take the heat and humidity. A near fatal hit and run car crash before he left for Chicago nearly ended his career but if ever there was an intrepid musician it surely is Richard Gilewitz.

Before leaving for the Windy City, Richard released his now classic album Sharky in 2019. This critically acclaimed album, recorded and released with fellow guitarist Tim May now sets the scene for Gilewitz, his 2025 album co-produced by and featuring luthier and multi-instrumentalist Tim May. Where Sharky featured a number of instrumental covers including “Walk Don’t Run” (the Johnny Smith composed surf-rock classic made famous by The Ventures in 1960) and the Elvis Presley classic “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, the 2025 Gilewitz album instead focuses on new and better known versions of Richard’s self-composed classics, re-recorded this time around with special guest artist and co-producer Tim May.

Some of the rerecorded tracks on Gilewitz, including the album closing 8 minute original “Echoing Wilderness”, played on a 12 string guitar, inspired Leo Kottke to extract the final segment of the tune and record it as “Echoing Gilewitz” on his 1986 solo album.

The interplay and magic generated by Gilewitz, teamed with Tim May is further enhanced by violinist extraordinaire Gretchen Priest-May, who creates a touch of fretless magic on a cameo appearance. Gilewitz has even gone so far as to call Tim May “Mississippi Mozart” for his astounding aptitude with multiple stringed instruments and a variety of just the right styles to complement each tune. 

With the tracks composed and played by Richard on a 6 & 12 string guitar, Tim rounds out the soundstage with his skillful performance on his own self-built mandolin. May also expertly performs on Resophonic guitar, banjo, electric guitar, 6 string guitar, Papoose guitar and a bass guitar so the album is literally a fretboard masterpiece filled with an assortment of embellishments.

Clearly, the musical camaraderie and complimentary sonic chemistry between Richard Gilewitz and Tim May that was explored so successfully on the Sharky album has clearly carried over to the Gilewitz album too.

 

Roots Music Report presents a new interview with Richard Gilewitz and Tim May

RMR: I can’t believe it’s been almost six years since the Sharky album came out. Then the Echoes From The Past album came out and now the Gilewitz album. You said Gilewitz is a Richard Gilewitz solo album so how does it differ from the Sharky album?

Richard Gilewitz: The Gilewitz album is not specifically a solo album since I'm not the only player on it but it is my project of a collection of my original tunes which have been composed and nurtured, some over nearly four decades.

In the case of this recording, Tim May is both the co-producer with me as well as basically, the entire backing band. He is the ‘studio’ musician contributing a multitude of instruments sprinkled in throughout. I should point out that 3 of the songs are actually solo. “Sarah Natasha” on the 6 string and both “Pre-Dawn Mourning” and “Echoing Wilderness” are presented on the 12 string guitar. 

Sharky, which can be considered Gilewitz & May, included several popular tunes such as “Hallelujah”, “Walk, Don't Run” and our rendition of “Bye Bye Blackbird” with Gretchen Priest-May on fiddle. On the Gilewitz project she is featured on the only ukulele tune on the project, “The Lilas”.

 

RMR: I want to talk about the tracks on Gilewitz so can you also tell us when you wrote these tracks and other details where possible? I know some of the tracks appeared in different versions on some of your earlier albums. The lead-off track “I Think I Mind” is a great way to open the album. Is that a new track?

Richard Gilewitz: “I Think I Mind” was written in 2021. The version on the Gilewitz album is its first official release. It began as a simple riff that caught a friend’s attention at the start of Covid. As touring came to a halt after four decades on the road, I found unexpected clarity—I was worn out, and the pause felt strangely welcome. A mindfulness podcast helped me realize it was okay to stop touring and focus on composing. The title came before the tune was even written. Over three months, I recorded 73 short sketches, each inspiring the next, slowly carving out the final piece. With Tim May’s help, we edited it down from over eight minutes to its final form.

Tim May: Of all the tunes on the album this is the one I had most completely orchestrated in my mind before we ever started. Basically a layering of acoustic and electric guitars, think Rosanne Cash's “Runaway Train”, the call (Richard) and response (all other guitars) was harmonized in four parts. Richard's perfect simple melody left a lot of room.

 

RMR: The album’s second track, “Daughter Of Pete’s Feet” is a fun romp.

Richard Gilewitz: “Daughter Of Pete’s Feet” was written in 2000. While walking through Arizona with my friend Pete, I became fixated on how his feet moved—twice as many steps as mine, yet we kept the same pace. As a former NASA programmer with a background in math and computer science, I couldn't figure out how that was possible. After an hour, I realized I’d spent the whole walk staring down, missing the beauty around me. That moment inspired the tune ‘Pete’s Feet.’ Later, his daughter asked why I hadn’t written a tune for her, so “Daughter Of Pete’s Feet” was born. It first appeared on the 2004 album Thumbsing and again in 2006 on the CD release of Live at 2nd Street.

Tim May: The opening melody in 6/8 has the feel of an Irish jig, so I joined him on mandolin on the melody. When it goes into a very non-Irish slide section, I brought the slide Resophonic guitar in to play unison and harmony to Richard's six-string slide.

 

RMR: “Sarah Natasha” is very upbeat. It’s got your guitar sound down to a science.

Richard Gilewitz: I wrote this tune for my niece just before she was born. I loved her name so much; I knew it deserved a piece of music. While touring in Key West, my 1st guitar string broke mid-jam. Too lazy to get another guitar, I challenged myself to write something without the 1st string. I tuned the guitar to Open C and the tune came together almost instantly. It felt a bit short, so I simply played it twice and ended with a fade-out. Later, with a full set of strings, I added one single note on the 1st string just so it wouldn’t feel left out. Originally recorded in 2004 on Thumbsing, the tune was written around 1999.

 

RMR: “Thumbsing” is one of your classic tunes. This version features some great guitar work and Tim May’s banjo too. Can you shed some more history on this track?

Richard Gilewitz: Frustrated that I only played fingerstyle and didn’t know how to use a flat-pick, I challenged myself to write a tune using only downstrokes. In Open D tuning, I experimented with what I call ‘power attacks’, strumming 3 to 6 strings depending simply on notes, incorporating in a multitude of hammer-ons, pull offs, slides, grace notes and vibrato, the piece took shape as a creative experiment. It turned out to be fun to play and stuck with me. I even once dreamed I entered ‘thumb-only’ composition contest and came in second out of two! “Thumbsing” was written in 2002, became the title track of the 2004 album, and was re-released in 2006 on Live At 2nd Street.

Tim May: Banjo is also a very thumb-driven instrument, so I doubled Richard's single 'D' note on the intro, 'D' is also the lowest note on the banjo. The melody lies nicely on the banjo as well, so I'm doubling that throughout. Since we didn't do drums, the mandolin chops like a snare, along with knuckle raps on guitars and other wackiness.

 

RMR: “The Maison Blanche Exit Song” is very relaxing duet between you and Tim May. This one was written quite a few years ago. How is this new version different from the original?

Richard Gilewitz: “The Maison Blanche Exit Song” was written in the mid 1980s with just three chords, this tune first appeared on my debut vinyl Somewhere In Between, played on a Ramirez classical guitar. It was inspired after I was politely asked to leave a fine French restaurant in D.C., The Maison Blanche, for not wearing socks. I began composing with a simple D Major 7th chord and a cassette recorder. One day, while listening in the car, I stopped at a payphone, locked myself out, and could still hear the music playing through the cracked window until the car ran out of gas. For a while, I considered calling the tune “Idle, Choke, Sputter, and Die”. Luckily, I made a better decision.

Tim May: This is a very pretty tune, so it lends itself to some nice sustain, something the Resophonic slide guitar does well. To complete the acoustic aura I added mandolin and flat-picked acoustic guitar. I treated the tune as a chord progression over which to improvise melodies, with all instruments joining in on the motif at the end.

 

RMR: “Tater Gun Strut” has a comical name but the tune is great. The tune must have a cool story.

Richard Gilewitz: “Tater Gun Strut” was written around 2010, this tune was inspired by the sheer adventure of launching a baked potato into the night sky. While visiting my friend Wayne Rogers, CEO of Gold Tone Banjos, he, his wife, and a friend showed me how to shoot a potato using a steel tube and a can of aerosol. We stood in the dark, watching the spud sail into the stars and waited... until we heard a faint “ppfftt” as it landed on an island about a quarter mile away. That last note in the tune? That’s the potato landing. Originally released as a single, “Tater Gun Strut” returns in this new recording with an updated feel.

Tim May: I wanted to pick up the sort of ragtime aspect of the tune, so mandolin and banjo play the semi-chromatic major blues lick with Richard, and all instruments contribute to the bouncy vibe that folks should be dancing to.

 

RMR: “Pre-Dawn Mourning” has an interesting spelling. I thought it was a newer song but it has history.

Richard Gilewitz: “Pre-Dawn Mourning” was written 1984. One of my earliest tunes, this piece came to me just after I left my job at NASA and returned from Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland to Tampa. I picked up a 12-string guitar in an Open DADGAD tuning, and the tune practically poured out, written in about 45 minutes. It was a real moment of life-changing inspiration. The title came years earlier from a biology professor in an elevator at the University of Alabama in the late ’70s. First released on my debut vinyl LP Somewhere In Between, around 1985. It hasn’t appeared on any other recording.

 

RMR: “The Lilas” is a newer tune? Great ukulele sound with a spot from Tim’s wife Gretchen Priest-May.

Richard Gilewitz: “The Lilas” was written in 2020. This is the first and only previously unreleased tune I’ve written on the ukulele using a Shubb capo at the 2nd fret. It was inspired by a group of tiny birds that visited our rental house in Taos, New Mexico that I stayed in for some months at the start of Covid. I named those little brown birds ‘the Lilas,’ after a friends’ daughter who was turning 16 during that crazy first covid winter; I wrote the song for her Sweet 16. 

The main melody reflects the Lilas’ gentle presence, while a darker, minor section represents the larger, aggressive birds-crows, blue jays, and magpies-that would send them scattering. As the tune ends, the last note recorded with a delay pedal effect symbolizes the little wings fluttering as it tries to catch up with the others. Gretchen Priest-May rounds out the musical crew with a stunning representation of birdsong on the strings of her violin. This piece has never been officially recorded.

Tim May: The tune is in 6/8 but doesn't necessarily smack of an Irish jig, though I did play the acoustic guitar rhythm with the Irish down-up-down-down-up-down pick directions to give it a dance drive and moved the bass lines more like an acoustic bass player might. Fiddle was in charge of bird sounds throughout.

 

RMR: “Jamaicalina” goes back to your first CD. It’s a great duet between your guitar and Tim’s mandolin.

Richard Gilewitz: “Jamaicalina” was written in 1993. One of my earliest compositions, this tune was a pure experiment in Open C tuning. I didn’t know any chords, so I just explored by trial and error, weaving in harmonics and chime-like sounds as I went. It was recorded only once, on my debut CD Voluntary Solitary.

Tim May: This tune has so many episodes that I thought a mandolin duet would be the best way to keep things from getting too busy. I think this is one of the most effective treatments Richard and I have come up with to play together, especially live, because he can play melodies that are fairly complicated, and I can either join him, unison or harmony, play counterpoint, or play rhythm. On the arpeggiated sections I can copy one of his earlier motifs or more often improvise. The mandolin being in a different register helps keep us out of each other's way.

 

RMR: “Fuschia Circle North” is another track inspired by your years in Florida.

Richard Gilewitz: “Fuschia Circle North” was written in 2013. This tune began, like many do, with a simple riff, this one in standard tuning while winding down after a tour in Australia. I spent the last three days there developing it, using music theory to incorporate every chord in the key of G. I arranged much of it in my head during the flight home. The first recording featured my friend Stephen Housden, formerly of The Little River Band, and our friend Margaret Kennedy on flute, during a tour in Ireland. Stephen altered a few chords midway through, and it all clicked. The title, “Fuschia Circle North” comes from a street I lived on at age 13 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I liked the uniqueness of the spelling and wanted to contribute something to the ‘North’ song category since most titles seem to favor East, West, or South.

Tim May: Richard is a one-man show, so one way to justify adding other instruments is to use them to flesh out the melodies that can sometimes be camouflaged in the fingerpicking style. This is another pretty ballad so acoustic instruments Resophonic guitar, mandolin and flat-picked acoustic guitar were used to clarify the melody and improvise solos.

 

RMR: “Mrs. Firecracker’s Place” has an interesting title and another great story behind it.

Richard Gilewitz: “Mrs. Firecracker’s Place” was written in 1989. One of my earliest compositions, this tune came about under pressure. In the early ’80s, I was performing at McDibbs in Black Mountain, North Carolina, when filmmaker Michael Wadleigh, director of the movie Woodstock, showed up with a crew. They were planning a fantasy sequel called “The Village At The End Of The Universe” and asked me to write a piece for the soundtrack. I hadn’t written much at that point, but was inspired enough to name the tune before writing a single note after seeing a fireworks store sign that read ‘Mrs. Firecracker’s Place.’ It reminded me of Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant”, but with more flare. The writing process was grueling and took months, trying to create a sound for a film I knew nothing about. The piece became the opening track of my Voluntary Solitary CD, released in 1994.

Tim May: We turned this tune into a party. I wanted it to seem like bass, mandolin and banjo had created separate melodies and Richard amalgamated them all into one guitar part, although the opposite is the case. In a sort of Dixieland style, all instruments tend to play some version of the melody while the clarinet's role is taken by the slide Resophonic guitar, sustaining above and joining the melody occasionally. Of course it had to have Richard's virtuoso jaw harp performance, and the double-time banjo part is a tip-of-the hat to the Eagles' Bernie Leadon.

 

RMR: “Echoing Wilderness” inspired Leo Kottke to do a cover involving part of the ending?

Richard Gilewitz: “Echoing Wilderness” was completed in 1980 and is likely one of the first tunes I ever wrote, this piece was born from days of pure trial and error on a 12-string guitar while I was at the University of Alabama in the late ’70s. Sitting in my tiny Tideland apartment unit, I noodled endlessly. One night, my friend Tom Bidgood, heartbroken and fueled by screwdrivers, started directing my playing, despite knowing nothing about guitar. I followed along because I didn’t know what I was doing either. The breakthrough came while watching The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.

The ringing bells inspired a reversal of a picking pattern in Open D tuning. Influences from John Williams’, world renowned classical guitarist from the band SKY, a tune called “Watching The Aeroplanes” and Disney’s Electric Light Parade also shaped the tune’s repetitive finale. Guitarist Leo Kottke heard it one night when I played it for him in a hotel room after one of his shows and he asked me to teach it to him. He later recorded the final section as “Echoing Gilewitz” on Leo’s 1986 album A Shout Toward Noon.

The opening slide section of “Echoing Wilderness” was inspired by a tune written by a pedal steel player named Cal Hand. The song was called "They Only Moved the Stage" and was produced by Leo Kottke.

The original 8-minute piece first appeared on my debut vinyl Somewhere in Between, with the final segment also appearing on Live at 2nd Street and again as a duet with Michael Fix on Echoes From the Past.

 

RMR: How do you like living in Chicago? Do you miss Florida? I know you don’t miss the humidity and heat. 

Richard Gilewitz: I seem so far to enjoy living in Chicago although I am somewhat of a homebody. There is a train available quite literally in my backyard that I could walk to and go into the city but since I moved up here just before Covid hit I seem to have gravitated towards staying put and grounded more.

I've done so much traveling in my career touring through 49 states and over a dozen countries including 16 tours of New Zealand that there is something very appealing about just sitting still.

I also have a chance to create, play, compose so much more than I could during the extensive touring days. Airplanes, navigating to hotels and venues, car rentals, sound checks, etc. That's all time that you can't create and write - because you're doing all of that! 

I lived in Florida as my home base for about 3 decades and although there is much that I do like about the state I was tired of the heat and sweating like a gerbil on a snake farm. 

https://richardgilewitz.com / Tim May's website is: www.timmaymusic.net / bandcamp: https://richardgilewitz.bandcamp.com/album/gilewitz