Self proclaimed master of the new flamenco guitar, Doug Towle, will be mesmerizing audiences at the Harmony Arts Festival in Vancouver this weekend.
The Langley musician is no stranger to the festival, having performed there many times in the past.
His performances are unique, given that the majoirty of his Latin guitar songs are all improvised.
“For me it’s really just the immediacy of it all,” Towle said.
“Nothing ever gets played the same way twice. It always works but sometimes it’s not always the way I had anticipated it to be.”
Towle decided to permanently hang up his tool belt from his day job 11 years ago to become a full-time performer and guitar instructor.
Prior to that, Latin guitar wasn’t part of his repertoire at all.
“I kind of fell into it after I got done with the rock scene,” he said.
“I hammered my way around the rock scene in Vancouver and B.C. for a number of years and then I decided to grow up, cut my hair, take up an acoustic guitar and this is what came out.
“It’s something that was always kind of in there, but as I started working on it more I discovered it’s something I am very comfortable with and it just sort of all found a place.”
Towle says his playing style is not a traditional form of flamenco music, and influences of rock and jazz are sometimes mixed in.
“The music I play has more of a rhumba bass. It’s more of a gypsy flamenco,” he said.
Towle will be performing at the Harmony Arts Festival in the world music category on Aug. 6 at 2 p.m. at Ambleside Park, Marine Drive and 13 Street in West Vancouver.
For more on Doug Towle and his music, visit www.dougtowle.com.
