Tulsa Front Page - March 22, 2006 (Entertainment)

By Julie Gustafson, Lifestyles Editor

Rod Saunders thought, "If Wichita Falls can, why can't Tulsa?" A classical guitar aficionado, Saunders often traveled to surrounding metropolitan areas to attend concerts by guitar greats like Pepe Romero or Dimitri Illarionov. After attending a performance by famed Yugoslavian guitarist Anna Vidovic, he got an idea.

"I went to a concert sponsored by the Wichita Guitar Society and I wondered if we had anything like it in Tulsa," he said. "I travel to Oklahoma City or Kansas City (for concerts). It works in Wichita and Wichita is smaller than Tulsa. I thought I'd like to have a society in Tulsa."

Saunders took his idea to the internet. He searched for guitar players in Tulsa through Google and sent emails announcing the club's formation. Four people, guitars in hand, attended the first meeting last September.

Saunders' goal is to provide fingerstyle guitar enthusiasts an outlet for their craft in Tulsa. In fingerstyle, players use their fingers rather than plastic guitar picks to strum the instrument. This style is most commonly associated with classical, flamenco, bluegrass and country, Saunders said.

"It's a different sound," he said. "Chet Atkins was probably the most famous fingerstyle player in country music. It means different things to different people, but it applies to everything that's not played with a pick."

Saunders took years of classical piano instruction and began playing the guitar at age 14. Over the years he has performed in bluegrass bands, church orchestras and "even played a little country." He grew up admiring and emulating 1970s pop musicians like Jim Croce and James Taylor but said now he is in his classical phaze.

"I always liked it all. All these different influences and styles that I liked to play and have incorporated played a lot into my style," he said.

Saunders and most other members don't rely on their talents to pay the bills. He works the third shift at TV Guide in information technology. Member Steve Roberts, an electrical engineer who heard about the group through word of mouth, has played for money here and there throughout the years, but don't call him a "professional musician." "I get paid from time to time but I am far from being a professional," he said. "I could never put my kids through college."

Harp guitarist and society member Joesf Glaude received a recording contract with Louisiana Red Hot Records only to see it wash away when Hurricane Katrina hit. But becoming a famous guitar player is not the goal of society members, Saunders said. "We're just regular people who have a fingerstyle guitar passion," he said. "Most of us are just enthusiasts."

Members meet once a month to share techniques and tips and do a little jamming. Saunders is working to achieve non-profit status and develop a concert series and other programs to expand the society.

"Guitarists play in Dallas and Kansas City but don't stop in Tulsa," he said, adding he would like to bring artists like Alex DeGrassi and Martin Taylor to Tulsa.

Saunders said the society also would like to create an outreach program in Tulsa's schools to introduce children to fingerstyle guitar and promote the importance of music education. "We want to get kids excited about playing other styles of music on the guitar," he said. "You can't learn about flamenco without learning about Spanish culture and you can't learn classical without learning some things about European history. Exposing kids to different forms of music opens their minds to a whole new world to explore."

Other ideas Saunders would like to develop are a program to provide guitars and lessons to low-income children and benefit concerts to support local charities, he said.

The Tulsa Guitar Society meets the third Saturday of every month at the Brookside Library, located just west of 45th Street and Peoria Avenue. The meetings are open to guitar enthusiasts of all skill levels and to those who just enjoy listening. There are no membership fees.

For more information about the Tulsa Guitar Society visit the group's Web site at www.tulsaguitar.org. The site contains information about the group, a listing of area concerts featuring members, interesting links and information about fingerstyle playing.