Every year at Toronto’s International BuskersFest, I usually leave with someone’s music CD. Andrew Lopatin, a Stouffville, Ontario, native, was this first new music artist; that captured my attention. Propped up on a wee black stool, head set, and some re-enforced sound, to project what he calls ‘Wired Finger-Styles Guitar’. His guitar lays flat, which is a popular ergonomic choice, amongst this type of musical genre. Extra long fingernails on the guitar body side, for picking the strings, and short nails for the fretwork. If anyone is familiar with Andy McKee, they will know what kind of sound resonates from this style. Andrew played us cover of Andy McKee’s ‘Drifting,’ a popular finger-styles learning song, and Lopatin’s claim, to prove to women that men can in fact… multitask.
A few years ago Andrew was at a music competition in Richmond Hill, and had run out of ideas to wow the judges. So he ducked taped two acoustic guitars together with some cardboard in-between, and proceeded to pay a song called ‘Crown’. He ended up winning the competition with this innovative idea.
At BuskersFest, with no room in his little car for a proper double necked guitar, and no time to duck tape two guitars to each other, Andrew chose two audience members from the crowd to help recreate this. Another trick up his sleeve, is his ‘Party Trick.’ Everyone has that one thing that their friends ask them to do, usually when drunk, that they are known for. All I can do is touch my nose with my tung, but Andrew’s is, ‘The Tea Spoon Song’. Instead of using a traditional finger slider, he uses, yup, a teaspoon.
Really impressed with his beautiful melodies, flicks, and tricks, and ended up watching his show a few times…