Information on tunes: Goin' Round the Barn is an original tune written in CGDGCD tuning on the twelve string. Some guitarists call this Orkney tuning, it is closely related to the sawmill tuning used by clawhammer banjo players. I really like the haunting quality of the Appalachian modal tunes, it seemed natural to follow my tune with two traditional favorites, Kitchen Gal and Cluck Old Hen. Cluck Old Hen is one of those tunes whose melody has numerous variants that show up as parts of other tunes. This medley is from my 1993 solo guitar recording, Metamorphosis.

Instruments used: Taylor 555 12-string in CGDGCD tuning recording techniques: Live to stereo DAT using 2 SM81s and a little bit of DI (Sunrise pickup into Demeter Tube Direct box) into a Mackie 1604 mixer. Engineered by Seth Austen.

Biographical information: Seth Austen is an accomplished acoustic multi-instrumentalist, composing and playing diverse styles from traditional Appalachian and Celtic to eastern European Klezmer, bottleneck and jazz on guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, fiddle, banjo, tsimbl, fretted dulcimer, uke and others.

Seth has released five solo recordings, and has produced and engineered, as well as played on, over thirty recordings by other acoustic artists, three of which have received Indie Awards from the National Association of Independent Record Producers (NAIRD). Seth has composed music for a PBS documentary, and has written guitar and mandolin books for Mel Bay Publications. In 1981, Seth was a triple winner at The Walnut Valley National Flatpicking Championships, Winfield, KS; taking 2nd place in fingerstyle guitar, and 3rd place in both mandolin and fretted dulcimer, all in the same weekend. Seth teaches private music lessons, performs in a duo with hammered dulcimer player and multi-instrumentalist Beverly Woods and is currently at work on more books for guitar and mandolin.

Dedications: to the many friends at festivals with whom I've played music half the night instead of sleeping.

Seth Austen