Press Quotes
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“An eclectic assortment of slipstream compositions touching on prog-tinged jazz, classical, manouche, and newgrass idioms. It's a lot of fun.” - THE VILLAGE VOICE by Richard Gehr (Oct. 2010) “Prester John have an eclectic sound, playing music filled with eloquence, invention and a touch of mischief. There isn't an uninteresting moment on Desire for a Straight Line; Persinger and Miller have created music that's entertaining, unique and always involving and it's a pleasure listening to these fabulously inventive musicians travel to so many wonderful places.” - ALL ABOUT JAZZ: NEW YORK by Terrell Holmes (Nov. 2010) “Acoustic guitarist Shawn Persinger and mandolinist David Miller mash up styles and genres with glee and abandon on the 16 technically challenging and intricately arranged instrumentals. The playing and musical interaction are virtuosic throughout, and the performances fun, exciting and surprisingly accessible.“ - GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE by Barry Cleveland (November 2010) “Voted Best Instrumentalist.” - NEW HAVEN ADVOCATE (August 2010) “Persinger turns fast guitar playing into something you would actually want to sit down and listen to...infuses a brilliant array of styles as well as a fantastic use of space...check it out if you want to break away from the mundane. 5 out of 5.” –HARTFORD LOCAL MUSIC EXAMINER by Paul Oneto (August, 2010) “Prester John doesn't just take assorted styles and blend them, it takes them as singular entities as well, treated with a flurried attack and passion. There's plenty of dexterity to wow the pros and plenty of simplicity to thrill the citizens.” - ROCHESTER CITY NEWSPAPER by Frank De Blase (October 2010) “Hints of jazz, 21st century classical, rock, world & bluegrass pervade this recording. You may be left with a felling that begs you to guess what might come up next.” - WRUV by LJ Palardy (August 2010) “If, to paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, the mark of a great artist is being able to keep two contradictory notions in mind and still function, then Persinger’s musical abilities know few bounds.” - GRAMOPHONE by Ken Smith “...suggests the grooves of Kottke and Hedges coupled with the harmonic sensibilities of 20th century 'new music'...quirky, playful, melodic anarchy.” - ACOUSTIC GUITAR by Gary Lee Joyner “...thrill to his technical mastery and exhilarating riffs [they] point to bold new directions.” - JAZZIZ by Sam Prestianni “...some of the most varied guitar playing you're likely to hear this year...will leave the 'how he do that' crowd picking their jaws off the floor.” - PTOLEMAIC TERRASCOPE by Jeff Penczak “Shawn's conception of guitar playing is constantly delightful. Gorgeous, surprising textures - a beautiful combination of the sophisticated and the raw.” - MIKE KENEALLY, Exowax Recording Artist, Former Frank Zappa “Stunt” Guitarist “Whether anyone can truly be original anymore is debatable, but on The Art of M/P Guitar, Persinger makes a strong statement as an artist on his own path.” – Taylor Guitars' WOOD AND STEEL “Listening to Shawn brings thoughts to mind like, I wish I had thought of that or, I wish I could play like that. It's brilliant guitar playing!” – TIM SPARKS, National Fingerstyle Champion (1993), Tzadik Recording Artist “...worldly, playful and lively.” - DIRTY LINEN by Paul-Emile Comeau “...like taking a train journey through a strange country where all the elements are familiar but the placement is often surprising, occasionally jarring and in the end extremely satisfying.” - BRIDGE GUITAR by James Hutchinson “It's almost unholy the kinds of things Persinger can do to his acoustic guitar.” – NEW HAVEN REGISTER “Brace yourself, Shawn Persinger lunges toward you like a sharp knife. He's edgy and articulate and opens with a stab of violence with "It Rains A Lot." It features a couple in bed, and let's just say it's not your typical love song. In fact, Persinger follows it with the instrumental "Pony Is Delinquent" to allow the listener to decompress. He parses the CD with skillful guitar instrumentals, which sound somewhere between classical, Spanish, and New Age. These instrumentals are essential to the success of this CD, or it could overload the listener with its powerfully dark subjects and images. Persinger runs to the avant edge of singer-songwriters, yet the sound is strictly acoustic, consisting of just Persinger's voice (sometimes double-tracked) and his brilliant guitar work. He frequently produces lightning lines of poetry. The terse, arresting lyrics set off by his intricate, sparse guitar work create a highly original, engaging sound, although not one for casual listening. If you're bored with the crowd and willing to feel the cold metal and hot acid of Persinger's songs, you'll revel in his original and intriguing music.” - Rich Warren, SING OUT “...as deft a picker as Fahey or Kottke.” - Pat Buzby, JAMBANDS.COM “...real addictive appeal.”- David Taylor, PROGRESSION “Shawn, a/k/a Prester John, used be in a great young fusion/prog outfit called Boud Dean whose CDs on Cuneiform sounded like they were very influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra. I caught them at the Kniting Factory a couple of times and was knocked out by their playing and youthful enthusiasm. Shawn has been woodshedding ever since and this is his new solo acoustic guitar(s) disc. It is filled with 19 mostly short tracks of diverse acoustic guitar ditties, drawing from a wealth of styles, genres and approaches - folk, jazz, blues, rock, ethnic - a unique blend of all of these streams. There seems to a new generation of solo acoustic guitar greats of the past decade - Tim Sparks, Stephan Basho-Juggens and Jack Rose. Shawn's gig in the store last Sunday and new cd show him to be amongst this small, select crowd. What I like most about Shawn is that he has a strong melodic and memorable thread at the center of all of his tunes, never showing off his great technical prowess on guitar, but still touching us with some deep, roots-like center. Look out, the new John Fahey/Leo Kottke/Peter Lang school are turning a new page and more than ready to be reckoned with.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY “...complex arrangements with a snarling intensity.” - Jim Derogatis, GUITAR WORLD “...elements of country, punk and classical...recommended.” - Alfredo Rosso, ROLLING STONE “A complete joy to listen to...masterful and visonary.” - Larry Cooperman, New Millennium Guitar “...charming instrumental explorations.” - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide “...will have your fingers wondering if they can do that.” - Tom Mulhern, Guitar Shop “...unique and groundbreaking...borders on brilliant.” - Mick Skidmore, Relix “I'll leave it to someone more astute to compare Persinger's 'Betray your Country' to Picasso's 'Guernica'.” - Tom Schultz, Outsight “...an ambitious and enigmatic mosaic of sounds and concepts.” - Cheryl Botchick, CMJ: The College Music Journal “...stunningly gifted.” - Darrin Fox, GUITAR PLAYER “Shawn Persinger, who often attaches the phrase "Is Prester John" to his name, represents a post-modern breed of acoustician, infernally clever and eclectic, changing moods and styles with theatrical vocal flourishes and using the guitar for percussion or sound effects. For all his freeform frolics and abrupt heaviosities, however, there's precious little that's precious or pompous about Persinger. As heard on his CD Peerless, he's a skilled classical-style guitarist who's been justly compared to Leo Kottke and willingly drops his carefully wrought lyrics ("To a path in the light/To a change in the mind/To this request that haunts to surprise" comes in the midst of the song "Subjects") to dwell in extended instrumentals such as the exquisite "30 Second Bike Ride." Persinger can get raucous, but he can also luxuriate.” - Christopher Arnott, The New Haven Advocate “In his singer-songwriter incarnation as “Prester John,” this fine guitarist intersperses gray, Russell Banks-like tales of life on the fringes with buoyant, mazelike instrumentals. A self-described 'modern primitivist,' Persinger is actually one of the more sophisticated folkies around.” - Richard Gehr, THE VILLAGE VOICE “...densely-knit tunes undulate with emotion, swirling in a sonic kaleidoscope of moods, textures and voices.” - Taylor Guitars “...a wide range of traditional European, Appalachian and sometimes Middle Eastern flavors.” - Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post “...unrivaled virtuosity, originality and power.” - University Reporter (Washington, D.C.) “...you will be entertained and find in the music what all artists search for. Originality.” - Northern Virginia Rhythm (Springfield, VA) “...doing terrible, awful, fascinating, wonderful things with guitars that, before, you would never have known could have been done.” - Play, (July 2004) “...ever lively and creative…bursting with surprises.” - Alan Freeman, Audion (England) “...enchanted us.” - Atropos (Spain) “...crosses so many musical boundaries that it almost transcends them.” - C.H. Lopez, Music Monthly (Baltimore, MD) “...very emotional…beautiful melodies and complicated rhythm sections.” - Marquee (Japan) “Highly recommended to the adventurous.” - Michael Bell, Unbroken Chain (Austin, TX) “...very original.” - IO Pages (The Netherlands) “The record smokes! He is an extraordinary songwriter...” - Erik Jensen, The Revolving Door (Syracuse, NY) “...languid patterns and helixing lines that explode.” - The Village Voice “A great originality…fascinating and innovative.” - Musea (France) “...nothing short of inspiring.” - Mark Bounds, Music Monthly (Baltimore, MD) “...strange, diverse and complex...great fun.” - Wondrous Stories (England) “...dazzling and wickedly talented.” - James Bickers, Progression (Lowell, MA) “Persinger accomplishes a hell of a lot with his voice and guitar...and it's all good, real good.” - Jeffery Luhn, Guitar Kulture (San Francisco, CA) “Blurring the line between pop and avant-garde...smart, innovative, complex and catchy. Leo Kottke meets The Violent Femmes or Michael Hedges plays The Minutemen.” - Martin Stephenson, Screw Up Your Life Magazine |