Teddy Randazzo performs regularly throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey Bay. Each year he also tours the Western States as part of the Woodsong Acoustic Concert Series. Describing his style as 'folk on steroids', Randazzo's music is heavily influenced by such legends as Leo Kottke, Victor Wooton, Michael Hedges and Neil Young.
Attracted to such solo guitar greats inspired Randazzo—he approached acoustic guitar with a goal of getting 'the sound of a whole band from one instrument,' such as legendary acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke pioneered in the early 70s. Randazzo devoured Kottke's writings, tips and tapes to develop the beginnings of his unique style, creating complex rhythms and textures from his agile hands and only an acoustic guitar.
Randazzo's talent seems to be genetic. Though he's the namesake of legendary singer-songwriter Teddy Randazzo ("Goin' Out of My Head" and "Hurts So Bad" and 600 other titles), Randazzo was primarily raised by his mother and actually taught himself piano and guitar starting at age 8. Even at that age, he intuitively experimented with the 'fat, warm sounds' of the open tuning style.
One of the key differences in his sound is Randazzo's devotion to the Flat Response Audio Pickup or "FRAP" used by such legendary guitarists as Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash along with Hedges, Kottke and Young. Randazzo believes the FRAP is really the only way he can successfully deliver the distinct true sound of an instrument. Much more, with FRAP he can deliver what he is trying to say (play) to a live audience, musically. Unfortunately, FRAPs were not made after 1994, so Randazzo carefully guards his used pickups, and is working with the inventor to reintroduce FRAP to the current generation of musicians.
- Higher Ground
- King David
- Hurt So Bad
- Martha
- Sahar
- Sahar
