Dave Beegle
Loveland, Colorado8 reviews across 3 releases
Dave Beegle is a Colorado guitarist, producer and teacher whose work grew out of Fourth Estate, an instrumental progressive-rock trio formed in the late 1980s. His electric playing joined hard-rock force to flamenco phrasing and Eastern European color, while the group's arrangements used no keyboards or samples. Beegle's solo records moved toward acoustic guitar without abandoning technical display or unusual textures. Clear the Tracks, the 1999 compilation, gathered material from his first decade and showed the range from Bach adaptation to Middle Eastern grooves. A Year Closer made the change explicit in 2000: Beegle played alone on much of the record, using flamenco, jazz and baroque ideas alongside an E-bow choir. Beyond the Desert extended the acoustic approach through layered percussion and guitar, including a duet with Phil Keaggy. Four guitars are credited on "All the King's Men."
By 2005, Beegle had shifted most of his activity from Fourth Estate's loud three-piece format to acoustic performances, while Fourth Estate still appeared occasionally in changing configurations. His brother Morris founded Hapi Skratch Records as an outlet for Beegle's work, and Beegle continued there as a producer and engineer as well as a performer. A live DVD, Acoustic Mayhem, documented the acoustic band's expanded format in 2006, with several guitarists alongside bass, drums and percussion. Beegle later issued The Jurassicasters in 2010 and River of Peace in 2016. He remains active in Loveland, Colorado, performing electric and acoustic material.
3 releases reviewed
A Year Closer
Beyond the Desert