Zephyr Acoustic Productions — David Alderson handles some of my bookings and press needs as well as the booking for several other acoustic musicians. You can email him here: david@zapmusic.org or call 612-781-1595.

The Walnut Street Music Company — This agency handles the rest of my bookings. You can email them here: nolan@simplyfolk.com or give Nolan a call at 866-925-6889, toll free, or 204-480-3380 if you'd rather pay for the call.

Lonnie Knight Productions — Lonnie handles my webpage design and my unrealistic demands for immediate changes that need to show up on the page yesterday, and he does it well.

Dale B. Hanson Photography — Dale took all the pictures of me on this site except where noted. He's a world-class digital photographer and a good friend. Until he gets his website up feel free to drop me a line if you're in need of his services; I'll be happy to pass your info along.

Dakota Dave Hull proudly endorses:

Hoffman Guitars — One of my oldest friends and a fabulous guitar maker. He made my piccolo guitar along with some others. The cutaway dreadnaught I played for years is one of Charlie's. One of the best luthiers in the country, in my opinion. His shop keeps my vintage guitars in tip top shape, too.

National Guitars — What can I say about these guys? Their instruments speak for themselves. They've superseded the original Nationals qualitatively by a huge margin. Wonderful people, too. I have two of their guitars and a uke, too.

G7th Capos — Simply the best capo on the market. Expensive, and worth every penny.

Shubb Capos — Another excellent capo. I used these exclusively for years.

John Pearse Strings — I've known these folks for years and they continue to go above and beyond the call in providing a great product and amazing service. I use their phosphor bronze strings on my flattops, and nickel wounds on my Nationals and archtops. They don't mind putting together custom sets, either.

GrooveTubes Microphones — I have three of their Model 1a mics in my studio along with two GT 44s and a GT 33 mic. I usually use a GT 44 on stage and I always have the 33 in my guitar case for those gigs I fly to. These guys started the tube mic revolution and continue to make great stuff.

I'm lucky to live in a town with several honest music stores. In addition, there are some great shops all over the country that I've had the pleasure of doing business with. This list is by no means complete, and I'll be adding to it as time goes on.

• The Podium — (Minneapolis, MN)—One of the really good acoustic guitar shops in the country, they have nearly everything you'd want. Lessons, too. (I teach there sometimes.) They also support my radio show with a nice grant.
• Willie's American Guitars — (St. Paul, MN)—The coolest music store I've ever been in. Specializing in vintage electric stuff and tube amps, they also have a formidable acoustic selection including several nice vintage instruments and old and new Nationals. They support my radio show too.
• LaVonne Wagener Music — (Savage, MN)—Pete Wagener owns this place and he's the guy that turned me on to the wonders of the acoustic archtop guitar. You won't find a more honest music store anywhere. These guys are great.
• Homestead Pickin' Parlor — (Richfield, MN)—All your folk music needs can be found here. Guitars for beginners to advanced players, lessons, and more. In-store jam sessions every week in most genres. Great people, too.
• Vintage Instruments — (Philadelphia, PA)—Every time I visit Fred and his wonderful vintage collection it takes him a month to wipe my drool off the guitars. A great guy, a great store, wonderful stuff.
• Schoenberg Guitars — (Tiburon, CA)—I've known Eric forever and there's nobody on the planet that knows more about OMs, 000s, 00s and the other classic Martins. He's also probably owned more Epiphone Recording guitars than anyone on the planet. He owned mine a couple years before I got it. Small world.
• Gryphon Music — (Palo Alto, CA)—Another wonderful selection of great guitars, one of the best repair shops in the country and a nice, knowledgeable staff make this place one of the best around.
• Old Town Pickin' Parlor — (Arvada, CO)—Uncle Kit has a lot of wonderful instruments in his shop. He also offers lessons and a regular concert series.
• Elderly Instruments — (Lansing, MI)—The granddaddy of them all, I think you'd have to say. Guitars, mandolins, banjos, you name it, they have it.
• Mandolin Brothers — (New York, NY)—Another of the vintage specialists, these guys made their name selling ultra high-end vintage instruments. I always look forward to Stan's inimitable newsletter; it has to be read to be believed.
• Denver Folklore Center — (Denver, CO)—I have a soft spot in my head for this venerable institution. When Sean and I were recording North by Southwest in 1978 the Folklore Center let us use their performance area as a rehearsal spot. They were so nice to us. Nowadays they have a great selection of all the folk instruments, lessons and good people.
• Spruce Tree Music (Madison, WI) — I've known Wil Bremer since forever. He's got a great shop with lots of cool instruments, does a great job repairing guitars and has some really friendly dogs, too.
• Matt Uminov Guitars (New York, NY) — An institution in the Village this is a wonderful store and repair shop. Don't miss it.

Here are some links to some of my performer friends' websites.

Pop Wagner — Pop is one of my favorite performers and oldest friends. We get to perform together from time to time and I always have a great time. A world-class entertainer.

Phil Heywood — One of the Minnesota Guitar Wizards, Phil simply oozes soulful playing. Great guy, too.

Lonnie Knight — Lonnie has been around the Minnesota scene forever and is equally comfortable on the acoustic or electric guitar. I had the pleasure of working with him on his last album and now he's doing my website, too!

Peter Lang — One of the Minnesota Guitar Wizards, Peter recorded with John Fahey in the '60s and was extremely influential in the acoustic music scene. He was out of professional music for quite a few years, but I'm here to tell you: He's baaaaaaaack!

Tim Sparks — One of the true masters of the instrument, I'm proud to call Tim a friend. A real mutant. One of the Minnesota Guitar Wizards.

Dean Magraw — Speaking of mutants, what can you say about Dean Magraw? In addition to being a great player, he's one of the funniest guys on the face of the earth. He gets sounds out of the guitar that nobody knew were there. Another of the Wizards.

Geoff Muldaur — One of the great singers out there today, Geoff really gets it. I've gotten to know him some over the last few years and he never ceases to amaze me. If I were to do top ten lists, which I don't, he'd have two entries on my best of the '90s list.

Duck Baker — A fantastic musician, a musician's musician you might say. The only person I know with a wider range of musical interests than my own, and that's going a step or two. These days he's living in London, teaching, playing some solo gigs and working with his group The Expatriate Game. Isn't that a great name?

Steve James — Steve is mainly a blues player in the best of the Texas tradition. A real showman, too. He often works with Del Rey — and trust me, that's a show you don't want to miss.

Robin and Linda Williams — What can you say about these two? If you haven't heard them already, check out one of their shows next time they're in your area. And they will be in your area.

Peter Ostroushko — The world-class mandolin and fiddle player is another long-time friend of mine. He can play anything. Pretty good cook, too.

Paul Geremia — Paul is nothing short of a national treasure, it's been said, and I agree. He's the guy that turned me on to the wonders of the classic Gibson flattops (the Jumbo and the J-35). and I'm forever grateful.

Charlie Parr — The future of traditional and rootsy music is in good hands if Charlie is any indication. This guy sings and plays the old stuff about as well as anyone ever did and he writes some great tunes in the tradition, too. He gets it. Fly down to your local record store and buy his albums or, better yet, order from him directly (we all like that). You won't be sorry.

Adam Hurt — Another great young traditional player, Adam makes an actual musical instrument out of the banjo, and that's no mean feat. He's too young to be that good.

Del Rey — A marvelous guitar and uke player in the blues/jugband tradition. She often works with Steve James — Incredible alone or with Steve, catch her show.

Cam Waters — Another pal of mine, Cam continues to write great tunes and come up with great versions of mostly overlooked classics. He's also one of the best rhythm guitarists in the business.

Sally Rogers — Sally is a great singer of traditional music, writer and teacher. She's been my pal forever and she just continues to get better. She's married to Howie Bursen, the great clawhammer banjist and winemaker.

Record stores, CDs, listening

The Electric Fetus — My local first stop for all my listening needs. This place started life as a head shop in the late sixties and has become the premier record store in the Twin Cities. They do a great job of keeping up with releases and locating hard-to-find stuff.and Their staff is knowledgeable and friendly and I appreciate it.

Down Home Music — This is a difficult website to navigate, but if you know what you want they probably have it. Located in El Cerrito, Ca., this place is absolutely hands down the best record store I've ever been in. Be warned: leave your credit card somewhere and only take as much cash as you can spend. I learned this the hard way.

Elderly — Another great record store, this one is in Lansing. Filled to the rafters with roots stuff, this is another scary place for me to visit.

Homestead Pickin' Parlor — These guys specialize mainly in Bluegrass and Old-Time stuff and they have a lot of it. They're really passionate about the music and have been doing a great job for years.

Other musical stuff

Frets.com — A truly amazing site for the guitar enthusiast. Frank Ford is one of the country's finest repairmen and offers tons of information on how guitars are made, fixed, you name it. Great information on care and feeding your fine instruments, a gallery of cool stuff and more information added every day. One of the wonders of the internet.

Artists and artisans from outside the music world but who, nevertheless, make the world a better place.

Dunn Brothers Coffee — My source for the bean of life when I'm at home in Minnesota. They've been expanding lately and seem to have locations in lots of different places. The get high quality beanage, roast it, sell it within three days of the roast for maximum freshness and best of all, they charge a fair price. This is a great website with lots of information about the brew. Check it out.

David Quinn — A wonderful funiture maker and artisan of the highest quality and a good friend.

Apple Computer — These guys continue to make the coolest, hippest, neatest stuff out there. I don't know where I'd be without my computers and my iPod. And they do it with such grace and elegance. Naturally, this website was made on a Mac. You can read about my favorite Apple Store here.

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