Biography:

Terra Guitarra is the first all instrumental guitar project from the Midwest’s premier acoustic duo Patchouli.

Bruce Hecksel and Julie Patchouli, lifelong students of music, are both accomplished multi-instrumentalists. Bruce’s post graduate study of theology and symbology, classical study in piano, guitar and composition coupled with Julie’s studies in ethnobotany, environmental studies and her instrumental range from trombone, upright bass, guitar, marimba and percussion allow them to explore, synthesize and contrast world musical styles with deft fluidity and a broad based spiritual undertone. Terra Guitarra is their 10th full length album of all original compositions in the 10 years of performing together.

This duo is renowned as a dynamic group with super high energy acoustic music.

Inspired by Earnest Ranglin, Leo Kottke, Rev. Gary Davis, Paco de Lucia, Randy Rhodes, and Tony Rice in the reggae, fingerstyle, blues, rock, flamenco, and folk idioms they created their own modern acoustic musical style, “world folkmenco”.

Performing blazing nuevomenco style pieces on steel string guitars to inspiring power folk mantras, their energy and chemistry leaves the audience uniquely uplifted and transformed.

Tireless touring troubadours, Bruce and Julie have performed over 1600 times covering enough ground on the road to equal over 6 times around the earth. They consider themselves spectators but also participants in the evolution of culture and the lives and experiences of the countless people they’ve met along the way.

On their tours and in the studio the duo are occasionally joined by conguero Willy Crow Mojo, who appears on selected tracks of Terra Guitarra, and drummer and percussionist Justin Webb.