Teye
Teye (pronounced tie-ya,[1] born 1957 as Teije Wijnterp[2]) is a Dutch guitarist, best known for his flamenco guitar work with the Joe Ely band between 1994 and 2000. After his musical career, Teye began building exclusive handmade guitars.
- For the Egyptian name see Tiye (disambiguation).
Biography
Teye started learning guitar in 1968, and moved to London to pursue a musical career, unsuccessfully. He returned to the Netherlands and played in a number of rock and roll bands, after which he studied classical guitar at the conservatory in Groningen.[2]
Starting in the early 1980s, he begins learning to play flamenco music in Andalusia, and spent the next six years alternately studying in Spain,[1] and studying and performing in the Netherlands and the United States.[2] Teye produces a solo flamenco guitar LP, El Gitano Punky (1988), and studies modern music at the conservatory in Rotterdam from 1990 to 1994.[2] A visit to Austin, Texas, brought him in contact with Joe Ely, who integrated Teye’s flamenco guitar into his country-rock band on the 1995 release Letter to Laredo.[1][3] Teye moved from Sevilla, where he had been living with his soon-to-be wife Belen Oliva Bermudez (a flamenco dancer), to Austin.
In 1996, then living in Austin, Teye and Belen got married and started a flamenco ensemble in Austin, Teye & Viva El Flamenco,[4] later called Teye & Belen, releasing a CD in 1999, Viva el Flamenco and one in 2004, "FlamencObsesionArte". He worked with Joe Ely again in 1998, on Twistin' in the Wind.[5]
Teye Guitars
Teye has established himself as a builder of electric guitars. Befriended with Tony Zemaitis, he also often equipped his guitars with etched aluminum plates on the top, achieving "stunning looks".[6] His Electric Gypsy La Llama was praised by Guitar Player as a "dazzling piece of guitar artistry."[7] An unusual feature on some of Teye's guitars is a "mood" knob, which to a Guitar Player reviewer sounded as a mid-cut control, and "exponentially" increased the number of tones available.[8]
References
- Sculley, Alan (1996-07-21). "Joe Ely's Latest is Not the Acoustic Record He Originally Planned". The Morning Call. p. D12. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- "Teye & Viva El Flamenco (1979 - heden)". Popinstituut Nederland. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- McCall, Michael (1995-08-31). "Restless Spirit". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- Legaspi, Andre (2003-01-04). "Thank you Teye, viva el flamenco!". McGill Tribune. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- Skanse, Richard (1998-05-18). "Texas Twister: Joe Ely goes to the movies and back to the flatlands". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- Prown, Pete (April 2012). "Spanish Castle Magic: The Teye El Torero/Le Guitana R Series". Vintage Guitar. p. 130.
- Thompson, Art (January 2012). "Rev. of Teye, Electric Gypsy La Llama S-Series". Guitar Player. pp. 108–110.
- Blackett, Matt (November 2014). "New Boutique Guitars and Amps: Teye Coyote". Guitar Player. pp. 104–113.