Blossom	Calling in the Winter	Close to Home	Dirt Road
Flying Bird Brings Message	Gardeners Rain	The Healing Distance	In My Arms
In the Light of Autumn	Lighter than Fancy	Open Road	A Sence of Place
The Silence Between the Words	Song of Stone	Vermont Serenades	Weeding the Garden

About Spencer Lewis and Quartz Recordings
Post Office Box 20
Bethel, Vermont 05032

To Communicate with Spencer Lewis or Quartz Recordings
please click on sales@quartzrecordings.com

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Read the recent Valley News article - Bethel Resident Spencer Lewis:
Fashioning a Life of Music and Stone (pdf, 2.74MB)
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Spencer Lewis
QUARTZ RECORDINGS - BIO '99

Ten years ago, Spencer Lewis wrote and recorded the music for his first album Weeding the Garden, a series of pastoral, instrumental guitar pieces, and the first release for his own independent label Quartz Recordings. It was produced in his home studio with the eight-track recorder he purchased from Will Wright's Rooster Records, who happened to, live opposite Spencer on Route 12 in Barnard, vermont. Inside the liner notes there was a special credit: "to Woody Guthrie whose simple star guides me on." Now, nine titles later and over 100,000 units sold, it's that simplicity that is still the backbone of his recordings. "If Woody Guthie played new-age music, this is what it might sound like" conveys the feeling one might derive from where Lewis' music is coming from, and striving for. Also, it appeals to the common person both young and old.

The rich tone of Spencer's acoustic steel-stringed guitar, his trademark layered violin sound and his uncomplicated style of compostion, is what finds its way into the hearts of an ever-increasing and appreciative audience. There is an unpretentios quality to his music that is both compelling and soothing. Lewis' songs possess a quality a blend of classical, new-age, folk and country with a cross-flat-picked guitar that combines the relaxed nature of a cabin porch with the meticulous detail of the recording studio. Phrases like " the music speaks to me, " and " I can play it over and over and never tire of it are commonly seen in fan letters sent to Quartz. The New England Organics Catalog wrote "Spencer's music is enjoyed by all, no matter the age, gender, or musical preference. This music seems to strike a chord in all who listen, bringing a peaceful and tranquil energy."

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Spencer Lewis is a man of Lincolnesque stature: he is strikingly tall; his eyes reveal humor, laced with a sad wisdom; and there is a gentleness about him. At first it seems as though his creator had mistakenly made him too large for so mild a man. But there was no error: Lewis’s size was needed when, before being able to make his way as a full-time singer-songwriter, he worked as a woodcutter, draft horseman, stone mason and landscaper. And now, perhaps, he requires so generous a vessel to hold the large body of music, poetry and talent within.

Lewis's voice is as clear and crisp as an October morning. The stories he writes and sings are well-crafted and often tender, lacking only sentimentality. And the music he composes is rich with internal harmony and a rhythm that flows with the surety of a mountain stream.

"When I started writing songs in my early teens, I was immediately aware that they were an important part of my life process. They helped me understand who I was and where I wanted to go," says Lewis.

And "go" he did. After high school he left his Manhasset, N.Y., home to ramble throughout North America, following in the footsteps of a hero, Woody Guthrie. Lewis played music everywhere and somewhere along the way, like Guthrie, he became an original.

Lewis began playing clubs in Vermont in 1972, the sasme year he purchased the first of his two Gurian acoustic guitars - a make legendary for their craftsmanship. To accentuate the instrument’s unique sound, Lewis developed his trademark mode of playing - what one reviewer described as “a cross picking style that emphasizes single notes while allowing for a full chordal sound.” Lewis describes it more succinctly as “two bass notes and a lick.” Combining folk, country and classical influences, Lewis calls his style “New Acoustic” - which is not to be confused with that other “new” genre which too often mesmerizes rather than inspires.

In 1988, with his founding of Quartz Recordings and the new label’s first release - the all-instrumental Weeding the Garden - Lewis’s star began to shine distinctly. And in that light, Lewis and an audience found each other.

More than history, the rest is process. Five more albums, released over four years, weave a graphic yet delicate tapestry of self-discovery, friendships, and love of the land in words and music. In addition to the success of his recordings, Lewis’s music has been used on the soundtracks of two films about Vermont and in 1991 he won a Fellowship Finalist award from the Vermont Council On The Arts.

A few years ago after they both had performed at a concert, Pete Seeger told Lewis, “More people ought to hear your songs.” Heeding good advice, Lewis continues to play throughout the Northeast at festivals, concerts, craft fairs and clubs.

Doug Shane - Upper Valley Magazine