Steve Tibbetts papers

Steve Tibbetts was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1954. When he was twelve years old, he started to play guitar and was attracted to the electric distortion of the Blind Joe Mendelbaum Blues Band. He went to Macalester College (class of 1976) in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he experimented with distortion pedals and other devices that could be plugged into a guitar. He met drummer Marc Anderson in college, and the two began a lifelong collaboration. Tibbetts has cited jazz guitarist Bill Connors as an influence and the fingerstyle technique of Harvey Mandel.

His first album, released in 1976, received attention on Minnesota public radio. His second, Yr (Frammis, 1980) was the first to be recorded with Anderson. His first album for a major label was Northern Song for ECM in 1982. He released five albums in the 1980s, three in the 1990s. He has collaborated with Norwegian hardingfele player Knut Hamre and Tibetan Buddhist nun Chöying Drolma.

(abbreviated from Wikipedia)