Genfan took up the guitar at age five. Her father played twelve-string guitar, mandolin and fiddle, and sang. Her older brother played guitar, too. She studied classical music and jazz at Ithaca College in New York City. Besides guitar, Genfan plays piano, banjo, hand percussion, and trombone. In 1994, she produced her first album, Native, on cassette, but it didn't sell in significant numbers. In 2001, she released a self-produced album, Outside the Box. During the same year, she won the Just Plain Folks Award for the song New Grass. In 2003, the German label Acoustic Music Records released Vicki Genfan Live, an album recorded at Open Strings Festival in Osnabrück, Germany. In 2004, she placed second at Mountain StageNew Song Festival in West Virginia with her song, Eleanor. In 2006, she released the double album Up Close & Personal. Genfan has worked with Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence Juber, Kaki King, and Jennifer Batten. Genfan appeared in several American and international magazines and was labeled "Queen of Open Tunings". Genfan won Guitar Player magazine's Guitar Superstar '08 contest at San Francisco's Great American Music Hallin September 2008. She has given lectures and taught at workshops and guitar clinics.
Technique and equipment
Genfan labels her music "folk meets funk". It's a blend of jazz, funk, pop and world music in a contemporary folk context. She uses uncommon open tunings and what she calls a "slap-tap" technique. Her first musical inspiration was her father. Other influences include James Taylor, Michael Jackson, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Meshell Ndegeocello, Marvin Gaye, Jonatha Brooke, and Leo Kottke. Until May 2009 Genfan played a Gibson L-140, a Gibson LG and an AlvarezSilver Anniversary guitar. The Alvarez uses a TrueTone pickup in which two microphones and a L.R. Baggs LB6 pickup send signals to two outlets. Genfan plays a custom Luna guitar built by luthier Gray Burchette and equipped with a MiniFlex internal microphone system and an under-saddle RMC hex pickup. She owns a Guild12 string guitar, a Muse 12 string by Luna Guitars, and a Vega 6 string Deering banjo. She uses medium-gauge EXP D'Addario strings. Her engineer, Tay Hoyle, plays a main role in producing Genfan's albums and accompanies her on tour.
