Rick Zar writes and performs his music on 12 string acoustic guitar. The most consistent comment on his live performances besides "Smokin'! Amazing!" and "I didn’t know anyone could play the 12 string like that" is usually "you have an original sound". His CD MESTIZO is a collection of original compositions that generally brings the response "Beautiful music, it is so relaxing, I listen to it all day long". Herein lies the paradox: Zar is capable of creating a mellow, mystical, trance inducing ambience with his music. Yet he is even more capable of putting on a "Monster of a performance", says Jim Barrett, owner of The Beat Shop record store in Troy, New York. Well, what’ll be? Having taken the plunge 2 1/2 years ago to devote his full time attention to performing, Zar played over 130 performances in 2005, including an hour set at the Los Angeles Burning Man Decompression Festival on Oct. 15th. 2006 is set to top over 200 performances, with many of them in the  New York area, as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oregon. Mostly playing the coffeehouse circuit, Zar did 2 solo shows at the well respected Van Dyck Restaurant in Scenectady on March 24th and 25th this year. Zar is fully committed to working his way up the food chain based on the strength of his live shows, and their display of sensitivity, mastery, and explosiveness. Want to know what Rick Zar sounds like? Hear a sample, buy his CD, but come and hear him play!