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In his own words... Growing up as one of two
sons of a career musician (drummer Ken Brooks), it was
probably not really til I was 11 or 12 that I realised
that being a musician could be a career, a real
job. I knew my dad played the drums, I knew he was
bloody good at it and that he did it a lot, but maybe it
wasn't until my own life-altering experiences with music
that I realised that I could make a living and a
life-long pursuit out of music. A few months before I
was born, my dad scored a one-off gig playing drums for
singer and Aussie megastar John Farnham. Mum said
I kicked a hell of a lot once the music started, so I
guess you could say that was my first gig. I took
organ lessons when I was 5 or 6, but when I was 10 I
came home to find a 3/4 size Stella classical guitar on
my bed in a gig bag, accompanied by a Mel Bay
book. There was no pressure for it to be serious,
but the same way they gave me the guitar was the same
way they approached the rest of my musical development -
it's there if you want it. While I did take
lessons, they involved playing songs that were corny and
boring. The guitar sat under the bed until two
musical acts blew me away and ignited an enthusiasm for
playing that has not subsided since. John Farnham
(yes, the singer previously mentioned) made a comeback,
and he had this amazing guitarist named Brett Garsed in
his band. A concert for the "Whispering
Jack" album was broadcast on Australian prime-time
TV and featured the most amazing guitar work I'd ever
seen in a tune called "Let Me Out". I
was baffled by the way Brett worked his way around every
corner of the fret board seamlessly. To this day
this quality in his playing amazes and inspires me. The
other artist that blew me away was the band
Europe. Their song "The Final Countdown"
topped the charts here and the energy of their stage
show on the video, coupled with a killer rock solo from
John Norum. I remember saying "I could never
be that good", but my dad reassured me that with
lots of work I could be as good as I wanted to be.
The old acoustic came out from under the bed and I
hadn't really forgotten much once I gave Mel Bay a
(temporary) second chance. Once my folks could see
I wasn't letting up this time, I received my first
electric guitar and a 25w amp (both of which I still
have in at least pieces!). And within months of
working on the electric guitar, any previous thoughts
I'd had of being a journalist or something were long
gone. I've had many musical influences and experiences
since those years. Other players that really
showed me the way to my style included Kee Marcello,
Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, Richie
Kotzen, Joey Tafolla, Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth,
Steve Vai and I suppose many others that in some way or
another inspired me to try some new melodic or technical
idea.
Much of what has happened so far in my pursuit as a
musician can be read in my bio,
so without rehashing it, I think the highlight of my
life so far was the amazing response I had to my CD
"The Master Plan". Sales were great for
an unknown artist launching into the international
market, but more than that, I was (and still am) humbled
by the number of people that went (and still go) out of
their way to spread the word about my music on message
boards, to their friends, or in emails to tell me how
they enjoyed the CD. It's nothing short of
inspiring.
In the coming years I have high hopes of recording
more solo music, because as much as I enjoy
collaborating and playing in bands, the solo music does
hold a special fascination for me - the frustration, the
experimentation, the physical processes of recording,
releasing, marketing and all the little problems and
triumphs that go along with each step of the
process. What beats it? I'll let you know if
something ever does.
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