- Chris Brooks (guitarist)
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Chris Brooks 
Background information Origin New South Wales, Australia Genres Rock, instrumental, progressive metal, fusion Instruments Guitar Years active 2002–present Associated acts Mark Boals
LORDWebsite chrisbrooks.com Members solo Notable instruments Suhr Guitars Chris Brooks Custom Standard Chris Brooks is an Australian rock, metal and fusion guitarist most noted for his debut instrumental album The Master Plan and his subsequent work with members of Yngwie Malmsteen, Black Sabbath, Lana Lane, and fellow Australians LORD.[1]
Contents
Early life
Growing up as one of two sons of a career musician (drummer Ken Brooks), it was not really til he was 11 or 12 that Brooks realised that being a musician could be a career. He knew his father played the drums and that he was "bloody good at it" and that he did it a lot, but it was not until his own life-altering experiences with music that Brooks realised he could make a living and a life-long pursuit out of music.
A few months before he was born, his father Ken scored a one-off gig playing drums for singer and Aussie megastar John Farnham. His mother said a foetal Chris kicked a lot during the show. Brooks took organ lessons at age 5, but at age 10 he came home to find a 3/4 size Stella classical guitar on his bed in a gig bag, accompanied by a Mel Bay book. While Brooks reports to have taken lessons initially, his boredom soon kicked in and lessons stopped after six months.
In 1986 John Farnham made a comeback, and Farnham's new band featured Brett Garsed on guitar. A concert for the "Whispering Jack" album was broadcast on Australian prime-time TV and featured a tune called "Let Me Out", the extended Garsed guitar solo of which Brooks credits as a major turning point in his inspiration to resume playing the guitar. Brooks cites other early influences as Kee Marcello of the band Europe, Vinnie Moore and Yngwie Malmsteen.[2]
The 1990s and 2000s
Brooks attended the Australian Institute of Music for a certfficate course in contemporary music. During his short time there Brooks was exposed to jazz fusion and began listening to guitar instrumentalists like Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny and Richie Kotzen.
On 9 March 2002[3] Brooks released his debut album The Master Plan, which showcased his guitar chops in dynamic and sometimes complex progressive metal / rock fusion influenced compositions. The album has (as of January 2009) sold 4,000 copies and gained critical acclaim from artists including Brett Garsed, Vinnie Moore, and Jon Finn. Press coverage of the album included Metal Hammer magazine (Greece), Burrn! magazine (Japan) and Young Guitar magazine (Japan) as well as numerous fan-maintained progressive rock/metal websites.
In 2003 Brooks joined the Sydney-based melodic rock band Feeding The Addiction. The band failed to have any success besides a publishing deal with Sony/BMG. Brooks left the group in 2006 to return to the instrumental guitar genre, beginning with the opening track "Unruly Elements" from the 2007 Liquid Note Records (UK) release "The Alchemists II". The album also boasted the talents of Brett Garsed, Terry Syrek, Guns 'n' Roses guitarist Bumblefoot and James LaBrie sideman Marco Sfogli.
Guest appearances
In 2002 Brooks wrote and appeared on two songs on the Mark Boals album Edge of the World, which also featured guitarist Tony MacApline (Ring of Fire), drummers Virgil Donati and Vinny Appice of Black Sabbath and Dio, and keyboardist Erik Norlander. The album was released by the labels Marquee Inc in Japan and Frontiers Records worldwide. Brooks also appeared on the Australian metal band LORD's 2007 release Ascendence, on which he contributed guitars to the tracks "Rain" and "Through the Fire". In 2009 LORD released a new album entitled Set in Stone, which features a new Chris Brooks solo on the track "Be My Guest".
In 2008 Brooks began work on his next solo instrumental album entitled The Axis of All Things. The album is due for release by Axiology Records (Brooks' own label) on 25 September 2011.
Guitar style and gear
Brooks is renowned for his legato technique and melodic phrasing which result in a fluid improvisational style. Brooks used Ibanez guitars for the first few years of his recording career and has been seen on numerous YouTube videos[4] using a 2004 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 guitar in vintage Yellow finish, and a customised 1997 American Fender Stratocaster in Teal Green Metallic finish and white pearloid pickguard. In December 2009 Brooks became an endorser of the guitar brand Suhr Guitars, beginning with a model he chose the specifications of with the boutique guitar manufacturer, based on the "Standard" model.
External links
References
- ^ http://chrisbrooks.com/home.html
- ^ http://chrisbrooks.com/ownwords.html
- ^ www.chrisbrooks.net/news.html
- ^ www.youtube.com/chrisbrooksmusic
Categories:- Australian rock guitarists
- Living people
- Australian heavy metal guitarists
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