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An Interview with Chris Brooks

IC: For the readers who may be unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your music?

Chris: Progressive instrumental guitar driven rock with rock-fusion influences too. I sort of combine the concept of instrumental guitar albums with music in which all the instruments are forming a tapestry and doing something important and interesting, like perhaps Dream Theater or Planet X do. There's a soloist (me, most of the time), but it's not like there's some boring rhythm track running underneath, which is something I think ruins some guitarists' albums.

IC: Yeah, I know what you mean. Some albums sound like the guitarist is soloing over a metronome.

So how did you get started playing the guitar?

Chris: I had a false start when I was ten, learning from the Mel Bay method. I really got started at age thirteen after seeing two acts: Brett Garsed, who was a young guy playing guitar for our Aussie mega-star John Farnham in those days, and the Swedish rock band Europe. My parents heard me rocking out to "The Final Countdown" so often and I started to build these fake electric guitars that a friend and I used to rock out on. Without much begging, my parents bought me the real deal and that was my real start!

IC: Wow, that’s pretty crazy that Brett Garsed was one of your first inspirations to play. Most people aren’t familiar with him until after they’ve been playing themselves for quite some time.

Chris: Yeah, it was Brett who really baffled me as a kid. I would constantly ask Dad, "How does he connect up all those notes?". Europe's second guitarist, Kee Marcello, was also a very melodic fluid player who blew me away. After that it was Yngwie, Vinnie Moore, Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth, Richie Kotzen and Jon Finn. They all still inspire me very much. Not in a way where I would want to know all their licks, but in terms of their talent and the way they speak on their instrument.

IC: So initially who led you to play in the virtuoso instrumental style that you’re now known for?

Chris: Even though Yngwie's ‘Rising Force’ lit a fire in me to get my chops together, it was Vinnie Moore's ‘Time Odyssey’ that really showed me what a great form of expression instrumental music can be.

IC: Yeah, I remember the first time I heard “Pieces of a Picture” off Time Odyssey – I was really blown away by Vinman’s melodic phrasing. Although looking back on it, the tone was kinda thin on that record.

So you recently sent me your debut solo album – thanks again for that. Could you tell our readers a little bit about it and any other projects you’ve been involved with?

Chris: Sure. My solo album "The Master Plan" is fully instrumental. It's got melodic themes, prog-rock song structures, lots of solos and hopefully it takes the listener on a bit of a journey like my favorite instrumental albums did. On Mark Boals’ "Edge of the World" album I wrote and played on the opening track, which the producer described as Steve Vai meets Kansas meets Dream Theater - probably not far off. On the Liquid Note Records release "The Alchemists II" I'm trading off with Joe Chawki on a tune I wrote which is a fairly text book CB song. I also released an EP with a contemporary rock band named Feeding The Addiction that I used to record and tour with, and just did two solos on the new LORD album (Australian power metal band).

IC: So what’s coming next for you?

Chris: I just started writing for another solo album, and I have a few guest appearances coming up. I'm not a particularly fast writer so I wouldn't expect to have my solo album done until late this year. In the meantime though I'm piecing together a live band to go tear some heads off in the club scene.

IC: Awesome, I’m looking forward to hearing it!

Okay, gear discussion time… Do you have a favorite guitar brand or luthier?

Chris: I love Paul Reed Smith guitars. I use a Custom 24 as my main guitar. I can play my rock stuff on there and still get cool tones for jazz and blues when I dabble in those. I even used it for the power metal album I just did guest solos for. I have some Strats too (who doesn't?) and for a time I played Ibanez. We don't have access to Suhrs and Andersons here so PRS is about the best available.

(Photo by Y. Sutjiawan)

IC: What other gear do you use (amps, pedals, etc...)?

Chris: I endorse Mesa / Boogie amps here in Australia and my amp of choice is a 1996 Dual Rectifier solo head which I run through the 2x12 Recto cabs. For effects I keep it really simple with a chain stomp boxes consisting of a Boss DD6 delay, RV5 Reverb, Chorus Ensemble, OC2 octave, and TU2 tuner. In addition to the Boss stuff I use an Akai Head Rush sampler / delay and an Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah. For strings I use Elixir 10-46s - Nano webs for recording and Polywebs when I have lots of gigs to do and little time to change strings.

IC: So like all of the guitarists featured on this site, you’re known for blazing technique. What instructional material did you use to help develop your chops?

Chris: I think a lot of guys my age probably grew up on Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert and Richie Kotzen's videos. I personally gained a ton from Frank Gambale's technique books, which were not so much about technique, but about developing a toolbox of soloing ideas for each chord type you can think of. The methods that taught me how to be "a better me" were the ones I preferred over the ones that teach you to play like someone else.

IC: Originality is always a good thing!

So how much time do you spend practicing and playing nowadays, and how does that compare with your practice schedule when you were younger?

Chris: The woodshedding years in my late teens would vary from 3-8 hours a day, but due to tendonitis in my early 20s from practicing with poor posture as I got fatigued, there was a period where I couldn't practice much at all. My right arm was burned out and I had to learn how to go easy. These days I might get a few practice sessions in per week, which I try to use for idea development rather than chops.

IC: Could you describe how you typically go about practicing?

Chris: I used a metronome heaps when getting chops together - for timing more so than some kind of 'beat the clock' wankery! These days I do enough recording to drums or programmed beats that I feel my inner timing is cool enough when I'm working on new ideas. I don't watch a lot of TV, but when I do I must admit I find that a good time to freshen up on the mechanical side of playing. I usually decide while warming up whether today's practice session will be a "focus session" or a "general session". Focus sessions are for when I want to go over a concept in detail for the entire time I've allotted to practice, and general sessions are pretty self-explanatory... cover as many bases as you can in the allotted time.

IC: So do you teach professionally? If so, do you have any particular philosophies or approaches to teaching?

Chris: I used to teach full time. Now I just have selected students for a few lessons a week. My approach is to teach what I'm good at teaching - how to develop your own approaches to whatever it is the student does. I have no interest in spoon feeding other people's licks or songs, although I do like to look at songs for the purpose of understanding why that mode, lick, technique etc works.

IC: Do you have any instructional material planned?

Chris: I'd like to do a DVD after my next album. I've developed a few ideas along the way in my playing and teaching careers, and I'd like to share them with a wider audience some day soon. But who knows? With the way YouTube is going, the second I release a DVD that I've funded, some kid might put it all on there for people to have for free.

IC: Well there are fairly easy ways of removing copyrighted footage from YouTube, but it’s more difficult to keep it off of forums and away from traders. Hopefully that won’t stop you though. I think it’s still possible to turn a profit on those videos, because they typically cost more time than money.

So I know this is kind of a though question to answer, but what is your creative process like, and what inspires your songwriting?

Chris: I'm not a very prolific writer, so I don't have ideas bugging me all day or keeping me up at night. [Laughs] I basically get ideas when I put aside the time to write. I often write on keyboard and then pick up a guitar later. Sometimes I write tunes from start to finish, but for the complex ones I might have half a song sitting there for months before the missing pieces come along. I get inspired by good things going on in my life. When life is tough I usually dry up as a songwriter. I guess I wouldn't make a good blues man taking that into account!

IC: [Laughs] Well then hopefully you’re having a good year, so we can hear some new material. I really loved your track on TAII.

So do you listen to your own music for personal enjoyment?

Chris: I don't mind admitting that I do from time to time. I must have listened to "The Master Plan" 10,000 times by now. There's a satisfaction to hearing the final product that's hard to describe. I don't sit there and nitpick about parts I could have done better. I just find pride in the fact that everything was the best I could get it at the time.

IC: Wow, that’s probably the best answer I’ve ever gotten for that question! Most of the musicians I interview seem to despise their own recordings. They’d rather die than listen to their own album again.

Moving on… How important a factor is improvisation in your music? Do you improvise the solos on your albums, or during your live performances?

Chris: I improvise quite a bit which I think is important in progressive-styled music because it can be a very structured genre. I like to contrast some of those rigid structures with improvised solos. When I played my solo stuff live I think it is important to represent some of those solos from the CD though, because people grow fond of them and they do become part of the song.

IC: Do you have a favorite song of yours to play live, and do you perform any covers?

Chris: Kryptica and Tales from a Distant Sky are probably the two I've had the most fun with live, though I don't get many opportunities to do solo shows. I don't play covers because I never spent much time leaning other people's songs.

(Chris Brooks live with Feeding The Addiction - Photo by Y. Sutjiawan)

IC: Is there anyone you'd especially like to play or collaborate with someday?

Chris: Virgil Donati is one I can think of. He said some really nice things about my playing to a mutual friend a few years back. I'd like to get my brother Diem on CD with me. He's a bass player. We've played live together before but to date we haven't played on the same album.

IC: Since this is an instrumental guitar website, what instrumental albums have you heard recently, and which are your all-time favorites?

Chris: I haven't heard any recently, but my favorites of all time would be Vinnie Moore's "Time Odyssey", Garsed / Helmerich's "Quid Pro Quo", Allan Holdsworth's "Secrets", and Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force".

IC: Solid picks! (No pun intended.)

Do you have any advice for aspiring young guitarists who want to pursue a career in music or just better themselves as players?

Chris: For playing, I say find your own voice. There's already a John Petrucci and at least 7,000 Yngwie Malmsteens (though only one original). It's not an easy thing but varying your influences and understanding their playing rather than duplicating it is important. In the business vein, consider all the ways that you can make money from your craft because the original scene is tough and only the guys at the top make money. Being a working musician is an admirable thing and there's no shame in playing in bar bands and doing recording sessions for musicians in your town as a means to do what you really love. If you do the instrumental thing like me, consider learning how to set up your own label because it can be profitable, and the small guitar labels out there don't have much money or resources anyway.

IC: So what are some of your technical and musical aspirations?

Chris: It all fall under the banner of trying to fulfill my potential. I get down on myself sometimes because I feel I'm only really scratching the surface. So I guess the answer is that I want to keep digging and hopefully accruing a nice fan base along the journey.

IC: Are there any guitarists who you still look up to?

Chris: All the guys I mentioned previously really. But I tell you, I can be in a pub and see some guy ripping it up and admire that too. It's hard to be in the audience watching a great player. You want to go up and take that guy's place for a set!

IC: Which newer guys have caught your attention?

Chris: I must admit I don't really know who's new. I know every man and his dog is flying the Guthrie Govan flag and he's a genius, though hardly new! He's older than me and been out there since the early 90’s I believe. What a player though!

IC: Yeah, I think the sudden Guthrie popularity is due to him finally releasing his solo album. Granted, I didn’t know about him until last year either, because being 18 means I wasn’t around to hear about him through the trading of demo tapes or anything like that.

Anyway, do you listen to any non-guitar oriented music? If so, which artists, bands or genres do you like?

Chris: I like some old school melodic rock like Europe and Toto - very keyboard oriented. I don't mind some pop like Kelly Clarkson. I listen to jazz on the radio but there's still some guitar going on there. But that gives you an idea...

IC: If you could visit any musician or group in history, who would it be?

Chris: I'm not really one to go out and meet other musicians (especially heroes - it can be so disappointing), but in the fun spirit of the question I think it would be cool to meet J.S. Bach and tell him how his music pretty much revolutionized the frikkin' world, and it would be cool to trade off solos with him!

IC: Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?

Chris: For writing / dicking around I play keys, drums, sing backing vocals, bass. On the tune "Unruly Elements", it's me doing it all except for Joe's solos.

IC: Once again, great playing on that track. I love the energy!

So what are some of your hobbies outside of guitar and music in general?

Chris: Theology, movies, bowling, air hockey, pool and mini golf!

IC: [Laughs] Nothing quite like a theology lecture followed by a few rounds of mini golf!

Okay, final question… what's the one thing you want people to know about you?

Chris: I'm a very family-oriented guy who loves music but doesn't want to miss out on the important things in life in order to "make it". Musically, it's on my terms or not at all!

IC: [Laughs] Cool. Best wishes with the new material, and thanks for doing this interview, Chris!

Chris: My pleasure!

Essential Chris Brooks links:

www.chrisbrooks.net

www.myspace.com/chrisbrooksmusic

... and don't forget to buy "The Master Plan"!

-- Dave B.