Brett
Garsed was born in rural Victoria, Australia and began playing guitar at age 12
after hearing Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore play "Speed King".
After about a month of initial lessons he continued to teach himself and formed
a band comprised of his two cousins and a mutual friend and began playing live.
His main
influences were Blackmore, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour and Jimi
Hendrix. He later diversified adding elements from Leo Kottke, Rory Gallagher
and Van Halen. After playing for about 5 years, Brett decided to take classical
guitar lessons for about a year, which helped him develop his right-hand finger
picking technique.
His style
has a lot of left-hand legato, influenced by the music of Allan Holdsworth, and
after hearing him, he developed his fusion-oriented style, also taking snippets
from Larry Carlton and Scott Henderson.
He started
out in the work-a-day world as a licensed plumber, but after being featured in
a 1985 Guitar Player’s “Spotlight” column that was devoted to exposing new talent,
Brett gave up his day job to pursue a career as a professional musician. He
sent demo tapes out to a slew of record companies and one led to an extended
gig with Australian superstar John Farnham. Farnham was still with the Little
River Band, but was planning a solo album and invited Brett to be a part of the
project. The resulting album, Whispering Jack, went on to become the
biggest selling album in Australian history, followed by sellout tours of
Australia and Europe.
Brett continued
to tour and record with John until early 1989 when he was invited to the US to
audition for Nelson, a band led by Gunnar and Mathew, sons of the late Ricky
Nelson. The audition was a success and the resulting album, After the Rain,
went on to sell over 3 million copies and yielded a national #1 ("Love and
Affection") as well as 2 top ten follow up singles. In early 1990 Brett
also recorded Centrifugal Funk for the Mark Varney label Legato Records,
an intense guitar album featuring Frank Gambale and Shawn Lane.
Now, after 14
years in Los Angeles, Brett is back home in Australia where he has reunited
with John Farnham. Personally, I’m amazed at the observation that he seems to
play most of his leads with his eyes closed. If it were me, that would be a recipe
for disaster. If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, I
recommend rigging your alarm to wake you to his music. I guarantee he’ll get
you going.
Got the horn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TedCWTpYOvc
Burgers in bed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNSPAv_Tg80
Spheres of influence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GedhY2KbM8I
Friend or foe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2bThDgJTHc
Fu’d fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln2h6dQC1-4
Just Brett: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXpnUYwbqYs
Gotta continue with
my affection for summer Rose and pair Brett with a 2011 Sauvion Rose d Anjou
Loire Valley ($11.00). The wine is made from 70% Groslot and 30% Gamay grapes.
It’s a light, fruity wine with a floral bouquet tinged with red berries. The
taste mingles strawberries, cherries, and peaches in a crisp fresh mix that’s
especially satisfying for a summer evening. It’s also low alcohol (10.5%),
meaning you’ll still be fully conscious should you decide to finish the whole
bottle. Better pick up two bottles, cause the neighbors are sure to show up
when you crank up Brett’s fusion guitar. Enjoy!
Cheers!
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