Chris Brooks is an Australian author, 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]
Growing up as one of two sons of a career musician (drummer Ken Brooks), it was not really until 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 lifelong pursuit out of music.
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]
Demo tapes recorded in the 90s on four-track tapes have since shown up on YouTube, including a cover of the Yngwie Malmsteen track "Black Star", and the original track "I Wonder Why".
On 9 March 2002, 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.
In September 2011, the second solo album "The Axis of All Things" was released under the label Axiology Records, a moniker for Brooks' self-released efforts. The album featured guest appearances from Brett Garsed, Rick Graham, and drummers Peter McDonaugh and Gordon Rytmeister.
In 2017, Brooks signed to publisher Fundamental Changes and released his first book on 17 October entitled "Neoclassical Speed Strategies for Guitar".[3] The book is a biomechanical breakdown of the picking style of guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen.
Guest appearancesEdit
In 2002 Brooks wrote and appeared on two songs on the Mark Boals album Edge of the World, which also featured guitarist Tony MacAlpine (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".
Guitar style and gearEdit
Brooks is renowned for his speed picking and 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 February 2020, Brooks became an endorsing artist for Charvel Guitars.[5]
^Brooks, Chris; Alexander, Joseph (24 August 2021). Alternate Picking Guitar Technique: Build Perfect Alternate Picking Speed, Accuracy & Guitar Technique in 90 Musical Exercises. ISBN978-1789332469.
^Brooks, Chris (4 November 2021). Economy Picking Guitar Technique. ISBN978-1789333718.
Notes
Interview
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Brooks (guitarist).
Official website
Interview at Instrumental Case website
September 27, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s notability guideline for music Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources Chris Brooks guitarist news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may be written from a fan s point of view rather than a neutral point of view Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality and to make it neutral in tone September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Chris Brooks guitarist news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Chris Brooks is an Australian author 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 Chris BrooksBackground informationBornSydney AustraliaOriginNew South Wales AustraliaGenresRock instrumental progressive metal fusionInstrument s GuitarYears active2002 presentMemberssoloWebsitechrisbrooks wbr com Contents 1 Early life 2 The 1990s and 2000s 3 Guest appearances 4 Guitar style and gear 5 Discography 6 Bibliography 7 References 8 External linksEarly life EditGrowing up as one of two sons of a career musician drummer Ken Brooks it was not really until 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 lifelong pursuit out of music 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 EditBrooks attended the Australian Institute of Music for a certificate 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 Demo tapes recorded in the 90s on four track tapes have since shown up on YouTube including a cover of the Yngwie Malmsteen track Black Star and the original track I Wonder Why On 9 March 2002 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 In September 2011 the second solo album The Axis of All Things was released under the label Axiology Records a moniker for Brooks self released efforts The album featured guest appearances from Brett Garsed Rick Graham and drummers Peter McDonaugh and Gordon Rytmeister In 2017 Brooks signed to publisher Fundamental Changes and released his first book on 17 October entitled Neoclassical Speed Strategies for Guitar 3 The book is a biomechanical breakdown of the picking style of guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen Guest appearances EditIn 2002 Brooks wrote and appeared on two songs on the Mark Boals album Edge of the World which also featured guitarist Tony MacAlpine 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 Guitar style and gear EditBrooks is renowned for his speed picking and 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 February 2020 Brooks became an endorsing artist for Charvel Guitars 5 Discography EditThe Master Plan 2002 The Axis of All Things 2011 Bibliography EditNeoclassical Speed Strategies for Guitar 2017 Sweep Picking Speed Strategies for Guitar 2018 Advanced Arpeggio Soloing for Guitar 2018 Sweep Picking Speed Strategies for 7 string Guitar 2019 Legato Guitar Technique Mastery 2019 100 Arpeggio Licks for Shred Guitar 2020 The Complete Guitar Technique Speed Strategies Collection 2020 Alternate Picking Guitar Technique August 23 2021 6 Economy Picking Guitar Technique November 3 2021 7 References EditCitations Guitarist Chris Brooks Site Archived from the original on 12 May 2008 Retrieved 5 January 2009 Guitarist Chris Brooks Site Archived from the original on 5 July 2008 Retrieved 5 January 2009 Neo Classical Speed Strategies for Guitar chrisbrooksguitar Retrieved 29 September 2016 via YouTube https www facebook com chrisbrooksguitar videos 2556526554620109 user generated source Brooks Chris Alexander Joseph 24 August 2021 Alternate Picking Guitar Technique Build Perfect Alternate Picking Speed Accuracy amp Guitar Technique in 90 Musical Exercises ISBN 978 1789332469 Brooks Chris 4 November 2021 Economy Picking Guitar Technique ISBN 978 1789333718 NotesBiography InterviewExternal links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Brooks guitarist Official website Interview at Instrumental Case website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chris Brooks guitarist amp oldid 1106268431, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
