Acoustic Guitar with Brian N.

Biography- Growing up in Chicago, I was immersed in and entranced by the Blues from the day I was born. We had family from Louisiana (as did half of Chicago, there's a train that has run from Louisiana to Chicago for one hundred and thirty five years), and so I spent summers taking canoes out on the Bayou and eating alligator on a stick at the local fairs, and listening to Zydeco and no lie, I had to square dance. Back home I was an honors student and athlete, but my first love was guitar and drums, and having a brother who played both allowed us to develop our abilities quickly. I was teaching drums at The Village School of Folk Music in Libertyville, Illinois by the time I was thirteen years old. The guy who owned the store also owned a modern music equipment store, and after attending Eastern Illinois University , I was one of the first on the scene when MIDI and digital recording systems for home computers became available, selling and installing early systems while managing the guitar department. I soon had produced enough original material that led to moving to Los Angeles, where I started Orange County's first electronic label, and was soon signed to Astralwerks/Virgin as a solo artist. This is where I learned about publishing, licensing, and the way the business works. I was soon licensing and producing soundtrack music, as well as touring and playing on records with Sugar Blue (the harmonica player for the Stones) Carl Zephyr (Rick James' bass player) H.R. from Bad Brains, Al Jourgenson from Ministry, Jello from the Dead Kennedys, and sold music to major companies like Microsoft ( millions of kids got that first X-box console with 'Gotham Racing', featuring one of my songs!) and New Line Cinema, Sony, Warner, etc. When internet piracy came around, the entire music business took a dive. I returned to another love of mine, computers, and finished my degree last July. I think it's time to share what I have learned with some very special people who want to know not only how Blues music is played, but also how those emotions are transmuted through your fingers, through the guitar and out to the crowd, where the slightest nuance can tell a story, or express a feeling that can't be said in words. This is how I approach the guitar. If you are interested in learning the music of John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, Robert Johnson, and other great Blues artists, then I'd be honored.Thanks for your time.