Hi Brad! Great to speak with you today!
What have you been working on lately?
I have a lot of projects in the works at the moment. I am working on two online guitar lesson courses. ‘The Classical Guitar Expression Masterclass’ teaches little known secrets top guitarists use to play music with expression and emotion so you can have audiences eating out of the palm of your hand. The second course ‘The Jazz Guitar Chord Melody System’ is a new system I created that teaching you how to play chords while improvising melodies with a small amount of tricks, so you don’t need to memorize thousands of chord shapes used in other chord melody concepts.
In addition I have a new video album coming out soon called ‘In a Very Unusual Manner.’ The theme for this album is to take dark creepy evil sounding classical guitar pieces, with the best audio, while shooting videos with a background to help create the atmosphere I was looking for. I have never tried an undertaking like this before and it was a great learning experience.
I also have some other things in the works. I have a guitar method book I have been working on for the last 10 years, and more online courses. I will have more info on these projects coming soon.
Who inspired you to get into music?
I have had so much inspiration in my life it is hard to say. My first inspiration was probably my dad, who used to take me to his jam sessions with his friends. At first I was really captivated by the drums but later found my way to the guitar. I have also had so much support and inspiration from family members, music teachers, and friends throughout my life. Later in life I found my teacher Eliot Fisk to be a constant source of inspiration as he continues to mentor me to this day.
When was the first time you recall thinking that you wanted to pursue music as your career?
I think we all knew since I was 6 years old that I was a musician. I was obsessed with playing drums as a kid. By the time I was done in elementary school I was already comfortable playing the drum set. When I was in junior high and high school, I was playing music and performing in a variety of bands. For college I was thinking about majoring in science which was another interest of mine but it just made more sense to major in music.
What is your favorite song you’ve ever released and why?
Danza in E minor by Jorge Morel of my album Guitar Night is my best track in my own eyes as well as in the eyes of my fans. I am not sure why that was the best track, I guess I was just in the zone. When I perform live these pieces are all equally good, but the day I recorded Guitar Night Danza in E minor ended up turning out to be the best.
Who are some of the artists currently inspiring you?
Tigran Hamasyan! He is a jazz piano player who mixes Indian Rhythms. He is truly on the cutting edge of music.
Any plans to start performing live as shows pick back up?
In 2019 I was performing a lot in restaurants and wineries. Now that things are opening up I am hoping to perform more concerts where I sell tickets. At the moment I have so much to focus on so I might be performing less, but the performances I will be doing will be at a higher quality.
What is your favorite song to perform?
That is hard to say because I have so much music I perform. I really do enjoy performing the music of Bach, especially the Chaconne in D minor. The Chaconne was a piece written by Bach for solo violin after the death of his wife. To me the Chaconne has all the emotions one could experience in life. Everything from the pure beauty and bliss of your greatest days falling in love, to the pain and sorrow of crying so hard it makes your whole body shake. The Chaconne is more than just a piece of music to me, it is a statement about the human condition.
What are you hoping to see in the music world as it continues to evolve?
I have some deep thoughts on how much music continues to evolve but I have thought little about what I hope to see in the evolution of music. In a way I hesitate to hope for specifics because considering the history of music we see time and time again an older generation rejecting and sometimes even mocking the styles of the newer generation. At the same time it is up to the artist to create the future so I will at least give you my two cents. I hope that rap will become respected for the art that it is.
I hope for big changes in music education. While music is evolving into more electronic music, the music education echo chamber hasn’t even caught up with classic rock music from 50 years ago. Then music education complains about funding cuts, and lower audience attendance. Perhaps it is time to break the mold because it completely falls apart of its own accord. I also hope to see the rebranding of classical music away from stuffy snobby elite music into music that is for everybody. ULTIMATE BEETHOVEN LASER LIGHT SHOW BROUGHT TO YOU BY COORS LITE!
Please let everyone know how they can keep up with you and your music!
All my links are available on my website bradraumusic.com. I am also available on Spotify, soundcloud, facebook, instagram, or anywhere you enjoy listening to music.
Thank you for your time!
Thank you!
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