This is Randy Gabbard writing from Nashville. So who is this guy and why should we care? Well, I write the Brother Rock comic strip, that Michael is nice enough to show in the Artistic Echoes publications. And that is a great segue into Happy Birthday Artistic Echoes, 5 years and going strong. How cool is that? In the way of taking part in the celebration, Michael had asked if I might write up a short explanation of who I am, who Brother Rock is, where he came from, and what might be going on with the whole BroRock troop in the near future.
I’m a beat up old Rocker, who after being all over the place, at least State-side and Canada, never got the chance to play the UK or Europe. Was in bands too numerous to mention, and none that anyone would have heard. While travelling around playing, I got the hang of repairing gear, mostly due to necessity and lack of funds. But I and my family, my wife Mel and two sons, eventually landed in Nashville. Where I make a living fixing broke stuff for the Stars, literally. And still trying to make music that somebody, somewhere might want to hear.
That brings us to Brother Rock. That was/is the name of the last band I put together. In putting out the debut CD, we came up with the idea of a rocker in a monk suit, with Chucks, shades, and a Strat. Brother Rock was born. The bands Avatar outlived the actual band, although the “Project” lives on putting out music as time and money will allow. But that’s another story.
A person who at one point was helping me with songwriting, Mark Cawley, said,” in the current state of music, somebody like you needs to try to find alternate ways to reach people”. Writing stories is kind of second nature to a songwriter, so stories about Brother Rock, William, Bosco, the dog, and the Duck family weren’t a real stretch. What I didn’t know is that, this “foot in the door” would become a labor of love. I absolutely adore all of the BroRock characters, and there are dozens that haven’t even made an appearance yet. We haven’t even introduced the band yet, and you can, as musicians and artists, just imagine the great stories that would make possible.
And that leads us into the future of the comic strip, the band, and me. The comic strip is going through a bit of a change up right now, the Artist who was drawing the strip, Guy Gilchrist, has moved on to other projects. But there are several great cartoonists that are interested in doing the strip. Now we’re just seeing who is the best fit. I had no idea that each person has their own favorite style of doing things. So that will help decide how the Brother Rock comic strip will be moving into the future.
BroRock, the project/band, has new management, Rick Perry, and label, WROX records. Anyone in the industry now, knows that doesn’t mean Holy Crap changes in how things happen. We’re still Indie, and putting out music as we can, with the new label making the most of each release.
And I will still be trying to fix broke stuff and snorting solder. We are working toward a set of short videos, about repair and making things. Like, “this is how you build a guitar cord that stays together, doesn’t buzz, and actually works”. Just common sense stuff that every player or crew type person would find helpful. No wizard’s magic, but cool stuff. Maybe we’ll save the wizard’s magic for the next run.
So there is a little insight into the “Marvelous” world of Brother Rock, the multi-faceted empire. Now the kicker in all of this. I was soooooo tickled when Michael became interested in the Brother Rock comic strip, because I had been watching the Artistic Echoes grow on the net. The strip was doing OK, in some places and non-existent in others. To have him offer us a doorway into Artistic Echoes and the UK, and beyond, was very exciting to everyone at BroRock. We thank him and you the readers from the bottom of our hearts for the opportunity. So keep checking out Artistic Echoes in all of it’s forms, and that way you get an eye on Brother Rock as well. Here’s hoping that 2019 Rocks hard for everyone………………..Randy.
