The Guitar Player's Resource
St. Louis guitarist Rob Garland loaded two tunes onto a demo CD-R and submitted them to the Undiscovered. Both tracks were written in January of 2007 and were recorded one-man band style on a Boss BR1180CD. The tunes incorporate Garland's various influences, including Larry Carlton, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Jeff Beck, Mike Landau, Steve Lukather, Robben Ford and Jaco Pastorius among others. Both demo tracks are instrumentals, the first, "In The Moment" being the slightly funkier, lighter and jazzier (more George Benson-like) of the two. The second track, "Dark Places" opens with simple handclap percussion, before exploring jazz/fusion and rock territory with an improvised liquid solo that perfectly compliments the funk rhythms. He's got lots more demos on his web page, so stop by if you like what you hear.
Rob was born in Kent, England in 1973 and grew up around music. His earliest memories include listening to his Grandfather play violin and being fascinated by the sound of Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli records. Rob began playing the guitar at age 14. After playing in several bands comprised of school friends, he joined an original funk/pop band, Dead Happy, whose debut CD entitled, "A Field Of Flowers", was released in 1994. They made a subsequent EP two years later. In 1999, Rob recorded his first solo CD, "Sway". Rob later moved to the USA playing for a year with funk/soul band, Mind Over Soul and then formed his own blues/jazz trio, The Blue Monks. The Monks released two original CDs, 2001's self-titled disc and "When It's All Said & Done", released in 2003. In 2006 Rob decided to disband The Blue Monks and concentrate on other projects. He is currently performing with The Oday Project and The Richard Fuller Quartet, as well as playing sessions. After teaching guitar for 10 years, Rob's first instructional book, "Jazz For The Blues Guitarist" will be published soon by Cherry Lane Music.
Garland's main goal is to continue to grow as a musician, as he spends every free moment studying and playing the guitar. He one day hopes to be signed to a label tat will encourage his development as a musician. Garland is also writing new material for an upcoming original CD, and continues to teach guitar.
Rob Garland
United States
Web site: www.robgarlandmusic.com