The Cylons Are Coming...

Sorry about the lack of updates folks, I’ve been super busy with touring, recording and bringing up a newborn baby!

The artwork for our new single by Mutartis Boswell

Due to current events, Greyum and I have decided to move forward our Keepers Brew first single release from our new album. 

Physical media will still be a while, however all pre-orders taken, will include a free digital download of our first new single in a while....'BATTLESTAR SCIATICA'

Artwork by Mutartis Boswell and a b-side remix of ‘Toad Licker’ by Adam Goodlet/Re:Creation and KB’s very own Greyum May!

Here's the links to pay as much (or as little) as you like for a digital copy and a super reasonable price for the physical release 🙂

Digital: https://keepersbrew.bandcamp.com/…/battlestar-sciatica-digi…

Physical CD: 
https://keepersbrew.bandcamp.com/…/battlestar-sciatica-cd-p…

Stay safe out there peeps!

Euro Adventures, Cavern's And The Return Of The Pirate Guitarist!

I had an excellent time in Belgium and Amsterdam with Keepers Brew. Two very different but equally enjoyable shows in an old church and at the Q-Factory with my fretless brethren. So good to finally some of my fellow fretless devotees and hear their approach to playing this unique instrument.

Live shot from Holy Space, Lokeren, Belgium.

Then the following weekend was a trip to Liverpool to play at the home of The Beatles, The Cavern Club. It certainly is something special to play their songs in the venue they are famous for.

Finally the new Dlugokecki single “X10” is out now, with yours truly as the pirate guitarist. Watch the video to find out more!

Next up is Anthropos Festival with Keepers Brew, shows with The Mo Woods Band then a mini UK tour with KB before heading back into the studio.

Where We're Going We Don't Need Frets...

Here's an article in the dutch version of Guitarist magazine, Gitarist, featuring yours truly. Really looking forward to the Dutch Fretless Guitar Festival - 8th Edition next month.

Here's a link to the article (click here) and for those of you who cant speak dutch it says:

"On Saturday 11 May the festival will be closed by Keepers Brew with the fretless guitarist Stu Brewer. This group is difficult to describe. Call it dark jazz, or perhaps electronic, industrial psychedelic music."

Love the fact that they cant describe us either! Thanks Emiel for doing the interview and if you’re in Amsterdam on May 11th come and see the fretless fun!

Frakenhand And The Guitar Show

Frakenhand!

Well, aren’t I an idiot! While trimming some sticky residue off the back of one of my pedals I slipped and sliced open my hand with a Stanley knife. A trip to hospital and 7 stitches later all is back together again although I’m off guitar for at least a week to give it chance to heal.

Seriously though if I had gone any deeper or the cut been horizontal that could’ve been the end of my guitar playing career. Also I was lucky that the blade was sharp leaving a nice clean straight cut. Fingers crossed everything knits together well and I’ll be back playing in no time!

Also it gives me an awesome name for a solo album/song - “Frakenhand”.

To cure/compound my guitar playing woes I’ll be off to the Guitar Show this coming weekend. Pop by the Vigier/HTD booth and say hi if you’re there and make sure you catch the amazing Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal in action. Ron has been one of my main influences so I cant wait to see him up close on his Doublefoot guitar.

New Year, New Music And A Gig In Your Living Room

January has only just hit us and there’s already lots of things to look forward to.

Tomorrow (Sunday 13th) Keepers Brew has the first in a series of streaming concerts beamed direct to your homes. If its cold outside, you don’t want to get dressed but crave some live music have a watch in your dressing gown and let me know what you think. It starts at 9pm on the Keepers Brew facebook page so set yourself a reminder.

Also on the 19th, Dlugokecki release their next single “Lightyears” with yours truly on guitar. I managed to squeeze some fretless onto this slice of pop, see if you’re earholes can spot it when it’s released.

To Support the single release we’ll be doing a series of dates in February, starting with a gig at The Stage Door in Southampton on the 1st.

Happy new year and let me know about your musical adventures in 2019!

Year Of The Wolf (Or Should That Be Wulf?)

Where did 2018 go! It flew by in a whirlwind of concerts, sessions, teaching and music adventures of all kinds. I’ve had tons of gigs with Keepers Brew, Paramore Or Less, Dlugokecki and The Mo Woods Band across the length and breadth of the country and have been busy writing and playing on lots of new releases. That’s not to mention all my amazing students achieving awesome musical things this past 12 months.

In gear news I’ve loving my two new axes, my Vigier Surfreter and Excalibur Custom Rock Art and went all ethnic but adding to the world instrument collection and buying a bouzouki while in Greece.

However my best creation of the year has to be my son Beowulf aka Wulf, born on December 20th. With his sisters Wyn and Will I’m expecting an awesome power trio, I’d call them WWW.

2019 is shaping up to absolutely huge. I’ve already got gigs booked in Amsterdam, New York, Czech Republic and across the UK. Also have some tasty masterclasses and clinics lined up so keep posted for those.

There will be new album releases from Keepers Brew and Dlugokecki plus if I can get my arse in gear perhaps a solo/trio release from yours truly.

I’ll be offering HD lessons via Skype in the new year. Come for a chat about the industry, gear, advance your guitar playing or talk about your struggles in music and your mental wellbeing and I’ll distill my wisdom and help you progress in 2019.

Happy new year everyone!

Spring's Sonic Shenanigans

Howdy Sonic Adventurers! Thought it was time for a quick update from Studio Brewdio land.

Firstly NAMM was insane. So intense but with some great gear and players on show. Looking forward to going back next year. Thanks for the Vigier peeps for having me and for having my ugly mug on a poster! My two custom Vigier's are still in production, Patrice Vigier doesn't rush his builds and all the better for it and with a bit of luck they should be ready by June.

Keeping on the gear front I'm happy to say I am now an Origin Effects endorsee! I absolutely love their compressors and their newly released Revival drive look like the Swiss army knife of overdriven guitar tones. Cant wait to get my hands on one. Watch this space for reviews and video demo's over the next few weeks.

I've also had a big pedalboard change, swapping to a Temple pedalboard (love the modular design) and added some more Fuzzrocious goodness (Blast Furnace and my custom Feed Me/Grey Stache mashup) and my all time favourite envelope filter, an Emma Discumbobulator v2.

Playing wise its full steam ahead for Keepers Brew duo shows with me neck deep in rehearsals along with plenty of Paramore (Or Less) shows. Also recording of the new Dlugokecki album is nearing completion with live dates imminent. Finally even more session and dep work starting with some funky Mowtown goodness from the Mo Woods Band next week.

My teaching schedule is rammed. My student rock bands bossed it at this terms gigs, I'm really going to miss them when the head off to ACM. Their next gig is Rock The Rooms at the Wedgewood Rooms in June.

I have a couple of Studio Brewdio t-shirts left so message me if you want one and keep checking back for more musical mischief!

It's almost NAMM time!

I'm very happy to be playing a few Keepers Brew inspired sets at the upcoming NAMM Show in Anaheim next week with the awesome Vigier Guitars Vigier - France on booth 5641.

I'll also be dropping by the amazing pedal people at Fuzzrocious to pick up my custom top secret fuzz pedal!

If you're at the show come by, have a listen and say hi! I'll also film it along with other NAMM news for all you gearheadz and guitar nerds!

From Tatooine Til Dawn...

Have you ever wondered what if the cantina Luke and Obi Wan walked into in Mos Eisley was the bar from From Dusk Til Dawn?

Well you have now...

Thank you everyone for making 2017 such an great year musically.

2018 is already jam packed with musical adventures, gear delights and gigs far and wide! A big thank you must go out to Keepers Brew and Greyum, Ben, Vigier Patrice and all the awesome people at Vigier Guitars and Vigier - France and Ryan and Fuzzrocious Pedals, see you next year!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from myself and everyone involved with Studio Brewdio, especially Sebastiane and the 2 younglings.

Xmas wouldn't be complete without the most festive of things, Star Wars! Enjoy...

Keepers Brew Kick Off The Festive Season

Had an excellent evening of psychedelic music last night with Keepers Brew, accompanied by Nodens Ictus at the 1865 in Southampton. It was great to finally use my Vigier in battle and the show went really well (apart from my ebow taking a stage dive and severing the cables halfway through!).

Next up in the festive season is Paramore Or Less next Saturday at the Talking Heads followed by my awesome student bands playing in Portsmouth.

Then to cap it all off there's a certain Star Wars film coming out that I could be a little bit excited for!

Happy holidays everyone!

Doesn't Time Fly!

What an absolutely hectic few months! I've finished off UK tours, ended the teaching year with an amazing gig from my student bands and been on a lovely holiday to France.

I've got one more festival to play next weekend and then its back to work with a new years teaching, Keepers Brew tour dates on the horizon and some tasty session work in the pipeline so watch this space!

New Paramore and The Tour Continues...

What an insanely hectic few weeks! The gigs in London and Liverpool were fantastic in lovely venues with very appreciative crowds. It was also great to spend some time wandering around Liverpool, seeing the sites and soaking in the musical atmosphere along with a heavy dose of vinyl shopping!

Next up this weekend is a big trek playing in Birmingham and Glasgow. Its going to be a long drive but its always fun playing new places. I've never been to Glasgow so it will be nice to check out somewhere new.

While we've been on tour, Paramore have released their new album "After Laughter" and its certainly divided opinion. Straying wildly from their rock pop punk origins to a more 80's synth pop sound it really is a marmite moment. It's personally grown on me since I first heard it and any new album that has tons of chorused guitar on is ok in my book. We debuted the first single from the album, "Hard Times", at the last few gigs, beating the actual group in playing it live. It's had a great reception from the crowd and I'm sure we'll be adding more new ones to the set as soon as we can.

Anyway, I need to pack for the weekends gigging frivolities, see you on the road!

RIP Chris Cornell...

What a sad loss to the music world today and an untimely reminder of fragile mental health in all its shapes and forms and in all walks of life.

I grew up with the music of Soundgarden, covering their music in college bands and in awe of the technicality they brought to the music table at a time when it wasn't cool to be clever in rock composition. Chris's vocals and song writing chops were always out of this world and Superunknown has always been in my top 10 rock albums of all time. Its with great irony that I bought it only last week on vinyl while touring in Liverpool. Needless to say it has received heavy rotation today.

Rest in peace Mr Cornell, you will be sorely missed. Now can somebody please look after Eddie Vedder!

Off To Sunny Folkestone and A Rare Find In Glastonbury

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you're all full of chocolate already.

The first gig of the tour at the Engine Rooms in Southampton was a corker this past Friday. Nice big crowd and a lovely venue with good sound, especially considering it looks like an aircraft hanger when you get inside.

Next up is Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. A huge venue (1500 capacity!) overlooking the sea and having hosted bands such as the Rolling Stones, Motörhead and Judas Priest it should be a good one.

I'll post some pictures and videos from the gigs as soon as I have them. I've had a lot of request for a rig run through video so if I get a chance at soundcheck later I'll do one.

Finally I had a bit of a rare find in Glastonbury last week. We were having a mooch around the shops while on a mini holiday when amongst the shops selling mystical paraphernalia I spotted an old antique store. Never one to pass on a rummage we had a look inside.

The first thing I was drawn to was a crate of old records. Amongst the dodgy compilations I spied a copy of The Beatles "Rubber Soul" which looked original and was in pretty good condition. At only £10 it seemed stupid not to buy it.

It was only when I got home that I found out that I had bought the rare "loud cut" of the album. When “Rubber Soul” was initially mixed it was slightly different to how we hear it today. These early mixes only ever appeared in mono and are distinguished by the matrix numbers XEX 579-1 / XEX 580-1 in the deadwax (see pic). It’s argued that these early presses were unbalanced with a muddy bass and with an edgy, aggressive vocal sound. Since these copies seemed to lack body the decision was made to halt production whilst the mother platess were re-cut.

Currently there are copies of it going on eBay for £150 so I think I grabbed a bit of a bargain!

Tour Starts Today and Pedalboard Of Doom Is Done (for now...)

So after months of preparation and working on our dance moves the Paramore Or Less UK tour starts today with a 10 minute drive up the road to the Engine Rooms in Southampton. Then on Sunday we're off to Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. Then after playing Cardiff and Leamington Spa the weekend after next it's on to play O2 academy venues across the country, going as far north as Glasgow with stops in Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham and London on the way.

We'll be do lots of videos of life on the road and I'll be doing some gear reviews of some bits of my rig to see how they stand up to the rigours of touring so stay tuned.

Speaking of gear I finally finished the Pedalboard Of Doom® (patent pending) ready to use on the upcoming dates. I've added a TC Electronics Subnup for some low and high octave sounds, a Boss FS-5L foot switch for quick access to my AX8 tuner and a DS Engineering Chronograph, which is essentially a pedalboard clock and timer that can be seen easily onstage, perfect for those pesky tight set times. I've never been so excited about a digital clock in my life!

Oh and I added orange LED lights round the edge as you can never have enough lights.

See you on the road!

New Keepers Brew Album Out (With A Smidge Of Yours Truly)

Yay, not only is it sunny and the Easter holidays are upon us but the new Keepers Brew album, "Constellation Automation", is out!

The pseudonym of Greyum May and his merry band of cohorts, KB has served up a slice of psychedelic ear candy to tickle your aural senses whether you're under the influence or not.

I had the pleasure of playing on the track "Playing Cards" so listen out for my riffing and shredding but I also love the albums title track (with guitars from Ed Wynne of Ozric Tentacles fame) and "We Are Whole" with some great guitar from Jake Puntis.

Im really looking forward to playing with Mr G and the rest of the crew later in the year so keep your eyes and ears peeled for any Keepers Brew live dates.

You can go grab the album at https://keepersbrew.bandcamp.com/album/constellation-automation for the small fee of £7 or the whole back catalogue for a smidge over a tenner, bargain!

Smashing it at Music For Youth and Manic Week!

Another week, another great performance from my senior rock band! We performed at the Music For Youth regional festival in Southampton and they performed brilliantly. Their feedback from the music mentors was really positive and they even coped with awful sound and mass microphone malfunction. 

Now we must wait to see if we get through to the national final in Birmingham but whatever happens I'm proud of these guys, they're the favourite part of my job!

Next week is absolutely rammed. It starts with the hub's songbook launch concert at the Portsmouth Guildhall that I wrote two songs for, followed by my Nan's funeral on Tuesday, my junior rock bands concert on Thursday and finally a Paramore Or Less gig in High Wycombe on Saturday. I love my musical life but its knackering, roll on easter break!

Another Great Gig From My Students And Putting Music Into Perspective.

Doesn't time fly, its been an age since my last post and my music life only gets more hectic from here on in what with the Paramore Or Less UK Tour, Keepers Brew album release and rumblings in the land of Dlugokecki.

First of all though my student rock band knocked it out of the park at last nights Soundsational at Portsmouth Guildhall. I know I've said it before put it is so rewarding helping young adults on their musical journey and doing shows like last night is the favourite part of my job. Our next show is next Wednesday at the Music For Youth regional finals in Southampton where if we do well we'll be off to the national festival in Birmingham so everybody keep your fingers crossed.

On a more sombre note I lost my Nanny last week. While it wasn't a shock as she'd lived an amazingly long and fulfilled life it was still heartbreaking, especially seeing my Grandad loose his wife of 72 years.

I had lots of lovely messages from friends, students and parents but one stood out from the parents of one of my younger rock band students. It simply said "Somethings are more important than music" and while music is my main focus in life, sometimes it just has to take a back seat.

First PoL Gig Of The Year and Getting Older...

Morning Music Maestro's! Today I'm off to sunny Rotherham for the first Paramore Or Less gig of the year in preparation for our O2 tour in a couple of months.

We're stepping things up a notch this year so have been frantically beavering away getting backing tracks sorted, click tracks sync'd, sounds finalised and dance moves choreographed ready for all our upcoming shows so tonight will be the first acid test to see if it all works, fingers crossed!

Finally, I think I'm showing my age. We have a long drive up to northern England and then a full hour and a half set to do and we don't go on stage until midnight!

10 years ago I would be as fit as a flea, bouncing off the walls and eager to get started. Now the past few years of being a Dad and work means I've gotten used to being in bed by 10pm to get my beauty sleep and up at 6am for the school run. Seeing midnight tonight will be a novelty and the early hours a revelation. I'm stocked up on Red Bulls though so BRING IT ON!

News Update From Studio Brewdio Land!

Hello Pop Pickers! Things have been pretty hectic in Studio Brewdio land recently what with the new term's teaching, recording sessions and tour preparation but I'm planning on putting a load of new updates up over the weekend.

I'll be adding not one, not two but three albums of the week, recording some demo's of two new pedals, the awesome Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe compressor and the Xotic Robotalk 2 envelope filter and writing a piece on using a Fractal AX8 as the heart of a modular pedal board so stay tuned!

Also in other exciting news Paramore Or Less tour rehearsals start tomorrow after spending the last week preparing our backing and click tracks for the big stages and I've recorded my parts for the latest Keepers Brew release that should be out very soon.