BREV SULLIVAN
by Cindy Starr

jamming right along

Brev Sullivan is undeniably not just an incredibly talented guitarist; he is also a rapidly rising star. In January 2012, an expose on Brev was run in “Guitar Player” and this summer, he was featured in “Rock of Ages”, jamming right alongside Tom Cruise. Always interested in music, he studied with Jazz legend, Joe Diorio of California's GIT and debuted publically at 17 years old when his father, Jazz musician Ira Sullivan invited him up on stage with Joe Diorio at the Pennsylvania Jazz Festival.

Brev is somewhat of a South Florida band hero, a member of 3 local bands and soon to be a fourth. Not a week or weekend goes by that he is not shredding away at a popular local watering hole with one of his bands. In his spare time, Brev is actively involved in the School of Rock program mentoring and inspiring students to learn and achieve their dreams through the gift of music. We recently had an opportunity to interview a busy Brev about his perpetual passion for penning pieces of music and his continuously evolving creative process.

CS:  At what age did you first become interested in music? Tell us a little about your start in the music business. BS: Age 6. I played piano and wrote my first song at 5-6 yrs old. I performed it at a recital for my elementary school. After that, I started playing trumpet and eventually guitar.I performed with my high school jazz band, marching band and occasionally with my father’s band Ira Sullivan through high school as well through college. CS:  Do you write your own songs? If yes, tell us a little about your creative process. BS: Yes, I write music like a composer writes music for a movie soundtrack. When a composer is asked to write a score, it's no picnic because they have to come up with a soundtrack that wows the film audience in a short amount of time. A song idea should be spontaneous, and usually the first idea and initial wave of inspiration is the best. After the initial idea is recorded, then it can be tweaked from there. At times I'll be somewhere and hear a tune and it will inspire me to write my own song. When I'm out and about and I'm feeling creative, I grab my iphone and record a scratch vocal or sing the melody into the recorder on the phone. CS: What are your songs about? BS: I write mostly instrumentals.  But lately I've been writing more tunes with vocals as well. In my tunes I like the listener to feel like they have taken a trip forward or backward in time. As long as the listener feels like they've taken a voyage somewhere else, that's a good song in my opinion. When I do write lyrics, I like to write about happy experiences or courage and strength. CS: Who are some of your musical influences? BS: ALL MUSIC!! My top 3 are John Williams (The composer) Joe Diorio (GIT) and my father Ira Sullivan.

CS: What does ‘being creative’ mean to you? BS: Being creative to me simply means your best ideas are popping out of your brain. It could be art, a wonderful drawing, or composing a piece of music that you alone are proud of.   CS: How would you describe your type of music to people?   BS: Guitar oriented melodic rock, metal, blues-rock and some jazz. CS: What image does your music convey? BS: Hopefully a positive image. I'm not necessarily trying to pick a certain concrete image. That's for the listener to decide what they picture.  I would hope that the listener feels empowered or enlightened to be creative themselves after hearing my music. CS:  What kind of music or what particular artists/bands do you like to listen to? BS: I've never limited what I listen too. I started off with Classical, movie soundtracks, then jazz. Lately I listen to as many different guitarists as I can.

CS: If you could share the stage with any musical artist, living or deceased, who would it be and why? BS: Any great metal vocalist like DORO Pesch, or David Coverdale, the Late Guitarist Danny Gatton and also Guitarist Scotty Anderson. CS: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? BS: PLAYING MUSIC!!!! Seriously, I don't have a 5 year plan but I do know that I'm motivated to always want to learn and improve and time is essential to practicing. CS: What is your main fan demographic (young, metal, etc…) BS:  It's safe to say; anyone who is not scared of a guitar solo in a song!! A lost art these days! Actually I would say all ages. I play so many styles of music. Students from age 14 to folks in their 50's and beyond seem to enjoy guitar oriented music especially when one incorporates beauty into the music. When it comes to the live shows around town lately I would say everyone from 35 -50 shows up. CS: Have you recorded any music? Have you sold any CD’s? BS: Yes with a band. I have a CD out now on itunes, Amazon, CD baby etc. with FOF (Featured on Fridays) called 5 Minutes 'Till Stage.  (2010 release) It features all styles of guitar. Metal, rock, country chicken pickin' and fusion. I also appear on several tracks with the group ‘Fractured Dimension’ on the CD “Towards the Mysterium” .One track I play on also features Ron Jarzombeck (Spastic Ink) I have also recorded music used for sporting and fitness events on the ESPN network. CS: How do you think the Internet and/or social networking have helped your career? BS:  It's certainly has helped. Much of the networking I've done with bands has been through the internet. CS: You are currently in 3 bands -would you like to briefly discuss your experiences with them? BS: I'M in 4 actually (THE 4th TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON)!

• FOF (Featured on Fridays): This is a trio that's been around the longest. (Since 2007) That band is pure creativity.  We try to capture that inspiration to just "go for it' drawing from the right side of the brain as taught to me by my teacher Joe Diorio. Many people listening don't realize we're making up songs on the spot. Except unlike jam bands that thrash out a 20 min song over 2 chords, we try to compose a listenable tune on the spot that includes the audience and leave them feeling enlightened.
  
  
• SKINTRADE: A totally unique blend of eclectic and modern rock. This is a terrific group of very strong personalities and superior musicianship. It's been a rewarding experience performing with them and I do more singing with that group than any other.
  
  
• LAZY BONEZ: I grew up listening to Arena Rock 80's metal and while other folks might think this is a put on or an act, it's not. We (the band) take it very seriously. It's never been another gig for us ever. It's only fair to say this type of music inspired me to pick up the guitar. I was more of a Rush Van Halen, Rhandy Rhoads fan though and never listened to Ratt or Poison but we play that stuff and it brings a lot of smiles.

CS: How do you think the bands that you have been involved in recently have helped advance your career?
BS:  The current lineup of bands I'm part of has helped establish a local presence here in South Florida. Previously I had to travel to the west coast, do small clinics, and market my music to other areas where there rock fans. However there also wasn't an interest in live bands before either as much as there presently.

CS: What is your main motivation in focusing on your career development as an artist?
BS: While I'm presently enjoying performing in several groups, I still treat the art of guitar like a physician attending university postgraduate school. This means studying styles of guitar beyond what playing in-group can offer. There will always be methods of playing guitar that require years of study like classical, finger picking, flamenco that I'm working on that will take years to learn. Also to improve, a musician must perform with as many other great musicians as possible.

CS: If you had to describe what you love most about what you do in one sentence or word, what would it be?
BS:  I love performing music and playing guitar because the sound of music never fails to bring a smile to people’s faces.