Fred De Brum – Artist Profile
Fred de Brum with GK Messerschmitt
Fred “The Shred” De Brum hails from Lisbon in Portugal and is another of those underground players that are gigging, touring and playing up a storm whilst hovering just under the horizon of international recognition – a position which looks likely to change in the near future.
On asking him how he got started Fred was quickly to the point:
I started playing the piano at age 7 and switched to the electric guitar at 16 after seeing Zakk Wylde – it was that “fuck it all – this is want I want to do” vibe. I spent 6 moths saving up without allowing myself to buy anything superfluous – not even an Espresso! – so I could buy my first guitar, which I still own to this day. I was gigging a year after I first picked up the guitar and I managed to play with some Portuguese big names, before being invited for session work in Italy.
It is common for me to do workshops and gear demos from music stores to fully fledged music dealer fairs (people must dig the whole pyrotechnics, I suppose)
Other than recording and touring for people your quite likely to have never heard of given how Portuguese bands don’t make it to international status that often, I did get to jam with Nuno Bettencourt and Paul Gilbert, and Doug Aldrich’s opinion about me was quite flattering indeed, and a nice confidence boost regarding whether people “get” what I’m trying to pull off.
A long-term veteran of the scene, part-time tutor, part-time IT Technician and full-time shredder Fred’s playing incorporates a variety of styles and techniques whilst having an old-school recognition of the part a guitarist plays in a band situation. Although possessing formidable technique he’s not afraid to sit back and play emotively and at times he brings to mind such luminaries as Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth. As a point in case the solo in “The Darkest Room” incorporates a variety of moden techniques played with an ear to their harmonic potential, rather than for the sake of producing notes – which isn’t to say that the sweep picking is any less frenetic, or the tapping passages any less slippery, just a fine example of “Chops in Context”. In contrast “A Little Ballad” reveals some classic blues-rock stylings mixing his speed with a gutsy shoot-from-the-hip approach which is distinctly euro-rock.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have an eye to the future – incorporating technological advancements, extended range instruments such as the Gary Kramer Messerschmitt and an ever-increasing array of influences into his playing gives Fred a huge pallet to add to any project he undertakes and 2010 looks to be the year where the World notices his potential….and what did Doug Aldrich have to say?
“Hi Fred…man you got some serious chops dude!
You have a lot of differnt mixes in your playing. I guess that is
from doing sessions and stuff. I heard everything from
Schenker to Beach! “
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http://www.myspace.com/fredtheshredbrum
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