3 Bands
Date: 7/14/2006Contact: Joan Barrett/800-690-0070
They don’t look alike, or have the same day jobs, but each of the three subjects of this interview has a deep understanding and respect for where the others are coming from. A love of music, and a desire to perform the music that is their passion, has been an on-going thread throughout their lives.
Brian Bertke is a General Adjuster with Sams & Associates by day and a committed musician on many a weekend with his current R&B and jazz band, the “Buzzztones”. http://www.buzzztones.com . Jack James runs Guardian Environmental, an Asbestos, Mold and Lead Remediation service, and records with the band Shameus http://www.shameus.com that plays rock tunes mostly written by Jack and his band mates. Bryan Harrison is a songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist with his self-titled band. When he isn’t managing the publication and production of this and other Association News Network newsletters and websites, he can be found behind the guitar with The Bryan Harrison Band. On the web at http://www.bryanharrison.net, Bryan’s site reflects one of his other interests; making photos tell the story.
Each of our subjects is remarkably diverse and multi-talented. All are vocalists who have written original music; Jack is an actor, songwriter and rhythm guitar player as well as business owner. Brian Bertke is a vocalist who also plays saxophone, flute and percussions and also tries his hand at writing, that is, when he isn’t adjusting losses for a large carrier client list. Bryan Harrison is a fine writer, photographer and webmaster in addition to his duties as primary frontman in his band – vocals and lead guitar. Each are devoted fathers whose offspring can rely on their dads to be there for them in spite of scheduling nightmares that performing invariably creates.
“People don’t realize what a sacrifice it is to be in a band”, Brian Bertke states mildly, without complaint. “They think it’s all fun and don’t have any idea about hauling equipment around, the time required to set up and break down the equipment and the freedom you give up on weekends to do other things.” “Not to mention how expensive all that equipment is,” Jack adds. Jack is planning to attend the National Association of Music Manufacturers in Los Angeles soon and may be thinking of all the high-tech music-making gadgetry he is going to be unable to live without….once he knows it exists. The technology has created a climate in which it is less expensive and easier to get a CD produced, they all agreed, while creating a must-have selection of tools with which to create and enhance the music.
Promoting a band is another aspect that people don’t often consider. As independent artists, these bands have no one else to handle publicity, booking, and all the aspects that go into getting one’s music heard. “I feel fortunate to have developed a lot of the skills necessary for making a band happen through the work I do,” Bryan Harrison tells us. Communication skills, graphic design and web site development, and business management all play a role in Bryan’s efforts, he states.
Brian Bertke has been singing since he was in the church choir in elementary school and has never stopped. He was singing soul music in clubs in Cincinnati and Kentucky at 15 years old and was dragged out of nightclubs by his father on more than one occasion. He left home at 17 and headed for Vermont where he went to school living in a ski resort and singing with the hotel band. He started playing guitar at this time and tried his hand playing solo and in duets and trios. Brian had wanderlust and over the next 15 years played in groups in Ohio, Kentucky and Orange County before ending up in Sacramento 18 years ago. “I loved to play music but I’m a pragmatist. I knew that I wasn’t going to make enough money to satisfy my tastes so music was always a lucrative hobby more than anything” said Brian “It was a way to save money”. Brian attended the University of Cincinnati, got his union card as a journeyman carpenter, worked as a superintendent for several builders including Richmond American, received his license as a general contractor and worked as an agent for Prudential before becoming an adjuster. Over the past 18 years he has played about every venue in town performing with “Black Cat Bone”, “Night Shade” , “Fourfront” and currently “Buzzztones”. Currently they are playing “a lot of parties and weddings” and appearing at the Coloma Club and The Beacon in Tahoe among other venues.
Jack loved the attention his singing brought him from the time he was five years old and is grateful and matter-of-fact about his gift of talent. His singing ranged from the school choir to a jazz choir and madrigals through elementary and high schools and when he was a junior in high school, he joined the local band Mass Confusion and played proms and weddings. He also left home at 17 to attend UC Davis and study engineering, but competing in the television Star Search contest changed direction for him and he moved to LA to compete in the huge music scene in Southern California. Once there he took a variety of paths related to his music. Jack performed with such musical titans as John Entwhistle of The Who; Jeff “Skunk” Baxter of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers; Zack Starkey; Mick Jagger; Eddie Money; Brett Michaels of Poison and many others. He wrote and performed commercial jingles for major corporations like Sony; Sunkist; Disney and RC Cola. At night he played the major clubs on the Sunset Strip and in the daytime, he did session work for publishing companies and record labels. He estimates the new Shameus CD will be ready in the spring.
Bryan Harrison was captivated, also at five years old, by the ‘B’ side of an early Beatles 45 record. “’I Wanna Hold Your Hand” was the hit,” he explains. “but, ‘Since I saw Her Standing There’ was the song that got me.” Bryan’s Southern California cousins, Jim and Mike Harrison, five and six years his elder, respectively, presented a driving influence for him growing up.
“My cousin Jim played guitar. Mike played bass – they still play in a band together, in fact. Jim was really my inspiration growing up,” Bryan says. “When I had the good fortune of hearing their band playing a Cream song in their garage, I was floored. If there had been any doubts, I knew then that I wanted to do that!”
He learned to play guitar in eighth grade guitar class, before playing in a number of bands over the years. “Good guitarists, I’ve heard it said, are ‘a dime a dozen’,” Bryan says. “Match that with skilled songwriting, I’ve figured, and maybe you’d have something worthwhile,” he says.
Bryan won an online songwriting contest a few years ago that afforded him some studio time as the prize. He later played in a band that had the good fortune of playing before some 10,000 people at the High Sierra Music Festival.
Each of these guys talk of the great relationships they enjoy, with bandmates, and their respective communities of music-related friends. “When you get right down to it,” Bryan Harrison summarizes, “it’s ostensibly all about the music, but the relationships that come out of it are like the glue that holds it all together, making all the effort so worthwhile.”
In the end, these three men are living life on their terms, balancing the best aspects of all they have to give and share, and demonstrating what it truly means to live your dream.