By: Rick Landers
Brian Tarquin
A number of words come to mind when reviewing the prolific work of guitarist, Brian Tarquin. Among them are: engineer-producer, author, and composer, but more come to mind like: entrepreneur, collaborator and three-time Emmy awardee. Roll them up together, be assured his success reflects attention to details, a high degree of business acumen and strategic self-discipline.
Tarquin’s recent album, Beyond the Warrior’s Eyes, is a quite brilliant instrumental grouping that leverages those musicians talents, as well as their own willingness to support such an outstanding cause.
And what’s even more impressive is Brian’s altruism, given his support and contributions to veterans’ causes, and the music projects he’s driven to completion with his fellow collaborators, who include some of the world’s first flight musicians: Jean Luc Ponty, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford (Miles Davis), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Dean Brown (David Sanborn), Hal Lindes (Dire Straits), Chris Poland (Megadeth), John Tropea (Billy Cobham), Steve Kindler (Jeff Beck), Carl Verheyen (Supertramp) and Larry McCray (John Mayall), the late Phil Naro, and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.
Brian’s biography is substantive and impressive with Top 10 radio hits where his music has been featured on RPM Charts, Smooth Jazz, NACC Loud Rock & MJ’s RPM charts. And, his music has found its way into a long list of cinematic credits, including: Godzilla, The Watcher, Desert Heat, The Sender, National Lampoon’s Repli-Kate and more. His television credits include hit shows, including: CSI, Ellen, 600 minutes, Sex and the City, 20 20, SNL, Seinfeld, Cheers, Good Morning America…it’s a long eclectic mix.
His many awards include winning three Emmy’s for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition fore a Drama Series” and was in the running having been nominated for an additional six Emmy nominations. He’s also been the nominated for two Jose Music Awards for “Musician of the Year (Guitar)” and Music Producer of the Year, in 2022 and 2023. There are more nominations, awards and other highlights where Brian’s achievements have been recognized, and noted in his biographical sketch at his website.
Tarquin’s appeared on 50 releases, has 38 million streams on Pandora, Spotify and Apple: selling over 140,000 records in his career. And his 2023 album, Brothers in Arms, topped the metal radio charts, with hitting the #7 spot of the NACC Loud rock charts and #1 on the Metal Contraband charts.
His albums Orlando in Heaven and Band of Brothers showcased the likes of some of the most masterful musicians on the planet, including: Larry Coryell, Mike Stern, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Trey Gunn, Gary Joey, Jeff Scott Soto and many more. And, notably, Brothers in Arms, features songs inspired by the contributions by the men and women of our Armed Forces who have defended and fought four their country.
BHP MUSIC/GUITAR TRAX RECORDS is Brian’s boutique record label that specializes in instrumental guitar music, and is home-based in Jungle Room, a professional recording studio he built in New York’s Catskill mountains.
You can catch Brian’s interviews of some of the world’s finest musicians on NPR’S radio show, Guitar Trax on WFIT 89.5, where his show is streamed from 10 p.m. to Midnight. As well, you’ll brighten your day by checking out his Youtube channel: HERE.
Guitar International is honored to present to its readers, one of the smartest, most talented and hardest working musicians we’ve had the pleasure to interview.
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Rick Landers: Your instrumental outing, Beyond the Warrior’s Eyes, is quite an endeavor, not only based on the impressive list of contributors, but considering the logistics of pulling the project together. What inspired you to conceive the project and what kinds of decisions along the way did you find most challenging?
Brian Tarquin: I have always had a special spot in my heart for military veterans. I feel they have always been forgotten in our world and taken for granted.
I remember seeing homeless Vietnam veterans living in the subway and streets of New York City where I grew up in the ’70s. It was a disgraceful site because at that time no one seemed to care about veterans. So, I wanted to draw as much attention as I could to veterans’ needs and what better way than through music.
Brian Tarquin
My father was a World War II veteran serving in the South Pacific from 1943-1946 along with millions of other soldiers. He told many stories of his comaraderie with his fellow marines and how they all looked forward to the GI Bill. So, in college back in the ’80s I joined the ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) for a while, serving a short stint in the military and doing basic training at Fort Knox. Even though I didn’t stay in the service, I always had a deep respect for the men and woman who serve.
Of course, there is the logistical issue of aligning everyone’s schedule for recording their parts. But, doing it virtually helps because they can record their parts on their own time. The pandemic really put everyone at home with time on their hands, so it worked out for this project.
In fact, for the song “A Soldier’s Journey” I hired the Budapest Orchestra to record the string parts live in Europe. This was an elaborate process by getting proper orchestra charts and making sure all of the instruments are orchestrated correctly. Once they were recorded in Budapest, I had to fly all of the instruments into the final session and mix. It took some doing but I am extremely pleased with the final outcome.
Rick: How were you introduced to the fine work of the Hope for Warriors support group and have you experience in or with the military?
Brian Tarquin: I think that some of issues today facing veterans are issues that have always plagued them as post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and health issues.
Homelessness is one of the end results of some of these issues and is heartbreaking, because these men and woman have put their lives on the line to keep us all safe at home.
I thought that Hope For The Warriors had a very good network for helping veterans and their families. They provide comprehensive support programs for service members, veterans, and military families that are focused on transition, health and wellness, peer engagement, and connections to community resources.
Rick: With three decades as a session player, had you participated in any other kinds of “giving back” to support others in need, or have you had a long association with Hope for Warriors?
Brian Tarquin: I have three ‘Heavy Friends’ releases, Guitars For Wounded Warriors, Guitars For Veterans & Brothers In Arms. The whole series was created to honor our service men and women and of course veterans. For these releases the charity I used was the Fisher House Foundation.
I also produced a release called “Vegas Blue” dedicated to the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Hotel shooting on October 1st, 2017. This was the site of a tragic and, all too familiar, occurrence involving a deadly mass shooting at the hands of a deranged gunman.
What began that evening as a peaceful and celebratory country music concert ended in bullet-riddled chaos and carnage for countless patrons and innocent bystanders. The album is dedicated to helping the families and survivors of this horrific mass shooting. And, in doing so, may also shine the spotlight on the need for sensible, responsible and humane gun laws and safety.
Rick: What was the process involved in getting your friends involved developing the album and making it a reality? Were you able to work together in your studio or did you send them basic tracks or charts and they added their parts from afar?
Brian Tarquin: I started the project before the pandemic, doing a lot of pre-production like composing and recording basic tracks. Then during the lock down of 2020-21 I was speaking with a lot of the guests and going full bore on recording and production.
I love collaborating with other guitarists on special projects for helpful causes. I’m always trying to outdo myself with composing, and guests on my records. All of the guest guitarists are seasoned instrumentalists as well, which makes it a perfect fit.
So, I wanted to create an instrumental studio version of benefit projects like ARMS Charity Concerts envisioned by Ronnie Lane for multiple sclerosis and Hear ‘n Aid by Dio, for famine relief in Africa. Except Brothers In Arms is a veterans’ relief project.
Brian Tarquin
For years I have had an NPR radio show called, Guitar Trax, on WFIT 89.5FM in Florida where I have interviewed many of the guitarists on the album, which helped to build a musical rapport between us. I have spoken to Jean Luc Ponty in detail a couple of times in the past for the show and we hit it off, so I asked him if he would be willing to guest on a track for the new album.
I wanted to compose something special for him and for the album to give the listener a real treat. So, as I was composing “Beyond the Warrior’s Eyes”. I wanted to paint a feeling not only of great aggression, but also a scene of desperation and dramatic emotions. Sure enough, Jean Luc really liked the track and within few weeks he sent me back the final solo you hear in the song.
At the time, I was living up in Woodstock, New York, isolated away from the chaos of the pandemic. So, since everyone was on lockdown the guests did their parts remotely.
Rick: Have you had any thoughts to get some of your friends together for a charity concert or even a tour to “push” your albums?
Brian Tarquin: Yes, it would be nice in a perfect world, however, it would really be impossible logistically, unfortunately.
Rick: Since you initially got into the business as a session guitarist, what was it like in the beginning for you and how has session work changed since you started?
Brian Tarquin: So, I’m a music composer, recording artist and producer. Yes, it’s a completely different music industry now! I think what changed was a culmination of different ingredients that transpired in the past 20 plus years.
For one thing the record industry underwent a huge crash with the end of physical stores when Tower Records closed in 2006, not to mention the initiation of Internet sales and streaming. Also, the way music is recorded, produced and consumed has changed. It’s a whole new world from when I started.
Rick: I understand you recorded with analog gear, then migrated the music to digital processing. What led you to that, rather than just going all digital?
Brian Tarquin: I really think that analog sounds rich and vibrant. But to take advantage of technology, I use both analog and digital to record, the best of both worlds. I have a very unique mobile recording studio called Jungle Room Studios housed in a 28-foot custom made trailer. It was designed in Southern California equipped with two separate rooms, a live room and a control room.
Brian Tarquin
The studio features a modified 1986 British Trident 24 recording console, an Otari MTR 90 2” Analog Tape Machine, an Ampex 440c 1/4” two track analog tape machine, and a variety of classic outboard gear such as, the Neve Compressor 33609, Rupert Neve Designs Portico II Master Buss Processor, Neve 1074, Chandler ltd Germanium Compressor, and a host of other gear.
I would use the following microphones to record the amps, some in a live room and some in the amp booth. Beyerdynamics M160 Ribbon, Royer R101, SE Voodoo VR-1, Sennheisser 609, Electro Voice RE20 Cardioid Dynamic, Sennheiser MD-421, SE Z5600a II Tube Microphone, SE RT1-Ribbon Tube Microphone, AKG D112 Large Diaphragm Microphone. However, one of my favorites has always been the Beyerdynamics M160 Ribbon for amps, for its clarity and durability. I have blown many a ribbon putting it front of a Marshall cabinet.
At the center of the studio is a modified 1986 Trident 24 Series 28 channel 24 bus w/TT patch bay with a custom made GMPS 18 Power Supply. I have all of the outboard gear hard wired into the Trident’s patch bay.
So, for guitars I used the BAE 1073 Mic Pre with 1084 EQ section for the microphones and then patched directly into the Otari MTR 90 – 24 track 2″ Analog Tape Machine.
Sometimes I would use the Trident’s built-in preamps as well, depending on the track. I would not compress going to tape, but during mix-down I used the Rupert Neve 5043 Duo Compressor/Limiter on the rhythm guitar tracks and melodies. Another favorite compressor is Chris Yetter’s Audio Scape 76A Compressor & Audio Scape 6386 EDITION V-COMP MU.
Here is a Tape Op article describing the process. HERE
Rick: Thank you. So, what got you interested in playing guitar and how did that turn into a career? Did you incrementally move into it as a career, or have you had a “day job” too?
Brian Tarquin: Growing up in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s there was a plethora of great guitarists to choose from and guitar music was king! I started out being really influenced by the British Invasion guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, and then moved on to Jimi Hendrix. “Third Stone From The Sun” was unreal and really spoke to me, because I was immediately attracted to instrumental guitar music. I always loved Jimmy Page’s tone and solo in the middle of “Hearbreaker”, it was the “Eruption” of the day.
When Jeff Beck came out with his fusion solo albums Blow By Blow, Wired & There and Back I knew that was my path in life. But when I heard Jeff Beck Live with the Jan Hammer Group, that was one of the best moments. Jeff’s tone on that album is the best I have ever heard him.
Live songs like “Freeway Jam”, “Blue Wind” and “Full Moon Boogie” are trail blazing performances by Jeff. In fact, I recently had the honor working with the violinist on that album, Steve Kindler, for an upcoming release. Steve was originally in The Mahavishnu Orchestra and is on “Visions of the Emerald Beyond,” later replacing Jean Luc Ponty in the band.
Another big influence was Van Halen exploding onto the scene with that first album. Man, I still remember first hearing VH I and thought it was unreal, how he got that massive tone and his chops were mind blowing. I spent my teenage years trying to emulate all those incredible Van Halen tones and licks.
I also remember hearing one of those acetate records in Guitar Player magazine of Steve Vai’s “Attitude Song” & “Blue Powder” for the first time, which was another moment of greatness with all of those fantastic harmonies and dive bombs. Of course, Joe Satriani showed me how to make rock instrumental music accessible to the masses. Surfing with the Alien, what great album! That really influenced me, laying out a road map of being creative and popular.
I have been extremely fortunate and successful and have never had that dreaded day job! [Laughs] Over 30 years of joy in the music industry!
Brian Tarquin
Rick: How about telling us about your guitars and other instruments you play? For acoustics, do you have any favorites or are you drawn to certain wood combinations?
Brian Tarquin: Guitar wise, I used my 2020 Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop with Triple Burstbucker pickups, 2020 EVH Striped Series Shark Burgundy, 2020 Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster Signature with Seymour Duncan Hendrix Signature Pickups, 2019 Fender Jeff Beck Signature Strat, 1997 Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop, 1978 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop Deluxe, 1983 Kramer Baretta super Strat, 1999 Guild Acoustic DCE 1 guitar with L.R. Baggs Dual Source Microphone pick-ups, 1998 Ovation Celebrity 12 string and an SG I hand made over the pandemic out of a mahogany wood block. I installed a Whole Lotta pick up in the bridge position and a Pearly Gates in the neck position. It sounds fantastic, conjuring up those classic Jimmy Page tones on the track “Hounds of Hell”. As for basses I used a 1989 Yamaha Attitude, 2020 Custom Rickenbacker 4003 Bass and a 2012 Ibanez 8 String RGA8.
I used real tube guitar amplifiers on the recording of this album, no “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” amp simulator plug-ins. For example, a 1969 Fender Super Reverb, Marshall Plexi Head with Mark Cameron Modified High Gain, 1984 Marshall JCM800 2×12 combo, 1979 Mesa Boogie Mark IIb 1×12 combo, Rivera Quiana Studio 1×12 combo, Fender Prosonic head, EVH 5150 III head, 1985 Mesa Boogie Mark III head and a Mesa Boogie SOB head.
I have an amp switcher that enables me to switch between any given amp head to any given speaker enclosure, in a custom-made isolation booth I built in the studio. The booth contains a 1975 Marshall 4 x 12″ cabinet with vintage Celestion 30’s, 2014 Orange 2×12 cabinet with Vintage 30’s and an Ampeg MICRO-CL Bass Stack.
As for pedals, I used a Dunlop Univibe, Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah, Snarling Dogs Mold Spore Wah, Morley Classic Wah, Dunlop Talkbox, Tech 21 YYZ Geddy Lee Signature SansAmp, Keeley Ibanez Tube Screamer TS 808, EVH MXR Phase 90, DigiTech Whammy Pedal.
Rick Landers: Given the revenue splits of music sales platforms, many musicians are focusing on getting their music in the sync world, where bucks can be lucrative. How did you break into that end of the business?
Brian Tarquin: One of my first jobs in the music industry, was being an assistant engineer at a fast-paced jingle house on 5th Avenue in New York City. This is where I discovered the whole career of being a commercial composer for film and television. Through the jingle house I met a production company who was getting into the music production business.
At the time I had a number of guitar instrumental songs already mixed on a DAT. I suppose the timing was right because they had a relationship with a music producer at the CBS 1992 Olympics. So, the next thing I knew my music was on the Olympics. I moved to L.A., started to compose more songs for their library and low and behold I turn on the TV one day and hear my song as promo for the huge hit show Beverly Hills 90210, starring Shannen Doherty. It was a real kick at the time because I used to party with her and other celebrities at On the Rocks, above The Roxy Theatre on Sunset.
I had a number of contemporary jazz radio hits as a solo artist in ’90s, I found that I was being hired as a composer by various production companies. They wanted to bring me into the fold because my production was at a higher level than the usual people they were using. It really just started to snowball, and I began composing for various Film and TV shows directly. You have to remember that the sync world was a wide-open place 30 years ago and most people didn’t know it existed.
Brian Tarquin
Early in my career I worked at record companies in radio promotions, finance, business affairs and learned the business inside out. I was hungry for knowledge on how to make money from being a recording artist and composer. So, I understand cross-collateralized royalties, recoupment and reserves being held.
I always thought if you are going to be an artist in this industry you should be required to work in it for at least a year before you sign any kind of deal. That way you are well informed to any decision you make regarding signed agreements. I even wrote a couple of books on the topic, Insider’s Guide To Music Licensing, (Allworth Press) and Survival Guide For Music Composers, (Hal Leonard).
The whole reason I wrote them is I found most music business books were written by lawyers and are written very pretentiously. So, I wanted to write one in plain simple English terms for the average musician.
Rick: There’s a lot of diversity in music around the world from India, Mali, and other places with music that’s infiltrated Western Music. Have you studied other cultures music and worked its way into your own work?
Brian Tarquin: I have an experimental rock-electronica project called, Asphalt Jungle, where I have incorporated Indian female vocals and rhythms. Very interesting musical culture.
Rick: Have you had opportunities to work with some of your own guitar heroes, not necessarily your contemporaries, but those that you admired when you were growing up? If so, what were some of the most enjoyable or interesting aspects of that, and did you learn anything from them?
Brian Tarquin: I have been very fortunate to work with a lot of my guitar heroes through the years like Steve Morse, Billy Sheehan, Eric Johnson, Larry Coryell, Frank Gambale, but I have to say it was a real gas to work with Joe Satriani, as he is one of my big influences. He certainly paved the way for fusion guitar instrumentals. I have an NPR radio show called Guitar Trax on WFIT 89.5FM in Florida. I interviewed Joe a couple of times in the past for the show and we hit it off, so I asked him if he would be willing to guest on a track for “Brothers in Arms”.
Though one of my favorite sessions was with the “Godfather of Fusion” himself, Larry Coryell. He was such a great human being as well as guitarist and I learned a lot from my time with him in the studio. He was a true pioneer of instrumental guitar fusion music before Jeff Beck and Joe Satriani. Larry was the first to play jazz guitar through a Marshall cabinet and incorporate rock with jazz. His stories were fantastic which intrigued me while he was telling them.
For instance, he told me when he first came to New York City in the ’60s he was going up a 6-floor hippie walkup in the village and he saw this book called You Are All Sanpaku, written by George Ohsawa. Sanpaku is a Japanese term meaning “three whites” referring to eyes in which either the white space above or below the iris is revealed. The theory being when the “sclera,” the white part of the eye, is visible beneath the iris, it represents physical imbalance in the body. Usually claimed to be present in people who have addictions to alcohol, drugs, or people who over-consume sugar or grain.
In short according to Ohsawa, Sanpaku is a sign from nature, that one’s life is threatened by an early and tragic end. He claimed that the only cure would be by a macrobiotic diet emphasizing brown rice and soybeans. In fact, one of Larry’s last albums was called, Barefoot Man: Sanpaku (2016), on which he does a remake of a Charles Mingus song “Manteca”. Fantastic album and I urge everyone to listen to it!
Rick: Tell us about your studio and if it’s strictly private or open for projects of other musicians? And, when a musician hires you to help produce music, what can they do to optimize their time and your time while the clock ticks, to try to avoid wasting their time and your time?
Brian Tarquin: Sorry, it’s not a commercial for rent studio and I really don’t produce any outside artists. Strictly used for my releases and projects I compose for TV and Film.
I have a publishing deal with Sonoton/APM Music, owned by Sony and Universal musi, for worldwide distribution of my catalog for TV/Film and media placement. The catalog is called 1st Choice Music containing over 30 CDS under the large German music company Sonoton. It comprises the commercial releases from my label imprint BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records distributed by Dashgo/Downtown Music, as well.
Rick: This might be a “trades secret” kind of question, so not answering is understandable. I understand Kris Kristofferson landed a helicopter on Johnny Cash’s lawn to get his attention, have you used any creative tactics to help open the door of any decision makers and, if so, were you successful?
Brian Tarquin: Never heard that one. Nope, I let my music do the talking and it’s worked for me!
Rick: I’d imagine you have a lot of project ideas that you haven’t had the time or opportunities to make happen. Any that you can talk about without letting the cat out of the bag too much?
Brian Tarquin: Continue to release albums and work with great musicians!
Rick: Well Brian, having checked out your very impressive and prolific amount of work and experiences, there’s no way to capture it all in a single interview, but have you given much thought about writing an autobiography?
Brian Tarquin: I’ve written a total of seven published books through the years and I have interjected much of my music experience in them.
BRIAN TARQUIN’S BOOKS ON AMAZON!
Rick: Any more upcoming releases or projects that you’d like to mention that we should look out for?
Brian Tarquin: I think we have covered all of them, thank you for your time.
BONUS VIDEO
