Brian Gladstone, along with his five siblings, inherited musical talent from the family patriarch. Growing up, the Gladstone kids all played well together – literally – and music wafted through the air at the Gladstone abode in Toronto.
And they’re still playing together, as they did in the 1960s and ’70s. “We have the best jam sessions of our lives when we all get together,” says Gladstone, a singer-songwriter and guitarist in the roots tradition. “We’ve never played publicly together, but whenever we get together, somebody always pulls out a guitar.
“Every one of us, except my brother Bill (a CJN entertainment writer), has albums out, but he’s actually the best musician of all of us, but he chooses to channel his art form through his words and not music.”
Gladstone, 57, does cross paths with his siblings – he recently played at the same festival in Toronto’s Distillery District with his brother, Howard; and his sister, Bonnie, lent her voice to his CD, Psychedelic Pholk Psongs.
Gladstone’s adult sons, Jeremy and Michael, and his daughter, Lindsey, all inherited the musical gene. The eldest, Jeremy, is the only one, though, who went into the family business – he’s in the rock band Zygote.
Gladstone, who is a self-taught musician, has four albums out. The latest is A Time for New Beginnings, available at www.briangladstone.ca. All his CDs are acoustic.
He says his music has been influenced by everything he likes. Most of his radio play comes from country stations, although he doesn’t consider himself a country artist. His vocal stylings have been compared to Bob Dylan’s.
“I was weaned on Dylan, like everybody of my generation. He’s one of the best lyricists… that is a compliment,” he says.
For 25 years, Gladstone worked as a research engineer – making his mark in the high-end audio industry. Two and a half years ago, he walked away from that world to pursue music full time.
“I have a lot more responsibilities dealing with my life and making ends meet, but I think it is a worthwhile trade because I have the freedom for me to set my agenda of what works for me around what I need to write, when I need to tour and when I need to nurture my creative spirit,” he says.
When he’s not on tour this summer, he’s heading to the East Coast, where he plans to write songs for his new CD. Recording begins this fall. He writes his songs simultaneously, as opposed to starting one and finishing another, he says. It works for him, with all the songs coming together in the end to create a coherence to an album.
“I try to write for all peoples,” says Gladstone. “I think if you are Jewish, or whatever your persuasion is, the messages are the same for everybody. I’m not a very religious person, but my parents were very good at making me understand our heritage, our culture and how our people have been persecuted since the beginning of time.
“I feel very proud to come from a bloodline that has fought and become stronger. I don’t think it is reflected specifically in the lyrics, but it is reflected in the fact that the strongest of our culture has survived, and I feel very happy that I can be part of it.”
Gladstone is very much into giving back, to his community and to the next generation of musicians.
He founded a non-profit organization called the Association of Artists for a Better World. It sponsors a number of projects, including the Concert for Peace held annually at Mel Lastman Square, across the street from where Gladstone lives.
The sixth annual concert takes place on Aug. 18. As well as promoting the concert, Gladstone will perform that day. He describes the event as a free day of roots and world music with themes of peace.
