Reprinted from Folkwax Magazine – March 2004 – Toronto singer/guitarist Brian Gladstone is a fingerpicking guitar master, a colourful storyteller and an intuitive performer. His debut CD, Back To The Dirt, is an all-acoustic offering on which he plays all the instruments. Wolf Hassel, formerly of multi-platinum Canadian Pop act Frozen Ghost, who wrote the album's liner notes, calls Brian's songs "new, unique and quite out of the ordinary…a tapestry of feelings, emotions and collective memories."
Brian's songs have received airplay on stations throughout the United States, U.K., Europe, Australia and strong support in Canada. Self-described as "an analogue guy trapped in a digital world," Brian made a point of not using electric instruments on Back To The Dirt. In fact, so committed was he to this ethic, when producer/engineer Robert Digioia plugged in the bass for a track, Brian went so far as to yank out the chord.
In all the years Brian had been playing guitar (since he was 14 years old) he had never given a thought to releasing a CD until his son beat him to it. Until then, Brian had been content picking up the instrument and immersing himself in it for several hours a day. Inspired by artists such as Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot, Brian has always written songs, but other priorities directed his life's path. He is actually a magnetics engineer by trade, like his hero scientist Nicola Tesla, the only figure who appears to be making eye contact on the artwork of Back To The Dirt.
Gladstone's most recent album, called Psychedelic Pholk Psongs, was released in September 2001.
Gladstone, Brian
