Brev Sullivan is a Miami – based guitarist. He plays with the rock band ” Featured on Fridays ” and with his father, jazz legend, Ira Sullivan. Vintage & Rare got the opportunity to talk to Brev about his music, gears, future plans and much more.

Hi Brev, thank you for taking your time to speak to us.

Could you please tell us a bit about how you got into playing music in the first place? Do you remember any specific moment that sparked your interest in music?

I was born into a musical family. My father had musical instruments all around the house so I was very young when I discovered music. I loved the piano at first and eventually I started learning trumpet and then guitar.

Why you initially got into the genre you’re currently playing? What musicians or bands inspired you in the beginning?

I listened to nothing but classical and jazz growing up. It wasn’t until my teens that I discovered rock and even then I was very choosy about what bands I listened to. When I heard Gary Moore and Guys like Van Halen that really sparked my interest and pushed me to practice strictly guitar. Currently I am writing in the style of 80′s arena rock. This music is about happy times and celebrates extreme guitar technique and requires all of the band members to be talented.

Do you like performing with your father – jazz legend Ira Sullivan?

Of course. While I’m known as a rock musician, my father always encouraged me to follow my own path and to play from the heart and to improvise. I grew up hearing him play with Joe Diorio, my guitar teacher. When they performed together I heard some of the most incredible music on the planet. That music was the ultimate guitar lesson for me.

Can you tell us about the gear your using, and why?

It is a combination of several amps. I use a Bogner Goldfinger 45 and the DV Mark triple 6. As far as pedals I don’t like a lot of pedals in the signal chain. The more pedals you have on stage the more they distract the artist from playing and performing. If I hit a pedal it’s gotta be an effect the whole arena hears when you hit it. Currently I plug my amps into a Yamaha UD stomp pedal for delays and pitch shifting (no longer manufactured) and several old world style pedals. A barracuda flanger, Psilocybe phaser and an old Thomas Organ Vox Crybaby. Circa 1970.

Can you please tell us about your collaboration with DV Mark?

My bassist Crystal Fawn has always used Markbass amps. When I discovered they make a whole line of guitar amps I had to try them out. They match up sonically to the best boutique tube amps out there and are pounds lighter than the normal heavy guitar amp. They also make extremely light weight cabs as well. I am currently using them to record tracks for my next solo cd.

Does the gear you play live differ from the gear you’re using in the studio?

No. When I record in the studio, I play live with a drummer and the tracks sound best when that energy is captured. Nothing else sounds like a cranked tube amp. You need the power amp section of a tube amp turned up to match the power of a brute rock drummer. When I have live shows I grab the same rig and take it to the gig. If I can’t have my rig and have to use generic back line, I take my trusty pedalboard with me. While I prefer amp distortion If I have to use a pedal I use the MI audio crunchbox. There are actually are a couple of great pedals on the market that come pretty close to the real Tamale. The Rockbox Boiling Point is great and I’ve also discovered recently Studio devil software. The other day I actually plugged my laptop with the Studio Devil virtual guitar amp straight into a Plexi 50 watt amp head and it sounded amazing.

Are there any special guitars, brand or a model, that fit your specific sound or genre better than others, and if so, why?

I’ve been using Vigier guitars as a solo artist for many years. The Vigier allows me to go from rock, to jazz, to chicken picken’ to shred. More recently though I’ve gone back to a simpler 80′s retro strat style guitar because I play 80′s Arena style rock with My group Lazy Bonez. I prefer an Alder or basswood body for tone, Floyd Rose trem and high output pickups. I see a trend with a lot of companies going back to this model.

How important do you find the gear to be, in relation to the sound you’ re trying to produce?

Extremely important. While the tone is actually in your hands, the right gear can help you can capture the vibe you are going for with your music. That does not mean you should go into debt trying to get gear! On the contrary. If you are going for a classic rock tone, grab a cheap strat and plug straight into a tube amp and record what comes out. You can always buy replacement parts and tweak a guitar to sound better. Back in the 60′s and 70′s, Strats off the wall of a guitar shop were imperfect and you had to fight to keep it in tune. You don’t need to pay out the nose for a vintage guitar to get that sound. I recently recorded a whole album on a $450 stock Gibson Sg special. It’s one of the best sounding guitars I’ve ever owned.

If you could choose 3 dream guitars for you – what would they be and why?

That list may have to be a bit longer but here’s a 3 guitar wish list: A classical nylon string guitar by Ruck (One of the finest guitars I’ve heard), Vigier Fretless Surfretter (I’ve always wanted to learn the style of fretless guitar) and Bob Benedetto ( The best jazz Archtop I’ve heard).

You appear in the upcoming summer 2012 Film Rock of Ages as a guitarist with Tom Cruise. What was that like?

I appear in several scenes in the fictional band Arsenal fronted by Tom Cruise who plays the character of lead singer / frontman Stacee Jaxx. It was a surreal experience to say the least being surrounded by Actors such as Alec Baldwin, and Paul Giamatti every day. Tom was extremely professional and really knocked it out of the park as a rock performer. I got to work with choreographer Mia Michaels and that really helped me with my stage presence. Being on the set everyday was just like preparing for a real tour. We were on an Aircraft carrier size stage with full size Marshall stacks circa 1980, used pointy guitars and old school pedals. One of the biggest scenes we filmed was Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’. Def Leppard was on tour at the time in town and they actually came down to the location we were filming at in to watch our rehearsal. It was epic!

Any famous last words?

Yes. I have never seen an instrument like the guitar that is so utterly fascinating to so many people. Right now is an amazing time in history. We all have phones that do everything, Ipads, electronic gizmos, and yet people everywhere are marveled by a simple, old world creation of wires and wood that has absolutely no micro chips inside. I personally know more people that own a guitar that can’t play it but wish they could. That’s also an amazing phenomenon. A guitar puts a smile on a grown man’s face and kids love the guitar. People also love the guitar and idea of being a rock star so much that they will buy a video game with a plastic guitar that makes them feel like a rock star, that’s powerful.

www.brevsullivan.com
www.myspace.com/brevsullivan

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