February 10, 2006

Resident rocker

Evergreen’s Brad Sweitzer brings together more than 30 years of rock
music experience in his first solo album, ‘Breaking the Awkward Silence’

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

Evergreen resident Brad Sweitzer just can’t shake the bug.

No, he’s not fighting a bad cold. Instead, it’s Sweitzer’s lifelong love of music that keeps the 48-year-old songwriter and musician coming back for more.

“It’s one of those things that, especially as you get into your 30s, you start saying, ‘shouldn’t I be working and having a family?’ Why is this thing staying with me?” Sweitzer said. “It’s just a passion. It’s something you feel passionate about. By the time I was in my late 30s, I knew it was never going to go away. It was always something that I was going to do as long as I could.”

Over the past couple of years, Sweitzer has been able to do something most people can’t – namely, taking a couple of years off from his work as an engineer to pursue his musical passion. The result of his hiatus from the daily grind of a 9-5 job is Sweitzer’s first solo album, a 12-song, roots rock effort that first debuted in May of 2005 titled “Breaking the Awkward Silence.”

Evergreen resident Brad Sweitzer’s solo album, “Breaking the Awkward Silence,” is a roots rock-based effort heavily influenced by his love of bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Beatles and The Guess Who. Sweitzer is currently working on a second album and is slated to begin recording later this year. Photo courtesy Brad Sweitzer

One catch – he played all the instruments and sang all the vocal tracks himself, recording track-by-track in his home studio.

“It’s harder to do it by yourself, but I’m always available when I need me,” Sweitzer said with a laugh. “So I don’t have to rely on other people since I play all the instruments.”

But while Sweitzer didn’t rely on others, he certainly relied on a flexible schedule to get the album done, considering his decision not to work as an engineer for a couple of years.

Sweitzer, a self-professed perfectionist, said it took a total of 15 to 16 months to finish his solo effort from start to finish, averaging one recorded song per month, while also taking a few months to create album cover concepts and having the record digitally mastered.

“When you go into a recording studio, you usually have a couple of tries to get it right, because the clock’s ticking,” Sweitzer said. “With this (his home studio), I have the freedom to take as much time as I want to get a song exactly right.”

But getting the album done was just the start.

“Getting the whole thing done, getting it to look good and sound good is really just the first step,” Sweitzer said. “The second half is sales and marketing. If it sits in boxes, they’ll be hanging them out at my funeral. Sales and marketing are the tough parts.”

To that end, Sweitzer has relied on some of his college contacts in the business to get radio play on a handful of college and classic rock radio stations in the Midwest.

“There’s no formula,” he said. “You keeping banging on people and you keep networking and keep hitting people to try and convince them to get you on the radio.”

As for album sales, Sweitzer said he diligently researched the best way to get his music out to the masses and found www.cdbaby.com, a Portland-based company that sells independent artists’ records online, as well as well-known artists such as Peter Frampton.

In addition, Sweitzer set up his own website, www.bradsweitzer.com, as another way to reach interested rock music lovers.

Getting the bug at an early age
Growing up in Michigan as a teenager, Sweitzer’s most prominent influences included Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beatles as well as Canada’s The Guess Who. Sweitzer first picked up the drums at age 10, before adding guitar to his musical resume at the age of 16.

“I was probably about 11 when I first heard ‘Suzie Q’ on the radio,” said Sweitzer. “I said, ‘I like the way that guy sounds.’ I just liked the sound. …John Fogerty was a huge influence on me.”

While attending college at Michigan State University, Sweitzer formed a country rock band called Four-Fifths, which received its share of local fame from local radio stations, as well as county faire and bar performances. It was during Sweitzer’s college days where he not only switched to focusing on guitar playing more, but also on his future, majoring in engineering as another option.

After graduating from MSU, Sweitzer hit the road for nearly two years looking to make his passion for music a reality by working as a session guitarist and singer for various acts in the Midwest. When things didn’t turn out the way he’d hoped, Sweitzer switched gears and sought a new beginning.

“You realize it’s really hard to survive, and hardly anyone makes it,” Sweitzer said with a chuckle. “So, that’s when I came to California and just pursued becoming an engineer in Silicon Valley.”

A resident of California since the age of 26, Sweitzer reasoned that he’s probably played in more than a dozen bands throughout his time as a musician. Sweitzer said he still played regularly with various outfits throughout his career as an engineer at Applied Materials, but found the need to give music his full attention at least once more.

“I really felt I needed to do this for my life to be complete,” Sweitzer said. “Otherwise, I’ll regret all my life never having taken the time to try to record at least two or maybe three CDs. …This is pursuing a life’s passion. You don’t get a lot of chances to do this.”

Sweitzer is currently working on his second solo effort, tentatively titled “Fictional Characters” and said he will begin recording some of his new creations later this year.

He also plans to perform live at various Arts & Wine Festivals throughout the greater Bay Area this coming summer.

For more information about Brad Sweitzer and his first solo project, “Breaking the Awkward Silence,” go to www.bradsweitzer.com.