We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Charlie Bruber. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Charlie below.

Charlie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

Lessons and time invested with people I look up to in our music community.

First and foremost, the music lessons I’ve had in my life and the mentorship that comes with it is most important for me. Being a lifelong learner keeps you humble, curious and vulnerable. These to me are important cornerstones of being an artist that is true to oneself. A good mentor keeps you focused on your path and helps you stay in the present moment. I’ve been fortunate to have many people in my life that I consider mentors. One of them was the late Greg Theisen who taught me jazz piano and theory lessons at MacPhail in Minneapolis. Greg’s presence in my life helped me through a difficult period of anxiety about my musicality and place in the music world. He helped me find a path that I continue to seek in my daily life.

Last year I released my first album as a singer-songwriter/vocalist. I began that project on a whim during the pandemic and sort of taught myself how to sing. The best investment for that project in the past year was getting a vocal teacher. She has opened my voice up to new spaces I never believed I could reach.

As for the recording studio, investing in time at other studios working with other more experienced engineers has also been pivotal. One person in particular, Jason McGlone who works at Hideaway Studios in Minneapolis has been a wealth of knowledge.

The point of this is to say, invest in yourself and the talents you wish to grow for yourself. Invest in your community and watch it grow.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Educational background: I began playing music when my mother signed me up at age 5 for Suzuki piano lessons
with a private teacher named Judy McGuire. Since middle school, I’ve had several teachers on the bass including Eric Fratzke from Happy Apple and Travis Schilling whom I still work with. I graduated with a bachelors in History and Music from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, MN where I had a focus in jazz theory under Dr. Bruce Thornton. I have been teaching myself fretboard theory and jazz stylings on the acoustic and electric guitar since graduating college as well.
I expanded my jazz compositions with jazz piano/theory lessons from Greg Theisen at MacPhail post college. I took lessons for about 3 years from Greg before he passed away in 2021. Greg was my mentor who opened up doors for me on what it means to have an artistic voice. His guidance has been at the forefront of this project and I have him to thank for arriving here on my path as a musician.

Compositional experience:
Before taking on this project, I have written charts for instrumental jazz combos and
worked in collaborative writing and recording environments with Black Market Brass, Tabah and another community oriented project called Charlie.Murphy. My first album, ‘Finding The Muse,’ was my first go at writing music by myself and for myself.

Performance experience:
I have been performing on upright/electric bass in the Twin Cities music scene for about
8 years with groups and artists such as Black Market Brass, Society of Chemists, Tabah, PaviElle French, Cole Pulice and Kevin Gastonguay. With these groups/artists I’ve had the chance to perform at some amazing venues. As a hired bassist with Davina & The Vagabonds, I had the opportunity to tour and play larger jazz festivals such as the Telluride Jazz Festival in Colorado and the Toronto & Ottawa Jazz Fests in Canada. Throughout these years, I’ve also pushed myself to be a part of the larger Twin Cities jazz/instrumental music scene. I continue the work of meeting and collaborating with more Minnesota and national artists through sharing stages and building/fostering the community at studio 8VB.

My goal for 8VB is to provide a modern working environment that holds true to the ‘old school.’ When an artist walks into 8VB, the idea is that they can escape the grind of the social media era and focus on their art and what speaks to them from within. I want everyone to feel that it is their space and it is safe for them to express their truth and creativity.

I am most proud of the community we are building and the excellence I see coming out my friends and colleagues. Seeing the community come to fruition is what I am most grateful for.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Right now I’d say a pillar for me is defining a sense of vernacular in my music and translating it into something new. I think of my influences, heritage and personal experience. I am seeking a way to articulate that in my music and way of life. It grounds me to take elements of the past and re-interpret them for the future. I listen to a lot of music (classical, blues, jazz, folk, ambient, pop). I used to say that my music was an amalgamation of what I’ve heard, digested, interpreted or collected as part of my record collection. Before I started writing my own music, it was simply a feeling or essence. As I continue to write/compose, little pieces of that essence seem to be breaking off and finding their own existence within the song.

I think for anyone, the more you can define your purpose in what you do, the deeper it’ll translate to an audience and to the world around you. It’s a lifelong, musical process that unfolds in small ways each day if you let it. To me , its all about taking the steps daily, following the waves/ups and downs and learning from every experience that comes your way.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being true to you and learning/relearning who you are on a daily basis. Falling in love with the process is most important and not focusing on the benchmarks you set for yourself along the way. I think it’s most important to let yourself go and flow through it all as best you can with multitudes of gratitude.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charliebrubermusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charliebruber/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_pwpq7JO1Rl7OIIh7vV39A
• Other: www.8vbrecording.com www.blackmarketbrass.com

Image Credits
Taylor Donskey