Brian Henke profile picture

Brian Henke

Brian Henke - Guitarist

About Me

Brian Henke composes and performs his music like a painter putting images on canvas, drawing his inspiration from the world around him. An avid hiker, he often brings his guitar along to create a spontaneous response to his outdoor settings. Mother Earth, (Terra) as artist has given an immense living gallery from the humbling spectacle of her natural wonders to the simple, beauty of a treetop against a blue sky. Her majestic legacy and the magical feeling of awe and peace inspire the compositions of this award winning virtuosic fingerstyle guitarist.------------Brian's five solo CDs, "Many Waters", "Love Song for Terra", "Force of Nature", "The Nature of Light" (RJ Lannons Top 10 for 2006) and the most recent release "Tree of Life" are a cornucopia of sonic vistas, he celebrates the seasons, a Grand Canyon sunset, the fireside magic of an American Shaman, playful waterfalls, the color of the wind and the light of dreams to name a few. His live DVD, "Live at Cuyahoga Community College" gives listeners and viewers a chance to enjoy a front seat in an intimate concert setting with a half hour interview afterwards giving the viewer a deeper understanding of where his music comes from.------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------His session work with NAMMY Award winning Native American Flutist Douglas Blue Feather on the CDs "Time for Truth" and "Heal the Earth" has led to the recent collaberation with Douglas Blue Feather and multi instrumentalist Douglas Allen Dunlap (Duglus Alun) on the CD "A Crown of Stars"which charted at 9 on the international New Age radio chart at www.newagereporter.com for June 2007.------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------The founder and promoter of "The Woodchoppers Ball" annual benefit concert for The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, currently held every December at The Kent Stage www.kentstage.org, he has also co-produced with engineer and owner of Dark Tree Studio Jay Bentoff, a double CD called "The Woodchoppers Ball" featuring 26 of the best and most award winning acoustic guitarists in the world. Some of the players on this CD who are also past and future performers at The Woodchoppers Ball concert include, Pete Huttlinger, Todd Hallawell, Stephen Bennett, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Doug Smith, Alex Bevan, Antoine DuFour, Patrick Woods, Michael Kelsey, Jim Earp, Kev, John Doan, David Mayfield Neil Jacobs, Jim Volk, David Gillis, Jason Dennie, Robin Kessinger, Acoustica, Bill Dutcher, Jon Mosey, Ryan Anderson, Kerry Kean and Woodchoppers Ball MC, Charley Brown.----------------------------------------------------Be sides acoustic guitar greats like Laurence Juber, Dan Crary, Beppe Gambetta, Alex DeGrassi, Pete Huttlinger, Stephen Bennett and countless others, Brian has shared the stage or opened for artists as varied as Christine Lavin, Ritchie Havens, Yes, The Kingston Trio, Allison Brown, Adrian Belew, Yngvie Malmsteen, Steve Morse, Robin and Linda Williams, Spyro Gyra, and Linda Ronstadt.--------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------His unique guitar style has been called everything from Folk to New Age to Neo-Classical to Pastoral or as Brian likes to call it "a big stew pot of everything, stirred up and served to taste." His music appeals to anyone who likes their music lyrical, thought provoking and performed with virtuosity. Through it all is an undercurrent of spirituality and mysticism that Brian says is very much a part of the creative process. Because of this he has recieved radio airplay on shows as diverse as WKSU's "Folk Alley" and John Dilberto's "Echoes" all over the world. His music has also been used for the background music for several plays and he is currently working on the soundtrack for the upcoming independent documentary film "To Be Healed By the Earth".--------------------------------------------A winner of many acoustic end electric guitar awards, he has also been a finalist in the prestigious National Fingerstyle Contest in Winfield Kansas, the national Guitarmageddon regional finals in Boston (twice) and his fourth solo CD" The Nature of Light" was in RJ Lannon of New Age Reporter's Top 10 for 2006.---------"To call Brian Henke amazing is an understatement"-Sage Satori, Northcoast Voice Magazine---------------------------------------------------- ---------------"Brian's fretwork is masterful, elaborate and he makes every note count...His compostions are harmonious, sometimes complicated, but always engaging...Brian Henke's music is organic, mesmerizing and best of all magic."-RJ Lannon, New Age Reporter 3/31/06----------------------------------------------------- -"Brian Henke's music displays both amazing technique and a wonderful sense of calm."-Pete Huttlinger (National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion)------------------Brian endorses Larriviee' guitars, Liam Harp Guitars and Sperzal tuning keys.------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------His CDs can be purchased online at www.cdbaby.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/30/2007
Band Website: brianhenkeguitar.com CDs at cdbaby.com
Band Members: Brian Henke
Influences: The Universe
Sounds Like: Brian Henke
Record Label: Divine Wind Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Frequently asked question: To overdub or not to overdub

Hi Everyone,    A question I am frequently asked is whether or not I use overdubs on my solo recordings. The answer is no I don't.    The work I did on "A Crown of Stars" with Blu...
Posted by Brian Henke on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:14:00 PST

Brians Birthday is 3/12

First of all I'd like to thank all of you who have wished me a happy birthday. It's really great to have people think enough of me to send me their wishes for a great day. The only problem is that my ...
Posted by Brian Henke on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 07:43:00 PST

The Dreamcaster Harp Guitar

Hi  Everyone,   I'm writing this blog to answer questions about "The Dreamcaster" harp guitar and the Larrivee 6 string I used on the recordings I have up on my site.  "The Dreamcaster ...
Posted by Brian Henke on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:42:00 PST

The Woodchoppers Ball 2007

Hi Everybody,    Two nights ago I played the final "Wizards of Acoustic Guitar" show for this year at the amazingly beautiful Akron Civic Theater in Akron Ohio with two incredible guita...
Posted by Brian Henke on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:00:00 PST

Finally on Myspace music!!

Hi Everyone,     It's finally here! My Myspace Music site. I will hopefully soon have video from concerts I've done as well as the music and a link from my regular web site. As soo...
Posted by Brian Henke on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 01:15:00 PST