A Bit about Me

Col Bernau

I'm a guitarist/performer/music teacher, playing a variety of styles in a wide range of situations. I've worked with many well known artists, ranging from Australian acts like Jade Hurley, Daryl Braithwaite, Simon Gallagher, Jackie Love and Normie Rowe in the cabaret and rock fields and Ricky May and Erroll Buddle in the jazz field, to international stars such as Al Martino and Thelma Houston, plus supported a broad variety of international and national artists, varying from B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Leo Sayer, the Pointer Sisters and Hot Chocolate to Renee Geyer, Split Enz , John Paul Young and Jon English.

I completed my Diploma of Music (Jazz Studies) in 1988, and now teach music at Marist College Canberra, conducting a jazz band and an electric guitar ensemble, probably the only one of its type in Australia (I wonder why? - six adolescent electic guitarists, bass and drums!! Not running currently in 2003, but may surface again in the future, once I get new earplugs!!)

Recently, (December '95), one of the bands I play in, BIG CITY, was invited to play at the Australian New Year's Eve Ball in Beijing, China. We stayed at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel, spent some days touring around the sights, and had one great gig on New Year's Eve. Hence the Beijing links. BIG CITY, a nine piece showband, specialises in corporate functions, while also operating as a four or five piece band called LOST AT SEA for smaller gigs.

I'm currently (2003) playing in a couple of enterprises with performer Diane Mason and her husband Col Gerarda (on bass - in fact an ex student!) in a three piece combo called Shilo and a 5 piece showband named Mumbo Jumbo. Di's an energetic and versatile performer who includes Elvis, Bette Midler, Tom Jones and Marilyn Monroe impersonations into her show.(Never a dull moment!!)

Earlier in the year, I played in Canberra Philharmonics extremely successful procuction of the musical "Chicago", playing tenor banjo, ukulele and mandolin. Then I worked as principal mandolin in the Austalian Ballet's production of Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet". Whoa! That was a bit of a headspin!! Previously, with "Chicago" in 2003 and in 1985, when I last performed in the show, Iwas able to get away with tuning the mandolin like a guitar, and as long as I could handle the picked tremolo, all was cool.... "Romeo and Juliet", however, needs real mando tuning, so in two and a half weeks, I had to relearn fingerings, reading etc (a bit like learning to play standing on your head!! :)). Luckily it worked out OK.

This did lead me to a new interest in mandolin, however, and a bunch of us have now got together and formed the Canberra Mandolin Orchestra, which started in 2003. I've since moved on from there and formed COZMO (Capital of Australia Mandolinata Inc.)

MIDI

I started with MIDI around 1986, using a 520ST and Hybrid ARTs EZTrack, and Dr. T's KCS. These days, I use Notator SL and Logic to produce band scores and to perform live. Touch wood, the ST's have never yet cause a problem onstage. For sounds, I use a Roland CM500, Yamaha TX81Z, an Ensoniq ESQ-M, a Yamaha TX7, a Roland MT32, with a Kawai K4 acting as a mother keyboard and providing lovely ethereal noises as well. I'm not a great keyboard player, so I also use a Casio MIDI guitar. If anyone has the second model, with the built in VZ synth, that they want to get rid of, let me know.

Want to See My Setup?

Here's my setup - this is photos of where I work at home, and teach (photos slightly out of date, but it's still as messy):

AUDIO

For Audio, I use Emagic Logic Audio Platinum, which to me seems about the best of the crop, though not cheap. I use a 40 gig Western digital drive for audio, and a Creamware LunaII audio card. For me, quite an effective combination.

GUITAR

I started off wearing out Cream and Hendrix records, while learning jazz standards in the styles of Joe Pass, Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel (still working on them, too!), while also playing Grand Funk, McKenna Mendeleson Mainline, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull (learnt flute for a while after that) etc. Had a band playing Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears, Tower of Power and Rastus (who?)

Moved on through funk stuff - Average White Band, Crusaders, etc., and found John McLaughlin and Mahavishnu - That really turned my head around!!! Then Chick Corea, Larry Coryell, Flora Purim, and the rest of the seventies jazz/rock/latin/fusion stuff.

Since then, I've been playing everything except full-on classical, as well as arranging heaps of MIDI stuff, either for performance, or scoring for ensembles.

Like most guitarists, I'm into guitars, but haven't enough money to indulge myself too much - computers cost money too! :)

Want to see my guitars?

Want to See My Guitars?

1999 - I've also just finished my first CD, of jazz guitar, in time for Christmas 1998 - it's called "First Take". I learnt a lot about digital audio, recording, mixing, etc., in the process. For details, click the CD!

First Take

E-Mail:colbee1@optusnet.com.au

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