Brother Magnum

Hey there! I'm new to Gig Salad, but I've been performing all over the world for the past 35 years. As a recently retired corporate CEO, I know that my job is to provide top-notch entertainment and treat my clients like family. I take pride in being professional, light-hearted, and entertaining on and off the stage.

A show from Brother Magnum can be as relaxed or as lively as you want, with plenty of sing-alongs. I come fully equipped with top-quality sound gear and stage equipment, so you won't need to worry about a thing. I'm always ready to cater to your specific needs and provide theme performances if requested. Anyone can hire the latest thing, but with Brother Magnum, you're getting the real deal!

Brother Magnum is a high-firepower, genuine soul, R&B, and urban blues music for the modern age.

Last time out, with his album Feel Like A King, Brother Magnum produced a great mix of funk, old-school R&B, and straight electric blues, paying respect to all these styles without sounding retro or derivative, raves the Memphis-based music magazine Elmore. With Fire & Steel, Magnum's third album, he ups the caliber and broadens his aim with 13 new songs.

The set leaps out from the speakers from the first track, the simmering Stax/Volt style Damn Me that resonates with the spirit of Otis Redding resurrected for today. Soulfulness for the 21st Century brims in such numbers as the title track and Feel Good. Magnum follows the blues trail to the heyday of T-Bone Walker on His searing guitar highlights the funky blues workout of Love Me Woman and his tribute to the people who we can't forget that keep everything rolling on Working Mans Blues. One hears echoes of his hero Sly Stone on Im Tired Of You, and he rocks out the blues with fury and finesse on Don't Make A Fool Out Of Me and Are You Stoned? Then after getting way down and dirty on 3rd Degree Love Burn, Magnum wraps up the whole affair with a slice of their party-hearty sound that rips the roof off every venue he plays with "Mr. Mojo."

The title track captures the essence of Magnum's potent mojo within his music and everything he does. Fire & Steel describes my passion: my passion for life, for loving, for music."

As the youngest of eight kids, Magnum grew up hearing a spectrum of great musical artists and styles. My dad was into James Brown and Ike & Tina Turner. My Mom loved everything from Al Green to Neil Diamond to The Doors, and they were both heavily into Sly & The Family Stone, he recalls. One of my sisters was into Kiss, one of my brothers was a big Parliament-Funkadelic fan, and another brother was into The Cars, Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. I was just saturated with all this music as a kid. You go to my hi-fi to this day, and I'll be listening to Metallica one minute, and the next minute, I'll be digging on Buddy Guy. I can truly say that I don't have a favorite.

He first started making music at age 11 when he snuck onto his oldest brother's drum kit, surprising his sibling when he walked in and heard how Magnum had a natural knack for the backbeat. The guitar and keyboards soon followed, and at 13 he played his first show. All the girls there saw me and started screaming my name as the lights flashed. Needless to say, I haven't been right ever since." No wonder Elmore magazine observes how he has something to offer fans of any of these genres [he plays]. That should cover just about everyone, right?

His debut album, Meet Me In My Daydream, was a first Brother Magnum shot that erupt[s] from your speakers like a hurtling fireball, says (link hidden). Fans of Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, and Robert Cray will find delight in this effort a great mix of up-tempo funkified numbers, retro soul blues, roots rock, traditional blues and even a shuffle or two. You cant reinvent the wheel but you can still make top of the line tires. Brother Magnum has not invented a new genre of music but he's doing it as good as anyone ever has. Or as he puts it, Its kind of like Moms home cooking with some hot sauce on it.

Feel Like A King earned Magnum even more kudos. It goes without saying that when a blues musician puts the word king in either his records or stage name, it is a bold step, notes Target Audience magazine. If one claims to be a king in the context of the blues they had better know how to play some blues, and that means play some blues. Fortunately for Brother Magnum and blues aficionados, Brother Magnum can play some blues and can make his guitar talk for him. Feel Like A King is blues done right and blues done well.

The album landed Brother Magnum on the famed Austin City Limits stage for one of the last acts to play the famed locale. They were also invited to perform at The House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opening the show for comedian Joel McHale (star of the NBC TV series Community) and then serving as the house band playing their tunes for McHales talk show style appearance. Magnum is also earning his stripes as a modern Texas master of the blues by being invited to play the Grey Ghost Music Series at Kerr Community College, named for legendary Texas blues piano man Roosevelt Grey Ghost Sykes.

Now 35 years into what's sure to be a long and proud run, Brother Magnum is sending ripples out nationwide from his Austin home base. The biggest joy for me is to get more people to hear the music, he says.

All audio equipment, P.A., and lighting are included in each quote.
I play acoustic and electric guitar, piano, and harmonica.