Bradford started playing guitar when he was 16 years old.
At first it was as much about getting girls than anything else, but he
fell into a deep infatuation with the instrument almost immediately and was soon
better than all of his teachers.
After high school, he spent some time in the military, where he hooked up with
various GI bands, and got his first taste of playing in nightclubs. The military
was not kind to these bands, however, and they all went their separate ways.
After returning home to the Denver area, he played out with various different
cover bands, including a touring regional circuit band.
During this time, he worked extensively on his technique and showmanship,
developing a reputation around town as one of the top rock guitarists.
Due to the birth of his first child, and complete burnout from the road, he took some time off, assembled a
recording studio, and began working on his original material.
Bradford wrote a number of songs during this period, including some of the
instrumentals featured on his current release, “The Ninth Ring.”
Keeping Bradford away from the stage though was no easy task.
The itch returned when a singer from a previous band called him up one
day, and he couldn't resist going over and jamming with him and some friends.
Thus began Bradford’s one and only original band.
Many of the vocally oriented songs performed by this band were written
during Bradford's hiatus. This band
played extensively in and around Denver local and regional hard rock and heavy
metal venues. This band also put out three CDs, all of which were recorded,
engineered, and mixed by Bradford in his own studio. The highlight of performing with this band was easily the
main stage at Comstock, which is a huge rock festival every July in Nebraska.
The band, unfortunately, suffered from interpersonal issues, and it
became harder and harder for him to justify sticking around.
For a while Bradford didn't hardly play guitar at all, but once again, the itch
re-asserted itself. This time was different, however. Bradford decided that he wanted to produce good, listenable
music that was expressive. Not
being a singer, but a guitar player, Bradford decided to do an instrumental CD.
The challenge was to write a CD that even people who normally don’t
listen to instrumental music might enjoy. The
approach therefore, was to emphasize the entire composition, and concentrate on
the songwriting, so that the songs would sing without a singer.
Bradford’s current release, “The Ninth Ring,” was written and
recorded over a period of two years, and is packed full of artful and soulful
sounds, with a minimum of over-the-top “shred” guitar.
This CD is a “must have” for all rock music fans that appreciate
well-put together songs, regardless of their genre tastes.