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Musician profile: Guitarist-vocalist Claude Brissart
Posted: May 07, 2008 in Music
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Click here to watch a video of Guitarist-vocalist Claude Brissart in "Off the Record."
Guitarist-vocalist Claude Brissart once went to California to audition for the Red Hot Chili Peppers after John Frusicante left the band in the early 1990s. (He said he was No. 1,010 and played next-to-last of all the candidates. Dave Navarro got the job).
Before and after his stab at stardom, Brissart has worked steadily within the Indianapolis music community. He estimates he's played in 20 bands, with the latest being covers act Deja Voodoo.
Brissart also performs his own material in a solo acoustic setting.
The fortysomething native of the Philippines recently talked to Indy.com about his Eddie Van Halen-style kneepads and his indifference to "Guitar Hero":
On his musical roots: "I started playing music when I was 9 years old. I picked up the guitar because I saw Jimi Hendrix on TV, and I wanted to be Jimi Hendrix. Actually, I started playing drums first. But you sit down when you play drums, and I wasn't able to move around like Jimi Hendrix."
On Hendrix: "He was the man. He was the pioneer of guitar sounds, flamboyancy, songwriting, feeling and soul. We play 'Purple Haze,' 'Little Wing' and sometimes my interpretation of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' I love doing them."
On being a showman: "I put a lot of feeling and emotion into my playing. When I was younger, I did flips off speakers and rolled on the floor. I wore kneepads like Eddie Van Halen did. I'm still real animated and I like to put on a show."
On the "Guitar Hero" video game: "I've never played it, and I don't want to play it. Everyone tells me that if you're a guitar player, it doesn't match your skills. I see a lot of kids playing it. All my sons are musicians, and I say, 'If you're going to waste time trying to get good on that, use the real thing.'."
On Deja Voodoo: "If it were up to me, I'd be doing Yngwie Malmsteen, Dokken and all that really shredding guitar stuff. But basically we cover songs that are popular and fit our vocalists. We do whatever rocks -- country, alternative, classic rock, heavy metal."
Claude Brissart
When: 9 p.m. May 9.
Where: DC's Pub, 6537 E. Ind. 334, Zionsville.
Admission: Free.
Information: Call (317) 769-5150 or visit www.claudebrissart.com