Bruce Main started playing piano at six and guitar at eleven. He recorded his first original songs when he was fifteen. He studied electronics, acoustical physics and music theory but never finished college. Instead he co-founded the seminal Northwest progressive band, Medusa. They lived in a Rosicrucian commune while they wrote, recorded and played concerts that featured mystical music and slide shows. One local booking agent said it was "like having Yes in your back yard". His co-founder was Brian Phraner and the band included Don Freeborn (both later members of Phreeworld) and Gordon Raphael (later in Sky Cries Mary, Colour Twigs and producer for The
Strokes and Regina Spektor, among others).
After he left Medusa he joined a midwest rock band called The Eddies. They wrote and recorded American rock in the Bob Seeger/ Bruce Springsteen vein and played live obsessively all over the middle of the country.
The band broke up after a couple of years and he landed back in Seattle where he and some friends (including Bruce Jones) decided to build a commercial recording studio. He had been mixing both live and in the studio during off times for his entire playing career so it was a natural extension for him to become the head engineer of what became Format Arts Recording. They transformed a big old church into a studio/musician's apartment complex. It was full of interesting characters and great music.
During this period he recorded some solo demo tracks (using his old friends Don and Brian on drums, bass and vocals) that were shopped around Los Angeles and very nearly got signed. When that didn't happen he started a band called Mania. Mark Phraner, Don Freeborn and Freddy Krumins were all in the band at one time or another. They played progressive metal all over Seattle in the era just before the grunge revolution hit.
One of the bands that he recorded in the studio asked him to mix live for them and that started the next transition. The studio was passed on to a group that included Gordon Raphael and Bruce went on the road as a front-of-house engineer. Eventually Mike Fisher (of Heart fame) who owned a sound company hired Bruce as his lead engineer. The company grew into a major national sound provider doing tours for the likes of Nirvana, Jean Luc Ponty and many others. Bruce became Executive Vice
President and eventually started a contracting division designing and installing large scale sound systems in major sports facilities like the Kingdome and the Alamodome. The design work was done by Bruce and his old friend, Brian Phraner (seeing a pattern here?).
Eventually he found reasons to leave the touring sound business. Bruce got married, had some kids and became a partner in a business where he was able to utilize much of his accumulated knowlege. But the itch was still there.
So in 2003 he put together a digital studio and started to write and record again. He released TRACKS in early 2004 and in 2005 he released a second CD called LAYERS and began to establish his signature sound and build a bit of a following. In 2006 he released ELEMENTS which is his strongest work to date. It incorporates the talents of some of his musical accomplices and is a natural progression from his other two CD's.
Discography:
Tracks 2004
Layers 2005
Elements 2006
Biography courtesy of Bruce Main
