Fresh “chicken pickin’” artists stun UCC audience

By Matt Weaver · The Mainstream
Published February 22, 2011

Guitar-wielding prodigy Brooks Robertson made an appearance at UCC Feb. 11 of this year.  The 21 year old fingerstyle musician was accompanied by another prodigy, 17 year old Roseburg jazz guitarist Taylor Malone.

Malone opened for Robertson at 7:30 p.m. on Whipple’s Center Stage. Though I’d never heard of Malone, about 30 seconds into his performance I was left wondering why this show wasn’t promoted more and moved to Jacoby Auditorium.

It was hard to believe Malone was 17 after seeing how quickly and accurately he moved on the fret board.  Malone is a fingerstyle guitarist like Robertson, which means they play bass and rhythm with their thumb while playing melodies with their fingers.

Fusing classic rock with jazz, Malone put on a show that was unbelievable. It was clear he enjoyed what he did as his fingers made the guitar sing.  Being a one man show without vocals, percussion or any other instrument can make it hard to keep an audience enticed, but Malone had my interest throughout his whole set.  He was admittedly nervous during the show, but when he played a song he wrote himself he seemed relaxed and got the most emotion out of the guitar.

Though Malone was amazing, there were still elements in his performance that reminded one that he was a young artist. He was clearly nervous, but used humor to combat the fear, a technique which ultimately added to his stage presence. I did hear him slip off beat a few times when he did some quick picking, or “chicken pickin’,” before or after slower notes. I also felt like he didn’t have full control of the fret board, staying on one half most of the time. However, his performance was still fantastic, and I plan to keep an eye on the young artist.

After Malone played solo for about 30 minutes, Robertson came out and the two played a couple of songs together. The tandem took turns playing “rhythm” and “lead,” though neither part was a simple rhythm or lead but a complex layering of both. They played well together, and communicated nicely. A short video clip of their performance can be found on www.mainstreamonline.org

Once their duet was over, Robertson took over the stage. It was obvious he had professional experience beyond his years as he took the audience on a journey.  His fingers effortlessly glided over the entire fret board as he entertained us with a mix of bluegrass and jazz.  His music made it evident that his mentor was a Nashville guitarist. Most tunes he played made me feel like I was lying underneath the stars on a warm summer night.  The quickness of his picking was extreme. He took this speed to a new level, at one point, when he threw in what could only be described as “tremolo finger picking.”

Robertson proved he was a polished musician even though he still has years to perfect his trade. His songs showed he was technically proficient, but his biggest downfall was the slight edge of emotion his music lacked.  I feel as though he’ll improve as he ages and gains more life experiences.  The other problem was his use of a multitude of tunings, which made him have to retune between each song. If he had a roadie he could have avoided this problem and kept the audience entranced through the whole show.  Besides these two minor problems, he was one of the most amazing guitarists I’ve seen live.

If both of these artists continue working hard they’ll be making waves in the music world. If you enjoy the sound of the guitar by itself, both Malone and Robertson are worth a listen. Robertson has his own website, www.brooksrobertson.com but if you want to hear Malone, you’ll just have to keep an ear out for him.