Warren Robert

Warren started playing guitar at the age of seven, inspired by hearing his father and older brother play. Over the years, he has studied many styles including rock, metal, blues, jazz, celtic, gyspy, bluegrass and country. Warren has been playing in bands since the age of 12. The most significant part of his ongoing development took place during the 8 years as lead guitarist / writer in AVACOST. The group played very experimental progressive rock and released two recordings, the AVACOST E.P. (1989, Independant), and "A Peace of the Sky".

Warren has been playing in bands since the age of 12. The most significant part of his ongoing development took place during the 8 years as lead guitarist / writer in AVACOST. The group played very experimental progressive rock and released two recordings, the AVACOST E.P. (1989, Independant), and "A Peace of the Sky". (1993, Nudibranch Records). After the band stopped playing together in 1995, Warren took a break from live performance and focused on learning and composing new styles.

In 1997, Warren and some friends formed a celtic quartet called BRAE. This group played at conventions and private functions. Warren's time with BRAE allowed him the opportunity to further explore the possibilities of the acoustic guitar, and to develop a feel for the traditional music of his home region.

Warren joined up with singer/songwriter Ray Mattie and bassist Jonny Grant for a couple of shows in 2002 and have been playing with them ever since. Drummer Zach Smith, fiddler Colin Grant and multi-instrumentalist Darren MacMullen were added to the lineup and the group is now known as POGEY. POGEY travels throughout Canada and the United States, playing a variety of material from original songs and instrumentals to adoptions of traditional material.

In 2004/2005, Warren recorded and released an album of experimental shred guitar instrumentals entitled "Thoughts and Realities". It featured melodic tunes, complex textures and orchestrations and fast shred guitar playing. Topping sales charts on Guitar Nine Records, this first solo release earned Warren a reputation as a both a melodic shred guitarist and as a modern composer.

Warren has followed up his debut with a recording called "Music From the Void". This concept album is inspired by the writings of the great Samauri Musashi and was released in March, 2009. Warren's latest project is a recording of Mozart's "Requiem Mass in Dm KV626", arranged for orchestra and electric guitar. This album is slated for release in September, 2009.

Warren is also trained in orchestral composition and leads an active career as a composer for film, television and live theater. He has written the music scores to over 80 international documentaries, and a complete list of works may be viewed in the BLOG section of this site. Warren has also done a great deal of studio session work on a variety of projects in many musical styles, and still teaches guitar to a handful of keen players.

Warren is a student of the martial arts. He has trained in traditional Japanese Ju-Jitsu, and is currently studying Combat Hapkido. He also works with electronics and has recently designed and built several guitar effect pedals and other gadgets.

Warren at Myspace