Selected Credits
Live Performance
Steve Vai - Marco Minnemann - Joel Taylor - Jimmy Haslip
Studio Sessions
Bad Robot (J.J. Abrams) - LemonTree - Revolver Studios - The Village Recorder
Educator/Faculty
Musicians Institute - TrueFire - JamPlay - Fundamental Changes - Cherry Lane - Hal Leonard - Sonora
Rob Garland grew up in England, worked in a diverse array of bands and later played hundreds of gigs at festivals and clubs across the U.S. with his band The Blue Monks. The band opened for artists such as B.B. King, Booker T. & Chuck Berry.
Rob now lives in sunny Los Angeles, where he continues to write and record his original music, ranging in genre from jazz-rock fusion instrumentals to acoustic vocal songs, available to stream and/or download.
He regularly performs at clubs such as The Baked Potato, Alva’s Showroom and Trip. He has recorded sessions at notable studios such as Revolver, The Village Recorder, LemonTree and J.J. Abrams Bad Robot Studios.
Rob is currently a member of the jazz-funk fusion band Catatonic and the blues-rock fusion power trio Pagliari/Garland/Garcia.
Rob has been teaching guitar for 30 years and has taught hundreds of private students across all ability levels and styes. He has taught group classes, open counseling, private lessons and masterclasses for Musicians Institute (G.I.T.) in Hollywood, CA, where he served on the faculty, and also private and group classes for Sonora Guitar Intensive.
Rob has been featured in U.K. and U.S. guitar magazines, such as Guitarist, Guitar One and Premier Guitar. He has created numerous instructional courses for TrueFire and JamPlay, including the best selling TrueFire Chord Navigator series based on Rob's approach to the CAGED system.
He has written books for Cherry Lane/Hal Leonard, had articles published in the TrueFire Journal Riff, and has an eBook entitled Guitar Play! Motivation & Practice. His latest instructional book was published by Fundamental Changes in 2023 and is entitled The CAGED Rhythm Guitar Method.
In 2018 Rob performed with legendary guitarist Steve Vai,
in Hollywood, CA. Other musicians Rob has performed with include Jimmy Haslip (The Yellowjackets), Marco Minnemann (Joe Satriani), Gus Thornton (Albert King) and Joel Taylor (Allan Holdsworth). He has also worked with Tony Newton (Gary Moore/Tony Williams), Mick Stevens (Brand X) and Markku Lappalainen (Hoobastank).
Rob is endorsed by James Tyler guitars, Bogner amps, Curt Mangan strings, ChickenPicks and Moody Leather straps.
He has presented clinics for guitar and audio companies at trade shows such as NAMM and The L.A. Amp Show.
Rob loves music and the guitar today as much as he did when he was 14, possibly even more! He likes to explore many musical genres but is fascinated by fusion -
the harmony of jazz combined with the energy/tone of rock.
In 2024 Rob launched Real World Guitar.
Contact:
Real World Guitar
