Hi,
Hello, my name is Stefan Gruber.
The music bug bit me early on.
Back in elementary school, I had my first “band” with my two best friends. One of us took piano lessons, which was enough of a musical foundation. 😉 At a scout camp, we had our first (and sadly only) concert around the campfire in the evening. Our program: “Schifoan” by Wolfgang Ambros and “Fürstenfeld” by STS, performed a cappella by the three of us. It was a great success; we all had a lot of fun, at least.
In high school, I founded our first “real” band with some school friends. The roles were assigned according to our individual preferences and “experience”: One of us had once owned a toy drum set, so he was the drummer. I wanted to sing and play guitar, so I was the singer and guitarist!
A few days later, I bought my first guitar: a bright red ARIA Pro FS-II electric guitar, a rather mediocre Strat copy. For me, it was the most beautiful and best guitar in the world at the time.
That was more than 30 years ago.
Since then, I simply haven’t stopped playing guitar. I’ve had the privilege of learning from some fantastic teachers and have played extensively live and in the studio with various bands and projects.
Some 15 years ago, I started teaching a friend to play guitar, almost by chance, and thus discovered my new calling: teaching guitar. It gave me immense joy to impart the craft and the joy of playing guitar to people and to accompany them on their journey from beginner to creative guitarist and musician.
What happened to:
- My elementary school friend, who took piano lessons, is currently releasing his first electro-pop album after ending his successful punk-rock career.
- My beloved Aria electric: I once wanted to modify it in a really cool way – unfortunately, it didn’t survive.
- My school friend from high school with the toy drum kit is still the drummer in our band “Exit by Form.”
