by Kate Langenburg

Created on: November 13, 2008

"Hello. My name is Jimmy Brown and I'm here to entertain you."

With a friendly smile and a nod of his curly haired head, he strums the first note of his opening song, a simple beginning to a night of eclectic musical tastes. Making everyone in the bar stop for just a second to look, Brown lets the bar hoppers of Siamsa Irish Pub know that their night doesn't have to be quiet his music will move them with rock 'n' roll and good cheer.

Jimmy Brown is just one of the talented local musicians here for your entertainment. But what makes him stand out from all the rest? He's a one man band who knows how to rock on his own terms. Not only that, he's also the senior editor of Guitar World Magazine.

Brown attended William Paterson University and earned a degree in jazz studies and performance, and music management. While his time in college proved precious, he admits that the real world experiences he gained from listening to and playing with other musicians stimulated his musical mind. "I found it very helpful to study music theory, but I realized early on that the most important aspect in the development of my musicianship was ear training," he says. "All the theoretical knowledge in the world doesn't mean a thing if you can't hear the music in your head, feel it in your heart, and express it with your body."

This becomes evident when you watch Brown perform. While he plays his guitar, he also taps to the beat with his left foot, which sits just above a small tambourine, providing his own percussion section. Just this small little addition makes his sound more complete, much like the sound a duo or trio might have.

Besides that, Brown is, to say the least, a genius on the guitar. You may not realize it at first because of whatever well-known song he might be playing, but when he starts soloing, the whole bar stops to listen. He puts insane solos into songs where you would never expect them. For example, when he played Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy" last Wednesday, he started with the original Vaughan solo, and then delved deep into his own little world of screeching, gritty blues guitar before coming back around to the main song.

Brown is also known for combining famous guitar solos, most specifically from the Allman Brothers Band's "One Way Out" and Led Zeppelin's "How the West Was One." And, just in case you were wondering, yes, of course he knows the solo from Stairway to Heaven.

The thing that makes Brown so adaptable in each bar he plays is that he can play just

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