Rising Stars: Meet Chad Gerber

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Gerber.

Hi Chad, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
At 6 years old my aunt bought me a harmonica for Christmas and I began annoying my parents constantly with that until they forced me to take guitar lessons. Those lessons eventually evolved into me writing my own music and joining any and all bands I could find until I booked some dates in Florida.

After that, I started passing demos around, got some local airplay, then jumped on a tour for a Tooth&Nail group out of Texas as their guitarist. From there I kept working my way up the ladder, performed on the Vans Warped Tour fronting my band The Suicide Denial, then moved into electronic music under my moniker Woodrowgerber, scoring some film and television, and then finally finding a balance between the major label world and the underground music world. A long ride but definitely learned to be versatile in such a weird industry.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had a lot of expectations as a kid of what I wanted to be as a musician, and what that meant, mostly based on bands and artists I saw out in the world. Ultimately I realized I was chasing ghosts since you can’t duplicate the magic of your favorite band or artist who already did that, I had to stick to my own inner voice and figure out where that fits in the world and how it connects with people.

I’ve dealt with plenty of haters, been ripped off more than I can even count, bad label situations, shady people, and had to leave home as a kid which was hard, but in the end, I decided to keep pushing and never rely on any “plan B” which has served me pretty well. I mean before I finally made it in music full time I had worked over 40 different jobs in-between tours. From being an extra on TV shows to cleaning houses as a janitor, or washing tractors in the snow, all the jobs fueled the fire in me to make it in music that’s for sure.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a guitarist, songwriter, digital artist, patented inventor, and founder of the mixed reality music tech company Meloscene.

In the major label world I’ve been fortunate enough to hit gold and platinum on several projects with Warner, Sony, and Universal music, be on the Gibson Guitar artist roster, while also building out virtual reality technology that allows musicians to meet in virtual studios from anywhere in the world and record their instruments in real-time together. I’m also pretty deep in a synth wave sub-genre called Cyberwave under my stage name Woodrowgerber and have a weird OCD hobby of collecting disposable chopsticks.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
It’s a very large list of transients, gypsies, artists, and brilliant people who allow me to pick their brains constantly, but I’ll try to list a few.

Obviously, my family is at the top of the list, my ride or die oracle Julie, my genius playwright friend JP Kavanaugh, TV host and professional skateboarder Preston Pollard, multi-grammy nominated producer Will Grands, my sister and fitness guru Chantel Oakley, Aloe Blacc who let me record in his bedroom when I was starting out, several professors at the university I went to, the cast and crew of the tv show Expedition Overland, life-changing guitar advice from Jody Davis of the Newsboys, my old friend, and music collaborator Peter Daily, and my Grandpa who made risky moves back in the day as a farmer and traveling salesman. I could spend hours on how each of these people contributed to my journey along with countless others but I won’t turn this into a softball roster.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meloscene.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/chadgerber
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO6yXWhruC8
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/woodrowgerber/sets/night-at-the-metra
• Other: www.woodrowgerber.com

Image Credits
Joel Edwards