Jeff Rogers

On his third disc Here ‘N’ Now, Dave Sharman weaves in some lyrical content provided by the soaring and solid vocalist Thomas Brache. Dave’s first disc was an all-instrumental fest and it proved he had chops that cut. This disc has ten songs, seven are with vocals, and to keep with Dave’s love of instrumental guitar, the other three are showcases of his phenomenal fret work. That’s not to say that the songs sung by Brache pull the reigns back on Dave’s guitar work — they don’t; in fact, I’d say that he blends voice and guitar with a talent that many instrumentalists might find daunting.

Electric, acoustic, no matter the flavor, Dave has created a sound that gives him versatility so when he slows a song down he still shines. When he’s plugged in, he blisters. His riffs are grooving and his solos are melodic. Since it’s his name on the marquee he can add all the fillers that leave no spot unfretted, which means each song is filled with plenty of guitar.

This is one disc that gives you a glimpse into the future and past work of Dave Sharman. Later discs have Dave taking over vocal duties but still laying down his signature monstrous riffs and string bending solos. It also gives you a timeline for how Dave pushed himself musically and lyrically. He either wrote or co-wrote all the songs on this disc. “Here ‘N’ Now” is a perfect title because “here” is Dave blending his guitar talent with a vocal instrument and “now” he can write more songs to prove that the pen is as mighty as the axe.