Born in England into a musical family, Julian began playing the guitar at age 14. Iron Maiden back patches and long hair were obligatory. He would compete with school friends to play the latest Van Halen or Randy Rhoads licks. Often practising for up to 5 hours a day. Julian's house was a musical one and his Father was a well-respected guitar maker and drummer.
His Dad also toured as a guitar tech with bands such as Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy in the 70's. Growing up around all these musicians, it was inevitable that young 'Jules' would be impressed by the sounds of drums and guitar.
He began his musical journey at 11, as a drummer. Switching to guitar some years later, preferring the front of the stage! Teaching guitar from age 16, whilst still at school and to this day - he works privately, online, and in schools and colleges. Much of his younger career was also spent playing in bands, touring, and recording. He has played in many bands with styles, including Rock, Blues, Metal and Ska.
He has worked with many bands over the years and played live all over Europe and America plus UK festival appearances alongside bands such as Foo Fighters and The Prodigy.
Musical influences are diverse - Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Al Di Meola, Angus Young, Brian May, Yngwie Malmsteen, George Lynch, Paco de Lucia, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Tony Macalpine, Randy Rhoads, Jake E Lee, Josh Homme, Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, Paul Kosoff, Zakk Wylde, Billy Gibbons, Dweezil Zappa, SRV, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Eric Gales, Joe Satriani and so many more!
Julian's courses include the worldwide bestseller "Pure Pentatonic Power" - a course he created to introduce players to lead guitar that focuses solely on this simple scale and the Blues Scale. It resonated with players young and old wanting to play rock and blues guitar solos. Also available are "Pure Pentatonic Pros" - the follow-up, this gets more in-depth and a little more complicated; it includes a whole section dedicated to blues and also one for rhythm guitar. "Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques" covers all modern guitar techniques - such as string skipping, tapping, sweep arpeggios, hybrid picking, etc. "The 21 Steps Beginners Guitar Course" is exactly as you would imagine and he has many more titles available.
The method Julian brings to both his guitar lessons and video courses is student-focused, centered around enjoyable playing activities first and theory second. You will find all of his courses feature a solid guitar lesson with a concrete practice piece or jam at the end. Students are taught all the techniques and theory and then provided with a professionally mixed jam track to play along with. These jam tracks are supplied at various speeds to suit all abilities. Julian's courses are the nearest thing you can get to a private lesson via video lessons and he prides himself on this approach.
As this is written one can still find Julian teaching privately and making video courses. Or taking good care of his health, as he is also into fitness - gym, Thai boxing, running, and yoga. Julian is working on a new project "TheMidlifeGuitarist" - a website for older guitar learners, beginners and those who have not picked up their guitar in years.
Anyone can join though and it will be up and running soon. Sculpting his craft and teaching guitar for over 25 years now, Julian is dedicated and passionate, with a relaxed but focused attitude. Nothing pleases him more than to share his love of guitar music and to pass on the joy it can bring. He believes music is healing, freeing, creative, fun and should be accessible to all.