Most of my old friends from school decided to call me Garf, after Garth from the film 'Wayne's World.' Apparently we share similar mannerisms. Anyway I got bored with Garf, and decided to add an 'o' to the end, hence we arrive at 'Garfo.' Weird but simple really.

I do play live with an acoustic band, called 'Crowd Around.' I have also performed a lot of open mic nights, with various female singers. Some of the songs I have written for those projects are also included on the music page. However, I haven't yet had a chance to play any of my instrumental rock music in a live situation. I have had a few special moments, usually involving the line 'wow, you're a great guitar player' but that's about it.

You get to hear my music, without a record label in the way, and me being told that I have to play a C chord instead of a nice C maj 9, as that sound was so last week. Although you also have to drudge through a lot of bad music out there now too, as any layman with a pc and microphone can now record some noise, and then call it music.

Sure, if there was something in it for me, and their terms were acceptable. Getting mass distribution would be a nice thing. But Rock Instrumental music seldom makes it to Major labels these days, unless you're Vai or Satch, and they luckily had breaks in an era where technical guitar playing was much bigger than it is now.

Written over the period of a year and a half, ‘The Theory’ represents a return to 'old school' melodic musical thinking.

On this album, Gareth has taken an eclectic range of musical influences, primarily from the great Progressive Rock era. Then put them all into a musical melting pot, finally adding his own unique touch to create a moody, atmospheric sound.

Many have already drawn comparisons from Gareth's music, to influential artists, such as: 'Boston,' 'Pink Floyd,' 'Mike Oldfield,' 'ELO,' and 'Sky.'

All of the music on the album was written, arranged and recorded by Gareth, except for a small portion of 'Sacrifice', which contains an arrangement of Gabriel Faure's 'Pavane.'

Gareth’s first formal encounter with a musical instrument came at the age of ten through attending classical piano lessons. He initially enjoyed the set routine of classical piano study, however this was short lived, and he gave up study of the instrument six years later.

It was at this point Gareth discovered guitar, and got his first electric guitar, a Fender Sratocaster. Fuelled by his love of aggressive rock music Gareth immersed himself in studying the instrument, subsequently spending at least five hours a day practicing.

After years of learning this advanced music, Gareth believed he was close to mastering the instrument. However, he was rudely awakened when he discovered jazz at the age of twenty. Since then Gareth has concentrated on all aspects and genres of music, with the intention of becoming a well-rounded musician.

Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield, Metallica, Megadeth, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Cacophony, Dream Theater, John Petrucci, Uli John Roth, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Blackmoore, Deep Purple, The Doors, Michel Petrucciani, Stanley Jordan, Al Di Meola, Paco DeLucia, Pat Metheny, John Williams, Alex Skolnick, Film Music, Ambient, Atmospheric, Progressive, Rock etc...

Hmmm, Manchester is quite interesting.

Sonar Producer Edition 4,
Reason 3,
Steinberg Hypersonic,
Fender Deluxe American Strat,
Aria Fretless Acoustic Bass,
Shure SM57 Mics,
Custom Designed Speaker Cabs Loaded with Celestion Greenback 25's (pre Rola Celestion),
Marshall AVT 150Head (Used Solely as a PowerAmp),
Pod XT Live Preamp,
and a stock PC.