BEAUTIFUL MUSIC
Waterloo-based musician Bob Guido releases self-titled solo album full of atmospheric and ambient guitar
WATERLOO — From a dark place, Bob Guido produced hauntingly beautiful music.
As a child Guido lived on Mooregate Crescent in Kitchener. His older brother fell in with the wrong crowd in that Victoria Hills neighbourhood, and took his own life about 11 years ago. The fifth track on Guido’s first solo album, which was just released on streaming platforms, is called “Mooregate.”
“He got in with a group of friends in that neighbourhood who were not doing very good things, and it had an impact on his life and the direction that his life took, and it is very unfortunate,” said Guido.
Guido wrote all 12 tracks on the album. He sings on two — “Is It Too Late,” and “Wake Up Call.” His wife, Anna Donahoo Guido, sings harmony vocals.
The other tracks are instrumental. It is ambient music inspired by Karlheinz Stockhausen, a German composer of electronic music who influenced avant-garde musicians for more than 30 years. Guido’s digital album is in the tradition of Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and the Icelandic avant-rock band Sigur Ros.
Guido did a prerelease online with Bandcamp, which gave Guido top rankings for new and notable releases in three genres—ambient guitar, avant rock and dream pop. No matter the label the music is uniquely beautiful. At times, dark and haunting.
“To me it feels like a huge success,” said Guido. “Not just being on those lists, but the fact that they put me on three means they are having a hard time pigeonholing my music, and that is the most exciting thing for me.”
He started playing the violin as a small child, and completed the Royal Conservatory’s Grade 10 when he was 16. Guido also picked up the guitar in his teens. After graduating from Elmira Secondary School in 1995 he studied jazz at Humber College in Toronto.
But even one of Canada’s most vaunted jazz programs could not contain a restless musical curiosity that sent him into libraries to research new music. For about eight years following Humber he worked as a producer and engineer at the Toronto recording studio Metalworks.
With the rise of software that replaced big, analogue recording studios, Guido focused on his music.
He does all of the musical heavy lifting on the album with a string of guest musicians throughout. Bryan Wright, best known in this region as the frontman for Romeo Sex Fighter, plays pedal steel. Adam Bowman, Jonny Sauder and Jay Leonard are found on drums.
Bruce Morritt plays cello. Scott Galloway plays piano. Hamilton’s Bill Dillon plays guitorgan and guitar.
One of the great guitar players to come out of The Hammer, Dillon played with Robbie Robertson, Daniel Lanois, Sarah McLachlan, Counting Crows and Cowboy Junkies. Guido’s been a fan of Dillon since a high school art teacher gave him three Joni Mitchell albums that are full of Dillon’s guitar playing.
They met when Guido worked as an engineer on a recording session at Metalworks for Dillon and Robertson.
“They say never meet your heroes but Bill is a really good guy. In more recent times Bill and I have become friends and the relationship continues to this day,” said Guido.
A few years ago Guido revisited his childhood neighbourhood with a friend and videographer, Colin Zantinge. The result is a short film called “Mooregate.” The black-andwhite video coupled with Guido’s music is a dark window into his past.
It is a moody exploration of the area.
“I had a lot of memories from the time I spent there as a child, of things that occurred, of things that happened in that neighbourhood, that were pretty dark,” said Guido. “Even as a young person things that make you question what is going on.”
And out of those painful memories he has created beautiful music.