Who is Jerome Brich?

I am a musician whose story feels a lot like a well-worn record collection: a little rough around the edges, full of history, and endlessly inspiring (to me anyway!). 

I started playing guitar when I was about ten years old. My Dad’s wildly eclectic record collection had a huge influence on me, and my late Aunt Marilyn gave me my first guitar, an old plywood-bodied Silvertone. The neck was like a baseball bat and the action was so high it could give you cramps, but I absolutely loved that guitar. It was my doorway into music. Happy to say I've acquired some instruments of much higher quality over the years, but I do wish I still owned that first one.

Like a lot of musicians, my first experiences playing in public were at church. I also spent four years in high school choir, which did a lot to shape my musical confidence and ear. From there, I played in a long list of bands that marked different chapters of my life:

In the 1970s:
Ozone, Thundernut, The Hoot Band, and The Boyles Brother’s Band

In the 1980s:
Norman & the Rockwells, Toyboattoyboattoyboat, The Hostages, and Supply and Demand

In the 1990s:
The Heebee Jeebies, Stakeout, Closenuf, The Neptunes, and The Trailer Kings

From 2001 to 2023, I was half of the acoustic duo Brich & Killion, which became one of the longest and most meaningful musical partnerships of my life. I'm currently performing solo in the greater Omaha area.

When I was growing up, our family stereo could jump from Johnny Cash to a Sousa march, then to Peter, Paul and Mary, some Dixieland, Mahalia Jackson, The Ventures, a Broadway soundtrack, Chet Atkins, and then The Beatles. Musical variety was just normal in our house. I never lacked for different sounds and styles to explore.

As I got older, I leaned more toward the 60s and 70s rock I grew up on, along with singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn, Jackson Browne, Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Waits, and James Taylor. Those artists still shape the way I listen to music and the way I play. They taught me that songs can be stories, confessions, and small worlds you can step into.

I’m a guitarist shaped by family, bands, old records, music that moves me, and a lifetime of stages, big and small.
I started with a stubborn Silvertone and grew into a deep love for fine instruments and honest songwriting.
My musical life hasn’t been a straight line. It’s been a long, winding groove, and I’m still happily riding it.