Everyone has caught themselves in front of a mirror lip-syncing to their favorite song. Some may even be able to carry a tune. For Annapolis resident Brian Dobbs, however, music is more than doing an air guitar solo or using a hairbrush as a microphone.

Music is pure passion to Mr. Dobbs. His enthusiasm for providing listeners with melodic tunes led him to record his own debut album, "The History of Recorded Music." The album became available on Dec. 18.

The entire album was written, performed, financed and produced by Mr. Dobbs. The idea came about in 2004 when he decided he needed a fresh recording of his efforts on his chosen instrument: the drums.

He said a friend agreed to assist in the writing of the album, only to back out at the last minute. Not allowing the obstacle to stop him, Mr. Dobbs decided to conquer the dream himself.

The studio time had already been booked and there was no place for the musician to go but onward.

At first, Mr. Dobbs was overwhelmed by the large investment of time and energy that would be put into the project. Not only would Mr. Dobbs produce the album, he'd also be performing all of the vocals and most of the instruments. He'd end up playing the guitar, the keyboard and the drums himself. Why go through all of this for a drum recording?

"I wanted a recorded performance and I was going to get it," Mr. Dobbs said. "Even if I had to record it myself."

The first order of business: learn how to play the guitar and the keyboard.

"I had started off, back in high school, picking up a few instruments," he said. "But the drum is my first instrument."

Mr. Dobbs realized he had a golden opportunity to record material that fit into the realm of what he tends to be drawn to as a fan. He said the original intent of his recording was to be different because of his appreciation of many different styles of music.

"There is something on this album for everyone," said Mr. Dobbs.

Growing up in West River, he followed the masses as a devout fan of what became known in the 1990s as the Seattle scene. Bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains ruled the music charts for most of the decade. They ruled most of the Gen-Xers cassette decks, too. These bands of the grunge era influenced many musicians and led to the creation of probably tens of thousands of "garage bands."

As a student at Southern High School, and in college at University of Maryland Baltimore County, Mr. Dobbs was in and out of bands. Each always had big ambitions, but never an idea of how to accomplish any of their goals. Once in college, Mr. Dobbs temporarily set music aside and focused on his academics.

Still, he researched and observed what other bands were doing and how to present himself professionally. That's when he noticed that some of the progressive rock artists he admired served as singer, songwriter and musician.

"It can be done, so I might as well do it myself", Mr. Dobbs said.

The Chorus

Eighteen months after he began recording, Mr. Dobbs finished "The History of Recorded Music." Where many musicians would have been satisfied to bundle up the CD in a Zip-Loc bag and immediately get it out onto the streets, Mr. Dobbs had more patience.

Knowing he was a beginner songwriter in the age of electronic music, which is easily downloaded off of the Internet, he decided to think bigger.

"I'm not sure that the music alone is going to be a good enough selling point," he said. I want to "push the envelope as far as what (I) can deliver."

Mr. Dobbs believes that in today's commercial music market, a standard CD no longer makes the grade.

With a Visual Arts degree from UMBC, he had the know-how to package the album on his own and immediately started working on designing the cover. He also added a little something extra - a bonus CD of totally remixed versions of each of the songs on the album. What's more, there is a DVD with studio footage and an interview with Mr. Dobbs.

An interesting feature of "The History of Recorded Music" is the way the CD actually looks and feels like a record. According to Mr. Dobbs, the use of the vinyl CD lends credence to the title of the album.

The title for the album is unique and appropriate. Although it might sound like the name of a Bob Dylan album from the 1960s, Mr. Dobbs said "The History of Recorded Music" is borne of his desire to not use an arbitrary title that carries little or no weight.

Just when the musician thought that he had enough on his plate, he was contacted by a progressive metal band named Concrete Prophet. He auditioned for the band and eventually became their drummer.

He said joining Concrete Prophet was "really worthwhile because of the people he met in the band and the kind of music they wanted to produce."

The Big Finish

Once the entirety of "The History of Recorded Music" was completed, Mr. Dobbs set up his Web site at www.thesoloalbum.com and began selling the album on www.cdbaby.com. The latter provides independent artists the ability to attain worldwide distribution for a percentage of the album sales. That possibility of someone in Europe or Africa hearing one of Mr. Dobbs' songs is what excites him the most about this project.

"If it was on the radio, it would kind of be like, 'Wow. My song is on the radio,' says Mr. Dobbs. "But if someone in another country heard my music, then that would give me more satisfaction."

---

The History of Recorded Music is available at area Record and Tape Traders, www.cdbaby.com and www.briandobbs.com.

Published December 27, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.