Born in 1963 on a wheat farm named "Bulga", Bruce Mathiske has been a serious student of the guitar since the age of seven. He took lessons in his hometown of Swan Hill, in rural Victoria, until his mid teens. Moving to Bendigo, he studied Classical guitar for several years.

He then moved to Queensland where he was able to study with Neville Khan and gained his Diploma in improvisation, arranging, composition, theory and sight reading. He later joined Neville as a teacher, allowing him to realise a burning desire to learn and play jazz.

It was during Bruce's "Jazz Study" period he first heard Chet Atkins and began combining Chet's solo technique with his own jazz knowledge. With six years of practicing ten hours a day, Bruce's dream became a reality. He now has the unique skill of treating the guitar as an orchestra, simultaneously playing bass, rhythm and lead lines.

With this combination of Classical, Jazz and Chet influences he moulded a varied repertoire of material ranging from Jazz and Popular standards to his own New Age, Rock, Spanish compositions.

Bruce's main influences have been Chet, Barney Kessell, Leo Kottke, B.B. King, Robin Ford and Lenny Breau.

Now living in Sydney, Bruce has collected numerous Industry awards, particularly while based in Newcastle. They include Best Soloist, Best Overall, Best guitarist (all twice), Best Recorded Release and Best Trio.
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