Pat Buchanan
Nashville, Tennessee-based session guitarist, Pat Buchanan, has worked with a wide range of recording artists, including Cameo, Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Don Henley, Hall and Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Dolly Parton, and many more artists.
Pat won ACM Guitarist of the Year in 2005 and has been nominated for several awards over the years. Growing up in Florida in a musical household (his father played bass in jazz bands while his mother is a singer), Buchanan was playing guitar from an early age. Graduating from the band circuit, he started his recording career recording on jingles for radio and television in Atlanta, Ga in the mid 80’s. He went on to record on the ground breaking album, “Word Up!” with the hit funk band Cameo. He joined their US and UK tour before going on to record and tour with both Hall and Oates and Cyndi Lauper in the late 80’s and early 90’s. In 1994 Buchanan moved his family to Nashville and became part of the Nashville session scene. He has since recorded with many artist and bands. Pat has also recorded on many songs on soundtracks for movies and television including the long running ABC television series “Nashville.”
Paul Jackson
Country: United States Band: Solo Artist Website
Paul Waggoner
Country: United States Band: Between The Buried And Me Website
Phil Short
Phil started playing classical guitar at the age of 9. He received his first electric guitar for his 11th birthday, and by the time he was 14, was already playing in bands and gigging. At 16, Phil did his first live TV performance for the midlands regional BBC Children in Need programme with his pop punk band Forgotten. Phil moved to London aged 19 to study at BIMM London (formerly Tech Music Schools) for 3 years under the tuition and guidance of John Wheatcroft (Head of Guitar/Guitar Techniques magazine) and Jim Clark (Deputy Head of Guitar/Guitar Techniques magazine/Guitarist magazine), graduating with a BMus (Hons).
Since moving to London, Phil in his professional career has gone on to perform, record and tour as a session musician with a number of artists, most notably Chipmunk and Tyler James. Phil’s session career has seen him work at Maida Vale studios, perform on live television such as Channel 4, and play at major UK festivals such as BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend and the Isle of Wight festival. His radio work includes BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, Capital (as part of the Global Radio network), and regional radio all over the UK. Beyond his industry work Phil has been involved in numerous live albums in the contemporary Christian music scene, recording and playing with American songwriter Devon Kauflin and UK based gospel singer, Mark Beswick. Phil’s most recent and prestigious achievement was to win the international Guitar Idol competition in 2016, earning him recognition as one of the UK’s best up-and-coming guitar players.
Phil’s musical inspiration is diverse. Having grown up on a diet of Queen and Pink Floyd in his early years, he then discovered 90s/00s Nu Metal and a hunger for heavy music begun. Listening to bands in the melodic death metal genre like In Flames and Arch Enemy, a craving for melody and lead guitar playing was kindled. It wasn’t until the age of 17 that a school friend introduced Phil to the music of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert and Dream Theater. This was Phil’s main musical diet until the age of 19 when, through his studies at BIMM, he discovered jazz, funk, blues and soul for the first time, and came across guitar players like Guthrie Govan, Greg Howe and Richie Kotzen, who combined a hard rock style with jazz, blues and fusion influences. Phil now enjoys a much wider variety of musical genres, particularly groove and funk, which all add to his chosen style of playing and composition.