Brother Luke

Brother Luke Bio:

Rising up from the sweltering desert heat of Las Vegas, NV, Matthew Shaun DeGraff, the artist known to all friends and fans as Brother Luke was subjected to Native American culture at an early age. The use of the word "brother" before an individuals given name is commonly used in the Native language as a way of representing a shared bond between two people bound by one common goal. With the help of perseverance and word-of-mouth, Brother Luke has successfully created an avid worldwide grass-roots following. With a new technology called live looping, Brother Luke layers many various live instruments together creating huge musical sounds capes right before the listeners eyes and ears. Yet amidst the flickering lights and futuristic technology, Brother Luke still somehow retains a childlike innocence and honest humor in his music. The consummate performer, it is strikingly clear when he is up on stage, that he puts heart, soul, and personality into every note. "I believe that music has always been a place where people could come together from all walks of life and remind each other that we are all still only human." Perhaps this is why he has traveled the world on a mission to perform. He played keyboards in Japan, and while touring, he continued to extensively write his original music. The exposure in Japan allowed him to further his travels internationally to Indonesia, Singapore and the Middle East with a new band performing more and more of his originals. After 9/11, he decided to perform on a USO tour for the American soldiers in Sarajevo and Bosnia. He returned to America and has taken the independent scene by storm by playing such high-profile venues as the Hard Rock Cafe, House of Blues, and the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. His CD In My Room won out of 10,000 international submissions for "Best Modern Rock Album of 2004" by Just Plain Folks.

Ten years. That's how long the doctors say performance artist Brother Luke has to play the instruments of his love before his battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis will begin to win. Sob story? Not hardly. Brother Luke takes a very optimistic point of view in the matter. "It was like somebody saying, Get your ass up and do what you love because there is a time limit now". " When you are younger you think this whole thing will last forever and that you have all the time in the world". "It was the best thing to ever happen to me".