Meet Scotty Bramer

Hi Scotty, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you so much for having me!  I’m a guitarist/composer/musical artist from Los Angeles.  My story is certainly still being written, of course. It is as spiritual as much as it is musical – for me, the two go hand in hand.  Because I had hid parts of my story previously, I would like to share it in greater detail.

Ever since I was a young child, I have been absolutely enamored with music – and specifically the electric guitar. My uncle bought me my first one when I was eight years old, taught me my very first chords and riffs. He also introduced me to my earliest guitar heros: Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton, which provided a major spark of inspiration and set me on my life path.

A few years later, I began to take lessons, and a deep longing to perform and express myself emerged. While I was met with words of caution from my parents and society around me regarding pursuing music in a serious way, I persevered and chose to follow my heart. This longing manifested as both great joy and excitement but also as confusion and angst, as I was in search of something deeper than what I observed around me. So I felt misunderstood. The variety of emotions and experiences I was having led me to explore various styles of music including blues, punk rock, and 60s psychedelia during my middle school years.

In high school, I found the style of music that shaped the next phase of my life: jazz – or perhaps it found me. It was jazz improvisation that I became so fascinated with, almost obsessed with. How do you improvise over jazz tunes, with the complex and often fast-moving chord changes? The master musicians were able to perform with such fluidity and flow and ease, able to create so freely. And seemingly free of all fear and resistance.

I practiced and developed my skills and was inspired by famous jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, and Charlie Parker. Yet I also felt anxious and shy around performing this music, as it was still unfamiliar. School and teenage life served as distractions that prevented me from diving deep into my craft and really finding myself, causing inner turmoil and a desire for freedom and peace. Around the same time, a new friend introduced me to the Om sign (the spiritual symbol), which resonated with me strongly. I felt called to meditate and explore spirituality in order to find answers to my life experience.

One night I was deep in meditation, and a new dimension opened up inside me – and I became filled with creative energy and ideas. I began ecstatically writing new music and new concepts for music. I didn’t fully understand at the time, but I had begun to awaken spiritually. There were absolutely no drugs or alcohol involved. This was a process that is familiar in many eastern and Shamanic cultures, but in America (and in my family) it is just starting to be understood. The process continued for several months and was accompanied by great creativity, passion, and life insights – and also sleepless nights and disillusionment of my school life and the dullness of the world around me. I just had a burning desire to explore and create music and understand my existence. My intuition was opening up and I knew there was more to life than I had been taught.

Eventually, this process became so intense (and I had no spiritual guidance to walk me through it) that my parents took me to the hospital – and I was medicated and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This was well-intentioned, but it was a misunderstanding – and it shut down the spiritual process completely and dulled my amazing energy and creativity.

Even though what I had experienced was beyond incredible, I turned a blind eye and trusted the advice of my authority figures and stayed on the medication. I went back to school and continued along as if nothing had happened. I didn’t share this experience in any of my social circles.

I still found joy in music and went on to USC Thornton School of Music to study Studio/Jazz Guitar. Overall, it was a good experience. I had fantastic teachers and had a chance to study, practice, perform and compose. After graduating in 2011, I went on to teach guitar lessons, play gigs in LA and around the country, and worked on creative music. This continued for several years and I grew to a certain point, but still felt behind or like a part of me was missing. And so I hesitated in sharing myself and my music in a major way.

In 2017, a new spiritual portal opened up with the passing of a close friend/musical partner/surf buddy, Paul Kanter – who was also my physics teacher in high school. We had been performing and recording albums together for years and had a very close friendship.  He had been going through cancer treatment for quite a while, and eventually was placed on hospice care. One night I was sleeping, and I had a wild and paranormal experience – a ball of powerful white light, a musical melody, and feeling of longing came to me and blasted me awake. I then checked my phone and received a text message, instantly finding out that Paul had passed away. This experience changed me.

Over the next few months, a series of synchronistic events occurred and opened up my wider perception again – and eventually led me to have the same exact awakening I previously had when I was 16 – I was 28 now. It began as absolute bliss and sense of Oneness for weeks, and then the experience turned very intense – just like the first time. With some research and guidance, I learned more about this strange process. This time, I went straight through the intense energetic and emotional roller coaster, now having a greater understanding and awareness of what I was experiencing.

Thankfully, I had music to help ground me and focus my energy. In my new state of being, I realized why music was so deeply important to me and why it was so healing. It brought me into the present moment. I explored new gifts and insights, practicing music in a new and more effortless way. I started to understand how my favorite musicians were able to play and express with such ease and flow – understanding from a spiritual perspective. My musical journey started to merge with this new healing journey.

I found so much inspiration in what I had learned and experienced that I began to write brand new music – a lot of it. I began sharing and performing this music and felt like I was gravitating toward my true life’s calling. At the end of 2019, I had the opportunity to perform as a leader at my favorite LA jazz club – the Blue Whale. This was a beautiful experience. I continued sharing my music until 2020 when the world came to a halt.

At this point, live gigs were disappearing – a challenge both financially and for my soul. However, it allowed me to go within and cultivate more of my musical gifts and dig deeper spiritually. I discovered that as I practiced guitar from a meditative and effortless state, new compositions started to come through me. I bought a midi keyboard and began to record this new music, which combined my background in jazz along with rock, 60s psychedelic music, folk, and classical. New levels of inspiration begun to emerge.

I decided to call this project “Bodhisattva” – which is someone who, through meditation, has searched deep within, found what he/she was looking for, and instead of living life in a cave somewhere, he/she chooses to help serve humanity in some way. After learning this concept from my Ayurvedic practitioner, I felt this name would be fitting and also fun. Once the world began to open up again, I felt called to share my music, story, and perspectives on spirituality and healing – and started performing and recording with other musicians. It has been a tremendous joy to do so! Since then, we have been performing in a variety of settings around Los Angeles.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has been a beautiful and exciting road, although not always the smoothest. However, I see the challenges as part of the adventure and as a great opportunity – and it has given me insight into the human psyche, showing why many people have resistance to following their dreams and stepping out as individuals. It can feel very scary and nerve-wracking. Yet I have stayed committed to music and to transmuting the challenges into understanding.

Early on, many of my struggles had been within myself – especially in high school, feeling anxious about performing jazz because the music was unfamiliar. Having my spiritual dimension open up and subsequently close when I was 16 also had an effect socially and musically, creating a level of shyness.

In many ways, it has been a fascinating journey of self-discovery, finding out who I am and what is true for me versus what others do and think. And so for a long time, I judged my differences instead of embracing them – and tried to fit in when I just felt different. I played small out of fear of rejection and also out of fear of expressing my light, a very interesting paradox. So, I could step back and see that the obstacles were products of my own conditioned mind – thoughts, emotions, and belief systems that were inherited – not truly inherent to the real me.

One specific challenge early on was in terms of learning music in college. Music school seemed to favor the mind and intellect (for instance, technique and music theory) rather than the heart and the more subtle aspects of music such as intuition, emotions, energy and how to channel creativity. There’s an element of magic and surrender and Divine inspiration inherent in music and improvisation – but I feel these things were overlooked. School was a supportive environment in some ways, yet also intense – especially for someone more sensitive and empathic such as myself. We didn’t discuss self-love, mental health, spirituality – which I now see as essential ingredients to a healthy performer (and person in general). Fortunately, through my spiritual journey, I created my own opportunity to explore the connection between my inner and outer world – and learn through my own experience rather than solely from a book or other people.

I still find it necessary to work through inner resistance at times – especially in terms of taking action and decision-making. I think artists tend to face this, knowing their work may not be received well by everyone, all the time. I find that the key is to practice staying true to one’s own self.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a guitarist, composer and musical artist. For many years now, I have been known as a jazz musician and improviser. As a guitarist, I have played countless gigs and worked with so many amazing musicians. As a composer and musical artist, I have stepped into a role as a leader. I am incredibly proud of the work I have done so far along this journey – from recording live videos in the studio to performing concerts around Southern California. As an organizer and entrepreneur, I have also begun collaborating with others in creating our own events – for instance, I recently teamed up with a Yoga teacher and an Ayurvedic practitioner to create an amazing three-part concert event called “Live Summer Soul.”

I would also consider myself a healer and alchemist – in fact, I believe we all have this capability to heal and be healed. That is one role of the artist – to take darkness and transmute it into light and beauty. I have had the courage to look at the depths of my own consciousness and face myself with love and compassion – because I think this is necessary in order to really understand and accept others. I certainly consider myself a student of this form of alchemy.

My life experience on the spiritual path has certainly shaped my music. It has led me to listen inwardly and discover the ability to channel musical compositions through meditative practices. This is something unique I specialize in and love to do.

My journey has been quite unique, which has set me apart from others in what I am expressing. On a musical level, I enjoy bending the rules and incorporate different styles and sounds into my music. While it does have a foundation in jazz, it also weaves together a variety of colors and textures. In this way, my project “Bodhisattva” has begun to take on a life of its own.

I am incredibly proud of the inner work I have done that has allowed me to step into a leadership role, moving forward in creating a life of my dreams and to hopefully inspire others as well.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Yes, my family has been very supportive, overall. They allowed me to take music lessons and attend music school, which I’m very grateful for. I also have had many mentors, teachers, and friends along my journey who helped inspire and motivate me to follow my musical endeavors. One major one was my dear friend and high school physics teacher Paul Kanter, who I performed and recorded music with. He was an amazing role model and guide and invited me to play some of my earliest gigs.

There are also some well-known guitar teachers in Los Angeles who played tremendous roles in my growth – especially John Pisano, Bruce Forman and Darek Oles. They have been long-time teachers and friends who always provided inspiration. I have also had much love and support from my friends and musical community. High school friends/musicians such as Danny Janklow and Danny Jonokuchi included me on their projects, and in college I had the joy of playing and living with amazing players such as Sam Hirsh and Harry McKenzie (now known as Harry Mack). These friendships have lasted far beyond the school years.

In my current projects, I’m working with tremendous people such as drummer/producer Charles Ruggiero, who has been a guiding force for my original music project, “Bodhisattva.” Working with Chris Sorem at Nest Recorders has also been a blast. My good friend Aaron Provisor and I have also been collaborating on new music and supporting each other’s journeys.

In terms of my newer spiritual journey in 2017, I had worked with several people who helped me tremendously – Bodytalk/energy healer Samantha Brown, acupuncturist Dr. Neal Miller, and Ayurvedic doctor Victor Briere. These people guided and supported me through my awakening process and helped me feel safe and grounded.

Additionally, since March of this year, I have held a monthly performance residency at Liberate Yourself in Sherman Oaks, a wonderful spiritual/metaphysical shop. This has given me a chance to perform my original music for audiences in a beautiful environment, and has been a lot of fun.