Like most musicians who were children of the 60’s, Brian Haner received his first guitar after seeing The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He was only five years old, but still remembers it as one of the defining moments of his life. “I strummed an old broom and whined for two weeks until my dad finally broke down and bought me a guitar just so I’d shut up and my mom could get back to sweeping.”

He joined his first band when he was ten-years old. “It was called, The Plastic Mind. We played at a schoolmate’s birthday party, but we only knew one song, Windy, by The Association. We just played it over and over. Midway through the fourth time, the kids rebelled, unplugged us and started playing records. It taught me a valuable lesson that I still use to this day – When you’re doing a one hour show, always try to know more than one song.”

Haner played in several local bands until he was sixteen. That’s when he was asked to join Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. “Nobody remembers them, but everybody remembers their hit songs, Wooly Bully & Little Red Riding Hood. I spent the entire summer singing Wooly Bully behind Sam. It was a bit surreal because the last time I had played that song was on my mom’s broom.”

He spent his high school years working in nightclubs around the greater Los Angeles area. Just shy of his eighteenth birthday, he auditioned for Frank Zappa. “I auditioned for his touring band, but didn’t get the job. I assumed I would never hear from him again, but a few months later I got a call from his office asking if I was available for some session work. I recorded with him at The Record Plant in L.A. as well as at his home in the hills above North Hollywood. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable experience.”

After high school, Haner spent a year studying composition, music theory and orchestration at the prestigious Grove School of Music in Los Angeles.

During that same time he began a year long relationship with ex-Motown mogul, Norman Whitfield. “Norman penned tunes like Ain’t too Proud to Beg, Papa was a Rolling Stone and Car Wash,” Haner notes. “Recording for him and watching him produce was like getting a Masters from Julliard – except I didn’t get a diploma or the respect that comes with a post-graduate degree.”

At the age of 22, Haner signed a multi-record deal with Polydor Records. His first album, Don’t Stop Now, was released under the pseudonym, The Brian West Band, and was certified gold in Scandinavia. “We toured extensively in Europe and had some limited success there,” Haner says, “but by the time we got back to the states, the band blew up and we all went our separate ways. I think I may have slept with the bass player’s girlfriend. The 80’s are kind of a blur.”

Haner continued doing session work and working the club circuit in L.A. during the 90’s as well as dabbling in television and movie scoring, working on shows like TV 101 and Eerie, Indiana. “Music scores are like wallpaper,” Haner explains. “It’s there to add ambiance, but you’re not supposed to notice it. I had a lot of practice writing music that nobody noticed, so I was confident in my abilities. But wouldn’t you know it? They noticed it, so my scoring career was somewhat short-lived.”

He was signed to a publishing contract in Nashville as a writer in 2003 and released two indie CD’s entitled, My Old Guitar & Carney Man, respectively. “No matter how hard I tried to be serious, my songs always came out left of center. I was getting far more recognition as a comedy-song writer than I was as a serious one. A lot of my songs were in the first person so nobody wanted to record them. I suppose it makes sense,” Haner continues, “I mean, Kenny Chesney doesn’t want to sing about being a carney – even though I think he’d make a dandy one.”

Haner stepped on stage at The Improv Comedy Club in Los Angeles for the first time as a standup comedian in the summer of 2006. Within six months he was working the comedy circuit full-time, playing to packed houses and getting rave reviews.

Most recently, he has been dividing his time between Las Vegas, where he opens nightly for Bobby Slayton at The Hooter’s Casino, and Los Angeles, where he has been working on the Warner Bros. CD by his son’s VMA award winning band, Avenged Sevenfold. “Watching my son succeed at such a high level and being able to help him has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life – and I get free guitar strings.”

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Hey kids, I am Brian Haner - Musician/Writer/Standup.
I have been doing standup since last June. I got started as most comedians do - by spending 25 years as a touring and studio guitarist/singer - recording with Frank Zappa, Rose Royce, Tower of Power, Avenged Sevenfold, etc. After I got my own record deal in the early 80's, which led to a gold record in Europe and certified poverty here in the U.S., I composed some scores for television/motion pictures and toured with my own band well into the 90's. Eventually I ended up writing songs for a small publishing company in Nashville. After two years it became apparent that nobody was going to record my songs except for me, (due to the fact that they were mostly about midgets and carneys). So at age 48, I embarked on a career in musical standup. I've worked with some great comedians this past year and they have all been helpful and supportive. I am planning a US tour as soon as it is practical, so stay tuned.

I've written two novels recently. One is published and should be out by spring - the other is still looking for a home.

I am in and out of town producing my wife's hypnosis show as well as my own show.(SuzyHaner.com)

I just finished a CD of comedy songs that is available at my website. You can find out more about me - bio, merch, CD's, etc. at Carneyman.com

Lastly - yes, I am Synyster Gates father. He is the lead guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold - a very successful and popular band with videos, gold records, etc. I don't answer personal questions about him nor do I relay messages to him so don't bother asking. I will talk about him as soon as I get paid for the work I did on his last CD. (just kidding, Syn)