Bruce Deshazer

Guitarist/singer Bruce DeShazer was born in Milwaukee, WI. At the age of 10, he started singing, playing drums and organ in the church of his father, Pastor Joseph DeShazer. At nineteen he moved to Minneapolis and joined the band Mazarati, formed by Prince's bass player Mark Brown, and Bruce used the alias of Tony Christian in this group. As part of the Minneapolis Sound, Mazarati had a hit single, "100 MPH," written by Prince. Bruce/Tony contributed to Prince's single "Kiss" with lyrical contribution, keyboard and background vocals on the track. He also worked with with Mazarati-keyboardist Marvin "Marr Starr" Gunn as "The Wild Pair," doing background vocals on a handful of songs for Paula Abdul, such as "Forever Your Girl" and the duet "Opposites Attract." He has kept Minneapolis as his base throughout his career. His music has spanned myriad styles. From his early material rooted in R&B, Funk and Soul he has expanded his musical palette absorbing other genres including New Wave, Pop, Rock, Blues, Jazz and Hip Hop. A humanitarian and social activist, his personal favorite song is "We the People" which he recorded 5 years ago. It was inspired by the state of the union and reflective of our times.