Steve Vai

Steve Vai is a virtuoso guitarist, visionary composer, and consummate producer who sculpts musical sound with infinite creativity and technical mastery. At 18 he began his professional musical career transcribing for, and then playing with, the legendary Frank Zappa. More than three decades, 15-million in album sales, and three GRAMMY Awards later, Vai has proven himself, in his own right, one of music’s true originals. While many artists fit easily into a single category, Steve Vai remains unclassifiable. He is a musical alchemist of the highest order. Throughout the years, Steve Vai has awed fans of all genres with his exceptional guitar skills and musicianship. He boasts career sales of over 15 million records, 13 Grammy nominations, and three Grammy wins and has toured the world as a solo artist, as a member of G3, and with Frank Zappa and bands such as Alcatrazz, The David Lee Roth Band, and Whitesnake. As an accomplished audio producer, Vai has written, produced, and engineered all of his solo albums, released via Favored Nations, his own independent record label that has released over 70 albums by legendary musicians such as Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Lukather, Eric Johnson, Billy Sheehan, Larry Carlton and much more. For Vai, virtuosity and versatility are not mutually exclusive. He has created music for blockbuster films, bestselling video games, national sports franchises, and corporate brand initiatives. His career accomplishments have earned him honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Musicians Institute.

Mateus Asato

In 2013 he attended the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California. His career began when industry professionals discovered him through his Instagram account. He then toured with Tori Kelly and Jessie J. Asato also began to do guitar clinics in South Korea and in Singapore. In 2019 Guitar Magazine named him one of the 50 most exciting young guitarists in the world. He has also played some shows in Las Vegas along with Bruno Mars. American musician John Mayer has said that Asato “is one of the best guitar players around.”

Mohini Dey

Born in 1996, Mohini Dey is is probably the youngest bass player in India having such a busy schedule and an already successful career.
Daughter of bass player Sujoy Dey she has been described as one of the most extraordinary, creative, finest and versatile bass player of India.
Mohini Dey started learning bass guitar at the tender age of 3 and started doing concerts and recordings at the young age of 10.
She has become an in-demand session player to do numerous live and studio work for many artists throughout India and the world, working with Ranjit Barot, Narada Michael Walden, A.R Rahman, Louiz Banks, Zakir Hussain, Gergo Borlai, Sivamani, Gino Banks, George Brooks, Mike Stern, Nitin Sawhney, Prasanna Ramaswamy, Stephen Devassy, Niladri Kumar, Selva Ganesh, U.Rajesh… and many more!!!
Mohini has played at many Festivals like Elephanta Music Festival 2013, Chennai’s Global Music Festival, Delhi’s International Jazz Festival 2013, Goa’s International Jazz Festival 2014, South Asian Music Festival, Internatinal Jazz Day, etc
She was also featured In Rolling Stone Magazine, Forbes India 30Under30 (youngest and most sucessful of all), Indian Express Magazine, The Telegraph, Mid-Day, Radio and Music, Jazz in India, Hindustan Times… the Gulf News and Bass Professor magazine are going to feature her as well…
Actually, she is busy working on her trio Album together with her sister, which includes some incredible musicians like Ranjit Barot, Narada Michael Walden, Gergo Borlai, etc.
Mohini Dei was also invited by Berklee College of Music to be a part of concert held at Symphony Hall… it was a great gig with huge success… She was also offered full scholarship but unfortunately she couldn’t take that as she was alredy busy with a bunch of projects but, she is more than happy to be linked with Berklee.

Daniele Gottardo

As a solo artist, Daniele has produced two albums prior to INkBlot—Frenzy of Ecstasy (2010, Digital Nations) and Non Temperato (2014, self-released). His albums stand out for their highly innovative use of electric guitar within a compositional and orchestral context. Additionally, his jazz-rock trio, The Nuts, released a bold debut album, Giant Nuts (2016, self-released), a ferocious combination of chops, energy, and musical sophistication.

Daniele has served as an artistic producer for various projects, including string production for guitar legend, Jason Becker, on Triumphant Hearts (2018, Mascot Records). In 2016 he collaborated with Michael Molenda, then Editor-in-Chief of Guitar Player Magazine, and American guitarist/composer, Gretchen Menn, on Abandon All Hope, a concept album based on Dante’s Inferno that blends modern and classical instruments.

He has performed in some of the most prestigious guitar festivals, including Malibu Guitar Festival (USA, 2017), Guitare En Scene (France, 2016), Ziua Chitarelor (Romania, 2016), Jason Becker Not Dead Yet Festival (Holland, 2013), Eddie Lang Jazz Festival (Italy, 2010, 2013, 2015).

INkBlot is Daniele’s third solo album, and marks an even greater melding of high-energy electric guitar and 20th century composition.

Tim Henson

Tim Henson is a musician and guitarist best known as a member of the instrumental progressive metal band Polyphia. The band was formed in 2010 in Texas and Henson is one of the founding members. He plays guitar and is known for his technical proficiency, innovative and experimental approach to music, and his unique style of guitar playing. He has helped shape the band’s sound, which fuses elements of metal, jazz, and hip-hop. Henson has also released solo music and collaborations with other musicians. Polyphia has released several albums and EPs and has gained a reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting bands in the progressive metal scene.

Scott LePage

Scott LePage was born in Dallas, TX on May 9, 1993. Guitarist best known as a member of instrumental progressive metal band Polyphia. The band released their debut studio album, Muse, in 2015 and their second album, Renaissance, in 2016. His band Polyphia has featured guitarist Jason Richardson of the band Chelsea Grin. As a member of Polyphia, he worked with the band to release their first EP, Inspire, in 2013.

Sarah Longfield

One of the most exciting new guitarists in the metal genre, Sarah Longfield has attained international notoriety in metal circles with her superb 8-string technique, feel for melody, and eclectic musical background to take metal to new uncharted territories. In a short amount of time, Sarah has garnered a strong following worldwide and has been busy recording, doing clinics, and going on tours on both the national and international levels.

Today Sarah Longfield continues to write and produce original music and tour with her band. Her most recent EP “Dusk” demonstrates a level of musicianship and creativity that has made Sarah well-known among her peers.

Sarah was recently accepted to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where she will focus on Illustration while continuing her career in music and evolving as a musician.

Marcin

Unlike some other artistic genres, in music the course of genius is usually visible at an extremely young age.

That’s certainly true of Polish fingerstyle virtuoso Marcin Patrzalek from Kielce, who only turned 18 in 2018.

He started playing guitar purely by chance eight years before, at the age of ten; looking for activities for the school holidays, his father had signed him up for a workshop with classical guitarist Jerzy Pikor. Marcin took to the guitar like a duck to water!

After two years of tuition in classical guitar, he started to take flamenco lessons from Carlos Pinana, drew inspiration from Piotr Restecki and taught himself fingerstyle guitar.

He began to develop his own inimitable style, permeated by percussive elements –no wonder, since the young guitarist was also a drum aficionado.

Marcin’s career quickly took off; in 2015 he won the talent show “Must be the Music”; 2016 saw the release of “Hush”, his debut album of astonishingly mature and intense compositions; by 2017 he was studying advanced jazz improvisation at Berklee College of Music and won first place in the International Classical Guitar Joaquin Rodrigo Competition; and in 2018 he won the Italian talent show Tu Si Que Vales and released an EP entitled reVAMP.

Where style is concerned, Marcin knows no bounds; he brings the same passion and force to Beethoven’s Fifth as to Master of Puppets by Metallica.

Along the road that matured this exceptional talent, his most important companions have been his mother, his teachers including Jerzy Pikor and Carlos Pinana, Ibanez guitars – and KLOTZ cables.

Matteo Mancuso

Matteo hails from the far-away island of Sicily, born in 1996 and raised outside Palermo, had his family relocated to the US, he might well be the best kept secret in the lineage of great ItalianAmerican players like Zappa, Vai, Satriani, Di Meola, Petrucci, Gambale etc.
Back in the 70’s, his father Vincenzo Mancuso made a name for himself as gifted session player on the domestic scene ; it was definitely him Matteo looked up to as a primary source of inspiration growing up. While still in high school (of music),he picked up classical guitar and transverse flute , it didn’t take long for everyone around to understand that a kid prodigy was blooming.
Before long, just turned 12 years of age, Matteo takes his first steps on stage at a local jazz festival and since then his acquaintance with live performances turns into confidence and develops through various line-ups and interactions with top local musicians, including a duo with his dad spanning the complexities of Django Reinhart’s repertoire as well as contemporary jazz classics.
Multi-faceted player, classical or electric , what really is astounding and taking everyone aback is the one-of-a-kind technique and use of his fingers instead of regular picking. The killer tone and original sound truly put his talent in a different league altogether.
His YouTube channel is now at 130k subscribers , most comments come from all over the world and his international fanbase keeps growing as people catch wind of something new in the guitar world… many are the names mentioning Matteo as a force to be reckoned with, from Dweezil Zappa, Joe Bonamassa all the way to the legends :
Al Di Meola : “An absolute talent; his improvisational ability is light years ahead. It would take two or three lifetimes. It was like when Jaco (Pastorius) came on the scene…how did he get so good and so fast..?
Steve Vai: “The evolution of guitar is firmly secure in the hands of these kind of players…it’s just a new level, the tone , the touch , the notes…they are very clean players , no slobs !”.
In 2017 a trio by the name of “Snips” sees Matteo and his bandmates take on more jazz-rock and fusion elements ; their version of The Chicken hits 2.2 million views on YT. Same year within the world’s famous Umbria Jazz in Perugia, Italy, he gets awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College in Boston. Still with “SNIPS,” the positive streak of successful performances keep coming along in the following months : “Les Nuits De La Guitare” festival in Patrimonio, Corsica, Musikmesse 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany and Umbria Jazz again in 2018.
2019, Yamaha guitars becomes the official endorser of his appearance at the NAMM show in Los Angeles. Matteo also gets invited as judge on the panel of “Young Guitar Festival” in Bangkok, a masterclass tour in Russia hits Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm
2020, time for a line-up change with a new trio and Matteo goes solo now testing his compositional vein trying his own original material. As we all have experienced, the covid years have taken a toll on the industry at large. As soon as live gigs were again possible in 2021, the trio hit the road again , culminating with two sold out nights at the Blue Note in Milano…
Meanwhile, the name is making the rounds and offers come up almost unsolicited from the deep north all the way to the south : 2022 the Bremen International Festival, the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. Just a short break in June to graduate in jazz guitar from the Palermo Conservatory of Music with honors and honorable mention, and resume touring, this time sharing the stage with Al Di Meola himself on classical guitar at the closing night of the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival. Lugano
Jazz Festival in Switzerland with PFM (known prog-rock band from the 70s) in August, then the New Ross Guitar Festival, Ireland. A major prime-time stint on Italy’s Rai Tv (local official channel, BBClike) in September, Uppsala Jazz Festival in Sweden, Spoleto Jazz Festival back in Italy in October.

Jordan Rudess

Renowned as the “Best Keyboardist of All Time” by Music Radar Magazine, Jordan Rudess stands out as the extraordinary keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist for the platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning progressive rock band, Dream Theater. Embarking on his musical journey as a classical prodigy, Jordan initiated his studies at the illustrious Juilliard School of Music at the age of 9, laying the foundation for a career marked by a distinctive fusion of classical and rock influences.

Beyond his role in Dream Theater and the power group,  Liquid Tension Experiment, Jordan’s musical prowess has resonated across a diverse spectrum of collaborations. From Deep Purple and David Bowie to Steven Wilson and Jan Hammer, he has left an indelible mark on the industry. Notable projects such as LMR (his side venture with Tony Levin and Marco Minneman), Steven Wilson’s Blackfield, guest appearances with Deep Purple and the Dixie Dregs and collaborations with artists like Enrique Iglesias, the Paul Winter Consort, Annie Haslam, and many others, underscore the breadth of his musical reach.

Venturing into the realm of cutting-edge technology, Jordan has emerged as a pioneer with a focus on state-of-the-art keyboard controllers and music apps. As the owner of the highly successful iOS app development company, Wizdom Music, he has spearheaded the creation of award-winning apps, including GeoShred, MorphWiz, SampleWiz, Vythm, Polywave, Jam with Jordan and SampleWiz 2. GeoShred, Wizdom Music’s latest triumph, was a collaborative effort with moForte, founding members of Stanford University’s Sondius team. Rudess is currently working on an AI interactive project as Visiting Artist Lab at MIT’s Media Lab in the Responsive Environments group. Jordan previously held the position of artist-in-residence at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA).

With a global following, musicians worldwide seek inspiration from Jordan Rudess through his Patreon community which offers a comprehensive range of live events and materials encompassing harmony, rhythm, improvisation, ear training, and technique.

In addition to his musical achievements, Jordan has graced prestigious tech events as a keynote speaker, including MacWorld, Microsoft Build Developer Convention, and Project BBQ. Furthermore, his authorship extends beyond music, with two keyboard technique books to his credit, including the latest, “Total Keyboard Wizardry: A Technique and Improvisation Workbook.”

Follow Jordan on Instagram (@Jcrudess), Facebook (@Jordan Rudess Official), and explore his musical universe on his official website, www.Jordanrudess.com.

Yvette Young

Yvette Young is the guitarist and writer for the band Covet. In addition to her band, she has a solo project where she plays piano, acoustic guitar, and violin. Yvette grew up classically trained in piano and violin and taught herself guitar while in the hospital. After completing a Fine Art and Visual Performing Arts education degree at UCLA, she worked as an art teacher awhile before transitioning to a full time musician. Because of her own personal experiences with using art and music as her own personal outlets, she is a huge advocate for music as a source of therapy and songwriting as a way to build self esteem and find a voice.

Jeremy Colson

Jeremy Colson is a world-renowned drummer. In addition to his notable work with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai beginning in 2002, Jeremy has toured across the globe with a long list of diverse bands and musicians, including Billy Idol, Marty Friedman, and Michael Schenker. In addition to touring, Jeremy is a sought-after session drummer who has recorded professionally with a wide range of rock, metal, and pop acts. Essentially a self-taught musician, Jeremy’s distinctive style of drumming originates from his love of progressive rock and metal. He credits his childhood obsession with progressive rock and odd-time signatures for his ability to master the intricate details of the Vai music catalog. After countless international tours and appearances, two full-length studio albums, a concert DVD, and Steve’s Grammy nomination, for “Now We Run” from the iconic live CD “Where the Wild Things Are,” Jeremy remains Steve’s “go to” drummer more than a decade later. In addition to extensive touring with Steve in Russia, Europe, and Japan this year, Jeremy will embark on a drum clinic tour of China. In the Fall of 2014, Jeremy will launch Colson Drums, offering an elite level of custom, private drum instruction from his studio in Burbank, California. When he is not playing drums, Jeremy enjoys spending time with his wife, dogs and cats, and mountain biking in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Phillip Bynoe

Three-time Grammy nominee and Emmy Award-winning bassist Philip Bynoe is a prolific recording and touring musician. Though best known for his work with virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai, Philip has played everything from heavy metal to R&B to classical, and has worked with the likes of Kevin Eubanks, The Tonight Show Band, Dorian Holley (of Michael Jackson), Slash (of Velvet Revolver), Charlie Farren, and Ring of Fire with Tony MacAlpine. Music has been the focus of Philip’s life since early childhood. His father played string bass in an orchestra and his mother played the cello. At age six, Philip started to study cello, before later moving to guitar. It wasn’t until he picked up his father’s electric bass in sixth grade that he found his “voice.” He went on to attend The Berklee College of Music in Boston and studied with Wit Brown. Eventually, Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme introduced Philip to Mike Mangini and soon, Philip and Mike were playing together in the Rick Berlin Band. It was Mangini who later got Philip an audition with Steve Vai, whom Philip has recorded with and embarked on many world tours with. In 2005, Philip received an Emmy Award for his work on the soundtrack for a remake of Reefer Madness. Philip’s versatility keeps him in high demand with an eclectic range of artists. He also teaches bass and ensemble work at the L.A. Music Academy in Pasadena.

Dante Frisiello

Guitarist, composer, and producer, inspired by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Plini, Marco Minnemann, and Rush.

Larry Mitchell

Larry Mitchell is a Grammy award-winning producer, engineer, and performer who has toured the world playing guitar with well-known artists including Tracy Chapman, Billy Squier, Ric Ocasek and Miguel Bosé. In his original compositions, Larry skillfully weaves guitar textures that showcase his virtuosity as a solo artist and ensemble player.

As an artist, he has released 8 solo records and won a San Diego Music Award for the best pop-jazz artist. Larry is currently touring promoting his 2016 release “The Traveler”

As a producer-engineer, Larry has won 26 New Mexico Music Awards in various categories from pop, adult contemporary, rap, rock, country World music and Native American. He won a Grammy Award for producing, engineering and performing on “Totemic Flute Chants” by Native American artist Johnny Whitehorse, who is better known as Robert Mirabal of Taos Pueblo.

He has many long-standing endorsements and relationships with companies such as Ibanez Guitars, D’Addario Strings, D’Marzio Pickups, Tech 21 NYC, Cord-Lox, Dava Picks, Antares tech, Sennhieser Wireless systems, Pro Bag gig bags, Ultimate Ears, Peavey, Majik Box, Fractal Audio and now with Knaggs guitars and Godin Acoustic guitars, Morrow Audio cables.

Dave Weiner

Guitarist, engineer, producer and four-time Grammy nominee, Dave Weiner, has been playing guitar and writing music for nearly three decades. Starting at age 10, within three years, Dave had an original band and released a full-length record; another one at age 16. After high school, Dave went to college where his cover band played countless gigs and upon graduating (with an Accounting degree!), he moved to Hollywood to attend Musician’s Institute: Guitar Institute of Technology. While at school, Dave interned for Vai’s manager. Through this work, Dave met Vai and eventually Steve heard a demo Dave had recorded and, impressed, invited him to join his band. That was 1999. 16 years, seven world tours, multiple live DVD and CD releases and Dave is still Steve’s go-to guitarist. Dave also has multiple records of his own released (Daveweiner.com), created and hosts the internet’s longest-running guitar education video series (Guitopia.com), and started the Philly Guitar Club (phillyguitarclub.com).

Doug Doppler

With a disc out on Steve Vai’s esteemed Favored Nations label, tours supporting the likes of Michael Schenker, and a session background that includes Guitar Hero, Doug Doppler clearly took the lessons he learned as a student of Joe Satriani to heart.

In 2014 Doug launched GearTunes.com to connect the dots between gear, demos, and dealers. The GearTunes marketing platform helps brands get their message to market by engaging gear enthusiasts in new and innovative ways.

Doug remains a passionate music educator, offering Skype lessons, and teaching one day a week at the same Berkeley teaching studio he inherited from Joe Satriani.

Stig Mathisen

Stig Mathisen is a guitarist and educator from Northern Norway, currently residing in Los Angeles. Stig has a Masters and a Doctoral degree in guitar performance from University of Southern California, where he graduated with numerous awards for outstanding achievements. He studied Classical guitar at Tromso University for over six years, and has worked extensively as a freelance guitarist and University lecturer in both Norway and in the U.S. An eclectic guitarist by nature, Stig is equally comfortable with rock, jazz and classical music, and has rubbed shoulders with numerous world-class musicians over the years. A passionate explorer and a relentless seeker of all knowledge pertaining to guitar, improvisation, composition, music history and music philosophy, he has been on a quest since his formative years to discover the inner mechanics and the deeper secrets of music. Stig is currently the Chair of the Guitar Program (GIT) at Musicians Institute, in Hollywood, California, and he has written several of the books currently in use as core curriculum at the college.

Chris Cisneros

Rock-Fusion guitarist, composer, and producer Christopher Cisneros has dedicated over four decades to the guitar. From an educational perspective, Christopher deeply enjoys helping guitarists experience musical self-discovery, creative collaboration, and connection through performance and the art of listening.

Cisneros has studied Classical guitar, Jazz, Flamenco, and traditional Indian music, has two CD releases, and is deep into the production of his third. Christopher has enjoyed being part of the Dreamcatcher Events team for over six years and particularly loves helping campers immerse, learn, and create memorable musical experiences at Guitar Camp.