Rich A + Musician in Woodland Hills, CA

SEEKING

ABOUT

I am a dynamic, versatile lead guitarist and Los Angeles native who has played professionally and semi-professionally with a number of local original hard rock bands and tributes over the years. I'm firmly rooted in a blues foundation, and my style is heavily influenced by the early rock heroes of the late 60's and 70's, the classic metal from the 80's, and a potent dose of the 90's grunge era.

I'm open to joining original hard rock and metal bands or tributes out there that are serious about quality playing and performance.

X NATION (Grunge-era Tribute)

Most recently, I have been the lead guitar player for the grunge-era tribute band, X Nation (xnationband), which I co-founded in 2011. While I'm capable of delivering the goods from a wide variety of 90's bands, my playing style is particularly suited to channelling Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) or Mike McCready (Pearl Jam).

ED FORCE ONE (Iron Maiden Tribute)

I've also had the opportunity recently to master and gig a full Iron Maiden set with Ed Force One. Taking on Adrian Smith's guitar parts note-for-note, I realized that first learning these songs as a teenager heavily influence my overall playing style later in life.

DEAD END SKY (Original Modern Hard Rock)

In 2013, I joined Dead End Sky, an original hard rock band founded by Kyle Zemanek (Deadsett, Devolved, Five Finger Death Punch). Kyle originally tapped me for a studio gig to write and record all the guitar solos for the first album, and I later joined full-time. The band received attention and radio play for the first single "Always" and later for its follow up "When You Fall.” With the release of the first single, we were invited to perform live on the Las Vegas morning show “Morning Blend.” In 2015 we recorded our second album with Josh Newell (Linkin Park, In This Moment). We completed and released the first single (The Last Days of Summer) in 2016. Unfortunately, Kyle suffered a medical condition with his vocal chords that permanently ended his singing career. Nevertheless, we’re currently finalizing the mixing and mastering, and we expect to release that album in the next several months as our “swan song.”

IT’S ME MARGARET (Original Power Pop)

I was the original lead guitar player for this incredible power pop band led by Big Stir Records recording artist, Leslie Periera. In 2014, we temporarily reunited and played a series of gigs for dedicated fans for the bulk of that year.

L.A.M.F. (Original Metal)

This metal band married the heavy riffing of bands like Tool and Soundgarden with the vocal stylings of Rage Against the Machine to create quite a buzz in L.A.’s heavy alternative scene during the mid-to-late 90’s. An opening slot with Motorhead and some terrestrial radio airplay earned the band a deal with an independent metal label.

Screen name:

Rich A

Member since:

Jul 30 2019

Active within 2 weeks

Level of commitment:

Very Committed

Years playing music:

25

Gigs played:

Over 100

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Most available:

Nights

Influences

Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), Angus Young (AC/DC), Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden), Stevie Ray Vaughan, Toni Iommi (Black Sabbath), Jimmy Page, Slash

Instrument experience:

Rhythm Guitar:

Expert

Lead Guitar:

Expert

Acoustic Guitar:

Advanced

EQUIPMENT

Several Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats
Bogner Ecstasy 101B
Friedman Pink Taco
1967 Fender Bassman
Fender Blues Junior
Ridiculous collection of pedals
PA equipment
Home recording setup
Home rehearsal studio with full backline (secure and private)

MUSIC