Jason Mraz Biography

Jason Thomas Mraz ( /məˈræz/;^[1] born June 23, 1977), also known as Mr. AZ,and Mr. Raz is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved major commercial success. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold over 100,000 copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.
Mraz's international breakthrough came with the release of the single "I'm Yours" from the album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was on the Hot 100 for 76 weeks, beating the previous record of 69 weeks held by LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live". The song was a huge commercial success in the US, receiving a 5x platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over five million.^[2] The song was successful internationally, topping the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.

Jason Mraz was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia.[3]  He is of Czech descent through his grandfather, who moved to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1915.[4]  His surname is Czech for "frost"[4]  (Czech: mráz). His parents, Tom(Tomáš) Mraz and June Mraz, divorced when he was four years old, but he asserts that he had an idyllic childhood, saying, "My hometown of Mechanicsville was very American. There were white picket fences, a church on every street corner, low crime and virtually no drug use. It was a good place to grow up.
Mraz attended Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville. As a teenager, Mraz participated in local theater with SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community). He played Joseph in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

After graduating from high school in 1995, Mraz attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, for a short time, studying musical theater. He dropped out of the school after taking up the guitar and focusing more on songwriting, and began performing at the world famous Java Joes. He had regular shows and was a favourite with audiences. He then briefly returned to Virginia before moving to San Diego, California.

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Miley Cyrus Biography

Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana. Cyrus recorded music for the soundtracks, Hannah Montana (2006) and Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), released by Walt Disney Records. With the success of the Hannah Montana franchise she established herself as a teen idol. In 2007, Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records to pursue a solo career. She embarked upon the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year, in which she performed as both herself and in character as Hannah Montana. The tour was eventually turned into a high-grossing concert film entitled Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008). In July 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, Breakout (2008), which was commercially successful.
She began her foray into film by providing the voice of "Penny" in the animated film Bolt (2008). Cyrus earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for her performance of Bolt's theme song, "I Thought I Lost You". She also reprised her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). The Hannah Montana: The Movie' soundtrack introduced her to new audiences within country and adult contemporary markets.
She began to cultivate an adult image in 2009 with the release of The Time of Our Lives (2009), an extended play which presented a more mainstream pop sound, and by filming The Last Song (2010), a coming-of-age drama film. The former included Cyrus's best-selling single, "Party in the U.S.A." (2009). A studio album titled Can't Be Tamed was released in 2010 and presents a new dance-pop sound. The music video and lyrics of the album's lead single, "Can't Be Tamed", portrays a more sexualized image for the entertainer. Cyrus ranked number thirteen on Forbes' 2010 Celebrity 100.^[3] In April 2011, Cyrus was named the 64th hottest woman in the world on Maxim's Hot 100.^[4] In May 2011, Cyrus was also named the 89th sexiest woman in the world on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the world.

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Bruno Mars Biography

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. After performing in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood, he decided to pursue a musical career and moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school. Mars began producing songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.
After an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, Mars signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.^[2] He was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".
Mars' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many different musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from different genres; Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Little Richard,^[3] Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop

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Mikey Way Biography

Mikey Way, born Michael James Way, on September 10, 1980 in Newark, New Jersey, where he grew up. He is the younger brother of Gerard Way, (whom he has a very close relationship with, and is also He is Scottish - Italian, like his brother). Way is related to Joe Rogan, Host of the NBC game/stunt show Fear Factor and former cast member of the sitcom News Radio (Joe is Mikey's mother's cousin's son).

Childhood

Growing up, Way worked for Barnes & Noble, in addition to being an intern at Eyeball Records (the company that put out My Chemical Romance's debut album, I brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love in 2002). The first concert he ever went to was a Smashing Pumpkins concert.

My Chemical Romance

Mikey is the bassist of the band My Chemical Romance and only learned bass in order to play in his brother's band, as well as dropping out of college. He plays both A Highway 1 Precision Bass, and a Fender Standard Precision Bass. Mikey was also responsible for the band's name, which came from an Irvine Welsh novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance. He and Gerard's grandmother happened to buy them their first tour van. During the first show My Chemical Romance played, Mikey drank a lot of liquor to mask his extreme stage fright.

Asthma, injuries

Mikey is nearsighted and has asthma, in addition to the fact that he smokes, and is a recovering iPod junkie. He currently loves the band Anthrax, Schlock horror films, and sushi, claiming he could eat his body weight in it. Mikey has been pretty lucky, considering the only injuries he's ever gotten were liver damage, broken toes (an epic battle with a brick wall), and multiple respiratory infections, as well as being bassist in the top-charting band, "My Chemical Romance".

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Frank Iero

Frank Anthony Iero Jr (born October 31, 1981) is the rhythm guitarist, co-lead guitarist and backup vocalist of the alternative rock band My Chemical Romance as well as the vocalist of the hardcore punk band Leathermouth.

Early life

He was born in Belleville, New Jersey and grew up in Kearny, New Jersey.^[1] Iero attended Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington.^{[citation needed]} As a child he suffered numerous bouts of bronchitis and ear infections which meant he spent a lot of his childhood in hospital and to this day he still suffers from Epstein Barr Virus which is usually to blame for his illnesses and absences on tour.^[2] Frank is also lactose intolerant and has other various food allergies.^[3] He went to Rutgers University on a scholarship, but dropped out to go on tour with My Chemical Romance.
Iero's parents split when he was young and he grew up living with his mother, who lent out her basement to her son's many band practices; his father and grandfather were musicians and both were big influences on Iero when he was young. His father urged him to play drums, but Iero later began playing the guitar.

Music career

Frank started playing in local bands on the New Jersey punk scene at age 11. Before joining My Chemical Romance he served as frontman for the punk band Pencey Prep. The band released an album, Heartbreak in Stereo, on the independent Eyeball Records before disbanding. Whilst playing with Pencey Prep, he became friends with Gerard Way and the other My Chemical Romance members, became a fan of their original demo and helped them get their first shows. After his band broke up, Frank played in several bands, including I Am A Graveyard, Hybrid, Sector 12, and American Nightmare before being offered the slot of rhythm guitar in My Chemical Romance. Iero is also the frontman of hardcore punk quintet Leathermouth, who released their debut album XO in January 2009, on Epitaph Records. He is involved in a tribute band to The Cure named The Love Cats, after the song of the same name, and played bass with Reggie And The Full Effect on their farewell tour.
He was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.^[4]
On 7 December 2010, Iero parted ways with the record company Skeleton Crew he and his wife co-founded years earlier in order to concentrate on his family and his music with My Chemical Romance stating that, although he would have loved to carry on, he could not juggle his career with the band, the new additions to his family (newborn daughters) and co-running a business at the same time.^[5]

Equipment

In the earlier days of My Chemical Romance, Iero mainly used Gibson SG's & Epiphone Les Paul guitars (most notably his white Les Paul nicknamed 'Pansy' which proved popular amongst his fans but has since been broken while onstage) and Marshall amps. He has since switched to using Gibson Les Pauls (with the Neck Pick-up removed) and occasionally uses a Gibson SG. For the "World Contamination Tour" he has also been using an Epiphone Wilshire. He also used a Fender Stratocaster in the Desolation Row video.

Personal life and political views

On March 9, 2008 Iero married his long-term girlfriend Jamia Nestor after proposing during the recording of The Black Parade.^[6]
Iero has many tattoos including logos for the bands Black Flag and The Misfits, symbols of his love for his home state, New Jersey, a matching 'revenge' tattoo with James Dewees and others by acclaimed tattoo artist Kat Von D: a Frankenstein's monster and portraits of his grandmothers and grandfather, all of which were featured in Von D's book High Voltage Tattoo and the latter of which was done on an episode of her reality show LA Ink in which Iero featured.^[2] In the aforementioned book, Von D states that she was present at Iero's wedding indicating that the two have remained friends.
Iero has expressed his pro-gay rights stance on numerous occasions, including wearing a pro-gay marriage t-shirt on tour and his home-custom red 'Homophobia is gay' t-shirt which has become a fan favourite. He also revealed to Rock Sound magazine that he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
He has been a vegetarian since childhood after discovering the mistreatment animals endure in slaughterhouses and rearing farms and in 2008 PETA dubbed Iero one of the World's Sexiest Vegetarians, alongside Alyssa Milano.^[7]
On September 7, 2010, Iero announced on the My Chemical Romance official website that he and his wife Jamia had become parents of twin girls named Cherry and Lily.

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Ray toro biography

Raymond Toro Ortiz was born July 15, 1977 in Newark, New Jersey. He was born with brown eyes, and grew up to be 6'1".

Childhood

Growing up, his mother was always very protective, and in junior high to impress a girl he stuck a piece of Runts candy in his nose (like a booger), but it ended up getting stuck in his nose and he had to go to the nurse to get it taken out. He went to the same high school as Gerard & Mikey, and they were 'loose friends'. He also used to have a pet dog called boy, growing up in a Puerto Rican household.

My Chemical Romance

Ray is the lead guitarist for My Chemical Romance and he and Gerard met while studying in a music school in New York and formed the band together. Toro is in large part responsible for all the My Chemical Romance instrumentals, as well as writing the majority of My Chemical Romance's music, and often helps Frank write his guitar music. He plays a SG Gibson Guitar: SG Series, which has a mahogany body with a rosewood fingerboard.

Favorite bands, injuries, girlfriend

His favorite band is Iron Maiden, but still makes time for classic music every now and then. A few injuries he's gotten over the years include "Guitar Burn". It's similar to rug burn, and generally affects the forearm area; some specialists attribute it to sweat, friction, and intense rocking. A large gash in the head, caused by getting cracked in the head with Frank's guitar. Oh, and one brutally nasty hangnail. He also says that My Chemical Romance are always writing material on tour because they are so eager to make a new album. Toro wears contacts and has a girlfriend named Christa. from www.imnotokay.net

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gerard way biography

Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American musician and comic book writer who has served as lead vocalist and co-founder of the band My Chemical Romance since its formation in 2001. He is also the writer of the Eisner Award-winning comic book The Umbrella Academy.

Early life

Gerard Way was born April 9, 1977 in Summit, New Jersey^[1] to Donna Lee (née Rush) and Donald Way. He has Italian ancestry on his mother's side and Scottish ancestry on his father's. He was raised in Belleville, New Jersey and first began singing publicly in the fourth grade, when he played the role of Peter Pan in a school musical production. His maternal grandmother, Elena Lee Rush, was a great creative influence who taught him to sing, paint, and perform from a young age; he has said that "she has taught me everything I know".^[2]
At the age of 15, Way was held at gunpoint, as he said in an April 2008 Rolling Stone interview: "I got held up with a .357 Magnum, had a gun pointed to my head and put on the floor, execution-style." He went on to say that "no matter how ugly the world gets or how stupid it shows me it is, I always have faith."^[3]
Way attended Belleville High School until he graduated in 1995. Deciding to pursue a career in the comic-book industry,^[4] he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999.^[2][5]

Career

Music

As teenagers Gerard and his brother Mikey Way, who later became the bassist of My Chemical Romance, were influenced by the bands Iron Maiden and The Misfits as well as British artists such as Pulp, Blur and Morrissey and The Smiths. Way originally wanted to be a guitarist. His grandmother bought him his first guitar at the age of eight and he played in short-lived bands such as Ray Gun Jones and Nancy Drew with future bandmate Ray Toro, but when he was not successful (one band kicking him out due to his lack of skill with the guitar), he chose to concentrate on his art career.^{[citation needed]}
Way was working as an intern for Cartoon Network in New York City during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Seeing the effects of the attacks first-hand prompted Way to change his views on life in the following weeks. He told Spin magazine, "I literally said to myself, 'Fuck art. I’ve gotta get out of the basement. I’ve gotta see the world. I’ve gotta make a difference.'"^[6] To help deal with the emotional effects the attacks had on him, Way wrote the lyrics to the song "Skylines and Turnstiles", which has since been identified as the first song by My Chemical Romance.^[7] Soon after, My Chemical Romance began to assemble as a band.
Way has contributed vocally to bands such as Every Time I Die's 'Kill The Music', Head Automatica's 'Graduation Day', Say Anything's "In Defense Of The Genre", and The Oval Portrait's "From My Cold Dead Hands" and "Barnabus Collins Has More Skeletons In His Closet Than Vincent Price".
In many interviews Way has stated that music turned out to be an effective outlet to deal with his longtime battles against depression, alcoholism and prescription drug use. The use of music as a way to resolve personal battles has caused Way to create deeply personal songs such as "Helena,"^[8] which was written in memory of his late grandmother.
In early 2009, Way and Japanese rock singer Kyosuke Himuro co-produced the new theme song for Advent Children Complete, the Blu-Ray director's cut of the movie sequel to the popular video game franchise, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. He is also credited with writing the lyrics, and singing alongside Himuro. The song is entitled "Safe and Sound," and according to Himuro's website, will be available on iTunes on April 29, 2009.^[9] "Safe and Sound" is only heard on the Japanese release of the film; the English release uses Himuro's "Calling" (the original ending theme for Advent Children) in place of it.

Writing

Gerard Way's first attempt at writing a comic was at the age of 16, writing a short-lived comic series called 'On Raven's Wings', which was cancelled after Issue 2 due to losing the art team; he was credited as Garry Way.^[10]
In 2007, Way began writing the comic-book miniseries The Umbrella Academy. Way wrote the story and illustrated the original version, but cartoonist Gabriel Ba recreated all of Way's original drawings in the final version. A few of Way's first drawings of the characters can be seen in the last few pages of the first book in the series, "The Apocalypse Suite".
The Apocalypse Suite was first released by Dark Horse Comics in their Free Comic Book Day issue on May 5, 2007.^[11] Since then, an eight-page story has been published on MySpace, entitled "Safe & Sound".^[12] The first official issue was released on September 19, 2007.^[13] The first issue to sell out and consequently there was a second printing released on October 17, 2007.^[14] The next installment was released on November 26, 2008.^[15]
He and fellow artists Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan are currently in the process of developing and creating a new comic-book series titled "The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys", which Way announced at Comic Con 2009.

Cartoons

In 2001 Way co-created a cartoon with Joe Boyle called The Breakfast Monkey. They pitched it to Cartoon Network, but the network declined to pick up the concept on the grounds that it was too similar to the existing property Aqua Teen Hunger Force.^[16]

Personal life

Way has struggled with alcoholism and prescription drug addiction for many years and has now been sober since August 2004.^[17] In a recent issue of Spin magazine, he said that, having become a happier person and feeling more in control, he has been able to enjoy the occasional recreational drink.
On September 3, 2007 after a concert in Colorado, Way married LynZ of Mindless Self Indulgence backstage on the final date of the Projekt Revolution tour. A member of Live Nation's touring staff that was also an ordained minister performed the low-key ceremony.^[18] He currently lives with his wife in Los Angeles, California.^[19] Their daughter, Bandit Lee Way, was born in California on May 27, 2009.

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Matt. Shadows Biography

Matthew Charles Sanders (born July 31, 1981), better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.

Shadows was born Matthew Charles Sanders on July 31, 1981, in Huntington Beach, California. He attended Huntington Beach High School, where after a brief stint in the band Successful Failure, he went to an old friend James Sullivan and began to form the earliest incarnations of Avenged Sevenfold.
Shadows has made guest appearances on numerous albums by various artists. He also produced The Confession's 2007 album, Requiem, which, according to an interview, was one of the first steps which led to Avenged Sevenfold self-producing their 2007 self-titled album.

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The Rev (James Owen Sullivan) Biography

James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009),^[1] more commonly known by his stage name The Reverend Tholomew Plague, often shortened to The Rev, was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. He was also the lead vocalist in Pinkly Smooth, a side project where he was known by the name Rat Head, with fellow Avenged Sevenfold member, guitarist Synyster Gates. Sullivan grew up and lived in Huntington Beach, California.^[2] The Rev was found dead on December 28, 2009, at the age of 28.

The Rev obtained his first pair of drum sticks at the age of four and received his own drum set at the age of eleven.^[3] In high school, he started playing in bands. Before leaving to join Avenged Sevenfold as one of the band's founding members, Sullivan was the drummer for the third wave ska band Suburban Legends. At the age of eighteen he recorded his first album with Avenged Sevenfold titled Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. His early influences included Frank Zappa and King Crimson. The Rev said in a Modern Drummer Magazine interview that "I was raised on that stuff as much as rock and metal."^[3]
Later in life he was influenced by drummers Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, and Terry Bozzio.^[4] He even had a "visual influence", Tommy Lee, on which he commented that "I never thought I'd have one of those."^[3] Sullivan's signature ability which he called "the double-ride thing, just for lack of a better definition, because no one does it,"^[5] is a technique that can be heard on tracks such as "Almost Easy", "Critical Acclaim", and "Crossroads" in which Sullivan doubles up at a fast tempo between the double bass and ride cymbals.
The band won the MTV Music Award for Best New Artist in 2006^[1], beating out Rihanna, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves, James Blunt and Chris Brown, where The Rev gave his acceptance speech.
The Rev was also a vocalist, songwriter, and pianist for Avenged Sevenfold. His piano-playing can be heard on the tracks "Warmness on the Soul", "Seize The Day", "Fiction" and "Save Me". His vocals are featured in Avenged Sevenfold's "A Little Piece of Heaven", "Brompton Cocktail", "Critical Acclaim", "Crossroads", "Gunslinger", "Lost", "Scream", "Afterlife", and "Fiction". He used his knowledge of the guitar and piano to write the songs "Almost Easy", "A Little Piece of Heaven", "Afterlife", "Brompton Cocktail", "Welcome to the Family", "Save Me", and "Fiction". He also contributed to the making of "Critical Acclaim" and "Lost".^{[citation needed]}
Avenged Sevenfold also announced that they will be releasing a demo version of "Nightmare" including The Rev on an electric drumset and his vocals.
At the second annual Revolver Golden God Awards, The Rev won the award for Best Drummer beating out Chris Adler of Lamb of God, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Dave Grohl of Them Crooked Vultures and Dave Lombardo of Slayer. The award was presented by Joey Jordison of Slipknot and Vinnie Paul of Pantera, with the latter winning the award the previous year. His family members and Avenged Sevenfold received the honour on his behalf.^[6]

Death

Sullivan's body was found in his home on December 28, 2009 at the age of 28.^[1] His death was reported as due to natural causes. The results of the autopsy performed on December 30, 2009, however, were inconclusive.^[1] On June 9, 2010, the cause of death was revealed to have been an acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of oxycodone (OxyContin), oxymorphone (a metabolite of oxycodone), diazepam (Valium), nordiazepam (a metabolite of diazepam) and alcohol.^[7]
On January 5, 2010, a private funeral was held for Sullivan,^[8] and a day later he was buried in Huntington Beach, California.

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Synyster Gates Biography

Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. (July 7, 1981), better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.

Haner attended Mayfair High School in Lakewood, but he later transferred and graduated from Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California.
He studied at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the Guitar Institute of Technology program, studying jazz guitar. After six or so months of being there, he got a phone call from The Rev asking him if he wanted to join his band, Avenged Sevenfold, as lead guitarist. Haner joined rather than continuing his education and becoming a studio musician. Up until that time he was primarily self-taught by watching music videos and reading books. His father, Brian Haner, Sr., is a comedian, songwriter, and guitarist.

Avenged Sevenfold

Gates joined Avenged Sevenfold when he was 18 at the end of 1999, right before the recording of the band's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He was featured on the EP Warmness on the Soul, and on the reissue of the band's first album.
Gates became the band's official lead guitarist. After Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, the band has released 4 studio albums: Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare and a live DVD/CD Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough.
On the Avenged Sevenfold DVD All Excess, Gates claimed that his name was created on a drunken drive through the park with The Rev.
He has won numerous awards, including the 2006 Metal Hammer "Young Shredder" award and the 2006 Total Guitar Magazine "Guitarist of the Year."
In Revolver magazine, the Avenged Sevenfold special edition that was released the same day as the Nightmare album, Gates stated that he originally started out writing the song "So Far Away" in honor of his grandfather, it later on became to also honor his late bandmate The Rev as well.

Pinkly Smooth

Haner, along with The Rev, played in an avant-garde metal band named Pinkly Smooth. Formed in the summer of 2001 in Huntington Beach, California, the band featured ex-Ballistico members Buck Silverspur on bass and D-Rock on drums. The band has released one album, Unfortunate Snort on Bucktan Records, which features a crossover sound of mostly punk, ska and avant-garde. Former Avenged Sevenfold bassist Justin Meacham played keyboards and piano on the album. There was speculation that Pinkly Smooth was going to produce another record, but due to the death of The Rev, it is highly unlikely that they will produce any more material. However, Synyster Gates has said that he would consider remastering the tracks from Unfortunate Snort and re-releasing the album.^{[citation needed]}

Featured guest appearances

• Bleeding Through's "Savior, Saint, Salvation," track
• Good Charlotte's "The River" track and music video (with M. Shadows)
• Burn Halo's "Dirty Little Girl" music video
• Burn Halo's "Anejo" track
• He and his father wrote and recorded the theme song to The Jeff Dunham Show.

Equipment

Guitars

Synyster Gates uses mainly Schecter Guitars. Schecter Guitar Research has been sponsoring him and he has signature Avenger models. He has also been seen using ESP guitars when A7X were recording Waking The Fallen and City Of Evil

• Schecter Synyster Gates Signature Custom models with Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invaders and Sustainiac neck pickup sustainer
• Schecters custom models with Rebel flag, American flag, German flag, Black with Red Stripes, Red with Black Stripes, and one with Tune-O-Matic Bridge.
• Schecter Avenger
• Schecter C-1 Classic - Transparent Blue
• Schecter Custom C-1 FR
• Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR
• Schecter PT Fastback
• Schecter S-1 loaded with Seymour Duncan JBs
• Gibson Les Paul in arctic white, this was used in the video for Unholy Confessions
• Parker Fly (not sure exact model/color)
• Ibanez - S Prestige

Amplifiers & Effects Unit

He has used Bogner, Marshall, Randall, Mesa/Boogie and many more amps in the studio, bu has always been seen with Marshall live

• Marshall JVM205H (for Nightmare)
• Krank Distortus Maximus^[1]
• Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
• Boss CS-3 Compresser Sustainer(2) ^[2]
• Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb
• Boss BF-3 Flanger
• Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
• Frantone "The Sweet" Distortion
• Digitech Whammy Pedal
• Dunlop Crybaby from Hell
• Dunlop Crybaby RackWah
• Budda Custom Wah
• MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC-401 Boost Pedal
• MXR Carbon Copy Delay
• MXR Custom Comp
• Visual Sound H20 Chorus & Echo^[3]
• Ernie Ball Wah Pedal^[4]

• Sustainiac Stealth Pro Sustainer

• Bogner Uberschall
• Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet
• Mesa Boogie Rectifier
• Marshall JCM 800

• Mesa Boogie 4x12 Cabinets
• Marshall 4x12 Cabinets

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zacky vengeance Biography

Zachary James Baker, (born December 11, 1981) better known by his stage name Zacky Vengeance, is the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the American metal/rock band Avenged Sevenfold.

Baker taught himself how to play the guitar when he was thirteen. He attended Huntington Beach High School, and formed Avenged Sevenfold there with M. Shadows and The Rev. Before Avenged Sevenfold, he was in a punk band called MPA*, which stands for Mad Porno Action. He implied that they were not successful. Baker came up with his stage name "Zacky Vengeance" because he wanted to get back at all the people from his youth who doubted his potential. He also came up with Johnny's stage name "Johnny Christ," saying it suited him. Vengeance was also responsible for the creation of the initialism "A7X".^[1]
Despite being left-handed, Vengeance recalls the first guitar he learned to play on was actually a right-handed his parents had bought him for his thirteenth birthday. He learned by playing upside-down, watching his favorite bands and other people he knew who played, and practiced as much as he could. He would also read each edition of Guitar World cover to cover, learning the tabs of the songs published there and watching the professionals perform them until he could play just as well.

Guitars

Vengeance uses Schecter Guitars, and endorses the company.

• The Vengeance standard
• The Vengeance Standard model (rebel flag as seen in "Walk" at Ozzfest in 2006)
• The ZV camo (seen using in Glasgow 2010)
• The ZV special designed by Zacky Vengeance
• The ZV custom (His first custom given by schecter)
• The ZV Blade
• The ZV special & custom with FR (as seen behind the scenes in the Live in the LBC DVD)
• The ZV mirror (as seen in Nightmare music video and on the Nightmare Tour.)
• The ZV "Gynecologist" with blood splatters. This version is different to the others as this comes with Seymour Duncan Invaders instead of his usual Seymour Duncan SH-4 "JB" set(now with white SH-4"JB"set)
• Vengeance has many custom shop S-1 models made exclusively for him.
• All models are loaded with Seymour Duncan JB Pickups.
• Formerly a Gibson SG left-handed was used by him (as seen in Warmness on the Soul music video)
• Seen using a Schecter PT series custom at the HEAVY MTL 2010
• In 2009 he was seen using a Fender Telecaster (blonde/creme) (this guitar was also used during performances of Buried Alive in 2010)
• Schecter S-1 with duncan designed hb-102
• Schecter Avenger lefty with EMG pickups
• Schecter S-1 custom (New in December 2010)
• Schecter S-1 bullseye custom as seen in Uproar backstage.
• Schecter Tempest Extreme Vengeance Custom (This model has vengeance blades on the knobs)

Amps

• Marshall Cabinet 4x12
• Jet City JCA100H

Effects units and accessories

• Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
• ISP Decimator
• Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher
• Palmer junction DI
• Ernie Ball "Skinny Top, Heavy Bottom 10-52" strings
• Dunlop Tortex Vengeance university 0.73mm (VU logo)
• Dunlop foREVer commemrative strap (only 2 of these have been made,both owned by Zacky)

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johnny christ Biography

Jonathan Lewis Seward, (born November 18, 1984), better known by his stage name Johnny Christ, is the bassist in the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.^[1] Johnny Christ was the fourth bassist to join Avenged Sevenfold in 2002, replacing former members Matt Wendt, Dameon Ash, and Justin Sane. He grew up in Huntington Beach, California.

Johnny Christ attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. He proceeded through high school and eventually formally met M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates, and The Rev (the latter two he already knew from school). Following the departure of Dameon Ash in 2002, he was invited to fill the position as Avenged Sevenfold's bassist. He is friends with Zacky Vengeance's younger brother Matt Baker^{[disambiguation needed]}formerly from the band The Dear & Departed. In May 2009 he participated in the Gumball 3000 Rally, driving coast to coast with the Fuel Girls.
Johnny initially took a few weeks off from high school during his senior year to fill in for Avenged Sevenfold's previous bassist, Dameon Ash, during one of their tours. These few weeks would become permanent as Johnny dropped out of high school to become the band's current bassist.
His two biggest influences are Cliff Burton (late bassist for Metallica) and Duff McKagan (the bassist from Velvet Revolver and formerly Guns N' Roses).^{[citation needed]}
His playing style varies by song.
Johnny first recorded on their second album Waking the Fallen. He used to write only Johnny on his autographs until Zacky came up with the name "Johnny Christ", and in All Excess he said, "That sounds... really ballsy. Everyone's gonna hate that, so... I should definitely go with that." He resides in Huntington Beach, Orange County.

Equipment

• Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray Custom Black W/ Steel Pickguard
• Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray W/ Custom "Mr.Death" Graphic
• Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray Custom Grey Burst W/ Matching Head Stock
• Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling (2H) Bass
• Ernie Ball Musicman 30th Anniversary Stingray
• Seymour Duncan Pickups
• Gallien Krueger 412 Neo cab
• Gallien Krueger 410RBH Cabs x2
• Gallien Krueger 2001 RB Head x2
• Ernie Ball 2831 Power Slinky Bass Strings
• Rickenbacker 4003 bass natural finish

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Posted in: Biography

Alexi Laiho biography

Alexi "WildChild" Laiho (born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho; April 8, 1979) is a Finnish singer, composer, and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead guitarist as well as lead vocalist for heavy metal band Children of Bodom, and he is also the guitarist for Sinergy and Kylähullut. He has previously played with Thy Serpent and Impaled Nazarene on occasion, as well as Warmen and Hypocrisy.
Guitar World magazine has ranked him as one of the 50 fastest guitarists in the world.

In 2004, Laiho founded a side-project called Kylähullut, which was assembled together with Tommi Lillman (ex-Sinergy) and Vesa Jokinen 69er (from Klamydia). The band was created merely for the entertainment of the musicians, and takes a carefree approach to their music. The band's discography includes two EP's, and two full-length albums.
Laiho's life is dedicated almost entirely to music, and whenever he is not on tour with one of his bands, he is playing video games, drinking, or practicing. His main hobby is cars; he was taught how to drive by his father at the age of 10. Alexi owns a Pontiac Trans Am, a 1974 Dodge Monaco (license plate COB-79) and a Buick. In February 2002 Alexi married Kimberly Goss, the front-woman of the band Sinergy, during a private ceremony in Finland. Prior to the marriage, they dated for four years. In 2004 they separated, but still remain close friends and band mates in Sinergy. He is currently dating Kristen Mulderig, the manager of Slayer. More than once, Laiho has referred to his band-mates as "probably the only real friends I ever had" or saying "I'm not friends with those motherfuckers... I'm just brothers with them." He has the letters "COBHC" (Children of Bodom Hate Crew) tattooed on his left hand and "HATE" tattooed on his right hand as a homage to Ozzy Osbourne, who has a similar tattoo with the letters O-Z-Z-Y, except it's on the left hand. Alexi has been featured on the cover of Young Guitar Magazine several times, as well as being on the cover of Guitar World along with master guitarists Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde. In January 2005 Rolling Stones interviewed Kirk Hammett of Metallica and the interviewer asked him "Who do you think is the best guitarist ever?" to which Hammett responded "That would be me! Nah, just kidding. I would say it's the one and only Joe Satriani or that kid Alexi! What a power he has!"^{[citation needed]} The "Wildchild" nickname is derived from the song "Wild Child" by the band W.A.S.P. His first guitar was a Tokai Stratocaster.^{[citation needed]}
In April 2005 Laiho generated controversy in the metal community when, in an interview with Guitar World magazine, he referred to popular prog metal act Dream Theater as "super lame" going on to say "It's not even music; it's sports." The magazine also referred to Dream Theater as Laiho's "favorite whipping boys." In January 2006 issue of the same magazine, reader Brad Bailey asked "Why did you make those lame comments about Dream Theater in GW? You're a fine player, but comments like those just make people lose respect for you. Did you know it caused a big stir?" to which Laiho responded "Fuck. Well, apparently it did. First of all, I think it's really funny that people trash bands and musicians every day on the internet, and nobody gives a shit. But once you say something like that - which wasn't even too bad - in a magazine, all of a sudden you're the biggest dick on the earth. But truthfully, I don't know why I said that. I was having a bad day or something. Obviously, John Petrucci is a much better player than I am, and it's not my place to talk shit about him."^{[citation needed]} Petrucci responded in a later issue "Better than Alexi Laiho? No way, that guy can play fast solos while drunk!"
Children of Bodom Played the 2008 Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards, Laiho also received the Dimebag Award for "Best Shredder", and he performed a track off of Children of Bodom's 2008's album, Blooddrunk.
Laiho appears on Canadian thrash metal outfit Annihilator's 2007 album, Metal, as a guest, performing a guitar solo on the song "Downright Dominate".
In spring of 2009 Children of Bodom was forced to drop out of their North American "No Fear Energy Tour" when Laiho broke his wrist after falling out of his bunk when the tour bus took a sharp turn on April 26, 2009, after the show in Palladium Ballroom, Dallas TX. Laiho originally planned to continue touring despite his injury, but was forced to cancel last 6 dates when any efforts to alleviate the pain failed. According to Laiho, "I wanted to try to keep going but after seeing a second doctor in Philadelphia, I was basically told that I could fuck myself up for life if I don’t stop playing. Against all recommendation, I have played and sang for the last 10 days in violent pain which has only made my condition worsen. So, I decided to listen to everyone around me, who were telling me the best thing to do would be to go home and get some proper rest and give my wrist some time to heal". All summer festival dates will go down as planned and remain unaffected by Alexi's injury.^[2][3]

Guitar endorsements

In January 2003, ESP Guitars announced a line of Alexi Laiho Signature Models. The US version guitars are a slightly different shape than what Alexi usually plays, as the RV shape is a copyrighted Jackson shape. So to avoid a lawsuit, ESP made the bottom horn slightly larger and also put in a cut-away to get to the higher frets, like a modified BC Rich Ironbird. Another difference is the use of solid black or yellow pinstripes on the paint finish instead of his traditional pinstriped design which lies on the bevels of the guitar.
The guitar comes in two finishes: black w/yellow stripe, white w/black stripe. The guitar has a neck-thru 25.5” design, using a 3-pc maple neck with a 24-fret ebony fingerboard and pearl saw-tooth inlays, although Alexi does not actually use these in live shows
The ESP Alexi includes white binding on neck and head, the ESP custom shop version comes with a natural maple neck while the LTD is painted, and it comes with professional-quality components including a Floyd Rose original tremolo, Gotoh tuners, and a single Seymour Duncan AHB-1 in the bridge position, (or an EMG HZ H4 humbucker).
As of 2007, a cheaper model (the Alexi- 200) is also available, in either solid black or white finish. It's a bolt on, 25.5" Scale with the body made out of basswood, with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. It features a Floyd Rose Licensed bridge and one EMG-ESP LH-301 bridge pickup. There is also a Limited Edition Alexi signature guitar (the ESP LTD Alexi-600SE) which is black and pink. He also has a Custom Shop and Standard version of the Black and Pink guitar in his traditional pinstriped design that is not available in the USA.
There are six ESP models that he actually uses (custom shop models are mostly seen in Japan)
1. Scythe (available in Standard version, Custom Shop Version and USA version) white with black pinstripes and Scythe inlays,Chrome hardware
2. Arrow Head (Only available in Custom Shop version) Black with solid yellow pinstripes very much like the USA ALEXI 600 but with pearl Arrow Head inlays, Gold hardware
3. Sawtooth (Custom Shop Version) Black with luminous pinstripes and luminous sawtooth inlays (Standard Version) Black with white pinstripes and pearl sawtooth inlays both the CS and STD version are available in chrome or gold hardware
4. Katakana (only in Standard version) Black with yellow pinstripes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 frets with pearl sawtooth inlays katakana (Japanese letter) inlays in the 12 fret which spelled "Alexi", gold hardware with larger cutaway
5. Pink Sawtooth (STD&CS) Black with Pink pinstripes pink sawtooth inlays 20 to 24 frets scalloped, black hardware with larger cutaway
6. Blacky (STD&CS&USA) Matt black with gloss black pinstripes black pearl sawtooth inlays 20 to 24 frets scalloped, black nickel hardware with larger cutaway
Note: The 2010 version of Scythe Sawtooth and Arrow Head has the larger cutaway like the Pink Sawtooths

Equipment

Alexi Laiho has used the Lee Jackson GP-1000 Preamp and Marshall JCM 800 cabinets (with 75 watt Celestion speakers) and various power amps for most of his career. Recently he started experimenting with different amp heads including the Krank Revolution, Marshall JCM800 KK (which he used to record Blooddrunk with), and the Engl Special Edition EL34 head. However, his guitar tech recently noted in a Premier Guitar interview that he has gone back to using the Lee Jackson Preamp and VHT Poweramp rack. He first used an Ibanez KZ 220B to record the first Children of Bodom record and eventually switched to Jackson Guitars and used them for several years until both (the one with the WildChild sticker and the one with white pinstripes) of his guitars were stolen. He asked Jackson to make him another one, but the time-table they gave him for its production was too long (around a years time). ESP came to him and said that it would take around 3 months for his new signature model to be up and running, so Alexi took this offer. Thus he switched to ESP guitars.
His ESP guitars are based on the flying V, similar to the Jackson Randy Rhoads shape, except the body is cut slightly different on North American models. They all feature a single bridge pickup and double-locking tremolo. He is known for using a passive EMG ALX pickup with an on board active preamp circuit to boost the output signal. This creates his unique, active-sounding guitar tone.
He also uses DR Strings Hi-Beam 11-50 gauge for D Standard tuning. For Drop C, he uses DR Jeff Healey Signature 10-56 Strings. He has also recently been given a signature set of DR strings. He uses Jim Dunlop Jazz III picks.
In February of 2011, one Purehmv (Canada) member redeemed a Children of Bodom Alexi Laiho Signature ESP Flying V guitar for 1,100,000 points, the highest point total redeemed to date.

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Posted in: Biography