RJ Ronquillo | |
---|---|
Born | 1976 (age 47–48) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist, YouTuber |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 2002-present |
Website | www |
RJ Ronquillo (born 1976 in Detroit, MI) is an American session and touring guitarist and YouTube personality. [1] He has performed and recorded with artists such as Ricky Martin, Santana, Tupac Shakur, Stone Sour, Stevie Wonder, and Thompson Square. He is known for his YouTube channel which focuses on guitar gear demos, guitar lessons, and behind-the-scenes tour vlogs. [2]
Ronquillo was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Grosse Pointe, an eastern suburb. He attended the Grosse Pointe Academy from preschool through eighth grade, and Grosse Pointe South High School. He attended the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida and graduated with a bachelor of music degree in Studio Music & Jazz for guitar. [3]
In 2001, while living in South Florida, Ronquillo began touring and recording with Jamaican reggae band, Inner Circle. [4] In 2002 he recorded rhythm guitars for the song, "Why Don't You & I", on the Santana album Shaman. [2] In 2006, he played on Ricky Martin's MTV Unplugged album and DVD, after which he joined the touring band for Martin's 2007 Black and White Tour. [4] In January 2009, Ronquillo joined the LA based hard rock band, The Chelsea Smiles, and recorded on their 2009 self-titled album. [5] In 2010, he toured with Latin pop singer, Chayanne, for his No Hay Imposibles world tour. [6] In 2018, he joined Stone Sour in 2018 during the bands tour of the US and Canada while Josh Rand was in rehab for alcohol addiction. [7]
Ronquillo began his YouTube career in 2011, with a series of guitar demos for the Canadian guitar brand, Eastwood Guitars. [8] [9]
Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967. The band has sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. The band's fusion of hard rock with psychedelia, and penchant for occult, fantastical and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, had a major influence on heavy metal music. They developed a cult following and, while achieving mainstream hits like "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (1976) and "Burnin' for You" (1981), their commercial success was limited. Both songs, and others such as "Godzilla" (1977), remain classic rock radio staples. The band were early adopters of the music video format, and their videos received heavy rotation on MTV in its early period.
Scorpions are a German hard rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. The lineup from 1978 to 1992 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs, Francis Buchholz (bass), and Herman Rarebell (drums). The band's only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has appeared on all of Scorpions' studio albums, while Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016 respectively.
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.
Imaginos is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released in 1988, and was their last recording with their original record label, CBS/Columbia Records.
Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor, Josh Rand (guitar), Christian Martucci (guitar), Johny Chow (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman and Shawn Economaki left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitarist Jim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.
Blaze Bayley is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994. He was also the lead singer of Iron Maiden during Bruce Dickinson's absence from 1994 to 1999. Since then, he has pursued a solo career and has released eleven studio albums. Blaze was voted number 67 in Sweden Rock magazine's top 100 singers of all time.
Christopher Alan Broderick is an American musician, best known as a former guitarist of the heavy metal band Megadeth. He is also formerly the lead guitarist and keyboardist for Jag Panzer, appearing on four of the band's albums, The Age of Mastery, Thane to the Throne, Mechanized Warfare and Casting the Stones. Prior to joining Megadeth and while still in Jag Panzer, he served as a touring guitarist for Nevermore from 2001 to 2003, and again between 2006 and 2007. Following his departure from Megadeth, Broderick formed Act of Defiance in 2014. He joined Swedish metal band In Flames in 2019 as a touring guitarist, before becoming the band's permanent rhythm guitarist in 2022.
James Donald Root is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour.
Donald Roeser, known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and sang vocals on several of the band's best-known hits, including "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You".
John William Lowery, best known by the stage name John 5, is an American guitarist. His stage name was bestowed on him in 1998 when he left David Lee Roth's solo band and joined the rock band Marilyn Manson as their guitarist, taking over for Zim Zum. Still going by the name John 5, Lowery became the guitarist for Rob Zombie in addition to his continued collaborations with musical artists across many genres. In 2022, John 5 left Rob Zombie and became the touring lead guitarist for Mötley Crüe, being promoted to a full member the following year.
"Astronomy" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult that has appeared on several of the band's albums. It was first released on their 1974 album Secret Treaties. Their second live album, Some Enchanted Evening, included a version with an extended guitar solo and a third version was included on the Imaginos album. It was also re-recorded for the band's Cult Classic collection in connection with the TV miniseries of Stephen King's The Stand. Most recently, the song was included on the A Long Day's Night album.
MTV Unplugged is the name of the first live album by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released to the market in CD and DVD formats by Sony BMG Norte on November 7, 2006. It has been certified platinum and gold worldwide.
Ty Smith is an American studio and internationally touring drummer.
The Chelsea Smiles are a hard rock band formed in 2004 featuring Karl Rosqvist of Danzig, Steel Prophet, Skye Vaughan-Jayne of Bullets and Octane, Johnny Martin and RJ Ronquillo.
Damon Rogers Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, currently a solo artist, a member of Brother Cane and guitarist in Lynyrd Skynyrd. In the 1990s he co-founded Brother Cane, and later joined Alice Cooper's band as lead guitarist. He became a member of Thin Lizzy in 2011 and was also the lead guitarist and co-songwriter for hard rock group Black Star Riders from 2012 to 2018. Johnson has also released several solo albums and his songs have been recorded by many artists including Stevie Nicks and Carlos Santana.
"Why Don't You & I" is a song by American rock band Santana. The song was written by Chad Kroeger and recorded for Santana's 2002 album Shaman, on the Arista record label. It was re-recorded in 2003 with vocals by Alex Band of the Calling and released as the third single in the United States on June 16, 2003. Both versions of the single charted in the US while the Alex Band version peaked at number 21 in New Zealand. According to Kroeger when recording for his version of the song, he recorded his vocals while on tour with Nickelback and used panty hose as a pop filter when recording it.
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