I remember so vividly the thrill I experienced when putting this ACDC record “Live At Donington” in my stereo, and listening to the crowd hailing the name “Angus” until the iconic riff from Thunderstuck kicked in…
Hence began my musical journey as an aspiring guitar player.
I picked up the guitar in my teens and began playing listening to bands such as Offspring, Nirvana, Metallica, Megadeth and Rage Against The Machine to name a few. I was self taught for the first 2 or 3 years and then curiosity brought me to take interest in other music genres than rock and metal.
I then integrated my former secondary school music teacher’s jazz band at the age of 17 after auditioning for the role… If we could call it an audition…
At the same time, I started taking classical guitar lessons, mainly to learn how to read music properly and develop the basics of finger picking techniques.
Studying English at Bordeaux University, I took some private lessons with 2 local teachers that introduced me to jazz fusion and rock fusion guitar players such as John Scofield, Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, Richie Kotzen, Greg Howe, Eric Johnson.
At the age of 19, I tried to enroll in the Bordeaux Conservatoire, but got dismissed being “too old” to join the school. Consequently, I started looking for schools abroad where I could fulfill my musical dreams and aspirations.
After finishing my English degree in 2005, I finally enrolled at the Guitar Institute in London. I studied under the supervision of amazing teachers such as Iain Scott, Mike Outram, Lee Hodgson and Shaun Baxter.
I got also familiar with arraging and composition as the curriculum also encompassed music production techniques.
In 2008, I took a gap year from University as I landed my very first professional music job… in a circus! I toured Denmark for 8 months as the guitar player of the Circus Arena’s music band. 250 shows over 8 months. 107 cities. Living the dream among incredible artists and elephant poo…
After graduating in 2009, I played as a solo guitar player/singer in hotels and resorts in the Middle East for about 3 years, after heading back to France in 2012 where I’m currently based.
Since then, I’ve been teaching privately and playing as a guitar player and singer among many local bands. I’ve also been a choir director for the past last 7 years, making my own vocal arrangements as well.