With his six-string skills best described as a merger between heavy metal, psychedelia and modern rock, Dave Navarro became one of alternative's first true guitar heroes (with such notorious bands as Jane's Addiction and The Red Hot Chili Peppers). Born on June 7, 1967 in California, Navarro became mesmerized by the guitar as a teenager, due to... [+] Read More

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As the leader of the Offspring, Dexter Holland was partially responsible for making punk rock appealing to the masses nearly two decades after the band's predecessors spent their careers in sleazy, dilapidated clubs. Holland, whose real name is Bryan Keith Holland, was born in Orange County, CA, on December 29, 1966. In the early '80s, Southern... [+] Read More

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Legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson single-handedly revolutionized bass playing. Throughout the entire classic Motown catalog (and some non-Motown sides), Jamerson shaped a new inventive style of bass playing and brought what had been regarded by some as a "minor" instrument to the forefront through the use of the electric Fender bass,... [+] Read More

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Jerry Cantrell first came to prominence as a member of Alice in Chains, one of the prototypical Seattle grunge bands. With their 1990 debut Facelift, the quartet scored a surprise hit with the ultra-heavy "Man in the Box," and haven't looked back since. Racking up such hit albums as 1992's Dirt and 1995's self-titled release, the band rose to... [+] Read More

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Guitarist John Frusciante has experienced both colossal highs and death-defying lows in both his musical career and personal life. Born in 1970 and raised in California, Frusciante dropped out of high school when guitar playing and rock music took hold of the up-and-coming musician/songwriter. Embracing both the unpredictable side of rock (Frank... [+] Read More

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Merging the mammoth riffs of Black Sabbath with the straightforward attack of the Ramones, guitarist Kim Thayil created his own original style that helped propel Soundgarden to the top of the Seattle rock heap in the '90s. Born on September 4, 1960, in Seattle, WA (but raised in Park Forest, Il), Thayil picked up the guitar in the mid-'70s for... [+] Read More

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Few rock guitarists in the 1990s were as groundbreaking as Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, who incorporated a myriad of different styles into his own playing. Born in New York City on May 30, 1964, Morello was raised by his mother (who, decades later, would help create the anti-censorship organization Parents for Rock & Rap) in... [+] Read More

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Since co-founding the seminal improv rock outfit Phish in 1983, guitarist, composer, and songwriter Trey Anastasio has explored a wide variety of musical pathways ranging from atonal fugues and elaborate charts with Phish to adventurous free jazz on his first solo project, Surrender to the Air (1996), to collaborations with the likes of Tom... [+] Read More

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