Marty Friedman

Martin Adam "Marty" Friedman; December 8, 1962, Washington is an American musician, virtuoso guitarist, primarily known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the American thrash metal band Megadeth in 1990-2000. He shares with Dave Mustaine the 19th place in the list of the best guitarists according to Guitar World magazine. In 1986, Marty met Jason Becker. Together they created the band Cacophony. After its breakup in 1989, Marty joined Megadeth.

Professions: Guitarist, composer, arranger, sound engineer, producer, teacher. Years of activity: 1978 - Nowadays. Instruments: guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, shamisen.Genres: heavy metal, speed metal, thrash metal, progressive metal, instrumental music. Teams:Deuce, Hawaii, Cacophony, Megadeth. Labels: Avex Trax, Shrapnel, Capitol.

Martin Adam Friedman was born in Washington into a Jewish family. His grandparents came from Russia and Austria. My father worked for the National Security Agency, my mother was a writer. Impressed by the Kiss concert, at the age of fourteen he learned to play the guitar on his own. In 1977, in Laurel, Maryland, teenagers Marty Friedman and Tom Gattis put together their first band, called Deuce. Marty Friedman was 15 at the time, and Tom was 14, but it was not difficult for them to play the songs of the Ramones, Generation X and Kiss note by note. Gattis could play notes from a sheet — the years of studying at a music school in the flute class affected him, and Friedman, being self-taught, always picked up everything by ear. Immediately after completing the band with drummer Chris Tinto and bass guitarist Steve Leter. Steve Leter) they started actively composing and performing very aggressive rock and roll. Every evening, young people from all over the area gathered to the powerful and aggressive sounds coming from this barn, and Deuce rehearsals often smoothly turned into a concert with a party. Deuce became the youngest rock band in the city, and their nightly "concert-type rehearsals" soon became famous throughout Washington, D.C. In one concert, in addition to the songs, tons of rebellious energy poured out on the audience. Over time, vocalist Eddie Day was fired, and Tom Gattis' vocals turned out to be no worse, and in some places even better, than Day's. The newly formed classical line-up of Deuce was to become a Washington legend of rock music.

Vixen, Aloha, Hawaii (1981-1987)

In 1982, Marty Friedman put together a new band called Vixen. The band consists of vocalist Kim La Chance, bass guitarist Kimo and drummer Jeff Graves. With this line-up, Vixen recorded one five—track mini-album Made In Hawaii and one single for the compilation U.S. Metal, Vol.2, after which changes took place in the band - La Chance was replaced by vocalist Lisa Ruiz, and the name Vixen was changed to Aloha (from Hawaiian "hello"). The only existing Aloha recording is a Heavy Metal Virgin single recorded specifically for the Metal Massacre 2 compilation. Less than a year after Vixen was founded, Marty and Jeff put together a new band, Hawaii, with vocalist and bass guitarist Gary St. Pierre. Later, his vocals were replaced by Eddie Day, the original vocalist of Deuce. In Honolulu, they recorded their debut long-playing album One Nation Underground. Musically, Hawaii strongly resembled the weighted Judas Priest, which were very popular at that time, but with an original bias towards Japanese and Arabic melodies; although the recording quality left much to be desired. In 1985, immediately after the release of the four-track mini-album Loud, Wild And Heavy, Hawaii again recorded a track for the compilation U.S. Metal, Vol.3, and then released their second, already anticipated by fans album The Natives Are Restless. It became softer and acquired a high-quality sound. In support of the latest album, Hawaii went on tour with the recently revived Deep Purple, and upon returning from the tour went on tour with Kix, which became the final point in the band's history. Friedman motivated the dissolution of the band with the desire to fulfill his long—held dream - to create a progressive speed metal band with a focus on guitar technique. The band's albums had more exotic value than financial value — they never achieved commercial success. In 1981, Marty moved to Hawaii with Deuce. But Deuce did not last long in Hawaii.

Cacophony (from 1987-1989)

Marty arrived in San Francisco in early 1987. There he met Steve Fontano, who worked as a producer and sound engineer for Mike Verney, owner of the record label Shrapnel Records. Mike introduced Yngwie Malmsteen to the world in 1983. It turned out that Marty and Mike have known each other in absentia for a long time: since the age of 13, young Friedman unsuccessfully sent the chief of the Shrapnel company raw demos of his compositions composed in Tony Gattis's garage. Steve immediately called Mike, and after a brief audition, Marty Friedman received permission to record his debut album for Shrapnel Records. Work on the album, called Speed Metal Symphony, was already coming to an end when Marty met guitarist Jason Becker. This 17-year-old boy not only played at Marty's level, but also had his own unique style, and Friedman decided to invite him to join his band, called "Cacophony". Peter Marrino took the place of the vocalist, and session drummer and permanent partner of Shrapnel Records Atma Anur was accepted as the drummer. The bass guitar parts were performed by Marty Friedman himself. The album was released in 1987 and showed that the duo of Friedman and Becker turned out to be very good. The two virtuosos complemented each other perfectly, and the result of this fusion was a sound — a mixture of neoclassical metal with speed metal. The weak points of the album were vocals and bass guitar, the parts of which Marty had to come up with on the go, and drums, recorded on some compositions, last of all, after the main guitar parts. Bassist Jimmy O'Shea and drummer Kenny Stavropol were selected for the tour, which was waiting for the band on the threshold of the studio. The next album, Go Off! (1988), was devoid of most of these shortcomings — all except for the vocals; the drum parts on the album were performed by Dean Castronovo. The album mixes a variety of styles, although it still relies on a powerful rock sound with a metallic tinge.

Megadeth (from 1990-2000)

At the same time, the famous Megadeth band with Dave Mustaine at the head needed a replacement — a new guitarist and drummer. The last few months have been unsuccessful for Megadeth: after the end of the "World Anarchy Tour" with a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon Hall in London, guitarist Jeff Young and drummer Chuck Behler were fired from the band; then, upon returning to the States, Mustaine and bass guitarist David Ellefson were They were arrested and deprived of their driver's license for driving under the influence of alcohol. They were sent for compulsory treatment, as this violation was far from the first; and immediately after that, they were waiting for the recording of a single for the soundtrack of the Wes Craven film Electroshock (1989). Among the songs chosen by Dave Mustaine was a cover version of the famous hit by Alice Cooper with a very symbolic title "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (from English "There is no more Mr. Nice Guy"). He had to record all the guitar parts of the songs himself, and since Megadeth did not have a permanent drummer, he had to use the help of their drum technician named Nick Menza. Mustaine wanted to bring a real guitar virtuoso and a professional into the band, with whom it would be easy to work both in terms of performance and in terms of songwriting. Of the previous candidates, Dave was quite satisfied with Chris Poland's work style and Jeff Young's technique, but none of them suited him as a person. Therefore, invitations were sent to Dimebag Darrell from Pantera, Jeff Waters from Annihilator and Marty Friedman. Darrell and Waters refused: they had their own bands, which were doing well. And Marty Friedman needed money by that time. Upon learning about this, Waters commented on it simply: "The right man got the job!" ("A decent man got the job"). The search for the drummer was delayed. Marty wanted to invite his old friend Dean Castronovo to join the group, but he was too busy.

Solo work (1988-Nowadays)

In between the tour in support of the "Speed Metal Symphony" and the recording of "Go Off!" Marty managed to record Dragon's Kiss (1988) — his real solo album, which today is a classic of the genre and one of the standards of style. Filled to overflowing with intriguing solo guitar parts and the extraordinary work of drummer Dean Castronovo, it contains outstanding compositions and an impressive demonstration of the technique of playing both instruments. All the songs on the album are instrumental compositions and catchy exotic melodies — something like a mixture of Arabic and Japanese melodies with a strong neoclassical influence. Without a doubt, Dragon's Kiss is one of Marty Friedman's greatest achievements both as a composer and as a musician. This album made Marty widely known among fans of guitar music, and he was finally heard and recognized in wide circles of the musical community. Here's what Marty Friedman himself says about Dragon's Kiss: I am 90% satisfied with what I have achieved. In my opinion, I overdid "distortion" in some places in the rhythm guitar parts, which made the album sound quite dirty, especially in "Thunder March"; I think I should have played the rhythm parts with a clear sound or even do without them, leaving only solos. Scenes Working with Megadeth, preparing for the tour, in the conditions of complete lack of free time, Friedman still finds time to record his second solo album called "Scenes". According to Marty himself, he really enjoyed working on this album. "Scenes" is a noticeable increase in the level of Marty's game. Here Friedman significantly reduced the tempo of the game, although some of his former manner still remains, for example, explosive guitar solos that subside and then increase again. Marty's fascination with Chinese and Japanese music clearly affected the album's material.

The musician currently lives in Tokyo, Japan. He travels to Asia, Europe, North and South America, giving guitar lessons and participating in various conferences. He became a prominent figure on the Japanese music scene, playing solo guitar parts in the bands of some of the most famous performers of the land of the rising sun. He also appears on Japanese television and is a commentator for the main Japanese music magazine and the national daily newspaper. Friedman speaks fluent Japanese. He could be seen as a regular guest of the musical television program hebimeta-san (Japanese: "Mr. Heavy Metal") with the Japanese popular TV presenter Yoko Kumada, until they stopped broadcasting in 2005. He had his own television program dedicated to heavy metal called "Rock Fujiyama", broadcast from April 2006 to March 2007. In November-December 2005, he toured with Japanese singer Ami Suzuki. Ami Suzuki) on the Japanese leg of her world tour to Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. Marty played guitar in support of Japanese musicians such as Nanase Aikawa, Miyavi, and former vocalist of the band "Pierrot" Kirito. Marty was later featured in Jukebox, a television program in which Marty and two other Japanese translators translate the lyrics of various English songs into understandable Japanese. On July 23, the book Samurai no Ongakuron was released in Japan. This is Friedman's second book, and his first work was the bestseller Ii Jyan J-Pop (Amazing J-pop). In 2010, a series of Fanta commercials featuring the rock band FANTA was released on Japanese television. Marty was noticed among its participants. Other members of the "supergroup" include several Japanese DJs and a sumo star named Akebono. In 2011, famous Japanese metal guitarist Omura Takayoshi performed with Marty. They also visited Russia as a world tour dedicated to Friedman's latest album. He is married to Japanese cellist Hiyori Okuda. Her parts are present in Marty Friedman's album "Inferno", "Triumphant Heart" by Jason Becker