Warren DeMartini
| Warren DeMartini | |
|---|---|
Warren DeMartini, London, 1986
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| Background information | |
| Born |
April 10, 1963 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Associated acts | Ratt, Whitesnake. |
| Website | therattpack |
| Notable instruments | |
| Custom Charvel models | |
Warren Justin DeMartini (born April 10, 1963), nicknamed Torch, is the lead guitarist for Ratt, a popular American band during the 1980s Los Angeles glam metal scene.
DeMartini was born on April 10, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of five children, all of them boys. The family later relocated to San Diego. He spent his early years in the suburb of River Forest, Illinois. He became interested in rock music due to the influence of his older brothers Bernard and James, whose band rehearsed in the family basement. DeMartini's grandmother was also a musician of note, playing piano accompaniment to silent movies in Preston, Minnesota.
DeMartini's mother bought him a guitar at his request when he was "around seven or eight years old". According to Warren, he struggled early on learning to play it due to the tuning pegs being cheap, causing the instrument to constantly fall out of tune. As a result, he became frustrated and smashed the instrument as he had seen Pete Townshend of The Who do onstage. As a result, that was the last guitar he would receive as a gift. At age 14, he had to get himself a job in order to raise the money to purchase a new electric guitar, a Cimar Les Paul copy. The first song DeMartini learned was Sunshine of Your Love by Cream, which he learned by ear.
Warren played his first concert with his band "The Plague" in front of a small crowd at San Diego's La Jolla High School at the age of 15. By this time he was emerging as one of the San Diego area's most talented and sought-after young guitar players. The first year he signed up, he won "Best New Guitar Player in San Diego" at Guitar Trader on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. He graduated from high school in 1981. DeMartini began taking classes at a local college, but in the first semester was invited up to Los Angeles to join Mickey Ratt; the band that would eventually become the highly successful 1980s metal band, Ratt.
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