 Contributed Photo GHS student wins first place at Boston competition His choice of the guitar as his instrument of choice was a natural one for Trongone, who watched his Dad and learned from his self taught mentor.
It’s a long way from Goochland County to Daddy’s Junky Music in Boston, but that’s exactly where Goochlander Andrew Trongone found himself last month. The rising GHS senior was competing for the prestigious Battle for Berklee title at the popular Boston hangout. Trongone walked away with a first place finish for his original guitar composition that he performed live at Daddy’s. Capturing the title also means Trongone will attend Berklee’s Summer Guitar Session Program later this month, free of charge. It’s the culmination of years of practice for the talented guitarist, who first picked up the instrument at age 10 and began teaching himself chords and simple riffs. “I started playing when I was 10 at the end of fifth grade,” Trongone said. “I began by playing along with CDs with my dad to some Eric Clapton, Skynyrd and other classic rock bands.” His choice of the guitar as his instrument of choice was a natural one for Trongone, who watched his Dad and learned from his self taught mentor. “My dad has been playing guitar since he was a kid and I always wanted to play so I thought I’d try and play,” he said. “For the most part I taught myself how to play, but my dad has been a great influence.” He now plays several other instruments including keyboard, drums and bass. But his first love is the guitar and the original composition that won the competition is a combination of musical influences, displaying his southern rock roots. “My piece was a blues/southern rock influenced song,” Trongone said. “It started out with a 12-bar blues progression and me doing some leads over that. Then it breaks into a classic rock type riff and some southern rock style soloing,” he added. He said his style is a confluence of numerous guitarists including Gary Rossington and Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Jimi Hendrix. He also lists Slash, Kirk Hammett (Metallica) and Dimebag Darrell of Pantera as major influences. “They are all great musicians that have influenced me and have helped me develop my style of playing,” he said. After Trongone attends the Boston sessions later this month, he returns to Goochland and his senior year. He hopes to continue his career in music once that’s done, but his college plans are flexible. “ I hope to attend Berklee for college, but VCU is my second choice,” he said. As he prepares for one week session in Boston, Trongone spends his time working at Java Jodi’s and swimming. He also competes on the high school golf and swim teams. Other than that he’ll spend what spare time there is “hanging out with friends, attending concerts, going to the pool, or just chilling.” Trongone said his mom told him about the contest which she saw on the Internet. The senior has two siblings, brother Johnny and sister Julia and is the son of John and Carolyn Trongone of Goochland. (0) Comments • Email This Article |
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