Troy Stetina is an internationally recognized guitarist and music educator.

Author of over 40 instructional guitar book/CD and DVD methods for Hal Leonard Corporation, including Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar, Fretboard Mastery and the Metal Rhythm Guitar and Metal Lead Guitar Series, which have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Guitarist and producer for Second Soul, Troy's modern hard rock band featuring vocalist Scott Yanke and drummer Eddie Szczepanski. The Second Soul debut album is scheduled for release in late August, 2010.

Other records include Troy's 2007 prog metal side-project Dimension X "Implications of a Genetic Defense" (Unicorn Records, 2007) his 2000 instrumental guitar CD release Exottica (ModRock Records, 2000).

Music producer, running the Artist Underground recording studio in the Milwaukee area.

Private guitar coach to high profile artists.

Main formative influences: Randy Rhoads, Van Halen, Beethoven, Paganini, and all 70s and 80s guitarists. Current Influences: Modern rock, metal, classical, movie soundtracks...anything that's well done."

Formerly "Return of the Shred" columnist for GuitarOne magazine and Director of Rock Guitar Studies at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Mark Whitfield graduated from Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, the world's foremost institute for the study of Jazz and modern American music, in the Spring of 1987 having studied composition and arranging as well as all styles of guitar performance. Upon graduation, he returned to his native New York to embark on a career as a jazz guitarist that afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with many legendary artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Clark Terry, Jimmy Smith, Carmen McCrae, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Jack McDuff, Betty Carter, Shirley Horn, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Joe Williams, Wynton Marsalis, Bradford Marsalis, Stanley Turrentine and his greatest teacher and mentor George Benson.

Along the way, the New York Times dubbed Whitfield "The Best Young Guitarist in the Business" and in September of 1990 Warner Bros. released his solo debut, "The Marksman". The success of this release has led to a recording career that has produced 14 solo projects to date and a myriad of collaborative efforts with some of the most important artists in recent years; Sting, D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, John Mayer, Jill Scott, Roy Hargrove, Diana Krall, Lauryn Hill, Sy Smith and Chris Botti.

Mark Tremonti is one of rock’s leading guitarists. As the guitarist of Alter Bridge and Creed, he has met extraordinary success and continues to grow as both a guitar player and songwriter.

Mark Tremonti and Scott Phillips formed Alter Bridge in 2004 after a cooling of their relationship with the Creed singer (Creed has since reconciled and reunited). The new band hooked up with then ex-Creed bassist Brian Marshall and former Mayfield Four front man Myles Kennedy (who recently performed and co-wrote 2 songs on Slash’s solo record and fronts his touring band).

In 2004, the band recorded their debut album, One Day Remains. It went gold in the United States and spawned three singles as well as the track “Metalingus,” which was adopted by the WWE’s Superstar Edge as his theme song later that year. In 2007 the band released the critically acclaimed second album, Blackbird, which included the hit singles “Rise Today” and “Watch Over You.” The latter became a top 10 video as well as the featured song on VH-1’s Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. The band took to the road to promote their sophomore release, gaining more fans across the globe with their intense and powerful live show.

Lyrically, the first two albums are based on themes immersed in hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. On AB III, however, the theme has shifted. Kennedy states, “This record is definitely a departure from the last two albums in terms of its subject matter. It touches on the thoughts and emotions of someone who has come to question everything that was once regarded as an absolute truth. It’s the realization that everything you once believed in might not exist.”

Larry Carlton’s own musical story began in Southern California. He picked up his first guitar when he was only six years old. He was introduced to jazz in junior high school after hearing The Gerald Wilson Big Band album, Moment of Truth, with guitarist Joe Pass. Larry then became interested in Barney Kessel, Wes Montgornery and the legendary blues guitarist B.B. King. Saxophonist John Coltrane was also a major influence on Carlton, beginning with Coltrane’s 1962 classic Ballads.

With more than 3000 studio sessions under his belt by the early 1980s, Larry & Lee, Carlton’s 1995 collaboration with guitar great Lee Ritenour, garnered him his eighth Grammy nomination. This was followed by The Gift in ’96 and Larry Carlton Collection Volume 2 in ’97. That same year, his virtuosity and reputation secured him a place in the crum­topping award-winning Warner Bros. Records’ group Fourplay, when member Lee Ritenour left to head his own label. Carlton doubled the fun by signing to Wamer Jazz as a solo artist at the same time. Since then he has released two albums with Fourplay: 4 in ’98 and a refreshingly different Christmas album, Snowbound, in October ’99. 1999 also brought Larry Carlton his very own spot on Hollywood’s prestigious Rockwalk. On June 3, he was inducted along with Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Jimmie Vaughn.