Ioannis Anastassakis

Born in the Greek island of Crete, Ioannis Anastassakis studied at the Greek National Conservatory and the Nakas Conservatory in Athens. He completed his Bachelor degree at the American College of Greece, and subsequently studied at the distinguished Musicians Institute (GIT), where he was hired as an instructor, after graduating at the top 1% of his class. He continued his graduate studies in Music, at the California State University, completing an MA in Guitar Performance, graduating Magna cum Laude. Ioannis list of Electric guitar teachers is extremely impressive: the list read like as “Who is Who” of contemporary electric guitar legends! Steve Vai (Whitesnake), Vinnie Moore (UFO), Marty Friedman (Megadeth), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Frank Gambale (Chick Corea), Paul Gilbert (Mr.Big), Richie Kotzen, Brett Garsed, Joey Tafolla, Scott Henderson, Mike Stern, Jean Marc Belkadi, Darren Householder, Tommy Tedesco, Ted Greene, Ron Eschete, Sid Jacobs & Joe Diorio. Ioannis also studied Solo Flamenco Guitar for several years with flamenco maestro Juan Serrano. In addition, he has studied with Flamenco guitar legends Manolo Sanlucar, Juan Martin, Paco Serrano, Jose Antonio Rodriguez and Manolo Franco. Ioannis has also performed and/or recorded in various settings with band members of Whitesnake, Dio, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Santana, Celine Dion, Sara Vaughan, Tito Puente, Julio Iglesias, Tower of Power, Chick Corea Electric Band, Jeff Beck, Steve Vai Band, Badlands, Santana, Tribal Tech, Natalie Cole, Joe Cocker, Cher, Blood Sweat & Tears and more. Additionally, he has presented over 400 solo recitals in Europe and the United States and has been a guest lecturer at several American colleges and Universities (University of Southern California, California State University Northridge, California State University Fresno, California State University Fullerton, Musicians Institute, Fresno City College, American College of Greece). In addition, he has won and placed as a finalist in several Classical and Flamenco guitar competitions and has been featured 15 times on European and American TV. In 2000, he was the 1st guitarist ever to present a solo guitar recital at the prestigious Greek National Opera House. Ioannis is the artistic director of the annual Athens International Electric Guitar Festival and the Larissa International Electric Guitar Festival and has also served as principal instructor at the most prominent International Guitar Festivals in Greece (International guitar festival of Hermoupolis, International Winter guitar festival of Volos, International guitar festival of Patras, International guitar festival of Paros, International guitar festival of Porto Heli). Ioannis is also an officially registered guitar instructor with the London College of Music and Thames Valley University, as well as a registered LA’s Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT). Ioannis’ first solo Flamenco guitar CD, “Flamenco Live at Ioannina”, was released by MP3.com on 2000, immediately entered the company's flamenco Τop 10, eventually reaching the #1 place worldwide on October 2002. The CD was re-mastered and re-released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2004. Ioannis’ second solo Flamenco guitar CD, “Traditional Flamenco Guitar Selections” is scheduled to be released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2009. Ioannis’ first instrumental Rock/Fusion Electric guitar CD, “Suspension of Disbelief”, was released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2007 – within 3 weeks its worldwide sales soared at the top 5 in the highly regarded Guitar9.com website!! Ioannis’ highly anticipated second instrumental Rock/Fusion Electric guitar CD, “Orbital Attempt”, is scheduled to be released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in January 2009. Ioannis’ instructional materials are published and distributed worldwide by Mel Bay Publications. His instructional books “The Art of Rasgueado” and the instructional book/DVD “Flamenco Journal” both achieved best-seller status within months of their initial publication date. Ioannis is also a regular columnist in Mel Bay’s Guitar Sessions magazine, specializing on articles in Flamenco Guitar Technique and Advanced Contemporary Electric Guitar Technique and writes a monthly column on Rock Guitar at the Rock Hard Greece magazine. Ioannis is currently (2008) sponsored by Parker USA Electric Guitars (6-string), Schecter 7-string Electric Guitars, Randall Electric Guitar Amplifiers, EMG Active Pickups, ELIXIR Electric Guitar Strings and instrument cables, La Bella Flamenco Guitar Strings, Roland guitar synthesizers, T-Rex Effect pedals, Visual Sound effects, DR Guitar Straps and George-L studio cables. Ioannis is also the founder, group leader and manager of the highly successful Greek Guitar Power Team – an all-instrumental group comprised of his Ioannis and his most advanced Electric guitar students, most of them already highly respected professionals in the field of Rock guitar. Ioannis Anastassakis teaches several classes in Music Business, Music History and Music Performance and Improvisation at the American College of Greece and maintains a busy private teaching schedule. Furthermore, he divides his time between recording, writing instructional materials for guitar, conducting clinics and seminars and presenting guitar recitals around the world. He is currently preparing an extensive series of instructional materials for Mel Bay Publications, on both Flamenco and Electric guitar related subjects. For the latest up-to-date information about Ioannis Anastassakis, as well as an always expanding selection of audio clips, video files, book samples, instructional materials, latest news and much more, please visit the Official Ioannis Anastassakis WWW site at www.ioannis.org and the Ioannis Anastassakis Myspace Profile at www.myspace.com/ioannisanastassakis For videoclips and instructional samples - www.youtube.com/ioannisanastassakis Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.