Best Young Guitarists 40ish & Under: Emo Shredders

Dominick LaRocca

Age: 28ish?

Bands: SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Nuvolascura

Essential Album: "Nuvolascura" by Nuvolascura

Dominick LaRocca is a well-respected guitarist in the Skramz scene. He is a very savvy player from California. He plays with extreme speed and precision all over the fretboard. It seems as if he's got Batman's utility belt and he fills it with every guitar-playing tool you can imagine -- an astounding array of chords and scales and arpeggios. And he uses dynamics extremely well too. He's just a monster.

HERE is their s/t album on Bandcamp.

Jon Benham

Age: 26

Bands: Foxtails

Essential Album: "Querida Hija" by Foxtails

Connecticut emo cat, Jon Benham, is a songwriter on guitar. He conjures crooked, thoughtful melodies. His guitar parts could be pulled out of a Foxtails song and could stand on their own as moving instrumental pieces. His guitar lines are creative and unique and strikingly beautiful and brutal in turns. He's got some chops, though he's not quite a shredder like the other two guitarists on this emo shredder list, but he plays passionately and with a lot of heart -- and I think perhaps a lot of pain. There is definitely a story in those notes.

HERE is Foxtails Audiotree Live Session

Zach Tarzi

Age: 23ish?

Bands: Crochet, Body War

Essential Album: "Birth Piece" by Crochet

The first time I heard his guitar on the "Birth Piece" EP, I was mesmerized. He plays beautiful arpeggios and then strangles them violently into slashing, shattering chaos. He also has a really compelling tone, in my opinion -- very twinkly, midwest emo vibes cutting through a thrashing skramz style of music. He plays rippingly fast two-handed tapping lines that sound angular and strange. I would love to hear more melody in his playing especially in the quiet moments, but he is full of promise. And I'm excited to see what crazy, epic tunes he creates in the future.

HERE is their debut EP on Bandcamp

Note: biographical details of musicians in the DIY scene are sometimes difficult to come by. So I could most definitely have some of the details here wrong. My apologies to everyone. I'm happy to update any details if needed. Just reach out an let me know. Thanks!