Dominic Frasca

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. After links have been created, remove this message.
This article has been tagged since August 2006.

Promotional photo of Dominic Frasca.

Dominic Frasca is a classically-trained guitar virtuoso, originally from Akron, Ohio but now living in New York City. He is probably best known for his customized ten-string guitar, which allows him to create a unique, layered-sound normally only accomplishable using multiple instruments or post-recording techniques such as overdubbing.

Frasca's technique incorporates classical guitar technique in the right hand as well as rock techniques such as tapping, hammer-ons, and pull-offs in the left hand. But Frasca has also expanded beyond these traditional techniques by inventing and creating other techniques to meet specific needs or problems presented by a specific composition. These include the use of single string "mini-capos", the addition of pads on the body of the guitar (which Frasca uses for a myriad of percussion sounds and timbres), and attached sticks and levers on the body of the guitar, used to create percussive sounds. "All my inspiration comes from ensembles," Frasca says. "Most notably The Philip Glass Ensemble, Steve Reich and Musician, Anthony Davis and Episteme, The Who, The Astor Piazzolla Quintet, and Led Zeppelin to name a few." As a performer, Frasca has also been known to challenge the traditional notion of a concert by incorporating amplification (not typical in a classical guitar concert), visuals, talking with the audience, and telling jokes on stage. "It always bothered me that when I would go to a classical guitar concert I would often leave knowing nothing about the person I just spent two hours listening to. I want people to know who I am and I want to know who my audience is- the most fundamental way that people communicate is by discovery."

Frasca is currently signed with Canataloupe Music and has released one album, entitled Deviations."

Frasca has also opened a small, high-tech, surround-sound nightclub in NYC named The Monkey, which he has described as "a space that is all about the music, the sound and the visuals, not about selling drinks.^[1]" The performance space is set on the 12th floor of a building.

Frasca with his 10-string guitar created by grafting the neck from an electric guitar onto a classical (nylon-stringed) Martin Millennium guitar. Also note the single string "mini capos", attached by drilling through the neck and the small pieces of cardboard near the bridge which serve as percussion pads.