Mario Parga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guitarist Mario Parga, born in Lytham, Lancashire, England on 7 August 1969, came into the spotlight during the late 1980's when he began appearing in numerous guitar and rock magazines such as Guitar Player, Metal Hammer, Kerrang, Metal Forces and played a live guitar solo on MTV's 'Metal Hammer' show.
During the early 1990's Parga toured, played and recorded with numerous artists, most notably Cozy Powell and Graham Bonnet. In 1991, his debut guitar instrumental album The Magician was released by President Records. Following disillusionment with the music industry, Parga shied away from the scene until he re-emerged in Los Angeles in 1998, playing guitar on Graham Bonnet's The Day I Went Mad.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest sweep arpeggio players of the guitar 'shred' and neoclassical metal genres, Parga combines complex arpeggio patterns with rapid alternate picking, Sweep-picking and string bending. He is also renowned for his emotive slower playing.
In 2000, Parga was approached by the guitar label Liquid Note Records and recorded his instrumental 'Valse Diabolique' for their The Alchemists album. Two years later, he recorded his haunting ballad 'Hourglass' for Lion Music's Warmth in the Wilderness II, a tribute to fellow guitarist Jason Becker.
Early in 2007, Parga announced the creation of his own record label 'MidnightCafe Music', (the name taken from his track 'The Midnight Cafe' from The Magician) and plans on releasing his future instrumental rock guitar music through it. His long awaited new album Entranced was released on the label on 14 April 2007.
Mario Parga lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA with his wife Shawna and daughter Skye.
