Brandon "Taz" Niederauer (born March 16, 2003) is an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and actor from

Dix Hills, New York Dix Hills is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 26,892 at the 2010 census. In the past, Dix Hills and some of its neighbors have propos ...

. He starred in the musical School of Rock on Broadway. Nicknamed 'Taz' by his guitar teacher, William Mignoli, because his frenetic playing reminded Mignoli of the

Tazmanian Devil ''Tazmanian Devil'' is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Solomon Onita Jr. and starring Abraham Attah. Cast *Adepero Oduye as Elizabeth Ayodele *Abraham Attah as Dayo Ayodele * Ntare Mwine as Julius Ayodele * Kwesi Boakye as Ike ...

from

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

cartoons, he has appeared on many television shows including: ''

The Ellen Show ''The Ellen Show'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ellen DeGeneres that was broadcast during the 2001–02 season on CBS, aired from September 24, 2001, to January 11, 2002. It was DeGeneres' second attempt at a sitcom ...

'', ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...

'', ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'', '' The View'', and ''

She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and lau ...

''.

Career

Niederauer starred on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in '' School of Rock the Musical''. Before he was 15 years old he had played guitar with

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

Derek Trucks Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues sin ...

Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a ...

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

. He played with the German rock band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

. During a 2017 birthday celebration for musician Col. Bruce Hampton, Niederauer was playing a guitar solo on stage when Hampton suddenly collapsed and died. Nobody knew the quirky Hampton had actually died, and so the show continued for several minutes: Hampton was eventually taken backstage and then taken away by ambulance and pronounced dead. In 2018, he garnered widespread attention over a tweet of himself playing the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

on guitar. He also performed guitar in the orchestra in ''

Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert ''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' is an American musical television special that was broadcast live on NBC on April 1, 2018 (Easter Sunday) and rebroadcast (from tape) on Easter Sunday 2020, April 12, 2020. Executively produced by Craig ...

''. He has since performed the National Anthem on guitar at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

before a

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

game in 2019, as well as during the opening ceremonies of the 2020 AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 24, 2021. In 2021, he enrolled as an undergraduate at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he is an economics major.

Acting

*In 2015, he played the role of Zack in '' School of Rock the Musical'' on Broadway. *In 2016, he played the role of Bartholomew in the movie, ''Here Comes Rusty''. *In 2019 he played the role of Virgil in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

’s

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series, '' She’s Gotta Have It''.

Signature guitar

D'Angelico Guitars D'Angelico Guitars of America is an American musical instrument manufacturer based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. The brand was initially founded by master luthier John D'Angelico in 1932, in Manhattan's Little Italy, Manhattan, Little Italy. ...

released a signature Brandon “Taz” Niederauer model of their Atlantic guitar.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niederauer, Brandon 2003 births Living people American rock guitarists Blues rock musicians Progressive rock guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American male stage actors American male musical theatre actors