Jacky Vincent is a British musician who was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Falling in Reverse
Falling in Reverse is an American Rock music, rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed ...
from its formation until his departure in 2015 and was the guitarist of the
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
band
Cry Venom
Jacky Vincent is a British musician who was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Falling in Reverse from its formation until his departure in 2015 and was the guitarist of the power metal band Cry Venom. Since then, he has ...
. Since then, he has concentrated on his solo career and teaching. Vincent has two solo albums: ''Star X Speed Story'', released in 2013 through Shrapnel Records that came third in the Guitar World 2013 readers poll for Best Shred album, and ''Life Imitating Art'' released in 2018.
Vincent won the Alternative Press Guitarist of the Year award in 2012 and came third (after John Petrucci and Joe Satriani) in the Guitar World "Best Shredder" readers pool awards in 2013.
Career
Early years
Jacky Vincent was born 23 January 1989 in Portsmouth, England.
He is one of three siblings, having one older brother and an older sister. His father was a luthier who also played guitar, as well his brother.
He began messing around with the guitar at the age of 5, played on and off for a few years, but did not start to actually practice until he was around 14–15. His first guitar was a 12 fret cheap nylon string that he inherited from his brother. His first electric guitar was a black
Squier
Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, banj ...
Stratocaster included in a guitar pack.
He has said that the moment he began taking the guitar seriously was when his cousins introduced him to both
Racer X and
Michael Angelo Batio
Michael Angelo Batio (), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He was the lead guitarist for the Los Angeles-based glam metal band Nitro (b ...
. Before this, he primarily focused on playing like
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
and
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...
. During his teen years, he was able to teach himself all of the ''
Best of the Beast
''Best of the Beast'' was Iron Maiden's first "best of" album, released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track (four disc) vinyl, a 27 track (two disc) CD, a 16 track (single disc) CD and MiniDisc. The vinyl edition is, to date, the band's longes ...
'' by
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
. Being an all-time fan of Iron Maiden, it was a great honour when Cry Venom were asked to cover "Aces High" on track 10 on Kerrang magazines Maiden Heaven Volume 2 – An All-Star Tribute To Iron Maiden, released in June 2016, accompanying issue 1623 of the magazine. He attended a music school in England, but has never stated which one, but has credited it with helping him with practice schedules.
Falling in Reverse (2008–2015)
Vincent joined
Falling in Reverse
Falling in Reverse is an American Rock music, rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed ...
in 2008 as a founding member of the band. They released their debut album, ''
The Drug in Me Is You
''The Drug in Me Is You'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Falling in Reverse. Production for the album took place following lead singer Ronnie Radke's departure from Escape the Fate in 2008. Recording took place in December 2010 ...
'', on 26 July 2011, which peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200, selling 18,000 copies in its first week of sales. In December 2019 the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with 500,000 copies sold. Falling in Reverse's second studio album, ''
Fashionably Late'', was released on 18 June 2013, which peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200. The band released their third studio album, ''
Just Like You'' on 24 February 2015. On 30 October 2015, Vincent left the band on good terms to focus on his solo career.
Cry Venom (2016–present)
In 2016, Vincent formed a power metal band called Cry Venom with bassist Niko Gemini, keyboardist Colton Majors, lead vocalist Aleksey Smirnov and drummer Wyatt Cooper.
It is Vincent's first band since his departure from Falling in Reverse in 2015.
They released their debut album called ''Vanquish the Demon'' on 6 December 2016.
They embarked on a small club tour dubbed the "Vanquish the West Tour" in mid 2017.
The band was also the opening act for LoudPark in Japan, however, Wyatt Cooper was unable to attend. Because of this, former
Falling in Reverse
Falling in Reverse is an American Rock music, rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed ...
drummer
Ryan Seaman
Ryan Eric Seaman (born September 23, 1983) is an American musician and singer, best known as the longest tenured drummer for the band Falling in Reverse. He also serves as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock duo I Dont Know How But They ...
reunited with Vincent for the show.
Personal life
Vincent moved to the United States at the age of 20 and lives in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
.
In his spare time, besides playing guitar, he has stated that he practices the piano, has a passion for keyboard and plays a Korg Triton Extreme 88. He can be heard playing keyboard solos in songs 'Soul Shines Through' – (Life Imitating Art) and 'Grand Uppah' – (Life Imitating Art). His keyboard inspirations include YUHKI of the Japanese band GALNERYUS and Janne Wirman of the bands Warmen and Children of Bodom.
He trains in
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
, enjoys playing video games and is an avid fan of RPGs, fantasy, and anime. His favorite games are Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. He enjoyed drawing in an anime style, but this was later replaced with guitar playing.
Gear
Guitars
Jacky Vincent has previously used Jackson guitars as his main instruments, and owns 1 Dinky and 2 Soloists. However, he is now endorsed by Dean Guitars. He now has two signature Dean Guitars, one of which is the main guitar he uses. It comes in purple, has 24 frets, has EMG pickups, and has a Floyd Rose Special bridge.
His other signature Dean guitar has the classic superstrat HSH configuration, has a bolt-on neck and comes in black finish with purple hardware and a maple neck.
Dean Guitars Endorsee
Vincent demonstrated Dean guitars on their stand at the 2013 and 2014 NAMM show in Anaheim California and was a guest at several Dean Guitar owners' clinics at Deans factory in Florida, working with Dean guitar owners to improve their techniques and to get the best out of their instruments. Dean were so impressed with Vincent's friendly style and technical ability that they approached him to ask if he'd be a Brand Ambassador. As a result, Vincent gave a series of guitar clinics at Dean stores around China in 2016.
Vincent also plays a Kiesel Vader guitar that has been fitted with his favourite Di Marzio Evolution pick-ups. Being headless means that there is less weight to support so he can concentrate on his left hand technique and a Dimarzio John Petrucci strap gets the instrument high enough to play at speed standing up.
For effects he uses a Fractal AX FX 2 XL loaded into a Gator flight case and Pro Tools in his studio.
Pickups
Vincent nowadays uses DiMarzio Evolution pickups in both neck and bridge positions.
Playing style
Vincent has an advanced knowledge of music theory, having a deep understanding of complex scale combinations and time signatures which assist him in his compositions.
He is known for his incredibly accurate picking, both live and in the studio. He is unique in the fact that he strictly economy picks his fast runs, rather than alternate picking them. He has stated the reason for doing so is to eliminate any extra hand and wrist movements, making his playing more efficient.
Vincent cited influences such as
Paul Gilbert
Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...
,
Michael Angelo Batio
Michael Angelo Batio (), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He was the lead guitarist for the Los Angeles-based glam metal band Nitro (b ...
,
Vinnie Moore
Vincent Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a member of the British hard rock band UFO.
Biography
Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware. He began his professional career at age 12 after receiving a guitar as a Christ ...
,
Jason Becker
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...
,
Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane (March 21, 1963 – September 26, 2003) was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reg ...
,
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer.
Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...
,
Brett Garsed
Brett Edward Garsed (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian musician and songwriter, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the American band Nelson. Garsed was feature ...
,
Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale (; born 22 December 1958) is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.
Recording career Solo ...
,
Guthrie Govan
Guthrie Govan (; born 27 December 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands the Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, the Young Punx and the Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he ha ...
,
Greg Howe
Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...
,
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...
,
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
,
Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...
,
Rusty Cooley
Rusty Cooley (born April 27, 1970) is an American guitarist, known for his highly refined guitar technique. He is regarded as one of the fastest guitarists in the United States and a master of the shredding technique of guitar. ''Guitar Player'' ...
,
Andy Timmons
Andy Timmons (born July 26, 1963) is an American guitarist who has played in the bands Taylor Bay Band, Danger Danger, Pawn Kings, and Andy Timmons Band (ATB). He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist.
He ...
,
Scott Henderson
Scott Henderson (born August 26, 1954) is an American jazz fusion and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Tribal Tech.
Tribal Tech
Henderson formed Tribal Tech with bass player Gary Willis in 1984. Under the direction of Hende ...
, Derryl Gabel, and Rick Graham.
Techniques most commonly associated with him include
sweep picking
Sweep picking is a guitar playing technique. When sweep picking, the guitarist plays single notes on consecutive strings with a 'sweeping' motion of the pick, while using the fretting hand to produce a specific series of notes that are fast a ...
,
legato
In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note wit ...
,
tapping
Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...
, and
string skipping String skipping is a guitar-playing technique that is used mainly for solos and complex riffs in rock and heavy metal songs.
Explanation of technique
String skipping is a method of achieving a guitar sound that is different from more traditiona ...
.
Vincent also stated that his biggest influences as a child were his father, brother, and bands like
DragonForce
DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...
,
Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup ...
,
Rhapsody of Fire
Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre.
Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross, the band h ...
,
Galneryus
is a Japanese power metal band, formed in Osaka in 2001 by guitarist Syu and vocalist Yama-B.[Artist.cdjour ...](_blank)
,
Heavenly,
Dragonland
Dragonland is a power metal band from Sweden. The group is known for their self-produced ''The Dragonland Chronicles'' fantasy saga covering their first, second, and fifth albums, and for the original symphonic/electronic parts by Elias Holmlid ...
,
X Japan
was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...
, and
Angra.
Vincent's brother and father taught him how to play the guitar, as explained in his Alternative Press Interview.
Tours
*2011 Falling in Reverse first headline tour of 24 US venues.
*2012 Vans Warped Tour and The Thug in Me Is You Tour, Rock on the Range 2012.
*2012 Falling in Reverse opened for Guns and Roses at the sold-out show in the Hollywood Palladium.
*2013 Vans Warped Tour, Monster Energy Aftershock Music Festival, Epicenter Festival, Intimate and interactive tour. Latin America tour Argentina, Brazil, Mexico.
*2014 with Falling in Reverse and Escape the Fate "Bury the Hatchet" tour.
*2014 Vans Warped Tour, Alternative Press Music Awards 2014. Rock am Ring festival with Iron Maiden and Avenged Sevenfold in Germany, Black Mass tour.
*2015 Falling in Reverse European Tour 12 dates taking in France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Holland, Three Ring Circus in the US, Rock on the Range, Sonic Boom, Northern Invasion.
*2015 Westfest festival New Zealand, Soundwave Festivals Australia.
*2015 Palermo Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
*2017 Loud Park festival. Cry Venom played the heavy metal festival held annually at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan.
*Guitar Collective tour 2018 Vincent opened solo for Angel Vivaldi and Nita Strauss and then the show was closed with all three shredding together. A party trick was for Angel and Nita to blindfold Vincent while he continued to shred his solo.
*Tony Mc Alpine Tour 2019. This was sadly cancelled by Tony due to Illness just before Vincent was due to join and open the 20 shows for Tony.
*2019 Solo shows in Japan to promote Life Imitating Art album.
Teaching
Between tours, writing and product demonstrations, Vincent also teaches his unique style of speed playing on a one to one basis via Skype.
Since 2013, he has been a regular contributor to ''Guitar World'' magazine by sharing his playing styles and has produced detailed videos complete with backing tracks, fretboard mapping and tablature.
2018 – Sweep Tapping Mechanics
2019 – Lethal Legato,
Ultimate Speed Picking
Extreme Shred Techniques.
Advanced Tapping Phrases.
Discography
;Solo
*''
Star X Speed Story
''Star X Speed Story'' is the debut solo album by guitarist Jacky Vincent. The album was released in 2013 through Shrapnel Records and consists of 13 songs. Additional instrumentation was provided by fellow (now former) Falling in Reverse members ...
'' (2013)
*''
The Sound and the Story'' Fret 12 (2012)
*''
Life Imitating Art Anti-mimesis is a philosophical position that holds the direct opposite of Aristotelian mimesis. Its most notable proponent is Oscar Wilde, who opined in his 1889 essay ''The Decay of Lying'' that, "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Lif ...
'' (2018)
;Falling in Reverse
*''
The Drug in Me Is You
''The Drug in Me Is You'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Falling in Reverse. Production for the album took place following lead singer Ronnie Radke's departure from Escape the Fate in 2008. Recording took place in December 2010 ...
'' (2011)
*''
Fashionably Late'' (2013)
*''
Just Like You'' (2015)
;Cry Venom
*''
Vanquish the Demon'' (2016)
;Collaborations
*"Death From Above" by
Oh, Sleeper
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. Af ...
(''
The Titan'', 2013)
*"You/Now (Venom)" by I Am WereWolf (Single, 2014)
*"Breaking Damnation" by
Jason Richardson
Jason Anthoney Richardson (born January 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Richardson was taken by the Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pic ...
(''I'', 2016)
*"Gotta Catch 'Em All" by
Tyler Carter
Derek Tyler Carter (born December 30, 1991) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer from Gainesville, Georgia. He is most notable for being the former vocalist and founding member of American metalcore band Issues. Cart ...
(Single, 2016)
*"Faceless" by KasterTroy (Single, 2018)
*"Euphoria" by
Syu (''Vorvados'', 2019)
Awards
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Jacky
Living people
English heavy metal guitarists
English rock guitarists
1989 births
Falling in Reverse members