Mike Campese (born April 2, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

) is an American guitarist and composer best known for being a member of the multi-platinum group

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...

. Campese was picked over several guitarists in 2004 during the band's fourth CD, ''

The Lost Christmas Eve ''The Lost Christmas Eve'' is the fourth album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was released on October 12, 2004, and is the last album in their "Christmas trilogy", with '' Christmas Eve and Other Stories'' (1996) and '' The Christmas Attic' ...

'', and received a gold record for his work. In 2008 Mike released his own rock

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

CD, ''The Meaning of Christmas'', which was well received. Campese is an honors graduate from the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

in Hollywood,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and is a graduate of Shaker High School.

Biography

Campese appeared on the

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 w ...

tribute CD ''Warmth In The Wilderness'', which was released internationally on the Lion Music record label, and his music was featured in a

Lions Gate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

movie, "Vampire Assassins". Mike has been featured in national magazines such as ''Guitar One'', '' Guitar World'' and ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

'' and is a columnist for these publications Mike also writes many online guitar columns on sites such as Guitar Nine, Premier Guitar and Shred Academy Campese has done many masterclasses all over the world, in Sept of 2022, the

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...

Institute in Paris, hired Mike to do a series of events. Mike has released eleven solo CDs under his name, his second album, ''Full Circle'', was featured on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

(NPR) stations across the country and was on regular rotation. Mike continues to tour with his trio and as a solo artist and has opened and performed with many national acts such as

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

, the

Spin Doctors Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and No. 17, respec ...

, KC and The Sunshine Band,

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...

, Lou Reed,

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 ...

Michael Schenker Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker ...

, the members of Yes and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Kip Winger Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...

and many more. Campese was a performer at the

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

benefit in 2002 and shared the stage with members of the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

band and

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drum ...

. Mike performed on the Crüe Fest 2 tour, which featured Mötley Crüe,

Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its form ...

Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton, and drummer M ...

Theory of a Deadman Theory of a Deadman (abbreviated as Theory or TOAD) is a Canadian rock band from North Delta, British Columbia. Formed in 1999, the band is currently signed to Roadrunner Records as well as 604 Records. The band includes traits of music styles ...

Rev Theory Rev Theory (formerly known as Revelation Theory) is an American rock band formed in 2002 in North Andover, Massachusetts. The band has released four studio albums: ''Truth Is Currency'' (2005), '' Light It Up'' (2008), ''Justice'' (2011) and '' ...

and more. Mike's trio was featured on Fox 23,

WXXA-TV WXXA-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Albany, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting and operated under a shared services agreement (SSA ...

and Sound Visions which aired across the country. Currently, Mike has been performing at the largest trade show in the world, the winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

. In October of 2022, Campese is on the cover and is featured in Italy's premier guitar magazine, Axe Magazine. Campese is a versatile musician, he describes his style as rock fusion and writes vocal and instrumental arrangements,

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic.

Discography

Solo albums

*''Total Freedom'' digitally remastered (2001) *''Full Circle'' (2000) *''Vibe'' (2003) *''The New'' (2005) *''Hidden Treasures'' (2006) *''The Meaning of Christmas'' (2008) *''Electric City'' (2010) *''Chameleon'' (2013) *''Chapters'' (2016) *''The Fire Within'' (2018) *''Reset'' (2022)

Other projects

*Mr Strange "All This Time" *Mr Strange "Hey The World" *Jeckyl and Hyde Jeckyl and Hyde

TV and movie

*Fox 23 *Soundvisions * Vampire Assassin,

(2005)

Other appearances

*''Nationwide Compilation'' by Rodell R (1995) *''Warmth in the Wilderness''

Tribute (Lion Music) (2001) * Marius Danielsen - '' Legend of Valley Doom part 2'' (2018)

References

External links

Mike Campese's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campese, Mike American male composers 21st-century American composers Living people Musicians Institute alumni Guitarists from New York (state) Musicians from Albany, New York American male guitarists 21st-century American male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)