jason tortorici
guitar coach
What is your favorite part of coaching at ROC Star Academy?
My favorite part about coaching is seeing each musician meet their goals and grow as not only musicians, but people. Playing music has done a lot for me and I want to make sure others can experience that as much as I did.
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​Hometown: Penfield, NY
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Your musical focus/instruments you play: Guitar, vocals, songwriting/arranging
When did you start pursuing music?
I started pursuing music in middle school when I got my first guitar.
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What is your musical education?
I was lucky to have a very strong jazz program and classes in music theory in high school. I also studied guitar at Northfield Music as a teenager, and also with the great Bob Sneider at Eastman.
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What are your musical influences/favorite bands?
My musical influences are wide ranging with my favorite guitar players being Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Lukather, and many other great studio/session players. My favorite performers include Animals as Leaders, Tom Waits, The Beatles, Tribal Tech…. I’m really all over place and I might answer this same question totally different tomorrow.
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What is your “deserted island” album?
My desert island album is "Closing Time" by Tom Waits—which is funny because there is not a lot of guitar on that record. The songwriting is superb and it really connects with me.
What is your favorite venue or event that you’ve performed?
My favorite venue that I have performed in is probably the Eastman Theatre. The room feels alive. I also love playing festival stages like the Fringe, Jazz Fest, etc.
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What’s the craziest thing that ever happened to you on-stage?
The craziest thing that has ever happened to me on stage was a full show. I was hired to perform in a production of "The Rocky Horror Show." It ran for 3 weeks in Rochester and then traveled to New York City. I both played guitar and performed as a character. I was able to share the stage with a lot of talented people and I can honestly say the whole experience was the craziest thing that has ever happened to me on stage -- from the audience shouting things back at me, to throwing items perfectly in sync to the stage night after night. Nothing could have properly prepared me.
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What’s the best piece of musical advice you’ve received in your career thus far?
The best musical advice I was ever given was to take gigs outside of my comfort zone and always listen more than I play. That advice made it so that I can feel confident playing in lots of different settings (rock band, pit orchestra, small combo, or subbing for a group I’ve never played with) and still feel like I’m genuinely playing like me.​
