10-year-old Guitarist to Record Debut Album

by Staff.

While untold thousands of pre-teens, teens, and severely post-teens work on their video game guitar-simulator chops or air-guitar windmills, 10-year-old guitarist Alex Razayeski will be in the studio working on his debut album. The Cleveland, Ohio, native who goes by the stage name Alex Raz, will record the CD under the guidance of Grammy-award-winner Mark Pastoria, known for his work with Harmonie Park Studios in Detroit that has recorded acts such as Aretha Franklin, Eminem, Dave Mason, and Mötley Crüe. According to Raz's website, bassist Ralphe Armstrong (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jean-Luc Ponty) will make a special appearance on the album to support Raz and bandmates vocalist Vincent Fondale and drummer Julian Pavone. Is four the magic number? That's the age at which Raz started playing guitar, as did several six-string notables such as Tommy Emmanuel and Joe Bonamassa, both of whom also began performing at a young age. At 10, however, Raz is the oldest permanent member of the band. Singer Fondale (website) is seven and drummer Pavone (website) turned three last May.