Name Warren Mendonsa Birth name Warren Mendonsa Record label UNSIGNED Role Guitarist | Labels Unsigned Years active since 1998 Music group Zero | |
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Born 12 September 1979 (age 45) Bombay, India ( 1979-09-12 ) Genres BluesInstrumental GuitarRockRock & RollPop rock Occupation(s) MusicianSongwriterGuitaristSound Engineer Instruments GuitarBass GuitarFretless BassDrum ProgrammingKeyboardsSoftware Synthesizers Albums Nights in Shining Karma, Amit Sahni Ki List Similar People Karsh Kale, Raghu Dixit, Palash Muchhal, Loy Mendonsa | ||
Blackstratblues ode to a sunny day guitar tutorial
Blackstratblues is a solo project of Warren Mendonsa, who is a guitarist, composer and record producer. He is the nephew of Indian musician and celebrated Bollywood composer Loy Mendonsa of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy fame.
Contents
- Blackstratblues ode to a sunny day guitar tutorial
- Ode to a sunny day blackstratblues
- Early Years Late 1990s
- With Zero 1998 2005
- 2005 2007
- Nights in Shining Karma
- Musical Influences and Playing Style
- Solo albums
- References
Ode to a sunny day blackstratblues
Early Years: Late 1990s
After picking up the guitar at the age of 5, Mendonsa went on to play rhythm guitar in a few local bands with friends Siddharth Coutto (drums) and Girish 'Bobby' Talwar (rhythm guitar, bass). Sometime around 1997-98, they formed Zero, with Rajeev Talwar on vocals.
With Zero: 1998-2005
Over the years, Zero grew to enjoy nationwide popularity in India. With Warren, Zero released two albums and an EP - Albummed (1999), Hook EP (2002), & Procrastination (2005).
Besides his work in Zero, Warren Mendonsa recorded & released numerous instrumentals - the most popular works being Christmas in July, Spitleaf, & Evil- which enjoyed some fame on online music forums like Gigpad, & Harmony Central. He was also involved in many online collaborations with musicians - most notably Adam Martin, Ed DeGenaro and Zorran Mendonsa - which resulted in a few songs. In late 2004, Mendonsa moved to Auckland, New Zealand, thereby quitting Zero.
During this period, he was also a highly sought-after recording engineer and session guitarist in Bombay, having worked on various film soundtracks, advertising jingles, & other albums.
2005-2007
After moving to Auckland, Warren Mendonsa began to work on solo instrumental material. While visiting India, he reunited with Zero for a few gigs, most notably at the Great Indian Rock Festival 2006.
Nights in Shining Karma
Blackstratblues' debut album, Nights in Shining Karma was released on 18 April 2007 as a free digital-only download.
The album garnered significant appreciation and popularity on online music forums.
Musical Influences and Playing Style
Mendonsa is known for his instantly recognizable, distinctive guitar sound and playing, incorporating immaculate phrasing and abandoning traditional, flashy "guitar hero" techniques, in favour of composing memorable melodies and playing with feel.