The Guitar Player's Resource
Submitting a CD-R demo containing thirteen songs done in a Latin instrumental guitar style is Ontario, Canada guitarist Juan Carlos Coronado. Coronado was a finalist at Guitar Player's Guitar Hero 2005 competition held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, so his technical talents and ability to 'rock the crowd' are not in question. His demo shows a lot of range as well, as Coronado can shred over heavy metal rhythms, slow ballads (demonstrating excellent intonation and vibrato), and Santana style rockers. A plus is that his compositions are not overly diverse - a common stylistic thread helps to connect all his songs, so you don't have a metal number followed by a country tune, followed by some hip hop. Coronado is showing here that he is capable of delivering a full-length, stylistically cohesive album, which is probably forthcoming.
Juan's journey began in his native country, Colombia. At 16, he already was breaking from the mainstream. Instead of following a route toward salsa, vallenato and merengue, Juan found himself drawn to the electric guitar and the emerging underground rock scene. His obsession resulted in several albums, a number one radio hit, countless live shows, and an abundance of powerful songs. Later, he recorded with the bands Emma Hoo and La Universal, but it wasn't until Juan moved to Toronto when he finally started working on a project that he had dreamt about for many years - making instrumental guitar music. Inspired by the guitar legends that he grew up listening to, in 2004 he began recording his first solo album, "Renewal".
Recently, Guitar Player Magazine chose Juan as one of the Top Ten Guitar Heroes 2005 from over 3,000 submissions worldwide. Juan played at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, in front of guitar legends such as Joe Satriani and Steve Lukather. As well, The Durham Region Music Society awarded Juan with the "Best Instrumental Recording of the Year" award in 2005.
Juan Carlos Coronado
Canada
Web site: www.juancoronado.com