David Valentino - Guitarist, Songwriter, Producer
I first saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. I was 5 years old and even though being a fireman or a policeman sounded cool, I was done! I knew right then and there that this was what I wanted to be, a musician.
I grew up in Ybor City, the cigar capital of the U.S. A small little jewel located in Central Tampa, Florida. You could smell the Cuban coffee and fresh bread in the morning air. Musically it was a cool place to grow up. Locally in our neighborhood there were always jam sessions going on.
The 60’s captured a time and style of music; Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Eric Clapton, just to name a few.
Of course, being from Ybor City, every red blooded Latin guitarist wanted to be Carlos Santana and I was no exception. My fellow musician comrades and I would get together at jam sessions and compare our best Samba parity or Europa. We all played them note for note and it was the best time of my life!
But the world already had a Carlos Santana, so I started listening to totally diverse guitarists. DJango Reinhardt, Ernie Isley, Robin Ford, Carlos Rios and Buzz Feiton, just to name a few.
These amazing musicians influenced me so much, I developed my own style. Even though I played a lot of clubs and toured, life intervened and I had to put away my guitar and dreams of playing for a long time. Until, a few years ago I met someone very special. We were going through some boxes one day and she came across my music. Carla couldn’t believe that I put my dreams aside. She encouraged me and supported me to get them out of the box and pursue my dreams! So here I am. My passion for music never went away and now to fulfill my dreams after all these years, truly is a dream come true.
Enjoy!
DV