‘Alan Entwistle Pickups’ Artist

Carmine Capasso

“The guitar is an extension of myself. It allows me to express all the sensations I feel and above all, it makes me feel good. I’ve always had a guitar style based on rock-blues, preferring the melody rather than technical virtuosity. I’m versatile in blues, rock, hard rock, metal and progressive rock.”

GENRE(S): Progressive rock, Blues, Italian rock

FAVOURITE ARTISTS / INFLUENCES: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Timoria, The Who, Camel, Thin Lizzy, Slash, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Alvin Lee, Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, Pino Daniele, Timoria, The Doors, etc

BANDS – ACTIVE: Carmine Capasso, Aeden, The Samurai of prog

BANDS – PREVIOUS: The Trip

GEAR: Capasso Guitar (PRS, Les Paul, Telecaster models), Orange Amps, Alan Entwistle pickups

PREFERRED PICKUPS, AND WHY: Among my favourites are definitely the Alan Entwistle Dark Star and Nemesis for their versatility in different genres and musical contexts

BIOGRAPHY:

Carmine was born in 1989 and is originally from Falciano Del Massico, Italy, now living in Cusano Milanino (MI). Around 6 years old he showed an interest in music and played internationally on his first instrument, the Piccolo Mib clarinet. Around 12 years old was when he discovered the guitar which then became his main instrument, performing well in competitions and winning awards for his playing and stage presence. From 16 years old he became very interested in the art of songwriting and has progressed as a guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer, both for his own music and as a studio and touring session player.

His collaborations with famous Italian and international artists are well known, and he is also a sought-after session man for The Samurai of Prog, Sasha Torrisi (Timoria), Delta Moon, Sherrita Duran (Gianni Morandi’s backing vocalist), Antonio Onorato (Pino Daniele’s collaborator and defined as the Italian Pat Metheny), Arturo Stalteri (Pierrot Lunaire and Rino Gaetano’s keyboardist), Grazia Di Michele, Antonello Venditti, and historic progressive rock band, The Trip, with whom he recorded, produced and performed live for.

Carmine also builds his own guitars in partnership with his Father, who is a skilled wood-worker. He started off with set-ups and finishes before both attending the lutherie school of Master Luthier Umberto Amato to refine their acoustic-building skills. His favourite self-builds you can see in his photographs, live performances and many You Tube videos, such as his PRS, Les Paul, SG and Telecaster-style models. His preferred pickups for several years now are ‘Alan Entwistle’ pickups.

December 2022 saw the release of ‘Assenza di gravità’, Carmine Capasso’s first full album, on the ‘Ma.ra.cash Records’ label.