Gabe Rosales
Gabe Rosales is a guitarist, singer, bassist rapper, and producer from San Juan Capistrano, California. Rosales has worked in many genres of music, such as Latin music (most notably flamenco and Cuban music), rock, jazz, drum and bass, fusion, funk, hip hop, jazz rap, and death metal. His album, Vital Nonsense, was released on February 10, 2009. Rosales has played with a variety of artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe, Christina Milian, and George Lynch .
Biography
Early Life
Born in 1978 in Southern California to Mexican parents, Rosales studied began studying music at age 10, originally playing the piano, and later on switching to guitar and bass in his early teens, and was influenced early by groups such as Faith No More, NWA, and DJ Jazzy Jeff, as well as Mexican folk music his parents played and listened to. Rosales also began drawing, which started his interest with art.
At age 13, Rosales developed a fascination with the occult, and bought books by Aleister Crowley and Anton La Vey. Rosales became interested in death metal around that time, and started performing with a band. .
Late Teens
Rosales's parents divorced in 1986, eventually leading to Gabe moving in with his father. During the summer, he practiced from 12 to 16 hours a day, and became interested in bands such as Weather Report, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Coltrane, Cameo, Zapp, and Art Tatum. During high school, Rosales starred in many theatre productions, played in seven different bands, and displayed his art at a local art school. He stopped his occult practices, but continued to be subtly influenced by it in his drawings. A friendship began with producer and guitarist Paul Pesco, who introduced him to the Zen Guitar Book, sparking Rosales's interest with Quantum Physics.
Professional Career
In 1999, he played on George Lynch's album Smoke This, and consumed excessive amounts of alcohol while on tour. Because of this, Rosales went on a spiritual search, and attended a 10 day Buddhist Vipassana meditation course. After his return, he began playing again and landed gigs with Christina Milian, Jennifer Lopez, and Prashant Aswani . Later, he took a vow to soberness, resisting both drugs and alcohol. He has also been teaching guitar and bass for nine years.
Vital Nonsense
Rosales's Vital Nonsense features songs from nearly every one of the genres that he has played in. The album featured musicians such as Dave Weckl, Divine Styler, Paul Pesco, and Prashant Aswani. The album was produced by Pesco, Rosales, and Riz Story, and was recorded in various studios in the Orange County area. The album discusses political ideology, race, religion, and various aspects of Rosales's life.
Trivia
- Rosales is endorsed by guitar company ESP Guitars.