My Idol

Jon Petrik


Mark Tremonti
My idol is Mark Tremonti. He was born on April 18, 1974 in Detroit, Michigan. He was raised with a Christian background. When he was 11 years old, he discovered Metallica and KISS through his two older brothers. He knew that he was meant play guitar in a rock band, and he bought his first guitar in 1985, around Christmas time. It was called a T.A.R.A. and was a knock-off of a Gibson les-paul. He started lessons but quit almost immediately because he wasn’t learning what he wanted. His explanation for why he quit his lessons was, “They were teaching me Mary had a Little Lamb when I wanted to learn Master of Puppets.” He began to teach himself using tab books that contained his favorite songs. He turned part gothic in 1990 because his mother had contracted Lupus and they had recently moved to Orlando, Florida. He then met Scott Stapp at school. He went to school at Clemson University for financing but returned to Florida a year later and hooked up with Scott Stapp again. They formed a new band which they called Naked Toddler. After they held auditions for a bassist and drummer and selected Brain Marshall and Scott Phillips they renamed their band Creed. Creed pumped out many hits like “Higher,” “With Arms Wide Open,” and “One Last Breath.” Mark Tremonti received the best guitarist award three different times. Eventually Creed broke up because, to make a long story short, Scott Stapp was a jerk. Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall formed a new band called Alter Bridge after the bridge that had separated the territory of kids in Mark’s hometown. They recruited Myles Kennedy for their now vocalist. Alter Bridge’s debut album is called “One Day Remains.”

The reason that Mark Tremonti is my idol is because he never gave up. He didn’t give up when he got tired of lessons. He didn’t give up when his mom got sick or when Creed broke up. Through all this, he has sustained and kept doing what was important to him. Many of the songs played by both Creed and Alter Bridge have a deep meaning, but neither band is meant to be religious. Personally I like Creed’s songs better but I also listen to Alter Bridge. Some of their more famous hits are “Open Your Eyes” and “Broken Wings.” I aspire to someday be as good and determined a guitarist and person as my idol, Mark Tremonti is.