Dave Meniketti

Dave Meniketti
Birth name	David Alan Meniketti
Born	December 12, 1953 (1953-12-12) (age 57) Oakland, California, USA
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1973–present
Labels	London Records(1976-1978), A&M(1981-1985), Geffen(1987-1990), Metal Blade(1991)
Associated acts	Y&T, Hear 'n Aid
Website	http://www.meniketti.com/
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul

David Alan "Dave" Meniketti (born December 12, 1953) is the singer, songwriter and lead guitarist for 70's/80's Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band Y&T. He has also released two solo efforts, one of which is more blues-oriented, but he still tours with Y&T.

History

Dave Meniketti was born and raised in Oakland, California where he has been an icon for guitar players worldwide and a San Francisco Bay Area vocal and guitar legend for over two decades. Perhaps it is the diversity of the artists that influenced him as a kid (Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, Leslie West, James Brown, Led Zeppelin) that is responsible for his varied expressions in both his singing and his guitar playing.

As the lead singer/lead guitarist with Bay Area rockers Y&T, Meniketti has sold over 4 million records worldwide. With them, he recorded 17 albums, toured across the United States and around the world. His style has influenced some of the major stars in rock and over the years he's been asked to join many top bands including Ozzy Osbourne and Whitesnake. Secret Chiefs 3 and former Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance said in an interview with Kerrang! magazine in 1991: "... of course, I owe it [his guitar playing speed] all to Y&T. Dave Meniketti is my god."

In the movie Anvil! The Story of Anvil, in the bonus feature interview Lars Ulrich of Metallica talks at length about seeing one of his favorite bands Y&T for the first time at a club in Hollywood in December 1980. Lars Ulrich credits Y&T as the reason he decided to become a musician, saying: "That was the turning point for me wanting to play music...You could tell that they loved what they were doing."

While Y&T took a break from recording and performing, Meniketti built his own recording studio and proceeded to record his first solo album titled ON THE BLUE SIDE, which represented his passion for the blues. He would later release a follow up album simply titled MENIKETTI. Recorded in Tokyo, a live concert CD was released by Avex Records in 2003 titled MENIKETTI LIVE IN JAPAN.

Equipment

Dave plays Gibson Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster, and has been playing the Gibson Les Paul since the early 1980s and recently a custom made LP style Bisceglia built by George Bisceglia of Bisceglia Guitars. He could also been seen playing Fender Stratocasters and Kramer guitars. For amplification, he uses Diezel VH4 heads, with a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier as a back-up.

Persondata
Name	Meniketti, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 12, 1953
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death