Today we’d like to introduce you to Tremaine Young.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve been playing guitar for about 25 years, but I started out as a drummer in my home church… The House of God Church, Keith Dominion, Ft. Lauderdale #1. Growing up in the Sacred Steel atmosphere, I naturally wanted to play the Hawaiian Steel Guitar, which still is the main instrument in that church. Unfortunately, when I asked my mom to get me one for Christmas, she said she couldn’t find any in the city, so she got me a Lead Guitar instead.
Being the underexposed 14-year old that I was at the time, I was very unhappy about this so that guitar sat for months before I really tried to play it much. I would only play around the house but nothing serious. One evening, my older cousin Kenny Ellis, who’s also one of my favorite guitarists, showed me a few exercises and chords to help me learn how to build my hand strength and speed. Once he showed me those techniques that one time and I promised him that I’d be better at it the next time we got together, I started practicing more every day. So, me and my cousins, who are all musicians would play around the house and during weekly church services. It wasn’t until I was 16 when I got my first chance to play on a Sunday morning. Oh, man was I nervous. Just my cousin Kyron on bass, Shane Lee on drums, and me on Lead Guitar. Back then, we felt if the music was good enough to make a few people shout, then it was really good. Quite a few people shouted that day, so we were on cloud 109.
Years past and I kept practicing and got good enough to get a scholarship to play for the concert chorale at Bethune Cookman College. In college is where I really fell in love with my instrument because I started to become more exposed to what it could do. I started listening to guys like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Norman Brown, George Benson, and my all-time favorite, B. B. King. After college, I started playing with local bands in South Florida, learning as much as I could from whoever would show me something.
Fast forward to 2010, I started playing with Jon Saxx and Endless Possibilities. I learned so much from these guys. Thank y’all for the free lessons. We did a lot of different shows, in and out of the country. Still learning along the way, I moved to Atlanta in the summer of 2013. It was a slow start trying to start over in a new city, but the music community here has been very welcoming, and I have no complaints about my move. Now, I pretty much do music full time performing as a solo artist, with my band, and with several bands in and around town. I was fortunate to record two projects, one gospel and one jazz soul that you can find on my website, www.tremaineyoung.com.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m a guitarist. I do it simply because I love the feeling I get when I’m playing and performing. I want people to walk away anxiously awaiting the next time they can hear me play.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
I think the biggest challenge facing artist today is being able to do what they love to do as much as they want to do, and surviving everything else life throws at them.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.tremaineyoung.com
- Email: mrtdyoung@gmail.com
- Instagram: @tredenard
Image Credit:
Tremaine Young
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