Showing results by author "Marty Friedman" in All Categories

Marty Friedman's upbringing was as atypical as his career. Growing up in a Jewish household in Maryland, the son of an NSA executive, he lacked motivation until he discovered the guitar. Enjoying a hazy adolescence overflowing with partying, music, and teen antics, he achieved local stardom in Deuce, then burst onto the national scene by pioneering a radically new style of playing, bringing attention to the guitar aficionado label, Shrapnel Records. Friedman moved to California and scored a gig in Megadeth.

I was a boy who started with nothing and finished with more than I ever wished for. I want to inspire others to do the same and to learn from my experiences. As a young man, I always questioned if I'd be able to make my mark in the world because I didn't have the smarts or grades that most of my classmates had. I wasn't a good athlete, which is what counts in grammar and high school, and my parents didn't have a lot of money. I did understand though that if I didn't do it for myself, there was nobody else to do it for me. Today, I consider myself the luckiest person in the world.