Ioannis Anastassakis

Born in the Greek island of Crete, Ioannis Anastassakis completed his Bachelor degree at the American College of Greece, and subsequently studied at the distinguished Musicians Institute (GIT), where he was hired as an instructor, after graduating at the top 1% of his class. He continued his graduate studies in Music, at the California State University, completing an MA in Guitar Performance, graduating Magna cum Laude.

Ioannis list of Electric guitar teachers is extremely impressive: the list read like as “Who is Who” of contemporary electric guitar legends! Steve Vai (Whitesnake), Vinnie Moore (UFO), Marty Friedman (Megadeth), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Frank Gambale (Chick Corea), Paul Gilbert (Mr.Big), Richie Kotzen, Greg Howe, Brett Garsed, Kiko Loureiro, Joey Tafolla, Scott Henderson, Mike Stern, Jean Marc Belkadi, Darren Householder, Tommy Tedesco, Ted Greene, Ron Eschete, Sid Jacobs & Joe Diorio.

Ioannis also studied Solo Concert Flamenco Guitar for several years with flamenco maestro Juan Serrano. In addition, he has studied with Flamenco guitar legends Manolo Sanlucar, Juan Martin, Paco Serrano, Jose Antonio Rodriguez and Manolo Franco.

Ioannis has also performed and/or recorded in various settings with several band members of Whitesnake, Dio, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Santana, Celine Dion, Sara Vaughan, Tito Puente, Julio Iglesias, Tower of Power, Chick Corea Electric Band, Jeff Beck, Steve Vai Band, Badlands, Santana, Tribal Tech, Natalie Cole, Joe Cocker, Cher, Blood Sweat & Tears and more.

Ioannis has presented over 400 solo recitals in Europe and the United States and has been a guest lecturer at several American colleges and Universities (University of Southern California, California State University Northridge, California State University Fresno, California State University Fullerton, Musicians Institute, Fresno City College, American College of Greece). In addition, he has won and placed as a finalist in several Classical and Flamenco guitar competitions and has been featured 15 times on European and American TV. In 2000, he was the 1st guitarist ever to present a solo guitar recital at the prestigious Greek National Opera House.

Ioannis’ 1st instrumental Rock/Fusion Electric guitar CD, “Suspension of Disbelief”, was released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2007 – within 3 weeks its worldwide sales soared at the top 5 in the highly regarded Guitar9.com website!! Ioannis’ highly anticipated second instrumental Rock/Fusion Electric guitar CD, “Orbital Attempt”, was released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in April 2009 and within weeks reached to the #1 spot of Guitar9.

Ioannis’ first solo Flamenco guitar CD, “Flamenco Live at Ioannina”, was released by MP3.com on 2000, immediately entered the company's flamenco ?op 10, eventually reaching the #1 place worldwide on October 2002. The CD was re-mastered and re-released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2004 and also reached the #1 spot in 3 different categories in 2009! Ioannis’ next solo Flamenco guitar CD, “Traditional Flamenco Guitar Selections” is scheduled to be released by Wild Rose Angel Productions in 2011.

Ioannis’ instructional materials are published and distributed worldwide by Mel Bay Publications. He has authored 5 Books/CDs/DVDs - “The Art of Rasgueado”, “Flamenco Journal”, “The Art of Tremolo” , “60 Tapping Licks for Contemporary Rock & Metal Guitar” and “60 Sweeping Licks for Contemporary Electric Guitar”. Most of them achieved best-seller status within months of their initial publication date.

Ioannis is also a regular columnist in Mel Bay’s Guitar Sessions magazine, specializing on articles in Flamenco Guitar Technique and Advanced Contemporary Electric Guitar Technique and writes a monthly column on Rock Guitar at the Rock Hard Greece magazine.

Ioannis is currently (2010) sponsored by Ibanez Electric Guitars (6-string), Schecter 7-string Electric Guitars, Roland Guitar Effects, EMG Active Pickups, Line 6 recording interfaces and preamplifiers, ELIXIR Electric Guitar Strings and instrument cables, LaBella Flamenco Guitar Strings, T-Rex Effect pedals, Visual Sound effects, Hercules stands, Graphtech custom guitar parts, Snapjack jacks, DR Guitar Straps and George-L studio cables.

Ioannis is also the founder, group leader and manager of the highly successful Greek Guitar Power Team – an all-instrumental group comprised of his Ioannis and his most advanced Electric guitar students, most of them already highly respected professionals in the field of Rock guitar. The Greek Guitar Power team performs every week in a different town, combining 2-day instructional Electric guitar festivals of more than 8 hours tuition daily with electrifying instrumental performances in the evenings.