Rock guitar ace Tom Middleton aims for the top (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Rock guitar ace Tom Middleton aims for the top

5:50pm Tuesday 8th June 2010 in Leisure By Adrian Mullen , Arts correspondent

MOVE over Slash and Satriani - Tom Middleton’s your man.

His blistering-paced guitar riffs are blazing a trail all the way from Caton to London as he makes a bid to be in Rock Control’s ultimate band.

Tom - born and raised in Lancaster - is inviting rock lovers to register and check out his six-string expertise on the RC website and become a ‘fan,’ clocking up vital votes and putting him in the frame for stardom.

Rock Control’s brilliantly ambitious format harnesses the power of modern media, challenging the public to create a world-class rock band, piece by piece, then once they’ve picked the individual musical talents, as ‘managers’ over nine months they shape the sound, image and every aspect of the of the outfit, guiding it to global success and a shot at getting a number one single in every chart around the world.

Tom went to Lancaster Royal Grammar School, then Leeds Metropolitan University where he landed a BSc (Hons) in Creative Music and Sound Technology.

He started playing guitar at the age of 12 - his first dabble at plucking the strings being Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit.

“As my musical style and taste changed and developed I became very much into the metal scene listening to the likes of Metallica, Pantera, Guns 'n' Roses and Megadeth,” added Tom.

“This style of music captivated me due to the incredibly complex guitar techniques. My guitar hero from then and to this day is the late, great Dimebag Darrell of Pantera.”

After perfecting techniques learned from his other guitar slinging favourites such as Metallica’s James Hetfield, Slash (had to be), Eddie Van Halen and Queen’s Brian May, Tom searched for more challenging music, which he found in classical circles.

“I don't rely on classical music for the sound I try and achieve as I find it becomes rather 'cheesy' and predictable when converting it to rock.

“However, in terms of learning how to structure a piece of music there are no better mentors than the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach.”

Tom was introduced to the ground-breaking competition, when co-founder Mark Bowness contacted him: “I had a video on YouTube, which he’d found. He basically asked if I would consider auditioning for this project he had been developing over the last 18 months, and that it was an awesome opportunity for me.”

Visit www.rockcontrol.com/profile/tommiddleton.