With his roots in rock and metal, Mr. Rodrigo started learning guitar at his middle school’s rock band class and taught himself throughout high school. He then went on to study jazz under Mike Scott and Joe Jewell at Fullerton College before transferring to Cal State LA to earn his Bachelor’s in Music in Jazz Performance. While at Cal State LA, Rodrigo was fortunate enough to study under Dave Askren, Dr. Jeff Benedict, and Dr. James Ford (trumpet player for Michael Bublé, Justin Timberlake, and the Monk Orchestra) as well as perform with Ryan “Papa” Porter and the late Jeff Clayton.
Due to studying music at the college level, Mr. Rodrigo was exposed to many different types of music and, as a result, has become a versatile guitarist able to play rock, metal, jazz, funk, neo soul, fusion, and much more. For the past 5 years, he has been able to use his versatility to help students of all ages reach their goals and learn the music/songs they want to learn on both electric and acoustic guitar. Mr. Rodrigo also teaches beginning piano to students looking to learn piano for the first time. He brings all the lessons and wisdom he has accumulated from his teachers to his students in order to push them to better themselves, celebrate the little wins, and to never be hard on themselves.
Mr. Rodrigo is an aspiring performer who has played for private events, weddings, restaurants, and is currently playing guitar for an up and coming band, Proto Sky.