Biography
Photo by Samantha Willick
Darryl Minsky - Lead Guitar
Ex-Manitoban now residing in Calgary. Played guitar/bass since he was 15. Darryl has eclectic musical tastes, from Classical to New Age to Blues to Electronica, to his first love, Rock! His early music collection consisted of Grand Funk Railroad, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Uriah Heep. He's never been the same since. Early on, Darryl played lots of classical guitar, but after a while started having more fun with his electric guitar, and now only plays the classical guitar occasionally. He loves to remind people how classical music and rock have similarities. This usually blows their minds. Playing rock was only at jam sessions at friends' homes. The jams were a regular thing, and depending on the mood of the guys, varied from blues to metal to reggae to jazz to...whatever. However, hard rock was flowing through his veins, and he wanted a bit more structure. A few years ago he and friend Steve Pratt formed Olde School, a band that played only hard rock from the 70's and 80's. That band rocked out in various pubs around Calgary and Southern Alberta. Darryl then decided to try playing as a bassist, and joined the blues band Whiskey and The Painkillers. Darryl heard the calling of a rock band again and answered an ad in FFWD magazine. That's how Rock Garden was born!
His influences are Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night) , Mike Oldfield, Joe Satriani, Zakk Wylde (Ozzy, Black Label Society) , K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), Mick Box (Uriah Heep), Johann Sebastian Bach, and ABBA.
Ok, just kidding about ABBA.
Darryl is webmaster for these music based sites: Black Sabbath in Calgary, Deep Purple Autographs, The Wandering V's, and this one!
Darryl uses Marshall amplification, and Fender, Dean, Ibanez, and Yamaha guitars
When he's not playing guitar, he's riding his motorcycle
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