Michael Casswell R.I.P
He was not on the list.
He was an English session guitarist, who toured and recorded with numerous artists including Brian May, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Hackett, Wang Chung, Ronan Keating, Rose Royce, Cozy Powell, Tony Hadley, Go West, Dean Friedman, Limahl (Kajagoogoo), Rhinos Revenge Band, Fanfields (Toto tribute project) and Marcus Malone.
Casswell started playing the guitar from the age of 11. In
the mid-1980s he was signed to RCA USA as a part of a band called Heroes. From
the late 1980s to the early 1990s he was signed to MCA UK with the British rock
band Walk on Fire, which released an album Blind Faith in 1989. In 1992, he
joined the Brian May Band for the South America tour. Casswell co-wrote and
co-produced Cozy Powell's last solo album, Especially for You, which was
released by Polygram Records in 1998. From 2006 to 2008, Casswell played in the
West End Queen musical, We Will Rock You. Casswell also taught guitar through
many DVDs from Lick Library with an emphatic focus on classic rock and blues
styles. Since 2011, he was regularly contributing to the Guitar Interactive
magazine with columns, gear reviews and interviews.
In 2014, Casswell released a solo album entitled Complaints
about the Noise. Casswell's last recordings were his submissions for the Toto
tribute Fanfields project, which were released on October 1, 2016, a day after
his death.
Casswell was a keen user of the guitar's tremolo bar. He was
often seen playing pre-Samick Valley Arts guitars, equipped with Floyd Rose and
EMG pickups. He also frequently played a Music Man (Luke) guitar, as well as
various Fender Stratocasters and James Tyler guitars. For amplifiers, he mainly
used Mesa-Boogie, or Marshall Amplification.
In September 2016, Casswell drowned whilst swimming off Las
Negras beach in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park in Níjar, Spain. He was 53
years old.
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