Stephen Charles Dadaian (born May 3, 1987) is an Armenian electric and classical guitarist from

Cresskill, New Jersey Cresskill is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,155, an increase of 582 (+6.8%) from the 2010 United S ...

. He is also a general dentist. He attended Cresskill High School, where he graduated in 2005 and later graduated from

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...

in 2009. He graduated and earned his DDS degree from

Columbia University College of Dental Medicine The Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, often abbreviated CDM, is one of the 21 graduate and professional schools of Columbia University. It is located at 630 West 168th Street in Manhattan, New York City. According to American Den ...

in 2013, where he was part of The William Jarvie Research Society. Dadaian began playing electric guitar at the age of 14 then classical thereafter at the age of 16. In his teenage years, Dadaian studied with electric guitarists such as Ron Thal and classical guitarists Antigoni Goni as well as Jorge Caballero. In 2008 and 2009 he was a top prize earner in the Philadelphia Guitar Society Competition – Collegiate Division. During this time, he won first prize in Music Nation's "Slash's Ultimate Guitar Showdown", a national guitar competition with 2,500 entrants. The grand prize was chosen by

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

. Stephen was a top prize earner in

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

's "Shred the Web" competition. He has also opened for notable acts such as

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

at The College of New Jersey in 2008, which was one of the largest turnouts seen at the College in the past five years. In 2013, Stephen won a national guitar competition hosted by Jammit and judged by Dean guitars in addition to a representative of

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

. Jammit allowed contestants to play a note for note cover or create their own rendition for the Pantera song "Drag the Waters", where Stephen performed the latter. The rhythm guitar was the same as the studio recording while the solos consisted of a mixture of his lead style with the style of

Dimebag Darrell Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founde ...

. It also made use of the features on his signature model guitar by Jason Lee guitars such as the arcade style killswitch button and the 27 fret fretboard. The judging for the contest was unanimous in Stephen's favor. In 2014 he was selected as a finalist and won the Jon Donais Guitar Battle Royale, which was judged by Jon himself. Other accolades include an invitation to perform at the Guitar Gods festival with the likes of

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

, and Nick McBrain as well as a top nomination by a guitar competition hosted by

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

. Dadaian released his debut solo album "Follow the Light" in 2019, which was an instrumental concept album. The record received positive reviews and the title track was premiered with

where Dadaian is a contributing guest artist.

Equipment

ESP Guitars is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and basses. They are based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, with distinct product lines for each market. ESP Company manufactures instruments under sever ...

M-II and M-III Models
Dunlop Crybaby Wah Pedal
Dunlop Jazz III Picks

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

Tube Screamer

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

Dual Rectifier 100 W 3 Channel

Mark IV

4 x 12, 2, x 12

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dadaian, Stephen 1987 births Living people American people of Armenian descent Guitarists from New Jersey Record producers from New Jersey The College of New Jersey alumni Columbia University College of Dental Medicine alumni People from Cresskill, New Jersey 21st-century American guitarists Musicians from Bergen County, New Jersey