Damon Marks (born October 6, 1971) is an American professional

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist. Marks is the founder of the Traveling Guitar Foundation, a non-profit that supplies underfunded school systems with support and musical instruments. He is a spokesman for Merida Guitars and has performed with such artists as

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

and

Bret Michaels Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman of rock band Poison, which has sold over 65 million albums worldwide and 30 million records in the United St ...

Equipment

Damon presently holds full artist endorsements with

Schecter Guitar Research Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known simply as Schecter, is an American manufacturing company founded in 1976 by David Schecter, which originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gib ...

and

EMG, Inc EMG, Inc. is the current legal name of an American company based in Santa Rosa, California that manufactures guitar pickups and EQ accessories. Among guitar and bass accessories, the company sells active humbucker pickups, such as the EMG 81, ...

. Damon primarily uses the Schecter Banshee Elite-6 FR S with the new sustainiac supercharger pickup system and the Hellraiser Hybrid C-1 FR with EMG Pickups 57/66. He also endorses the hand crafted Mérida Guitars DG15-SPGACES Diana Series Guitar and the T25-CES Trajan Series Nylon String Guitar.

Discography (with Lipstick Magazine)

* ''Skin Deep'' – released August 5, 2008 via

Nightmare Records Lance King (born November 23, 1962) is an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter known for his work in progressive and power metal. He has performed with bands including Balance of Power, Pyramaze, and Gemini, and founded Nightmare Reco ...

* ''Live in NYC'' – released April 28, 2008 via Lipstick Magazine * "Skin Deep" – from ''Skin Deep'', released 2008

Discography (with Livre')

* ''Jericho: Tribe of Joshua'' - released May 20, 2016, via

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Traveling Guitar Foundation

In 2009, Damon founded the Traveling Guitar Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to ensure that school children have access to high-quality musical instruments and instruction. By partnering with such sponsors as

Schecter Guitars Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known simply as Schecter, is an American manufacturing company founded in 1976 by David Schecter, which originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gib ...

, Merida Guitars, and

Blackstar Amplification Blackstar Amplification is a British company that produces and manufacturers Instrument amplifier, guitar amplifiers and effects units. The company was founded by a group of ex-Marshall Amplification, Marshall employees, most notably Bruce Keir, ...

, the foundation donates new instruments to underfunded schools nationally and internationally. By 2015, the foundation had equipped 70 schools and 30,000 students with musical equipment. T6Q4311

In early 2013, Damon went on his first celebrity

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour. On October 24, 2014, Marks was presented with a street sign at a ceremony by Mayor Christian Bollwage of the city of Elizabeth, NJ where he grew up. On May 13, 2016, Marks was presented with a second street sign at a ceremony by Mayor Barbara McMorrow of the city of Freehold, NJ recognizing him for his contributions to the education of our children through his foundation. Marks was also presented with a proclamation that on Saturday May 15, 2016, being declared Damon Marks / Traveling Guitar Foundation day.

References

External links

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Traveling Guitar Foundation sets groundwork for success
via myCentralJersey.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Damon 1971 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American hard rock musicians American heavy metal guitarists American male guitarists American male songwriters American people of Italian descent American philanthropists American rhythm and blues guitarists American rock guitarists American rock songwriters Guitarists from New Jersey American lead guitarists Musicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey Songwriters from New Jersey