Groove – Episode #43: Marco Mendoza

The first time I saw Marco Mendoza play bass live was with Whitesnake. Whatever you think about Whitesnake’s music (personally, I am a child of the 80s and a lover of that genre), they are a force of hard, heavy and blues power that is not to be reckoned with (if you can get past those wild hair metal videos from the MTV era). At that point, I felt like Mendoza had finally arrived. He had worked with John Sykes, Blue Murder, Lynch Mob, Ted Nugent, Neal Schon (Journey) and countless others.

Still, he moved on, adding bands and artists like the recently deceased Dolores O’Riordan (Cranberries), Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders and most recently the super-group, The Dead Daisies. But he’s not just a rocker. Not by a long shot. Just head over to YouTube and check out his solo bass work. Playing fretless, grooving with Latin, jazz, and fusion flair flawlessly – singing and dancing too!

His solo discs Live For Tomorrow, Casa Mendoza and his recently released, Viva La Rock, all demonstrate his musical aptitude.

Which brings us to today. As Viva La Rock is beginning to gather steam, The Dead Daisies are also back with a killer rocking record, Burn It Down. Some people think that rock is dead. Others say that fusion is dead. Well, death never looked and sounded so good and alive, if you measure it against the career of Marco Mendoza.

Enjoy the conversation…