photo by Charlie Parra del Riego
Peruvian touring musician, Charlie Parra del Riego, who was originally a YouTuber, will be out on tour this Summer, playing in both Chris Jericho’s band, Kuarantine, and in Saratoga. The guitarist has also performed with numerous other acts, such as Kobra and the Lotus and M.A.S.A.C.R.E, as well as his own band, Difonia. Keep reading in the article below to find out more.
“I’m definitely no doctor or anything but before the guitar, everything was pretty bland, almost superficial and empty. After guitar, there was a purpose, goals, and feel. Couldn’t be more grateful for how these six strings brought so many awesome people, blessings, fans, and experiences (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the awesome). I never thought I would ever go to play guitar in other countries until I actually did.” -Charlie Parra del Riego
Charlie Parra del Riego is a touring musician who’s played alongside some of the biggest names in metal and rock and roll, including Chris Jericho, Dino Cazares, Michael Angelo Batio, El Estepario Siberiano, and Spanish heavy metal band Saratoga. Coming from hardships and struggles in his early life, as he was diagnosed him ADHD and kicked out of school at a young age, Charlie bounced back in his personal and professional life by embracing music. After his diagnosis, his therapist suggested he try playing the electric guitar to improve his skills and grades, which led to Charlie to form his own band, Difonia, in 2003 to play in the underground hardcore punk circuit.
Charlie has a particularly interesting ‘claim to fame’ as he began creating videos as a YouTuber in 2008 (long before the term “YouTuber” even existed), and went viral with his video “Punk VS Metal”, which now has 10 million views to date. From there, Charlie was given the opportunity to join the Canadian band Kobra and the Lotus supporting Steel Panther, Sonata Arctica, and Fear Factory around Europe, the UK, the U.S., and Canada.
Del Riego continued his career by joining the Peruvian band M.A.S.A.C.R.E, which supported Testament, Accept, Sepultura, and Judas Priest, along with pursuing his solo work, releasing original music this year, including “TIEMPO” “SIGMA”, featuring Dino Czares, and “Pulsar” ft Michael Angelo Batio, and supporting iconic musicians such as Slash, The Cult, Mr Big, Angra throughout his career. He was able to perform in Hellfest (France) in 2015 and worked for video game companies such as Capcom (producing music for Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection), Activision (producing music for Duke Nukem 3D 30th Anniversary) and Blizzard (performing in Mexico, France and Germany for video game releases).
Charlie was also given the opportunity to play alongside wrestling legend and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho’s band Kuarantine when Chris wrote Charlie an Instagram direct message asking him to join the group after watching his videos. Kuarantine will be on tour this summer on July 5th in Chesterfield MI at the Diesel Concert Lounge, on July 6th in Franklin OH at JD Legends, and on July 7th Warrendale PA at Jergel’s.
“Playing with Chris has been out of this world so far. Getting to play in a band with members of Fozzy, Trixter, and Luke Bryan, and meeting wrestling legends does not happen every day. Fact is, I’m still surprised I’m getting to play in the same band with the guy I picked in video games and watch on TV.” – Charlie Parra del Riego
Influenced by the likes of Slash, Vinnie Vincent, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads, Charlie’s music has an anthemic, action-influenced sound. It’s no surprise his discography possesses such a diverse, nostalgic feeling, and has accompanied many different video games across the U.S.
He will be on tour with Saratoga this summer across California on June 7th in Santa Ana at The Yost, June 8th in Los Angeles at Leonardos, and June 9th in San Francisco at Roccapulco. Be sure to catch him at a live show to experience an unforgettable night.
“Guitar is a way of life, almost a religion but all the way around, it’s a global language and community that (most of the time) brings people from all over the world together. Music is life, love, attitude, sadness, anger… music is everything.” -Charlie Parra del Riego
More from Charlie Parra del Riego:
Born in Lima, Peru in 1985, Charlie Parra del Riego found his love for electric guitar when he was 15. He started his YouTube channel in 2008 to show his friends some instrumentals of his own. In 2016, he started focusing on his online content and added video game covers to his uploads. From 2017 to 2018 due to exhaustion, substance abuse, and physical and mental health issues, Charlie stopped touring and uploading videos until getting proper help. In 2019, Charlie performed a guitar solo during the opening ceremony of the Pan Am Games in the National Stadium of Lima, Peru that was streamed worldwide. By 2021, he released his second signature model with Kramer Guitars USA: the Vanguard Charlie Parra Signature. He is currently touring with power metal band Saratoga around Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru and soon the U.S., and recently performed in the cancer research fundraiser Kiss Cancer Goodbye with Todd Kerns (Slash and The Conspirators) in Sarasota, FL. He will be on tour this summer with Saratoga, playing shows across California in Santa Ana, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and with Chris Jericho’s Kuarantine, playing shows in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Follow Charlie Parra del Riego:
https://youtube.com/@charlieparradelriego
https://www.facebook.com/charlieparradelriego
https://www.instagram.com/charlieparradelriego/
https://charlieparradelriego.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/31Eoi17HcQM7ElqMMXIUU3