ROB CAVESTANY
B i o g r a p h y
Rob Cavestany was born October 29th, 1968, in San Francisco, California. Reputably recognized as the founding member, main songwriter and lead guitarist for Death Angel, Rob is most noted for his extraordinary fretwork, songwriting, producing, mixing and performing.
In love with music from birth, he was a mere 9 years old when his parents bought him a set of drums, then patiently took him to lessons and endured a year of "learning rhythm skills"... the LOUD way! Problem was he couldn't practice at night due to the sheer volume so eventually Rob seized his dads' guitar that always seemed to be around the house. Now he could practice any time. That acoustic found itself a new institution in his hands.
At the age of 11, Rob began taking lessons on a "C" Series Electric guitar. It was then he discovered the true meaning of passion and that he could express himself through music. At 13 years of age and armed with a Gibson Flying V, ambition called on Rob to form his first band with his own cousins, and Death Angel was born. They conquered the world with their original brand of Bay Area Thrash, releasing their classic debut album “The Ultra-Violence” less than a year after Rob graduated high school.
Already touring the globe while not yet a “legal adult” was interesting to say the least but in the end the experience was priceless. Sophomore album “Frolic Through the Park” was released in 1988 and “ACT III” on Geffen Records two years later.
In 1989 Rob designed his own custom signature guitar with Grover Jackson. This has been his main live axe in every Death Angel show since. The instrument is now available to the public, known as the "Rob Cavestany Signature Death Angel Custom" made by Jackson Guitars.
Through the 90’s Rob created 4 different musical entities. The demise of Death Angel in the wake of a fateful bus crash in November 1990 left feelings of confusion and anger. Music was the only escape from a distorted reality…
Taking over lead vocals, Rob formed “The Organization” with the 3 other original members of DA. “The O” put out two solid albums and toured the world for years. Along the way was “The Past”, basically an acoustic version of “The O” with other friends joining in the jam. There are only a handful of rare “tapes” in existence from this project.
Then there was “Smokestack”, a grooving bluesy trio who recorded one demo that was never even officially released. Next came “Swarm” which kicked the rock back in - as well as the work ethic - resulting in 3 months on tour supporting Jerry Cantrell and then the album “Beyond the End” released in 2003. By this time Death Angel had reformed and was already writing music for “The Art of Dying”, released in 2004.
Rob is still actively pursuing Death Angel's career however he has always had a passion for the acoustic guitar. He has been writing songs for as long as he's known how to play and it just made sense that he should put out his own solo project, titled "Lines on the Road", a totally self-produced album recorded mostly in his home studio. It was released in August of 2007.
Seeking deeper knowledge, Rob completed the Guitar Skills Course to earn his Specialist Certificate from Berklee College of Music in 2009. This lit a fire to spread music in another way so Rob began accepting students and teaching guitar.
Since then Death Angel has released 4 studio albums, 3 live albums, a thrashumentary, an acoustic EP and performed around the world time and time again. Rob co-produced the last 4 albums with Jason Suecof including the 2019 Grammy Nominated “Humanicide”.
The band continues their relentless attack of nonstop touring and recording with Rob at the musical helm (or musical Hell?) and no end in sight!
Rob's music influence ranges from the soulful guitar playing prowess of Randy Rhoads, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Uli Jon Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Akira Takasaki, Jimmy Page, Brian May, Neil Schon, Carlos Santana, Pepe Romero, Rodrigo y Gabriela, David Gilmour and Michael Schenker to the songwriting and vocal talent of Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Journey, Pink Floyd, Soundgarden, U2, Bjork, Depeche Mode, Muse, QOTSA, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Rush and Metallica...to name a few.